Mobile Groomers

[Nevafollo]

so just wondering if anyone else has this same issue!!!

I have a few dogs i wash with skin allergys and i am sick of vets telling my costmers that mobile groomers are no good!!! they dont even ask WHICH mobile dog groomer they are using apparently!!!

they are telling customer we recycle our water and that our shampoos conatin soap both of which are no where near true!!!! we have huge tanks of water in our trailors and i only fill up every four dogs or so, and NONE of our shampoos contain soap and we offer medicate shampoo for all the dogs that do have bad skin and it is the equivilant to what vets recommend we just get it made under a different brand!!!!

further more we disenfect (sp?) after every dog we do!!!!and we also flush the whole system with diso at the end of each week!!!!

the bloody vets should keep their mouths shut....and not tar and feather all mobile dog groomers with the same brush i know for a fact we do a great job!!!!

Edited November 15, 2006 by sammy_ballerina

[swain]

I've personally never come across that before....is it worth you calling some of these vets and explaining how you do things (not that you should have to!!). I've used mobile groomers a few times and never found any probs. I always check out the person before i leave my furkid with them though. Some people have different disciplining techniques than i do.....

[shmoo]

some mobile groomers are good, some are bad... just as some salon groomers are good and some are bad. also some vets are good and some are bad.

you cant win them all.

[Silverblue]

My vet puts ALOT of clients on to me, as he said they are vets not groomers & prefer only to do it as a last resort ie under sedation.

Perhaps have a chat with your vet & let them know what you do.

[4 Paws]

I'm lucky in that most of the vets here(apart from 1 that actually offers grooming)keep my business card on show and give to people looking for a washer/groomer

Maybe worth while going into vets and asking could you leave some flyers there and go through with them the services you offer and mention the shampoos etc that you use.In general conversation mention it's clean water,you disinfect between clients etc etc.Can't hurt and might get you more clients

good luck

Julie

[Nevafollo]

i'll go to a few local yets its just hard when i have clients all over town at the moment that go to all different vets and this is the third vet seperate ones that has suggested this to a client of mine...i might have to just take every case as it comes!!!!

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

I have a mobile groomer I recommend to everyone but Shmoo is right, their are faults in every situation.

I have been told of a salon where dogs are smacked around.

That's why I have a mobile groomer - so I can watch what is going on and how they are with my dogs, you can't always do that with a salon.

[IrishCharm]

Many things cause skin conditions, unfortunatly most vets will only focus on the topical causes. Thats why it's important to explain your services to customers clearly.

Edited November 15, 2006 by IrishCharm

[Athena GSD]

I agree with Shmoo.

[Nadia]

It doesn't matter what you do or where your work from, you will at some stage be on the receiving end of those sorts of comments.

Sometimes it is simply a case of people not listening properly or only repeating half a story.

Sometimes it is because a bad egg in your field has left a lasting impression.

I groom at a Vet Surgery, apparently it is common knowledge that I sedate my animals and they only get radical all off Vet Clips, because that is what all Vet based Groomers do!

At least once or twice a week we get a client enquiry that wants to ensure that we will not sedate their pet.

Do your job to the best of your ability, work on keeping your customers happy and the good word spreads.

[ShesaLikeableBiBear]

You may be interested to know that when I worked at a clinic over the summer last year I caught one of the nurses bathing FOUR dogs in the same water.

[HuntinHound]

As someone mentioned earlier - there are good and bad operators everywhere.

We used to be involved in the industry (on several levels) and I have seen first hand groomers in salons/vets & mobile using the same water for several clients. ;)

I have also witnessed those like us who cleaned out the bath & disinfected in front of their clients after EVERY use

Good Word travels fast and if you continue doing the right thing it will be your name and not 'jo blow down the road' who will soon be getting all the business. Luckily not everyone believes their Vet is god so trust in yourself and keep up the good work!

[Peachie]

Sorry, double post

Edited November 15, 2006 by Peachie

[Peachie]

EXACTLY what Shmoo said!

Dogmad, i think i know who you are talking about. I have also heard of a mobile groomer and a mobile washer on 'the beaches' who does the same. It doesnt help those of us who actually take the time to get to know a new dog before just throwing it in the tub. I get calls from new people with dogs who just cant handle salon environments, i explain that i will take all the time the dog needs to make it as comfortable with me as possible. Gently gently is my policy with these little (and big) spooks. Pretty much all of these people rebook and more often that not the dogs come around. Some will never like parts of their bath, but i get those parts done as quickly as i can and spend more time on the parts they like - and as always, many cuddles go a very long way.

As far as the OP's post, i always do as you describe, tho i dont carry water, i refill from the clients tap at each stop, after disinfecting and cleaning out the tub, as well as backwashing the shower head. There is no way there is any residue between dogs.

