I have a bedlington terrier and he costs about £40 every 6-8 weeks for grooming. He is always cut really nicely, but I am starting to think that I could save so much money over his lifetime if I groomed him myself. Plus I'd love to get another bedlington in a year or so, and it would be much better for me financially if I could groom 'them' myself.

This may be a silly question, but how 'easy' is it? I don't want to have a dog that looks a mess or I end up having to shave him because i've messed up his cut lol.

Also, what would be the rough cost of the equipment I'd need? I'd want something of a good quality, but not too expensive.

I hope this isn't a silly question. I really would like to save some money, which hopefully would make it more financially viable to have a second dog eventually

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First thing to remember if you decide to trim them yourself is it doesnt matter if you 'mess up' the first couple of times because hair grows back! You will soon get the feel for it.

Cost-wise you really need to buy the best equipment you can afford because it will save you in the longterm. A rough guide to prices is

Clippers £100+
Blades £25-£35
Comb Attachments £20
Scissors £40+

I guess you already own a slicker brush and comb.

Hi, I am in the process of learning how to groom, I have never done a Bedlington though. As for the question of how easy it is, it depends on the dog, the cut it's having & how good your equipment is. There are courses you can take to learn how to groom your own dog, or if you are very lucky you may be able to find a groomer willing to show you what to do, though in my experience they are usually not so keen on this. The equipment can be very expensive if you go for top of the range gear, though I would suggest you can save money by not splashing out on a grooming table, all you really need is some non-slip rubber which you can lay on a table that is a suitable height. Instead of an H bar you can use rings on the wall to secure your dog, & you can use a cheap hand held dryer or even a human hairdryer (be careful not to have it too hot though!). Don't skimp when it comes to scissors, clippers & blades, they need to be good quality to get a nice finish. If you have not done any clipping or scissoring before I would really recommend getting someone to show you how to use them, you can make a dog sore or even cut him if you are not careful, & using scissors in the wrong direction on the coat will look terrible! Other things to consider are trimming nails, plucking ears & emptying anal glands, all fairly simple procedures but you really need to be shown how to do them. Hth

Forgot to mention that as you live in Suffolk there are evening classes available at Otley college near Ipswich teaching how to groom your own dog, I think an 8wk course costs about £150, Stephanie the tutor is very good. This is how I started out into the world of dog grooming and have now been doing it for nearly 3 years.

Stephanie grooms him now haha. She is very very good, and she's the only groomer so far that I've felt I could really trust I have a 45 minute drive to get to her though

I did look into booking classes at Otley, but with the cost of equipment, I couldnt afford it being a student But maybe it's something I could look into as I finish uni in february.

Thanks for your advice so far. I'm really scared about going ahead and doing it myself. One thing I'm worried about is that I'll invest money into buying good equipment and then I'm useless and give up lol. Would it be a good idea to get cheaper versions of clippers and scissors first and if I manage ok then invest in better quality stuff?

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IMO cheaper clippers like the ones in Argos are useless! You are welcome to come to me and have a go with my equipment to see if you like it. I'm very busy at the moment in the run up to Christmas but give me a shout in the new year and I'd be happy to give you some guidance. I live about 8 miles from Ipswich.

Oh thank you so much, that would be brilliant Would you be able to message me your email address so I'd be able to contact you in the new year?

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lotlot

I have tried to PM you but it won't allow it at the mo coz I think you need to have more posts to be able to receive them (25 I think) Will try again later

I have just started doing my two poodles, slowly getting better, I am not embarrassed to take them out in public now lol

I bought some andis clippers for £80, used a normal hairdyer on cold setting, i use some cheap scissors at the mo, already had some nonslip matting Nd my two stand nicely whilst I practice on them!

I bought a book on poodle clipping Nd that really helped, also I looked at alot of photos of my girls when they had been done properly lol , I am enjoying it now, And look forward to them needing a haircut now!!

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Haha!! Was it that bad to begin with? I'm so worried that the first few times would be awful and he wouldn't look like my handsome (a bit biased maybe ) bedlington anymore lol.

How have you found doing it yourself? I guess a poodle cut is similar to a bedlington in difficulty?

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