About Me:

I am a professional Pet Groomer. I have been grooming for 28 years. This Blog is a kind of diary of my work. I wish I had started years ago, writing some of the experiences I have had while grooming. Most days are fun, some can be sad, some can be just down right crazy. If you are a pet owner and come across this blog, I hope it helps you understand how your pet is groomed. If you are a Pet Groomer, I hope you can relate to some of the stories. Maybe even learn a grooming tip or can leave a friendly grooming tip for me. There is always something to learn, no matter how long you have been grooming.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Tuesday's Tip # 23

Today's tip is not really a grooming tip, but it is to help at work.

First I have a question.
How many times have you sent the wrong collar or lead home with the wrong dog?
Well, it has happened to us.
Not often, but more than once.
It is very embarrassing to have to call an owner and tell them that you have put the wrong collar on their dog and could they please bring it back.

I know that some groomers do not keep the collar and leash.
They give them back to the owner at drop off.

I don't know about your customers, but I can almost guarantee that most of my customers would forget to bring the collar and leash back with them.

So, I have always kept the collar and leash with the dog.
The only problem is that every once in a while collars and leashes seem to get mixed up.

One day I will catch that little Gremlin that runs around my shop hiding, and moving things.

You know what I mean.
Your grooming along, you put down your brush, or your comb, or scissors, then you reach for them a few minutes later and the are gone.

Please tell me that that has happened to you too, that I am not the only one.
I know I sat those scissors on my table.
It is a bad habit of mine.
But, I reach for them and they are not there.
I look and look...I know I sat them down on my table
Then after becoming completly frustrated I find them on top of my stool.

I did not put them there!
I know I didn't!

That darn Gremlin did it!

I just know that that darn little Gremlin is sitting in the corner laughing at me.
I have one that lives in my house too, and moves things around so I can't find them.



Anyway, for years we have used little baskets above the doors of the kennels.

They have worked great, but sometimes a collar or leash will fall out and be picked up and put in the wrong basket.

Of course everyone denies doing that, so it must be that darn Gremlin again.






A couple of weeks ago I was at the hardware store.
I saw a pack of....
oh crap, I can't remember what they are called. :/

The little red hook thingy in the picture.
Darn... brain freeze.
I seem to have more and more of them the older I get.

Anyway, I decided to try them for hanging the collars off of, so they would not fall on the floor.






So far this has worked pretty good.
Of course old habits are hard to break, and we are still using the baskets.

I was going to remove all of the baskets, but they are great for holding those large, bulky retractable leashes.






Oh, yes, I know that the name card on the kennel is upside down.
No, the Gremlin didn't do that.
We turn the name cards upside down when a dog is done.
That way we know at a quick glance, what dogs are finished and ready to go home.

If you have a good way of keeping collars and leads, I would love to hear about it. :)

Happy Grooming, MFF

2 comments:

  1. at my shop we use clear plastic service card poches, tied onto the kennel with a small zip-tie.. leash, collar and service card w/dogs name and groom notes all go in, and we haven't had a mix-up once in the 4 years ive been there :)
    love your blog, thx for sharing! -kat

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  2. I just wanted to share how it is done in the shop I work in. We have a board similar to yours, except the dogs are numbered where you put your appointment times we put a number 1-16 then where you have finish we put the time the need to go home and X it off after their parent is called. We have a board nailed to the wall, it looks like a piece of molding... like for your base boards it's about 1"by4", it has 16 eye screws along it with numbers over each hook, we hang the leashes and collars on these and never get anything mixed up(unless someone hangs on the wrong hook, which rarely happens, because all you have to do is look up at the board after taking the dogs collar off and find their number). Maybe this will work for you. I thought it was very clever. Another shop I worked at put a bit of money into it (it was a very fancy shop), they had party bags, it had a little baggie for 3-4 treats, their leash and collar, and report card, and if they had fleas they got to bring home a spot on treatment(extra charge of course) and a poop bag encase they pooped in the parking lot and the name was written on the front. I thought that was clever, but a bit of a hassle making all those bags (25 baggies) a day and the cost of it all.

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