Groomers

[katetk]

My Boy is heading to the groomer on Friday - he loves his groomer and vice versa she loves grooming him as he is behaved and easy to do.

Have been reading through this thread and honestly can't believe how people could hand their dog over to someone to groom is such states I couls never and have never done that.. i'm a bit paranoid taking him like he is atm - no mats or anything or even dirty , just alot of coat at the mo that needs a striiping, but she hasn't seen him in a while.. i did warn her that i attempted to 'trim' around his eyes but stuffed up - she just laughed but not to do it again to "her boy" LOL.

You groomer out there all deserve a pat on the back for dealing with these types of owners.. i don't know how you do it.

Edited July 18, 2005 by katetk

[Pup's mum]

In defence of owners - before I learned to groom myself I paid someone to groom my kids while I watched and learned. One of the big no-nos in our breed is pulling out all the hair out of their ears. Groomer knew it (I had told her about 50 times) - she waits until I go the toilet and attacks my boy's ears - is knee deep with a pair of forceps when I return - he's howling in pain and she's screaming and thumping him to stand still.....I pulled her off him, told her what I thought and left - never to return.

He ended up with a chronic ear infection from the dirty implements - she also took off the top layer of skin from the inside of his ear - he couldn't stand having it touched for weeks and STILL gets very nervous when we do a weekly clean.....

Edited July 18, 2005 by Pup's mum

[reddog21]

Oh and any big dog.

I hope you tell your owners of this bias so they don't put their precious cargo in your care

Oh and any big dog.

[winewood]

My previous dogs were airedales who I clipped myself it used to take me allday from bath, their coats take so long to dry then clip then sissor I'd clip one till she had enough then I'd clip him then grab her again and so the day would go on.

Then I hurt my back and they had got hairy but not matted I called around to find someone who could clip & sissor them properly. This mobile pet company woman came out lovely lady I took them out hobbled back inside later went outside to see if they were ready and nearly died. Not only did she not know what an Airedale clip was, she shaved off the legs off with the beard and made them look like little fluffy white things (sorry no offence meant to little white dogs) with a stupid bow in their heads and she charged me over $80.00 each (we are talking about 5 6 years ago) and said had she known how long they took she would have charged me more All I could say was WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY DOGS and she still had no idea what she had done wrong. I explained before she started how I did it with only a few slight alterations he had a few mouth infections so instead of a full beard he would have a goatie looked very cute. I payed her the money and never let anyone else ever touch them again. After reading thread could'nt help but add my piece brought back memories

[poodlemania]

Mclennan-OMG!! What a nightmare.

I thought of a few more-owners saying they want their purebred maltese clipped 'like a Maltese' even though Maltese aren't traditionally clipped, and also because their purebred dog is actually black! I didn't know you could get black Maltese's.

'Don't make him look like a poodle'-cocker spaniel owners usually say this. I always answered that 'If I could do that I would be a rich woman.'

People ringing up day before Christmas and wanting dog groomed-then going beserk when I tell them I cant do it for a month!

I will say some positives because I had some gorgeous clients( both two-legged and four-legged variety). An elderly couple with an ex show Standard Poodle who was beautiful!!! He would just about break down my door to get in and then didnt want to go home after his haircut.

I had two lovely cockers also and I used to clip their feet with a #15 blade like poodle feet. Yes, cocker spaniels I am talking about! They were angels!!!

I also had heaps of dogs and I had groomed since puppyhood-theses dogs were the ones I looked foward to alot. They were my friends!! We enjoyed catching up!!

Georgia.

[Vehs]

I didn't know you could get black Maltese's.

Toohey!? LB?! A new market has opened up! :smurf:

For those who haven't had the.. pleasure

http://www.petgroomer.com/contests/miracle2005/57.htm

It is really awful to think of and see dogs in this condition with owners who just couldn't be bothered. You can't force people to look after their pets properly, but at least we sometimes can offer then relief.

[Rascalmyshadow]

great feedback everyone. I have some owners that will actually bath their dogs the day before they bring them in because they are embarrased and then ask me to do it again.

Talking about good dogs, I had a favourite he was a maltxshihtzu named Chocolate he would jump out of his owners arms and in to mine they would bring him in every Friday for a bath and brush, about two months ago he got out and was hit and killed by a car it felt like losing one of my own. On Saturday the owner called in to inform me they had just got two puppies and I would be seeing them in a couple of weeks really made my day.

[Tapferhund]

When i was grooming, my pet hates were some of the owners and the excuses they would give. They must have thought I was stupid to believe some of the excuses they gave as to why their dogs were in such a disgusting condition.

For example...... I had one woman with an OES that she would have done once a year......clipped off to the skin because of the felted matted mess the poor dogs coat was in , dags hanging from its bum,urine burnt skin............and the excuse given........"Oh, he got out for a few days and came home looking like that."

Duhhh...YEAH RIGHT !

Most of the dogs I did were pretty good but there were some breeds that I had a few probs with.

American Cockers.........*#@*# coat texture and thick on many of them and crappy temperaments.

Black and white poodles, I had 4 on the books and all had nasty temperaments towards everybody, including their owners.

Edited July 18, 2005 by workndog

[~Midniara~]

Black and white poodles, I had 4 on the books and all had nasty temperaments towards everybody, including their owners.

Sorry to go off topic but I am extremely curious.

