Thoughtful Paws Dog Grooming

On behalf of all groomers, I feel like I need to answer "How long does it take?". The answer is, it depends. It may seem more simple than that, but it's not, and here's why: Working with dogs requires enormous patience and dogs are individuals. At least three times in the last week I've had people surprised that it can take 2 to 2.5 hours to do a full grooming. It can easily take that long, sometimes even longer if there are interruptions, or if a dog has an accident requiring clean up or re-bathing, if a client booked earlier does, putting us behind, or if there are behavior, medical or other issues to be dealt with. We are living beings, working with living beings. Stuff happens. We often ask for cushion time with new dogs or if our day has been particularly busy with interruptions. With new dogs, we don't know your dog. Maybe they will love being brushed, maybe they will see the brush and think it's evil and need to be slowly shown that it isn't. Maybe they will stand rock solid for nail trimming. Maybe they will want to turn nail trimming into a full-scale dog rodeo and need us to slow down and show them that it's okay to have nails trimmed. Maybe your dog will be fine with the bath, or maybe it will think soapy water is scary stuff and need us to slow down and teach them that it's not. Maybe your dog won't mind the dryer, or maybe they will think we are sorcerers who conjured up a scary hurricane and need us to slow down and either get them used to the blow dryer or dry them in a more passive way that takes longer. Maybe your dog will stand still for clipping and scissoring, or maybe your dog will be excited or interested in every noise, every passing car, every other person or dog, and act like a hyperactive child fed caffeine and a candy bar. Maybe your dog will not have any bathroom accidents (and neither will anyone else), or maybe they didn't know they were going to the groomer and didn't do all of their business before they came. Maybe your dog will be

Molly is hanging out for a bit this afternoon. She does a lap, then goes to one of us for scritches, does another lap, comes back for more scritches. 😊

Hehe. I sometimes say that this job isn't just playing with puppies all day, but part of the day really is playing with puppies 😀

Sometimes, Buddy needs a break just to run around and get out some energy partway through the scissoring. This was one of those times 🤣

Top brushing vs. Thorough brushing.

Also, Holly will not be ignored 🤣

I love this little old doggie. She is 14 and still happy and wagging :)

Walter takes this to the next level LOL! While his human is there, he cries. She feels bad and sometimes gives him cookies (inadvertently rewarding the noise). As soon as she goes, Walter comes trotting in, tail wagging. If the table is dropped to its low position he heads straight there and jumps on it, ready. Today it wasn't, so he trotted, tail wagging, over to Scott and sat down up against Scott's leg 😂 drama is sometimes real anxiety, and sometimes, it's just a means to an end (in this case cookies). 😊

While sometimes dogs will look like they would rather be doing something else with their day on the way in, the vast majority are like Abby. Once they are in and their human is gone, they are absolutely fine and love the attention they are getting. It really is like dropping a toddler off at daycare :)

From "Go Away!" to "Yay!" We were besties pretty quickly :) 🐾

This is not anyone's favorite January haircut. However, this is the only choice when a dog is this matted. Matting like this is uncomfortable for the dog and terrifying for the groomer. The video does not adequately show the care and effort taken in each stroke of the clipper as I try to chip away at solid mats. It looks like I'm working quickly, but there is a lot of care being taken in those short little strokes not to pull the skin. It also doesn't adequately show my stress level. Clippers can't glide through mats. You have to find a way under them and it's not always easy. There is always, always a risk that skin could get pulled into the clipper on a dog that is this matted. Fortunately it did not in this case. Luckily this dog was very complacent. Often dogs this matted aren't used to grooming and don't hold this still / cooperate this well, adding extra challenge. Matting this severe is hard on the dog. It tugs at their skin and is uncomfortable for them. Grooming matted dogs is stressful, and hard on blades and clippers. This is why we recommend that dogs get groomed regularly.