Dog grooming recommendations

[salem]

My dogs hair has got a bit matted with the winter. The latest bit of grit/snow means he's about due a trip to the groomers. I prefer someone else to do it as I'm not too good at it and he would hate me. He's a big scruffball so just want a grooming for his own good rather then vanity.

Any recommendations, I drag him about all over London so happy to travel assuming it's near public transport.

 

[stuff_it]

Buy them some biscuits and work your way down slowly.

 

[twentythreedom]

Buy a Furminator off Ebay, the are fucking awesome (I have one). Gets all the knots and matted stuff.

 

[Looby]

Another recommendation for the furminator, they're especially brilliant when they're shedding winter coats.

While I think that getting them used to you grooming them regularly is important I also want to find a good groomer.

I would rather find someone that is experienced with old english sheepdogs. My old landlady has an oes but I haven't seen her for about 10 years. Would it be very odd to put a note through the door and ask who grooms Hugo? : D

 

[scifisam]

There's a great groomers near columbia rd. in shoreditch - http://m.groomdogcity.com/ Fairly cheap considering the area and Haggerston Park just opposite is always full of dog-walkers. Really nice staff - they retweeted me when my cat went missing. Might be an idea to have them do one big grooming and clipping session then maintain it yourself.

 

[Pingu]

furminators are ace.. but not for matted hair

what breed/type of pooch do you have?

if its badly matted i would use a groomers if unsure of wht to do myslef - you can ruin a dogs coat if you do it wrong.

 

[salem]

furminators are ace.. but not for matted hair

what breed/type of pooch do you have?

if its badly matted i would use a groomers if unsure of wht to do myslef - you can ruin a dogs coat if you do it wrong.

He's Havanese (mainly - a mutt really) and his hair is currently about halfway between this one

and this one

They say his breed has more hair than fur. It doesn't molt but is an absolute pain to keep unknotted in the winter and it's got rapidly worse in the past couple of weeks. I would definitely feel happier letting someone else do the clipping, but don't want anything too elaborate.

Scifisam, thanks for the link - I'll check them out. Prices on the website are similar to what I paid last time I got it done here but still quite a bit more then when we lived abroad where it cost about 20 Euro - there were two places in the local square and they were a bit less Tony and Guy then the places in London!

 

[Pingu]

if he dpest moult be wary of using a furminator. they are designed to remove "dead" fur and on non moulting breeds would be akin to using a stripping comb.

if his fur is matted and you are not comfortable clipping him yourself take him to a groomers.

 

[zenie]

I know a lady who will come to your house, although it depends where you live as she's south of the river.

Also I would say scissors rather than clippers on a coat like that, and do be careful of the matts as they're very painful for dogs because they pull at the skin. Using a conditioning spray will help.

Shirl will probably advise better on dog grooming

 

[Shirl]

I would advise getting him groomed professionally if he is already matted. A furminator really wouldn't do the job. Ask the groomer to groom rather than clip the dog and to break through the mats so that they can be teased then combed out. If you don't want him clipped they should be able to just groom and get rid of the matted hair but it will depend on how matted he is. If it's just behind the ears, under his belly and groin and around his back legs that should be fine. Belly and groin knots can be snipped off and it won't show. If he is really matted with a lot of body mats then it's better and kinder to have it all clipped off and start again.
Many groomers prefer to clip it all off because that's easy. A good groomer will be willing to save the coat if possible and keep him looking like himself but it will be more expensive.
Having said that, I have had dogs come to me with coats so badly matted I was able to clip it off all in one piece. That is due to neglect though and they were usually rescue dogs.
Whatever you decide, once he's done you just need to keep an eye on his coat and brush him then comb him regularly. Brushing can sometimes just go over the coat rather than through to the roots and lead to mats. Any knots that appear can be broken up with a fine mat breaker which you can buy online.
Good luck. Sorry I don't know any groomers in London.