The very first dog at the new groom shop was one of my regulars, an Alaskan Malamute that followed me from the other location. I love her so much; she hops willingly into the tub and onto the table and is perfect for the whole groom. She also usually stands up and gives me a hug, but this time she was a little nervous because she was in a different place.
Anyway, it was nice to start things off with such a great dog.
Next I had two more regulars, a couple of small dogs. This meant I got to use my favorite feature of the new tub (favorite so far, I haven't needed the ramp yet) - the grate is in two halves, and there is a ledge around the tub so that you can lift half of the grate up for smaller dogs and save yourself a lot of leaning and hunching.
I don't know how well this picture helps explain the tub. Maybe I'll take a picture with a dog on the higher grate to demonstrate the awesomeness of the tub.
Then I got to do my first new dog in the new groom shop. He's a cute little Havanese puppy, not quite 4 months old. He had been going to puppy play group (more on that later) and was due for his first groom. He was pretty good for a puppy. And man was he cute!
Four dogs was pretty good for a first day, especially since they only had 3 days to book me from scratch.
That night, I made the mistake of posting a political meme on Facebook, and spent the entire evening trying to defend myself against crazy girls who were so determined to "win" that they went so far as to use my (nonexistent) sex life against me. Exactly what does that have to do with politics? Anyway, I only mention this because I had wanted to do a blog post that night, but got tied up.
The next day, Thursday, all I had scheduled were two new Golden Retrievers. She had them shaved at previous groom shops, but we refuse to shave double-coated dogs because it messes up their coat, so I just did a really good brushing and trimmed the few feathers that had grown in since their last shave. One of them had a thyroid problem, and if you've never had (or groomed) a dog with a thyroid problem - they're GROSS! Not only do they have a lot of regular white dander, they also have this really gross black, sticky dander that you can never completely get rid of. And when you blow dry the dog? Yep, black sticky pieces of skin fly through the air and get plastered on everything - including you. Gag.
Since I was done grooming by lunch, I decided to go home and grab Hailey and Dillin and bring them in. They were overdue for baths and haircuts, so it was the perfect time to get them done - one last short cut before fall.
Here's Dillin before:
You can't really tell how long his beard had gotten in these pics, but it was getting to be a little excessive. In any case, he was dirty, shaggy, and the hair poking towards his eyes was making me nuts!
Here's a before picture of cran - er, Hailey. I started typing cranky, haha. She HATES baths. She's fine for the haircut, but water and the blow dryer are her mortal enemies.
Now for the after pictures. Dillin didn't want to look at the camera, which is unusual; he's usually a ham for the camera. I took about an inch off of his beard.
I liked the long beard, but I like this look, too. We'll see what I decide to do in the future!
Here's Hailey's after picture. I didn't take a ton of length off her body, but I did trim up her ears a fair amount.
I noticed that the expression on her face hasn't changed much. I think she was just ready to go home at this point.
I took the dogs back home, sat down for 15 minutes, and got a text from my mom inviting me to dinner. So I took a shower and we went out so I could tell her all about the new shop. By the time I got back home, it was late, and I was tired, so no blog post.
Yesterday, I did four dogs at work. The first three were regulars of mine - and all three are naughty to some degree. The fourth dog was a new client, but it was a Scottie, so I wasn't optimistic. Scotties might make amazing family pets, I don't know, but I have groomed far more naughty Scotties than good ones. Percentage-wise, they're probably one of the worst breeds I've had the pleasure of grooming.
Anyway.
My first dog of the day was a Westie. The ONLY way I can get her nails cut is to have somebody hold her TIGHT, BEFORE the bath! This really requires another groomer - even if one of the women who works up front had been there yet, I would not have trusted them to hold her tight enough. And we don't have muzzles in the new shop yet, so I didn't even attempt her nails. Mom knows how much she hates having her nails cut, so she knows I may or may not be able to cut any or all of them any given day.
Why do the nails need to be cut before the bath? I'm glad you asked. It's because having her nails cut stresses her out SO much that she pees and poops and expresses her anal glands. Yeah, that's not good if she's already clean. Well, it's not good EVER, but it is certainly better if the person holding her wears an apron and then throws the dog and the apron in the tub after I have cut her toenails.
I think I left out that I have been the only groomer all week, which is fine - I have certainly enjoyed the quiet - but sometimes you just need that extra pair of hands.
Anyway, I managed to finish the rest of her grooming without getting bitten, so that was a pretty good start to the day.
