TsarsMum Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 yep dog grooming is a sucky job at times. I used to and dont do it anylonger. I remember this poor poor newfie i had. the most lovely dog and i could have stoped and called the rspca. this dog had what look like an entire poo stuck to it. it smelt like ammonia. and was completely matted and covered in sand. it was just heart breaking i spent probly 1/2 day sorting this dog out for bugger all. and never saw it again. im sure it was just put out the back til it got that bad again. I did have a pushy owner like the OP. but i did it as he offered my double for his chow chow. was not the nicest dog to do (had such a thick coat) and the guy stayed as apprently it could be agressive. the guy was like wow he must like you as he is normaly not very freindly (thanks for saying that NOW grr). nice dog another i never saw again. He worked away and had split with the wife. seen what state the dog was in and payed me to groom him as he was so up set about how the dog was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 When I started my business I actually thought I would be doing mainly washing. I had a mobile. When I went out with Jims they just did washing mainly. I ended up not getting a franchise. All I did was clip off white fluffies! I would have a grooming business again but want one with a food shop. I will be selling the food and will hire a groomer!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 Ah yep Jules me too, set up a business and pay someone else to come in and groom! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiesha09 Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 I am absolutely gobsmacked by some of the stuff you groomers have seen!!! I have to swf that require grooming and keep them clipped off short purely because I didn't think I was a very dedicated groomer. But actually maybe I am....both dogs get groomed twice a week at least I would actually love to learn how to groom my two rather than sending them to the groomer - but I just don't know where to learn. Any hints? Both dogs are rescues so no chance getting tips from their breeder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purdie Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 I am absolutely gobsmacked by some of the stuff you groomers have seen!!! I have to swf that require grooming and keep them clipped off short purely because I didn't think I was a very dedicated groomer. But actually maybe I am....both dogs get groomed twice a week at least I would actually love to learn how to groom my two rather than sending them to the groomer - but I just don't know where to learn. Any hints? Both dogs are rescues so no chance getting tips from their breeder. Some groomers in my area run grooming classes once a week to teach the basics.And you can guess why from reading this thread.It would be a good way to meet other ppl and dogs too.Ring around the groomers and ask and check your local paper too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirty Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 Ah yes, I remember my grooming days well... A few horror stories that spring to mind are the two fluffies with the most disgusting ear infections I've ever seen. I could smell them from about 5m away. Their ears were literally rotting away inside. Their ears were matted to their heads hence the infections. I marched the owners out to see what a disgusting state their dogs were in, and they had no idea. They musn't have touched those dogs for months because you couldn't avoid that smell. Another was this gorgeous old fluffy who was so totally neglected. The owner bought him for the kids but he was 'too fluffy' so he was relegated to the backyard. Never allowed inside, never walked, never brushed and hadn't been clipped for two years when I was called. I wanted to put him in my car and take him home, he broke my heart. He was the worst matted dog I have ever seen, and he had hardly any hair on his back due to his massive flea infestation. When I showed the owner, she had the nerve to claim 'it wasn't like that last week'. Bull-bloody-shit!!! He was such an angel of a dog but I never saw him again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkrai Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 @ some of the comments posted on here - OMG Some people are clueless about what happens in the grooming room and the behavior of some of the dogs... you get your mix of good and bad... We have client you ring up and demand to have their dogs put in, or will turn up with them... You can charge them extra, tell them firmly and they will still do it every time cause they can push in. Tell them 3hrs turn up in 1hr and expect them to be done...? There are some dogs you have to be firm with, you can hold their muzzle and have to be muzzled for our safety... We work each day with the chance of getting bitten, our common joke is how many fingers d you have lol Some owners are complete mollie coddle idiots and give us a quivering mess cause they have never been apart from their owners... List can go on, but if your not a groomer or work in one its a pretty unfair way to judge us - we have to handle the mess that gets handed to us... Although we have some awesome dogs (love the ones that put themself in the bath and sit their happily :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espinay2 Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 (edited) Oh gosh I so relate to this. I saw maggots on more than one occasion when clipping off dogs (horrible), along with weeping stinking sores from dirty matted coats, dogs that you couldnt tell which end was which, dogs with dew claws grown around into their leg, stinking infected ears so bad the dog was deaf from the damage, infected eyes from all the hair and junk around them, fleas so bad that the bath and my arms were black with them (I still have nightmares about that one - I had to fumigate everything including myself afterwards - we are not just talking a few fleas here - there was literally more fleas than dog!), dogs that would take your arm or face off as quick as look at you (unfortunately not uncommon), dogs the owner wouldnt touch in case it bit them, but expected the groomer get up close and personal and not have a problem (not uncommon either), owners who expected you to 'leave him all fluffy' when the coat is so matted that the only option is to shave it all off and start again (so