Creative Grooming..Is it Art or Abuse?

Yesterday was one of those grooming days I thought would never end.

My last dog of the day being the giant Goldendoodle that seems to take me 2 1/2 hours to do just the finish work.

And, that is with him being a really good dog on the table!

When I got home I was dead, drained, numb, you name it.

So, all I did for an hour last night was surf the net a little.

Big mistake!

I ended up going to bed aggravated.

I came across a pet blog that shows all kinds of animals.

The blog is mostly pictures of cute  or strange animals.

One of the posts was a bunch of pictures of Creative grooms.

I had seen all of the dogs before, but I still like looking at them and marvel at the talent of these groomers.

Then I started to read the comments.

Second big mistake!

I knew better.

I knew what I was going to read.

A couple of years ago I had put a flower on my Poodle for a Pet Expo that
I was working.

Most of the people walking through the Expo loved it, and my girl loved the attention.

I did see a few shakes of the head and disapproving looks.

A couple of days later I found out that a friend had put a picture of my girl on her Pet Treats Business Face Book page.

The comments were mixed, but some were down right mean.

Very mean.

My friend was shocked and removed the pictures because she wanted her Business page to be a happy one.

Every once in awhile I will come across Creative Grooming pictures on the internet, and they are always follows by mean, uneducated comments.

People are so quick to judge.

I can be that way sometimes also.

Then I try to catch myself and put myself in that persons place, or try to learn about what they did before I judge.

I only compete in one Creative contest a year at Hershey.

I also only do simple designs.

I like simple.

I have been watching the creative competitions since they started.

I will admit that they have changed over the years.

The art work on these dogs is amazing now.

Some of the creative groomers out there competing today have made it their life's work, and the fact that they are the ones that almost always win proves it.

What I would like any of the everyday pet owners, who may come across this blog, to understand is that coloring your dog with safe non-harmful dyes for a one day Grooming competition is not abuse.

These dogs are so loved by their groomer owners.

They are brushed, bathed, fed, walked, cared for, and loved.

They are the same as everyone else's dog.

They run, play, sleep, and eat, just like every other dog...well almost every other dog.

These creative dogs don't live on the street.

They aren't chained to a tree wondering when their owner may come out and give them some food and water.

They aren't closed up in a small cage breeding litter after litter until they die.

They aren't dropped off at the Shelter because they aren't a cute puppy anymore.

Or because their owner didn't know how to house train them.

Or because their owner just didn't want to be bothered with them anymore.

I would rather see every dog dyed green then see some of the abuse that I, as a groomer, deal with almost every week in my shop.

This is a form of abuse.

To let your pet get so matted that the hair comes off in one solid piece.

 That you pay so little attention to your dog, that a mat is allowed to grow and grow until the hair had literally sliced through the skin.

 It is abuse when you look at your dog everyday and see the painful sore under his eye and you don't bother getting him any help from your Vet.

This does not happen over night, know matter how hard you try to convince me that it did.

It is abuse when you see your cat walking around with massive mats so obviously stuck to it's fur.

This took months to get this way.

No, I don't believe you when you tell me it just happened the other day when the cat walked under your car and got oil on himself.

Oh, by the way, I didn't see any oil.

It is abuse when you are not even sure if what you are looking at is a dog.

Is that his face?

Abuse is when an owner lets their pets nails grow till the dog can barely walk.

Abuse is when you have let your dog get so matted that their bum is almost completely closed up, and they can't go to the bathroom properly.

The next picture is of a poor little dog so abused that it is amazing he is still alive.

The picture is from a news article that I saw.

When I first saw this picture, I could not close my mouth.

I was stunned.

THIS IS ABUSE!!!

Kudos to the groomer that saved this little guy.

I may color my dog once a year, but you better believe that she is always clean.

You can run a comb through her coat and never find a mat.

Her nails are short.

Her ears are clean.

She plays everyday.

She is fed everyday.

She is hugged more times than I can count, everyday.

And, she sleeps in my bed, and has more room then me!

Don't ever accuse me of hurting my girl!

Make sure you know what you are criticizing before you judge.

To my fellow groomers who read my blog...Sorry for the rant.

Kudos to you for helping those abused dogs feel good again!

Happy Grooming, MFF