Next I had a pair of rescue dogs. One bit the last groomer they tried before me. He's never tried to bite me, but I know he is capable. Mostly, he is DEAD SET on me cutting his tongue off. Instead of biting me, he licks when I do something he doesn't like, namely shaving and trimming his front legs. I somehow avoided catching his tongue in my clippers or shears and finished him without incident.
By the way, sometimes people ask why having their dog groomed is more expensive than having their own hair cut. There are MANY reasons why, but licking and wiggling are a couple of valid ones. Your hairdresser probably doesn't have to worry about cutting your tongue off.
Incidentally, your hairdresser also doesn't have to clean up pee, poop, and anal gland juice on a daily basis.
But I digress.
The licker's sister bites me EVERY time I groom her. Usually it's when I am picking her up. So yesterday, I actually managed to pick her up without being bitten! That was very exciting. Not only that, I managed to do her entire haircut without being bitten. I had to have one of the girls who works up front hold her head while I trimmed her nails, but other than that, she only tried to bite me once and I was quick enough to dodge it. I think we've finally reached the sweet spot where she trusts me enough to bite me less, and I have learned what makes her bite and how to work around it.
So, three dogs down, one to go.
The Scottie.
He was a year old, and cute, except that a) he hadn't been brushed for a while and b) the last groomer SERIOUSLY messed up his face. They clearly did not know what they were doing.
He was actually pretty good for a Scottie. Except, typical Scottie, he HATED to be brushed. So that sucked. I should have taken a picture of him before the bath, when he was still packed with undercoat. Here he is after the bath but before brushing and haircut.
Hm, looking at that picture, maybe I did grab it before the bath. In any case, here it is.
Scotties are supposed to have two eyebrows. This looks closer to a Westie head than a Scottie head. Except they shaved the back of the head. It looks like they shaved to a point right in front of his ears and then just stopped. It was very bizarre.
By the way, all of this undercoat came out of him with the blow dryer.
It's hard to get a sense of scale in this picture, but it was quite a lot of hair from a small dog that people might not expect would shed so much.
So he was a little nasty for the brushing, but we got through it. And I was able to fix his head. Here's the final result. He wouldn't hold still, and I had already taken too long on his haircut, so these pictures aren't perfect, I apologize.
Of course, I'm sure you've already realized photography is not my strong suit!
On top of the pictures being blurry from him moving, black dogs just don't turn out well in pictures - especially now that they have to sit on a black table, too.
So, that was yesterday at work. Last night? More political arguments and personal attacks on Facebook.
Which I have now put an end to.
Anyway.
Finally up to today.
My first dog of the day wound up being rescheduled, which was a bummer. The good thing was, I got to watch puppy play time. It has always happened at this location every Saturday morning, but I worked at the other location until now, so I had never seen it.
It was very very cute to watch all the puppies running around. There were seven or eight of them, ranging in age from 3 months to almost a year, and none of them weighed more than 10 pounds.
The best part about puppy play time? Recruiting new customers! I had just groomed the Havanese on Wednesday. Another puppy there, a Yorkie/Bichon mix, is already one of my regulars. I booked two appointments for myself and talked to another person who will probably book with me soon. One or two of the others see a groomer at the other location. And the one person I didn't have much chance to talk to just got her baby Yorkie on Tuesday.
Yeah, I'm opportunistic. But my job is to get grooming business and build up that side of it. I get paid on commission, so you'd better believe I used that chance to get new clients.
Toward the end of puppy play time, my first two dogs came in. They are also two of my regulars, a pair of Havanese. I have to say, I feel so special that so many of my clients followed me! It's only about 10 minutes away, but for people to go out of their way for me, it still makes me feel special.
Anyway, the two Havanese girls were good as they always are. I forgot to take pictures.
I wound up with a long lunch because I finished them in less time than they were scheduled, so that was nice.
After lunch, I had another regular, a Bichon/Poodle mix. He has hip dysplasia, so he has a hard time standing for very long (or he's just lazy with an excuse, I'm not sure which), but otherwise he is a very good boy.
He's such a cutie!
OK, last dog of the day - I'm almost done rambling, I promise!
It was a Maltese, another of my regulars. She brings him every five weeks or so, but he always has some mats, and she likes to keep him fluffy. He usually has just enough matting that I can cut the mats out with my thinning shears and the holes are covered by his longish coat. She agreed to let me go one length shorter on his body, from 7/8" to 3/4". Will he be too short? I still want him to be fluffy! I'm only going 1/8" shorter, he is not suddenly going to go home bald.
Yeesh.
Anyway, at least he is really well-behaved. I would have loved to take pictures of him, but his mom showed up just before I was done grooming, so I didn't have a chance.
Whew. That was a long blog post. If you have read this far, thank you very much for sticking with me!
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