He Likes Me....He Likes Me Not

Sometimes you have a dog come in to be groomed that you are just not sure about.

They fuss about everything.

They growl about most things.

They even like to give you a look at their pearly whites sometimes.

BUT, they never carry all of their threats out.....they never bite you.

I have a furry friend like that.

 His bath is HIS biggest pet peeve.

That is where he does most of his talking and complaining.

Oh....and the drying too.

Oh... and a little growling when I ask him to stand on my grooming table.

BUT......he really does like me!

Really!

He does.

How do I know?

Because he pulls his owner in the door when he sees me in the lobby and comes right over to me.

He walks towards me so that I can pick him up to get him out of the kennel.

He tucks his head into my chest when I am carrying him. (okay, that could be just a male thing....)

He closes his eyes and enjoys me rubbing his cheeks before I start to bathe him.

He lowers his growls when I  softly say "shhhh" next to his ear while drying him.

He practically jumps into my arms when I go to pick him up off of the table.

AND, every once in a while, he will even wag his tail. :)

Most of all, he does not bite me.

So, give some of those 'talkers', and 'smilers' a chance.

It may just be all for show.

If you can get them to trust you, they can be really good dogs to groom.

They may even really enjoy the groom, even though they don't want you to know that.

Product Review....The Chubbs Bar

I like following the NCGIA's facebook page and their website.

That is the National Cat Groomers Institute of America.

Anyway, there has been a lot of  talk about 'The Chubbs Bar'.

So, I finally order some to try them out.

 They came yesterday, right before we closed for the day.

Too late to try.

So, I had to wait to try them today.

I ordered the coconut scented ones.

The scent is very  pleasant and mild.

The Chubbs Bars were developed for bathing cats, but can also be used on dogs and other animals.

The Chubbs Bar is a degreaser.

I didn't have any cats to try the bar on, so this is the first dog that I used it on.

 I watered the dog down first and then started rubbing the bar all over the dog.

The lather came up almost immediately.

I will admit that I did drop the bar about three times before I got the hang of holding it and rubbing the dog at the same time. :)

 I have to say that I really liked how fast the bar lathered up and how easy it was to move around the dog.

Just add a little water and spread the lather around.

I liked how there was no waste of shampoo dripping off of the dog as I was applying it.

I think that it would be great if other shampoo companies made their shampoos in bar form too.

Look at all of the nice suds.

I only needed to give this dog one bath and he was squeaky clean.

I am so sorry that I do not have a picture of what this dog looked like after I dried him.

I can't believe that I totally forgot to take a picture.

 However, I did remember to take a before and after the bath picture of this dog.

We only used the Chubbs bar on this dog and no other shampoo.

 

 This is after the bath, with the Chubbs Bar, and blow dry.

I was pleasantly surprised that the bar got this dogs creme coat so bright without us using any whitening shampoo.

Some groomers may like that the smell of the shampoo bar was so light and mild that it left no smell on the dog.

The dog was very clean, there was just no Oder in the hair at all.

I have to admit that I like to smell a dog after the bath, and smell the pleasant sent of the shampoo that I used.

That's just me.

 We used the Chubbs Bar through out the day, and rinsed it off after each dog.

This is what is left of the bar after one days use.  

We did use the bar with other shampoos on some of the dogs.

Yes, we did use almost half of the bar!

I do like the Chubbs Bar shampoo and will buy more.

I can't wait to try some of the other scents.

I can not wait to try it on cats.

You can go to the Chubbs Bar website and watch a demonstration video.

Also, they are offering a FREE trial size bar right now.

Try it for yourself. :)

I do not work for the Chubb's company, nor am I a spokesmen for  them.
I am an everyday groomer giving my opinion on a product that I have tried.

An Open Letter....

.....From A Dog To Their Owner About Their Grooming Needs:

To my owner and caregiver,

      I was so happy the day that you brought me to my new home. You feed me, walk me, clean up after me, and take care of my medical needs. There is just one problem.....my grooming.

       No matter whether my hair is short or long, I like to be clean just like you. I may not be crazy about water, or the brush, but it sure does feel good to be clean, and get rid of my shedding, or matted hair. To get a nice moisturizing shampoo to get rid of my dry skin, and to be flea free.

      Grooming is not torture, although I may act like it is sometimes. It is up to you to make sure that I am groomed regularly whether I like it or not. You don't like going to the Dentist, but you go anyway, right?

      Regular monthly baths (with the right products) and groomings help to keep me and my coat healthy.

      Overgrown nails hurt and can permanently twist my toes over time, sending pain through my feet and legs every time I take a step.

    

       Mats hurt, and are best removed by clipping rather than brushing. So, please do not ask, or expect the groomer to brush and comb out my mats that you let build up in my coat by not brushing me regularly.

