Husband vs. Wife

Do you ever get those customers where the wife and the husband do not agree on how they want their dog groomed.

One will drop off the dog and tell you how to groom it, and then the other will come to pick up and get upset because the dog was not groomed the way they want it.

I learned a long time ago not play this game with people.

For years I used to groom a Maltese in full coat.

This dogs coat was to the floor.

He never had a single mat in him.

At first the wife used to drop the dog off all of the time, then one day her husband brought the dog in.

"Shave him!" the husband said as I took the dog from him.

"Shave him!?" I asked dumbfounded. "You want me to cut his hair short?"

"I can't stand all that damn hair," the husband said as he turned and walked out of the door.

Not one minute later the phone started to ring.

"My Furry Friends, can I help you?" I answered, with the dog still in my arms.

"Hi, this is Mrs. M. Did my husband drop the dog off yet?" the Maltese's Mom asked.

" Yes, he just left," I informed her.

"Did he tell you to shave my dog!?" she asked.

"Yes, you don't really want him shaved do you?" I asked laughing.

I knew where this was going.

"Blasted man!" the owner said exasperated.

She continued, "Don't you ever listen to him. Don't ever shave my dog, understand?"

"Yes, I didn't think you wanted him shaved," I told her.

"That's my girl, I knew I could depend on you." she laughed.

"What should I say when he comes to pick up?" I asked her.

"Oh, he won't say anything. He knows I would kill him if he had my dog shaved." she wasn't laughing this time.

This little game went on for years between those two.

I have had this happen quite often over the years.

Most of the times I am able to catch what is going on, and will double check with the wife about what the dog is really supposed to get done.

At this time I have a cocker that comes in and gets a simple clipdown even all over, except...

When the daughter drops off, she wants the curl on the tail clipped off.

When the Mom drops off, she wants the curl left on the tail.

I told them that I have no problem with this as long as I am not in the middle of it.  :)

They think it is funny.

Today I groomed a Pomeranian that I last groomed last May and June.

They canceled the July appointment.

That was the last time they were in till today.

The first time that they brought the dog in they talked about the dog being aggressive with strangers, and they were thinking of cutting her down short.

As usual, with any double coated breed, I give the owner the talk about the possibility of damaging the coat if taken very short.

The wife changed her mind and only wanted an outline neatening.

She came in again the next month wanting the same thing.

She was very happy with the groom and with the fact that the dog was not the least bit aggressive when we groomed her.

The wife called a couple of weeks ago to make another appointment.

She explained that she had not been back sooner because her husband had been so upset after the last grooming.

Why?

Because he wanted the dog short and was upset that his wife had payed us for a bath and the dog did not come home looking the way he wanted it.

So the wife picked up a pair of scissors and gave the dog the good old 'Lion Cut'.

When she came in today, she talked again about taking the dog short and the fact that her husband thought he was wasting his money if we didn't cut the dog.

I told her that I had no problem taking her dog as short as she wanted as long as she understood that the coat may not grow back right.

"What do you mean?"

Once again I explained about double coated dogs.

"Okay, but my husband wants her short," she said.

Then she said, pointing to the dogs back, "Why does her hair look like that?"

 It is hard to see in this picture, but there are at least two large areas on this dog where the hair is not growing back at all.

I once again explained to the owner that the hair is not meant  to be cut and regrow, be cut and regrow.

Why do I have the feeling that if I had cut this dog short and the hair had not grown back right, they would have blamed me, and would have forgotten everything I warned them about.

The owner had cut the dog last July, and the only part of the coat that was growing back was the soft undercoat.

This is her after the bath and blow dry.

The owner once again decided to have me just neaten up the dog so that she could grow back evenly.

The owner did want me to hold the tail up and cut off the end of it.

The owner wanted the tail to look like a starburst when the dog held her tail up.

At some point during the grooming my husband informed me that the husband was going to be picking up the Pomeranian.

 Oh great, even the wife said her husband could be a pain, and here I was doing a bath and neaten all over on this dog again.

I have come to the conclusion that some husbands and wives like making me the scape goat .

Or they like me to be the one to explain why the dog got the cut it did.

I guess I was too busy thinking about the woman's husband, that I forgot to take the after picture.

There was no problem with the husband.

I repeated everything his wife and I had talked about, and he just stood there shaking his head and saying okay.

We'll see if they come back again.  :/

Maybe I will open a 'Couples Counseling Meeting' in the evenings.

It could help make up for some of the lost money from late cancellations and no shows.  :)

Happy Grooming, MFF