Grooming/trimming Lhasa Apsos?

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Bix

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Hoping to get family dog soon (although OH still not keen :( ) and researching breeds at the mo so may have several (daft) questions coming up.

Am leaning towards a Lhasa Apso but concerned about keeping on top of keeping that much hair in check! How fast does their coat grow, how often does if need cutting? I can't afford regular trips to a groomer so would look to do it myself. How hard are they to trim? (nothing fancy, I like their shaggier look).

Thanks in advance :)
 
If you are more keen to have a shaggier look, just get yourself a good brush, comb, detangling spray, shampoo and conditioner and learn to brush it thoroughly. I mean thoroughly. Especially around the 9-15 month age mark cos they go thru a coat change and a bugger to keep knot free.

Now, as for trimming:

I'm not going to have a "go" but I do ask in all honesty-- why do you want a high maintenance breed of dog (coat wise) if you can't afford to have it groomed professionally?

Clipping a dog isn't rocket science, but it does take patience, skill and practice to do it safely. It does take equipment that is expensive. And when you make mistakes, it can be costly too because it might mean trips to the vet.

I don't have issue with people DIYing their clipping jobs - I know plenty of owners that do a rather swell job of it. But with lhasas, they can be funny wee things and rather sensitive. I'm a prof groomer, have been doing the job for ten years. Sometimes we get lhasas that for no real reason at all will have an absolute conniption fit about their hair being clipped short! I had one that I'd been grooming in a longer teddy style since he was 20 weeks old, never had a problem. One day his mum asked me to clip it right off, it was too much to maintain. So off it went wtih a 7F (3mm) and washed with hypo allergenic shampoo, rinsed absolutely thoroughly. She rang me 3 hours later to say that he'd stripped all the hair off his tail with his teeth in that time. He did it the next time too. She doesn't want to brush it (despite her being a hairdresser) so would rather he have a baldy than to spend the time combing and brushing through his thick coat.

The ones I do come in typically every 6 weeks or so and are kept in short teddy bear styles. I charge £38 for that (which is the higher end of the scale nationally price wise), which includes a bath, trim, nails trimmed, ears plucked and cleaned as necessary. I generally keep my eyes open for any health issues and suggest visits to the vet when the owner might otherwise not think to go. Professional groomers aren't NECESSARY for those that can and do spend the time brushing their dog, but we sure are a complementry service to the overall well being health of your dog. And this goes for most breeds of dog - not just lhasas ;)


Now, if you want short (all off sort of style) then you could manage with maybe 4x a year. In my opinion, for the roughly £30 you might spend quarterly, with an expert pair of eyes and hands going over your dog, it's well worth it.
 
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Oh that's annoying! Just typed a long reply and it's just disappeared! Let's try again!

Thank you for such a comprehensive reply :)

I am more than happy to look after a longer coat with regards to washing and brushing, it is just the trimming that concerns me - I am not a great hairdresser, I cut my sons' hair and it doesn't always look brilliant haha - and obviously I'm concerned about not having any accidents and hurting the dog! Don't get me wrong, I'm not ruling out visiting a professional groomer entirely, but I was thinking more along the lines of going a couple of times a year and then keeping on top of it myself inbetween visits. This is why I was wondering how fast their coats grow and how much trimming they might need to keep it in check.

As for my choice of Lhasa Apso, I have 2 small children (5 and 1) and so want something small, relatively calm and not needing hours and hours of walking each day and as a breed they seemed to be amongst those that fit the bill.

I used to trim our poodle when I was a teenager but they have very different coats to a Lhasa and you could just literally chop bits off here and there to keep him looking neat as opposed to having to cut in a 'style' like I am guessing would be the case with a Lhasa so hence my questions :)

It's all just part of my research tho and all help is good help :)
 
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There are plenty of breeds that fit your criteria that don't need trimming.
How about a Tibetan spaniel? Very similar to a Lhasa Apso but with an easier coat.

IME everyone with an Apso & children ends up with the dog in a very short trim -usually because it gets a layer of matts near the skin due to hit & miss brushing.
 
Bix said:
Oh that's annoying! Just typed a long reply and it's just disappeared! Let's try again!

Thank you for such a comprehensive reply :)

I am more than happy to look after a longer coat with regards to washing and brushing, it is just the trimming that concerns me - I am not a great hairdresser, I cut my sons' hair and it doesn't always look brilliant haha - and obviously I'm concerned about not having any accidents and hurting the dog! Don't get me wrong, I'm not ruling out visiting a professional groomer entirely, but I was thinking more along the lines of going a couple of times a year and then keeping on top of it myself inbetween visits. This is why I was wondering how fast their coats grow and how much trimming they might need to keep it in check.

As for my choice of Lhasa Apso, I have 2 small children (5 and 1) and so want something small, relatively calm and not needing hours and hours of walking each day and as a breed they seemed to be amongst those that fit the bill.

I used to trim our poodle when I was a teenager but they have very different coats to a Lhasa and you could just literally chop bits off here and there to keep him looking neat as opposed to having to cut in a 'style' like I am guessing would be the case with a Lhasa so hence my questions :)

It's all just part of my research tho and all help is good help :)
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If you're really good at bathing / brushing/ keeping the coat knot free, can manage a nail trim and pluck the ears, there's no desperate need for the dog to go to the groomers more than a few times a year. However, I would suggest that in the first year of your dog's life, you only let a reputable experienced groomer groom him, and have him done at least once by the time he's six months old, and then another few times. This is important for him to learn what his *job* is in the groomers - stand still, not pull his legs, not yank his face away and all should go smoothly for you. If you're hesistant in doing these things, dogs learn VERY quickly to do them to evade the grooming process and it's a very difficult thing to correct once they've learned it.

I have a few dogs that the owners do some DIY trimming and do a pretty good job - so long as they try to adhere to the same "rules" of not allowing the dog to take the mick when he's getting his hair cut at home. It's more about hygiene, safety and his good behaviour than it is necessarily about having a really stylish trim. :)
 
Not sure about la's but with my terriers I used to do them and did them for a few years. But now I pay for them to be done as it is hard work and you need a table at the correct height and a garage or shed to do them in plus good professional clippers.
 
Kaylum said:
Not sure about la's but with my terriers I used to do them and did them for a few years. But now I pay for them to be done as it is hard work and you need a table at the correct height and a garage or shed to do them in plus good professional clippers.
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What kind of terriers, Kaylum?
 
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