      My haircut will only last 4 to 6 weeks before my hair grows back onto my eyes and my hair starts to mat up. Just like your own haircut, I need my grooming on a regular basis. Don't get  upset at my groomer if my hair grows back too fast.

     Please don't laugh, or get mad if my groomer has to shave my coat short, because no one was brushing me at home. Yes, I may get embarrassed if you make fun of my haircut.




         Take the time to find a good, caring groomer, who knows what they are doing. Please do not just call around looking for whoever will groom me for the cheapest, or the soonest. You may have to wait  to get me an appointment with a good groomer, because they are most likely pretty busy.

      My grooming will cost more than your hair cut. My groomer pampers me, brushes and combs my whole body, clips and files my nails, cleans out my ears, gives me a nice warm, massaging bath, blow drys my hair, and gives me a beautiful haircut. Best of all, I get hugs! Isn't all of that work worth the money?

      I may not always enjoy the ride to the groomer. I may even balk at walking into the Grooming Salon, but that is only because I know that I will be away from you for a while. I have to confess that I actually have a little fun trying to make you feel bad for leaving me, but once you are gone, I get a lot of loving and hugs from my groomer, and it really does feel good once I am all groomed and clean.


       I can not comb and brush my own hair. I must rely on you, my owner and caregiver to keep my coat clean and healthy. I know that you are busy, so a professional grooming is just the thing.

      The very best thing about being clean and groomed is all of the attention that I get when I come home from the groomers. Everyone wants to pet my nice soft, clean coat. Everyone makes a fuss over me. No one pushes me away anymore saying; "go away, you stink."

     So, please dear owner, please find a good groomer to take me to on a regular schedule so that I can be happy, clean and healthy all of the time.

                                                                                                                              Unconditional Love,
                                                                                                                               Your Furry Friend

Still Not Right

The location that I am in is my shops third location in 26 years.

I bought my shop as an excising grooming salon.

The business had been run into the ground, lost most of its clientele do to the bad attitude of the previous owner, and the landlord didn't do much to help keep up the building.

I bought the business anyway, because it was a way for me to own my own shop.

I was not able to do many improvements while trying to build the business back up.

I was not crazy about the way the shop was laid out, but it was a nice big space.

Unfortunately, a lot of it was wasted space.

I would love to have some of that space back now. :/

Anyway, I moved out of that large shop, because the slumlord landlord really raised the rent on me.

(The shopping center burned down, do to faulty wiring a few months after I moved out.)

So, I downsized.

I did not have much choice in the way that I laid that shop out either.

There was only 500 square feet to work with, but it was nice and cozy.

I moved to my current location to add a Self-Serve dog wash, and doubled the space.

I also got to start from scratch to do the entire layout the way I wanted it.

I thought that I got it right.

I don't know, I guess you will always find things that you would like to change.

Unfortunately, I don't have enough room to make those extra changes right now.

I really wish that I had one of those changes today.

So, what is the change?

A small, private consultation area.

A consultation area with a small grooming table were I can take a customer to when I need to talk to them in private about their pet.

Take  today for instance.

I had a cat in today.

I have groomed this cat before.

Her owner had been bring her about once a month to have me combed her out.

Then her owner got sick and I did not see the cat for awhile.

The owners daughter called a few weeks ago about the cat, and said that she was pretty matted.

She said that the matting was pretty bad.

Because of the Holidays and being so booked, we suggested that she check with her Vet, and if the cat needed to be clipped right away, maybe they could do it.

The daughter called back to say that the Vet thought that we could handle it.

Ugh, well I knew I could handle it, I just thought that the Vet would clip off the mats sooner if they were really bad.

Fast forward to today.

The cat came in this morning.

The top half of her was not so bad.

She had matting that could be easily brushed out.

But the bottom half......

The matting was from under her chin and behind her ears, down her chest and belly to her tail, and was one tight, rock solid mat.

I spent a while slowly and carefully working my way through those mats.

Especially around those armpits.

I don't think I breathed while clipping those packed armpits.

The mats were so tight to her skin.

I clipped all of the mats off and saved them to show the owners daughter.

Thankfully, I only had to shave the under half of the cat, and only half way up the sides.

So, she looks pretty good laying this way.

When she lays on her side, her naked belly will show. :)

As I mentioned before, I saved the mats that I cut off to show the owners daughter. (she is taking care of the cat while her Mom recovers)

I was also showing her how to brush and comb the cat so that she could get all of the way down to the skin to get all of the matting.

This is when a nice, small consultation room would have come in handy.

As I was showing the daughter the matting, another customer came into pick up her dogs.

Most of the time a customer will stand back and wait their turn, or if my husband knows that I am going to be talking to a customer for a while, he will go over to the other customer and wait on them to get them in and out.

