Danielle

Abbi gets - Abbigail, abba, yabby, abbadabbadoo, alby mangles, absterlicious, abstar, boss, big red, and the rooster. Sophie gets - Sophie sue, folfi, folfalolfagus, hussy, little bitch, and flossy. Napoleon gets - nederlands, neddy, nedsterlicious, poley, polar bear, Humpy bear, polar butt, noo noos, neddles and noodle butt dog. Elliott gets - Ellie, Elsy butt, meesta mooshka, mushy dog and fuzzy butt. Yes, we are very strange people!

Well I just had to charge $60 yesterday for a shih tzu X who came to me matted to the skin! This dogs coat had to be clipped off, there was nothing else I could do. I tried brushing him out with a les pooches slicker and also tried using my matt splitters but poor puppy started to yelp so I gave up. It took hours to do this dog, then I had to contend with the thousands of fleas on him. Literally, his skin was crawling with them! When I washed him the water ran red due to the blood from the fleas, I wouldn't be surprised if he is anemic. I wrote up a report for his owner explaining exactly why he had to be clipped off and also berated her for his condition. If he comes to me in that state again I'll refer her to someone else, I was in bloody tears yesterday while I had this dog, he was in agony. His legs were matted to his body so he couldn't even walk properly. When I got his coat off and bathed him he was such a happy little chap, he wouldn't stop licking me, it was like he was grateful to me. Poor little mite. I hate jobs like this, its very heartbreaking and emotional work sometimes. Oh well, at least he is comfortable now...until next time.

I'm guilty of mislabeling a dog once. I was at a dog show with my afghan and I saw a pair of dogs being walked around by the exhibitor. I said to our group "look at those cute little baby airedales!", everyone burst into laughter and between hoots I was informed that the "baby airedales" were really full grown "lakelands"! Omg I was soooo embarrassed, and I never lived it down! Hehe!

I was also thinking basenji.

I'm not saying that untained groomers don't cut it (pardon the pun!). What I mean is that for someone who is running a business (not just a hobby) it would be beneficial to have some form of basic training. You are highly experienced so therefore probably know it all anyway. I would not send my beloved pooch to someone starting out who is untrained or has no experience. There is so much room for something to go wrong. Wouldn't it be easier on new groomers to have some form of formal training anyways? It's a highly stressful job even when you know what your doing, I can't imagine how hard it must be for new inexperienced ppl starting out. And for reading books, well that really doesn't show you the ropes all that well. Notes from the grooming table is a book I'd recommend but even it has it's flaws. There is no substitute for having a mentor/teacher and a real live dog to work on. And yes, there are some shoddy hairdressers out there and dodgy groomers who are certified. But if everyone had to meet a certain criteria or standard would it be beneficial?

My standard poodle was called a "labradoodle" once. I corrected the lady and told her he was a pedigree Std Poo, but then got told "oh no, that's definitely a labradoodle, my sister breeds them for shows so I know what they look like!" What the?

Yep that's right but the point I'm trying to make is, like a vet, hairdresser, dentist etc, we groomers should have some kind of basic training. We are working with sharp instruments and I've seen dogs end up with half their ears chopped off due to an inexperienced person accidentally cutting too high up. I'll never forget the dog that had the flap of skin that joins the leg to the torso nicked and it split right up to the body. Puppy needed 11 stitches. Groomer was someone with no training of danger zones on a dog, someone who had bought a mobile franchise. This dog lived in my street and thankfully ended up coming to me afterwards for clips. It took two years to get this dog to accept the grooming process, it was so traumatized. That said, accidents do happen and even to the best of us. But some sort of course would be so beneficial to newbies starting out. I'm guilty of nicking nails and making them bleed, so it's not just the untrained ppl who make mistakes. But I do think some sort of training would be helpful. It would also make it easier on clients to weed out the fly by night cowboys out there and choose someone with at least some basic safety knowledge.

I thoroughly agree that even highly trained groomers can be crap but the point I'm trying to make is "as a whole" training is very beneficial. I would like to see people trained on safety issues, basic styles, etc. Of course it won't make every single person a fantastic stylist, but I'm sure it would prevent a heck of a lot of injuries and disappointed clients. And I do agree that some self taught groomers are fantastic, but wouldn't some sort of training be beneficial? DBT from what I've been told by a groomer friend of mine who lives in the states, licensing is mandatory. Maybe it's just her state but I'm pretty sure she said it's all over the country.

So this is a spin off of another thread. It's got me thinking, should groomers be qualified or licensed? The reason I ask is that we are working with sharp instruments (blades, shears etc) and a living being, injuries can occur if a groomer is not taught correctly. A hairdresser has to have qualifications and a certain level of training, so why can just anyone open a store or buy a mobile franchise and call themselves a dog groomer? I did twelve months at grooming school (cost over a grand) and got my cert. I then went on to work under a highly qualified groomer and breeder who helped me fine tune my skills. I feel that without this few years of training and mentoring I would not have the skills I have today. It frustrates me to see random people open up a mobile dogwash and incorporate grooming into it, when all they know how to do is switch on a clipper. I see dogs shaved off from the tip of their nose to the tip of their tail, I've seen dogs hacked to bits with chunks missing from their coat and a distraught owner. I've had to fix jobs like this a thousand times. Do you believe that there should be some sort of licensing or mandatory training in place? In the USA you have to be qualified to groom dogs, I feel it should be the same over here.