I would write up your exact process for washing/grooming, and go visit all the vets in your area (painful but you may turn some around who will go on to recommend you highly) and explain it again, perhaps even offer to come and wash their dogs to show your dedication to quality control (for the hard noses). Put it down to marketing, which is exactly what it is.

All we can do is keep doing what we do and do it well every time. Those who love us will tell others who are 'anti' mobile grooming.

I have to say that, for myself, most who call me with stories of their unhappy experiences in the past more often book in again after i have washed their dogs. It is worth the extra time (which is not charged) to deal with these nervous nellies for a couple of resaons:

- Having a happy customer

- Having that customer talk about what a great job we do

- The immense personal satisfaction of having a dog who is terrified, letting you love on it after it's bath and seeing them run around happily instead of cowering in a corner of it's yard afterwards.

[Poppy's mum]

Peachie is the best! She washed Tielle at the greyhound picnic and she looks glorious and shiny and she gave me useful tips to improve her coat (fish oil). I'm a convert to the mobile wash - the service couldn't be better and Tielle is a sook. Pity we live in the innerwest.

[wagsalot]

From what Ive heard from new clients there are quite a few mobile dog washers round my way that are guilty off all the stuff you mentioned in the orginal post.

Its a shame the good ones get dragged down by the bad ones.

[Nevafollo]

yeah we have some bad eggs around here too...ive heard ALOT of storys...there a well known pet palour (sp?) round here who drugs every dog that walks throu the door and i am gettin more and more of their clients!!!

[Ceilidh]

I had a lab x poodle come in yesterday and the owner said that a few days after the last time he was here he got an ear infection and the vet said it was from the groomers I said maybe you better take him elsewhere then. She left him. When she picked him up I said if he gets an ear infection in a few days I would appreciate a call then, not 10 weeks later.

[Peachie]

Aww Shucks Ginger's Mum.... Tielle is just a delight - but then most greys are easy to wash - they just freeze in a statue when they are nervous... except my little girl - she wants OUT and i mean NOW - tho she has improved out of sight. Having said that, they dont get washed much, mainly because they just dont smell! Gotta love a greyhound!

Regarding drugging dogs for grooming, i think, over 6 years in the mobile dogwash industry, i have only had mabey 2 clients who had to have their dogs groomed (as in summer shave off) by sedating them for this at the vet. One other had to be sedated for nail clipping. I tried my hardest to clip this lovely guy's nails with a muzzle and lots of cooing, but it didnt work - i wasnt worried about him biting, but he just was so freaked out by the whole thing. In the end, (he was a cattle dog of about 17 yrs old) he didnt recover well from a sedation for nail clipping and he had to be put down the following week. There were probably other issues but i think the anaesthetic probably tipped him over in the end.

Basically, i think there probably ARE some dogs out there who will always need to be sedated for a coat or nail clip, but i really try and work hard with these dogs to get to the point that they dont have to be. I do have a couple on my client list who used to have to be sedated for coat/nail clipping but as they have gotten to know and trust me with just washing them, i can do them myself drug free. Same with dogs who were originally terrified of the blower, gradually, and gently gently, they have trusted me enough to use it on them.

It is the best and most rewarding feeling to acomplish this. It totally makes my whole week when this happens. And of course, you have a client for LIFE!

I find the best advertising is word of mouth, and the best way of getting this is by treating the client's dog as if it is the most beautiful, most well behaved, sweetest little thing in the world. I always do this, and i usually mean it. I am often asked which my favourite dog is to wash/groom, and my answer is, quite honestly, whichever dog i am washing at the time. Each one is the best at that time for different reasons.

I guess, basically, all we can do is just keep on doing what we do best, and leave the best impression we can.

[Peachie]

I had a lab x poodle come in yesterday and the owner said that a few days after the last time he was here he got an ear infection and the vet said it was from the groomers I said maybe you better take him elsewhere then. She left him. When she picked him up I said if he gets an ear infection in a few days I would appreciate a call then, not 10 weeks later.

I've had that one as well.

Part of my service is to wipe out dogs ears with a babywipe after their wash. As you would all know, you can tell if there is an infection instantly - the ear is red/hot to touch, the dog yelps with the slightest touch, and most of all - it STINKS! I will always notify the client if any of this is evident, and ask if the dog has been rubbing his head on the ground or if there has been excessive head shaking.

I cant count the number of times where the owner didnt know there was a problem until i mentioned it.

With the situation you described, i would be calling the client in a week and ask how the dogs ears are, just as a matter of course. The fact that she still left him with you tells me that she didnt wholly believe what the vet said.