He did not have a chance today.

The second customer came right up to the counter to see what I was talking to the first owner about.

She also started to make comments about the mats on the counter, and asked the daughter a few questions.

She totally busted into our conversation.

I could tell that the daughter was embarrassed.

She was already upset about the condition of the cat, and had already asked me how she could keep the cat from matting up again.

It would have been much better if I could have taken her into a small room, away from the lobby and other customers to talk to her.

This scenario has happened a number of times before over the years.

When another customer walks in and injects themselves into a conversation that I am already having with another customer.

So, I have decided, if and when I have more room, I am going to make that little consultation room so that I can talk to certain customers in private.

Something else to add to my 'I Want That List'. :)

'Twas The Week Before Christmas

'Twas the week before Christmas when all through the grooming shop,
Every dog was barking, and nothing could make them stop.
The clippers were running and we were scissoring with care,
In hopes that we would not drown in all of the hair.

The dogs were all comfy and cozy in their kennels,
While visions of rawhide's danced in their heads.
Some dogs were all finished with Christmas bows and bandannas,
Just waiting for their owners before we all go bananas.

When out in the lobby there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my table to see what was the matter.
Away to the lobby I flew like a flash,
And there on the counter was a Christmas sock monkey named 'Sash'.







There he was in his little Christmas hat,
Right on my counter, that little monkey sat.
When what to my wondering ears should he say,
"I came to help with the grooming this busy day."


This little Christmas sock monkey, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment this must be some trick.
'Sash' said he had come to help us all out,
He whistled and called to the dogs without doubt;

Now 'Hanna'! now 'Peanut'! now, 'Lily'! now 'Zoey'!
Come 'Bentley'! come 'Riley'! come 'Cooper'! and 'Joey'!
To the tub! To the Dryer!
To the the table you go!

As water and shampoo bubbles fly,

'Sash' helped with the washing even though anal glans almost made him cry.

On to the drying he thought he would try,
Only to find the power enough to make him fly.

He got the clipper ready,
only to find that it was too heavy.

I handed 'Sash' a clipper made more for his size,
He helped with the clipping with a twinkle in his eyes.

He helped with the brushing from head to toe,
He knew that all the matting had to go.

He found the nail clipper a little hard to manage,

But luckily flying nails didn't do too much damage.

A mountain of hair he found himself under,
He thought that his world had gone a sunder.

The clipper vac hose was just his right size,
for the mound of hair that was too big for his eyes.

'Sash' was having fun climbing on dogs to help hold the ears,
He stroked all their heads to calm all their fears.

He sang Christmas songs to the dogs that were quaking,
And held on to their legs to help them stop shaking.







He was a happy little monkey,
And I laughed when I saw him kiss a dog named 'Punky'.
A wink of his eye and a smile on his face,
Had me grooming at a nice calm pace.

He spoke not a word, but worked as hard as any groomer,
He helped finish all of the dogs that much sooner.
He loved sorting through Christmas ribbon and flowers,
He had fun doing this for hours and hours.





As the last days of grooming drew near,
He found all of the dogs had nothing to fear.
The groomers were great, professional and caring,
He found he had had fun sharing.
All of the dogs are safe and secure,
With caring groomers that pet owners shouldn't ignore.

 





His favorite part of grooming was giving big hugs,
To all of the dogs, even the Pugs.












One minute he was there, in a flash he was gone,
A great Christmas helper, always whistling a song.

                                                                           Lisa

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all the hard working, caring, gentle groomers for all your hard work through out the year.

The dogs appreciate you more than you know.

So Sweet

I had a new furry customer in today.

I am actually glad that this customer was able to get in so close to Christmas. (due to a cancellation)

Meet one of the sweetest Schnauzers I have ever groomed.

She is 13 years old.

Her owner has been in the Hospital for the last year.

The lady that brought her in today has been fostering her till the owner can come home.

 The dog has always been groomed by the owner.

The foster Mom has done a really great job of keeping the dog brushed out, but felt that it was time for a professional grooming.

The owner does not like any type of Schnauzer look.

She was so good on the tub.

She does have a bum back leg, so I let her sit most of the time.

Because she was 13 years old, and the foster owner was pretty sure that she had never been to a professional groomer before, I was afraid to use the high velocity dryer on her.

So I dried her with the hand dryer.

Thankfully her hair dried very quickly, and she was great for the brushing and drying.

 Her foster mom told me to leave about 2½ inches.

I was also to leave the ears.

I just neatened them.

I was also to shorten the beard a little.

I also tried to blend where the foster mom had scissored her feet and back legs.

What a pure pleasure she was to groom!

She got a Christmas bow so she would look extra pretty when she went to visit her owner in the hospital. :)

I actually like the way her face and ears turned out.

It fits her.