Htw - I don't think you will get flamed for shaving your own dog. If you are shaving him for a reason such as ticks then of course it's a reasonable thing to do. I'm talking about groomers who do it for a living. A lot of clients don't know that they can get a better job done so they keep being disappointed. Mobile dogwash groomers also concern me. Anyone can buy into a franchise and call themselves a groomer. Sadly a lot of dogs get injured this way.

That's fair enough if the client wants it kirty. But I was more talking about groomers who only know how to shave off or are too lazy to do otherwise. A lot of salons specialize in shave offs as they are quicker and therefore you can get more dogs in and out the door. Reminds me of a conveyor belt to be honest. I'd rather groom 5 dogs a day and be proud if the work I'm putting out than shave off ten dogs and feel crap about my work.

To be honest I sometimes wonder why I even do this for a living and then I get clients like one I had today, brand new client, Pomeranian who's never been groomed, dog initially quite scared, dog warmed up and loved the grooming process, then client picked up puppy and was over the moon! She said her dog has never looked so good. Made my day! These are the clients that you live for, people who compliment your work and are so overjoyed to see how pretty their dog looks. It makes you feel like all the blood, sweat and tears are all worth it!

I'm not a master groomer but I've won comps. Don't underestimate yourself, you might b just as good as the lady up the road.

Yikes! It makes me wonder about these kinds of groomers, are they untrained or just plain lazy? I worked at a salon in the Samford area (not for long) that specialized in shave offs. I'm talking #10 on the body and reverse #7 up the legs on nearly every dog, shih tzus, malts, poodles, it didn't matter, hack it off. I personally couldn't stand the low quality of work so obviously didn't stay. I take pride in my work and will spend extra time making sure a dog walks out of my salon looking fabulous. It's not about the money so much as it is about passion. I'm creative and like it to shine through in my work. But in the same token I won't work for pittance. And yes, it is back breaking work, it's dirty, smelly and sometimes dangerous. I think the general public have this idea that we sit around and play with little puppies all day and put bows in their hair. If only they knew about the sad old dogs, the ones with cancer who are in for their last groom, the ones that bite, the 40kg dogs you have to lift, the fleas, poop, pee, scabby skin etc. It's certainly not a glamorous job to say the least, and it's totally unappreciated.

How is your dog today Greg? Any news yet?

Thanks guys! I was sure my prices were resonable. I don't know where this lady is going to get her dog groomed, the vets don't groom and the nearest salon asides from mine is in Warwick. I think there is a lady just south of here who does grooming but from what I've seen of her work it's all hack jobs. Maybe she will do a $20 shave off for her.

What about that woman with the black lab that had a hip replacement? Did you see how she riled it up when it first went to the car? The vet was standing there freaking out about the prosthesis coming out. Stupid woman. I don't know why they didn't sedate the dog for the journey home.

I get bowen for my horses, it's amazing. Never tried it for my dogs but I would be interested in the future.

Depends on the groomer. I won't ever "shave" a dog off, it horrifies me to see what some groomers do. There is another groomer here that shaves poodles off, including their topknot! I was taught old school methods thank goodness, and try to style a dog rather than hack their hair off. I'd be inclined to tell your friend to go elsewhere or next time really specify what she wants.

How much do you expect a groomer to charge for a small dog clip? The reason I ask is that I had a lady call me yesterday enquiring about prices, she asked what I charge for a Maltese and I responded with $50 for a full clip including bath, nails, ears etc. I was told I was way too expensive and that she thought it would be around $20! $20 for an hour and a half of my time?! Nooooo. Ive moved out to Stanthorpe (small town) from Brisbane. I've dropped my prices since living here, used to charge about $55 for small dog clip. I can't drop it anymore otherwise it won't be worth my time even doing it. So do you think $50 is reasonable? I do, but I want to know what others think. I know I'm not in the big smoke anymore and have altered my prices accordingly, but it just isn't feasible to drop them further. I don't know of any other groomers who charge $20 for a full clip, that's ridiculous. Thankfully I've built up a nice group of clientele who are happy to pay what I ask, but this lady has got me wondering...

Don't use water. There are cleaning sprays you can buy to clean and disinfect your blades. Oil after every use and store in a safe place. I warsp my blades in tissue paper and have an Oster storage unit to prevent damage. Oster blades are very good and so are Wahl and Andis.

I would recommend Val Dawson at Pet Set. It's on Shaw Rd in Wooloowin just near Chermside shops. She's been grooming for 50 odd years and knows her stuff. Best groomer in Brisbane IMO.

I use Kenchi, Mars, Santorini and some German brands. Any if these are good but expensive. If you are after something cheaper then the wahl or shear magic seem popular.

The name of the dog has changed also. Originally it was called Gabby and now it's called Abby. Something is amiss here.

My dogs a rescue dog, I have never had any other, I was just pointing out that if you watch a commercial channel what can you expect, it is tailored to the city centred brain dead culture. Ok so you have a rescue dog, thats great. I am trying to figure out whether it is a kelpie x or a bull terrier/whippet x?????? As you will find with your time on DOL many people will have different opinions. Many, many opinions are backed up with actual real life stories. Funny that Was wondering this myself. Hmm....me thinks someone is telling fibs. I'm also curious as to why someone would become a member of a forum they so obviously despise...bizarre.