Conversation with a new groomer?

[tofu pup]

I really love this blog for insight into the day-to-day life of a professional groomer who owns her own business. Lisa, who writes the blog, seems like a jewel of a lady.

She has strong (anti) opinions about clippering double-coated dogs; here is one post about it.

Honestly, I don't know that I would trust any groomer with a Sheltie - but then I have a very specific, very particular vision of how a Sheltie should look. I've had my Cocker bathed professionally (no trimming, no clipping, don't take anything off, just bathe her and dry her) just before coming home from being boarded, but I'm starting to rethink even that. There are some really wonderful groomers out there, but for me, personally, it's not too difficult to do it all myself, so I do.

 

[tesslynn]

I really love this blog for insight into the day-to-day life of a professional groomer who owns her own business. Lisa, who writes the blog, seems like a jewel of a lady.

She has strong (anti) opinions about clippering double-coated dogs; here is one post about it.

Honestly, I don't know that I would trust any groomer with a Sheltie - but then I have a very specific, very particular vision of how a Sheltie should look. I've had my Cocker bathed professionally (no trimming, no clipping, don't take anything off, just bathe her and dry her) just before coming home from being boarded, but I'm starting to rethink even that. There are some really wonderful groomers out there, but for me, personally, it's not too difficult to do it all myself, so I do.

what I got from this post is people are ignorant, mostly sheep who follow what they have seen, aren't really interested in what is best for their dogs, just what is easiest, cheapest, etc. I loved the in the comment section that they referred to their employer as petstupid-just made me laugh. I have never used a groomer, and I do sheer the hind ends of my shelties come summer like I am sheering a sheep because even with constant brushing it mats, it attracts burrs, stickers, etc that get imbedded, it is too thick and they get too hot. Once sheered they seem happy to have the breeze, ha...

 

[JacqueZ]

My instructions are easy. Do poop chute, trim feet, bath and brush. I prefer no trimming.

This is exactly what I do. Bathe her, express her, trim a poop chute, and clip the nails. I stress that I don't want the whiskers shaved, the ears trimmed and I usually tell them that they don't need to bother blow drying her either, because she hates air blowing on her.

More than anything I think the last kind of stresses, all I'm looking for is a clean puppy.. I went to our local petsmart last time, and although I was terrified the whole time (what if she falls, what if they're ignoring my instructions and using a cage dryer) I was very reassured when both groomers went into raptures over being given a sheltie to work on. The groomer who had just gotten off the clock when we dropped her off stayed the entire time she was so excited. As we left she was hugging Honey while the other groomer worked on her chute.



Not Honey's favorite experience, but at least I had much less worry that she'd manage to fall off the table and strangle herself!


My sister went to her local petsmart with this winter, and was livid when she came back and had to pick up a shaved pom.

disregarded instructions
lied about him being to matted to comb
but her biggest gripe in the whole thing was that they did this in the middle of winter to a 13 year old dog, right before we got to the coldest part. The dogs near the end, it has a hard enough time getting outside to do it's business as it is.

 

[JLSOhio51]

I really love this blog for insight into the day-to-day life of a professional groomer who owns her own business. Lisa, who writes the blog, seems like a jewel of a lady.

I have started reading through the cited blog, and I agree, she does indeed seem to be "a jewel of a lady". I would bet that she is PROBABLY the type of individual that would be wonderful to work with. I DID find, however, an INTERESTING comment in the second blog posting that was provided:

She has strong (anti) opinions about clippering double-coated dogs; here is one post about it.

In THIS post she said the following:This is not the first time that I have heard of groomers grooming their customers dogs the way that they think the dog should look, not the way the customer wants. (emphasis, mine).

She goes on to bemoan those groomers who provide what THEY (the groomers) think is appropriate service to owners and NOT what the owner asks for. I wholeheartedly and totally agree with the blogger here. But then she makes a comment that I'm not sure that I am reading (or interpreting) correctly. She continues: Sure, I have dogs come in a lot that I would like to groom one way, but the owner wants something else. I do what the owner wants. (within reason). (emphasis, AGAIN mine).

If the "within reason" comment is offered to say that she would decline to perform a service on a pet that she deemed "inappropriate" if she was unable to persuade the owner to change the request, I TOTALLY agree with that and would applaud her for her convictions. IF she is saying (and this is how I interpreted the comment) that her 28+ years of grooming expertise gives HER the right to supersede the wishes of the customer (but not those OTHER, less talented groomers), then I am not sure that I can draw a distinction between her and the groomers she chastises. Perhaps I am misreading her comments.

 

[JacqueZ]

If the "within reason" comment is offered to say that she would decline to perform a service on a pet that she deemed "inappropriate" if she was unable to persuade the owner to change the request, I TOTALLY agree with that and would applaud her for her convictions. IF she is saying (and this is how I interpreted the comment) that her 28+ years of grooming expertise gives HER the right to supersede the wishes of the customer (but not those OTHER, less talented groomers), then I am not sure that I can draw a distinction between her and the groomers she chastises. Perhaps I am misreading her comments.

That comment could go either way, in responding to the comments of that post it gets clarified a little. My impression from her responses showed that she'll try her hardest to educate owners on what is the recommended haircut for the dog, if they're still insistent she bows to what they want.

She also talked about not getting that many owners in who wanted a shave, where a lot of the big store groomers said that it's fairly normal for their clients to insist on it. I thought that was interesting, and I wonder if it's because the one's who search out the private groomers tend to be a little more educated on what the breed standard is for their breeds?

 

[JLSOhio51]

...She also talked about not getting that many owners in who wanted a shave, where a lot of the big store groomers said that it's fairly normal for their clients to insist on it. I thought that was interesting, and I wonder if it's because the one's who search out the private groomers tend to be a little more educated on what the breed standard is for their breeds?

Thanks for the follow up. I wonder if there might be an additional reason why the big box groomers may be seeing more folks looking for a "shave" than the smaller, "boutique" groomers (MY term - not sure if that's how THEY would classify themselves). My GUESS is that those folks who are a bit more fastidious about cuts that resemble breed standard are MORE likely to frequent smaller, more breed knowledgeable groomers than conventional wisdom suggests populate the "big box" establishments. Those who are simply intent on getting their companions clean and trimmed MAY be more likely to avail themselves of the "PetCo" type establishments. They are more likely to ask for a "shave and a haircut" while the boutiques see the "perm and style" clientele. (Just to be clear, I am not seeking to denigrate PetCo or similar establishments).