You might wonder if it's really important to see the same groomer every time your dog gets groomed or if it's ok to bounce around from groomer to groomer or place to place.
In general, it is better to stick with one groomer. If your dog does well for grooming and you aren't picky about the haircut, bouncing around is fine.
Every groomer has a slightly different style, so if you get a groom you really like, you are better off sticking with that groomer, as it is unlikely another groomer will do it the same.
And then... There are dogs like R. I won't us many real names here on my blog to protect privacy.
I first did R two months ago. The customer was trying a new groom shop after the previous 4 groomers had to muzzle R for part or all of the grooming. She wanted to try a new person and a new place to see if things went better.
She told me that once he had to be muzzled for his feet, once for his butt, once for both, and once for everything (not necessarily in that order). Then she mentioned that he lets her brush his butt without a problem.
All of this tells me he is probably reacting to the groomers, and if I handle him right, I won't need to muzzle him at all. R is a Great Pyrenees, and 120 pounds of difficult can get frustrating fast. I'm guessing previous groomers got frustrated with him, then he fed on their frustration and started snapping.
I put on my music with hearing protectors over my ear buds to stay relaxed and block out noise and distraction.
I sprayed him with water...
... And he tried to jump out of the tub. Luckily I had him tethered into the tub so he couldn't escape, but he sure tried.
I lost myself in my music, fighting him hard to get him clean, but staying as calm as possible.
For the dryer, I got his back and butt dry, but when I got near his head, he started bite-barking. That's what I call it when a dog barks right next to the dryer or your hand. He isn't intending to bite to harm, but if your fingers get in the way of his teeth while he barks, so be it. This is very frustrating and a little scary, but I focused on my music and stayed calm.
On the table, after the bath, he was lazy but okay. He never once tried to actually bite me, not even for his butt or feet. All because I stayed calm and didn't let him upset me.
Obviously his mom was thrilled that I didn't have to muzzle him, and today I did him for the second time.
I was not looking forward to doing him because I remembered how much of a fight he put up for the bath last time.
But you know what?
He did even better today than last time. He remembered that I was able to stay calm last time, so today he did a better job staying calm. He was less stressed, and I was able to do a better job.
And that is why searching around can be a good thing, then once you find the perfect groomer, you should stick with them. It really is in your dog's best interest to get used to seeing the same person every time they get groomed.
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