I have a puppy that I bred myself that (now 8 mo) I've been putting on the table since young and he still rolls over when he sees the brush and refuses to let me brush him and still hates me touching his feet. Yet most of the others love it and one puts up with it. So please don't always judge the way the dogs behave as a reflection of how the owner is.

What do you do as a groomer if you get a completely un cooperative dog who does not want to be groomed. For example the sit when you brush their bum or pull their legs away when clipping their nails or even worse have a go at you whenever you try and brush?

Just curious what you do?

Cheers

Maria

[espinay2]

What do you do? You gently but firmly persevere with the dog, speaking to it firmly but calmly and praising good behaviour.

And if you really can't do something on the dog, you don't. And politely explain to the owner why you couldn't when they come to pick them up (all the while taking their wrath for not being able to do it even if they can't do it either)

Of course the really bad ones, particularly the biters (if a muzzle isn't enough) you suggest they go to the vets to be groomed under sedation instead.

Sometimes all of this is achieved while counting to 10 and muttering curses under your breath

[schnauzer]

I am pretty lucky with my clients - I think I have gently persuaded most of them to regularly brush their schnauzers. My pet hate is dogs that are riddled with fleas - yuk - poor dogs. I advise about good flea control and then the dog is the same next time

[Steve]

Any groomers who want to give themselves a free plug Im after some additions for our member packs for the MDBA .

[email protected]

[Akitagal]

What is mdba? Sorry i dont know what that means.

I specialize in dogs that have behaviour issues.(i work in vet clinic). I love working with these dogs. Most of the time its working out whats behind the "having a go at you". I would say with 98% of dogs it is a fear based reaction. So slowing down your movements. Praising calm and desired behaviour. Not reinforcing inappropriate behaviour. Patient persistance in a calm manner. I do use muzzles which can actually calm a dog and leave my fingers attached. Densensitization methods. Having appropriate vocal tone. These are just a few of the things i use. I think the most important thing and i think quiet often the hardest thing to do is to be very calm as if you become impatient or frustrated with a dog that is agitated it just adds to the dogs anxiety. They will pick up your body language very quickly. I always allocate triple the time for these dogs so i can work at a speed appropraite for the dog.

Nicole i had to laugh as i also get clients that wash there dog before it comes in for a groom. Its such a sweet gesture. I guess its like when you brush your teeth before the dentist .

Edited July 19, 2005 by Akitagal

[Steve]

mdba Master Dog Breeders Academy www.mdba.org.au

[IrishCharm]

My so called bias with big dogs are only the ones who are so big they don't fit into the hydrobath. Or the ones that are loafs that refuse everything and have huge coats. When you work on your own handling a big dog is sometimes trying. No bad karma meant for the big dog population. I'm sure the well behaved ones a very sweet.

And as all my big dog clients are like this I use the term any big dog.

[Rascalmyshadow]

Akitagal: I also do a lot of rehabilitation work no-one in the vet clinic can understand how I have so much patience.

The worst excuse I hear from owners is i've had a baby and can't find the time I had a baby aswell and I had 3poodles and a maltx at the time and none of my dogs looked looked like theirs.

[Guest Tess32]

Well my groomer must like us, cos until we mentioned which dog it was, he didn't have an opening for Saturday

Nat

[Akitagal]

Hey Steve thankyou i tryed to go into that site i only get the intro page and no menu or options to go anywhere else so it unfortunatly doesnt tell me that much.

Yes Nicole i get that excuse too, and yes i understand it may be harder to do things when you have had a baby but there is always options that mean this shouldnt be an issue.

And wow you must of had a very full plate, baby, and 3poodles and a malt! I hope they wernt standards!

I find that patience comes from knowing where the dog is coming from and not placing demands on yourself or dogs that are unattainable do you find this? I also guess enjoying what you do helps too. There is nothing better than helping to ease a dog in discomfort, be it physicall or mental.

Which leads to another of my pet hates...

Bosses that put demands on thier staff that are just plain impossible.

I used to work in a salons that would book in 10+++ dogs a day(inc big groom outs,lamb trims ect) and found that i would just not have the time needed to do what i needed to and found that i would get stressed, frustrated and just plain exhusted. Ended up being a production line.Yuk! Never will i go back to that!

[missymac]

My 13 week old golden retriever has had two baths so far, the first one she tried to climb out of the sink, the second time mum bathed her for me and said she just lay there and enjoyed the warm water (I'm still not sure if this was just because she was exhausted from a big day). She's pretty good when I brush her most of the time, sometimes she thinks it's a game and tries to steal the brush off me.

It would probably be a good idea to take her to a groomer now so she can get used to being handled by someone else shouldn't I? So, who of you groomers are in canberra and would like to groom a golden pup?

[Mel774]

Oh and any big dog

Seriously?? I LOVED grooming big dogs. A million times easily than the little slipperly ones that wont let you touch them. Such a long way down in the hydrobath too.

Most fun I ever had was washing a 9month old Burnese Mountain Dog. Had the same personality as my Kaden, he was adorable!!!!!!

I jumped in the hydrobath and said "Come here for a cuddle!" and he leapt into the bath and I closed the side. He was sooo beautiful, I love those dogs and this one confirmed it. Just gorgeous!! I gave him a big brush and sooo many cuddles, he was the best. I didnt want him to go home!!!!

The amount of little maltese X dogs I had to groom and they were all owned by people who didnt brush them and rewarded their fearful behaviour so they were hard to do anything with. I dont have a problem with little dogs, but big dogs are a sinch!

(I'm not a groomer now btw, I only did this for 2 month)