How often do you have your long-hair dog groomed?

[janegold]

We've had our Great Pyr/Golden since November and haven't had her professionally groomed yet. We bathe and brush her ourselves and have had the vet take care of her nails. Her fur isn't matted or knotted anywhere except a small area behind each ear. I'm thinking she is probably about due for a trip to the groomers anyway, though.

What does everyone else do?

[secondhandscottie]

I have a Scottie and he goes every 6 weeks for a cut, which is admittedly pretty often.

Is your pup full grown with her adult coat? I'd probably take her in soon anyway with summer coming quickly - A fluffy coat could use a trim before the heat hits. We keep Bentley cut short (but never shaved) for summer.

[janegold]

She's 14 months...not completely full-grown for her breed, but she does have her adult coat, yes. It's generally not recommended to trim or cut Great Pyrs' hair b/c they are very prone to sunburn and b/c they have a double coat that filters air and keeps them cool. I don't think I will have the groomer trim her much at all except maybe some strays.

I was mostly curious about other types of maintenance (ear cleaning, de-matting behind her ears, nail trims, really good brushing, etc.) I should have clarified that in my OP.

[SallySparrow]

Eh, not as often as we should. She looks pretty rough right now. No matting, we brush her daily, but just kind of scraggly. She'll probably go in to the groomer in the next month or so to get her summer groom. We generally do it twice a year.

Other things we do at home: brushing teeth, trimming nails, brushing, furminating, etc. We brush every day, furminate about once a month. Trim nails as needed, maybe once a month or so? Teeth get brushed whenever I think about it. She gets probably four baths a year--so not many. Two at the groomers when she goes, two at home. More if she rolls in something or is exceptionally stinky.

She's a chow/shepherd mix, so she's pretty furry.

[janegold]

That's helpful Sally, thanks!