you get abused even though you explained it was the only option),....... I know some people have this idea that dog grooming is a fun profession - you get to play with dogs all day and bubbles and snip snip with scissors and make dogs look pretty.....sure there are clients that I loved...my regulars who were simply wonderful and so were their dogs. They made it all worthwhile. But at the end of the day it is usually an aching sore back, sore wrists and hands, grot from head to toe, itchy from the hair and in real need of a long hot shower or soak in the tub. Overall I did enjoy grooming when I was doing it and the good did mostly make up for the bad. But it is far from a glamorous or easy profession. Edited September 10, 2011 by espinay2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 I lost count at 36 grass seeds that I pulled from one dog and by that I mean pulled from the skin not the coat. It was when I got to the 37th that I said screw this, called the owner and told them to take it to the vet and have them deal with the coat and the poor dog. I sent another home last year after not being able to get started, due to the grass seeds. I did an "oodle" that took three hours to clip off and it wasn't due to bad behaviour. Two Yorkies that I sent home as I was unable to find their eyes to infection and discharge. This year has barely started and I'm not so sure I'll be grooming the following year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 This is insane. I have a phobia of parasites and cannot imagine letting your dog have maggots or that many fleas - i spy a flea or itching and treat straight away. It's not that hard! I don't really understand how they get maggots in the first place but I think I am pretty lazy but obviously not compared to some of these people...omg, the mind boggles... I am not sure I could be a groomer - I'd spend most of the time turning people away or reporting them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 The ones I cringe at most are the dogs full of fleas and the owners tell me they live in the house and sleep on the bed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 OH yeh its enough to give you nightmares isn't it. Oh yes of course they are an inside dog - man I couldn't even be near a dog that is crawling like that, never mind even have it inside, but sleep with it - nope never! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 Poodle owner : " I wash my dog in wool wash, as Poodles have wool you know. It's good as I don't have to buy another shampoo, I've always got it at home and you know the eucalyptus keeps the fleas away " Me : " yes but your dog is crawling in them " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espinay2 Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 (edited) Poodle owner : " I wash my dog in wool wash, as Poodles have wool you know. It's good as I don't have to buy another shampoo, I've always got it at home and you know the eucalyptus keeps the fleas away " Me : " yes but your dog is crawling in them " That is so spot on! I have heard that more times than I can count <sigh>. HEre is another one many groomers may be familiar with: Small White Fluffy owner: (proudly) We get him groomed every year! We want him looking nice for Christmas when the family comes. We let him keep his coat over winter so he stays warm. Make sure you leave him fluffy when you clip him! We don't like it when he is all shaved off. (said SWF is one large matted dirty and often flea ridden mess who has obviously never seen a brush in its life) Edited September 10, 2011 by espinay2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 and ohh the horror, when they pick the dog up and it's shaved to the skin because you couldn't get anything longer than a 10 through it and in some places you were going surgical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DBT Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 I have never been able to understand why people think that a nice shaved off clean SWF is SO UGLY compared to the stinky filthy snotty poopy flea ridden mess dressed in a full body cast that they present to me upon arrival! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atua Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 I have never been able to understand why people think that a nice shaved off clean SWF is SO UGLY compared to the stinky filthy snotty poopy flea ridden mess dressed in a full body cast that they present to me upon arrival! x2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andisa Posted September 11, 2011 Author Share Posted September 11, 2011 I have never been able to understand why people think that a nice shaved off clean SWF is SO UGLY compared to the stinky filthy snotty poopy flea ridden mess dressed in a full body cast that they present to me upon arrival! x2 And then tell everyone "look at what that bloody groomer did to my dog - I am never going back there again" um - yep some will blame everyone but themselves. Imagine the shock when under the matted mess is a dog who is skin is skinny - "I thought he/she was fat" - um nope just matted. I had a lady call all panicked that her Cavie needed a trim asap - he has growths on his ears and she has to take him to the vet to have them removed - no idea how long they have been there. I knew where this was going and said bring him in at **O'clock and ran the clippers over the back of the ears and presented her with the "growth" that she was going to ask the vet to remove. It's the same "growth" that I remove with both her dogs every time I see them . It's so hard to be nice and harder still to keep a straight face at times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 It is super annoying when the owner acts like you are a crap groomer because you couldn't do a breed clip because their dog was so matted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitteh Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Ummm.. all I've got to say is holy shit, wtf is wrong with some pet owners? Seriously, if you don't have the time or inclination to look after a pet that needs regular grooming, why get one? Choose another breed. P.s anyone know any good groomers in perth that are SOR? Is Midland north or south?? anyway BedazzledX2 has one in Midland :D I've heard great things about bedazzled, but it's too far I'm in booragoon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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