Since I call myself The Writing Groomer, I decided I should do some writing about grooming. There will probably be lots of posts like this one, but if you aren't intrigued, you don't have to read.
First, I'm always amused this time of year when customers come in saying, "Fido is SO HOT! Take him short all over." Of course Fido is hot. It's 100 degrees outside. Colorado is experiencing one of the hottest summers on record, but even in a normal year, customers always come in saying, "How short can you go without shaving him?" or else "Just shave him, he's so hot." Ok, no problem. Ironically, many of these dogs are matted and need to be shaved anyway. Of course your dog is hot, he's wearing a matted fur coat. But even after I shave your dog, he is still going to be hot. After all...
IT'S 100 DEGREES OUT.
But hey, I can't complain. Some of these people bring in their dogs very frequently for the sake of trying to keep their dog cool. I just wonder why they have to announce how hot their dog is every time they come in from May to September.
Matted dogs. A part of every groomer's life. Luckily, where I work now, they are less common than they were at previous jobs. Also, we don't brush matted dogs, we only shave them, which is nice. Somehow I still wound up spending over an hour brushing out a doodle today. I neither remember nor care whether it was a goldendoodle or a labradoodle, they are practically the same damn thing. She was scheduled for just a brushout and bows, which I figured would take about half an hour. Sure, she was a little curly, but I didn't think anything of it. Half an hour in, I realized I probably should have told the customer the dog should be shaved. She was so borderline; I think her curls were part of the problem. If I had bathed her, sprayed her with The Stuff (yes, that is what it's called), and blown her out with the velocity dryer, I probably would have been better off, but this was just a brushout. Having already brushed nearly half the dog, I committed myself to finishing the brushing and having a very serious talk with the owner afterwards.
More than an hour after I started, I finally got the last tangle out and went to talk to mom. She asked how frequently she should brush her dog, and I said probably at least every other day, and her jaw hit the floor. Of course, she likes her dog's hair long, but she doesn't want to spend that much time brushing it. Then I asked if she had a comb, and she said, "Yeah, it's that kind that spins." ??? ... Uh, let me show you a greyhound comb. You need to make sure the skinny side gets all the way through her coat, especially before you wash her. "Oh, the skinny side? The comb I have is like the wider side." Yeah, that doesn't surprise me. So I told her to bring her in at least a week sooner than she had this time, and to try to brush every other day and use the skinny side of the greyhound comb. We'll see what sort of shape she's in next time. All I know is, I am NOT doing that much brushing again. If she comes in that matted again, she is getting shaved. Period. It's even in the store policy on the paperwork she signed. So we'll see what happens...some people get the message and their dog rarely ever has mats again. Some people never get it and instead choose to get upset when we have to shave their dog every time it comes in.
Ok, I'm about ready for bed. As always, thanks for reading. I hope you gained something, whether it be knowledge, a smile, or a better understanding of me.
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