Raggy Rascals

17/12/2024

Just a polite reminder that I am closed from Saturday 21st at 1pm and not open again until the 2nd of Jan.
Any messages or emails will be answered on my return from a well earned break.
I also intend to have complete rest from Social media.
Thanks for your support, have a lovely Christmas.

17/12/2024

The reality of consent based grooming

There’s a real lack of consent based groomers, and the ones who do take the leap often end up giving up soon after.

But why is this? What stops more groomers working this way?

Firstly, there’s the cost involved. Regardless of the methods you use, being a groomer is expensive. Training, equipment, rent, products, treats - the list goes on and on.

Pricing. This is a big one. Consent based groomers, especially those who choose to take on behavioural cases can only groom so many dogs in a day. It’s not just the time the dog is in the salon but the work behind the scenes too. Writing reports, researching ways to help each individual dog, networking with other professionals. It has to be financially viable and so they’re often more expensive than a traditional salon in order to make ends meet.

Hand in hand with pricing is timings. We have no idea how long it will take a dog to be comfortable being groomed, we can give a rough estimate based on previous experience but each dog is individual and it wouldn’t be fair to put a set time line in place. Because of this, it can be hard to plan financially and logistically. You may end up with hectic periods followed by very quiet ones.

Expectations. The grooming industry has been around for hundreds of years and the expectation has always been that you took your dog to a groomer who would bath, dry and style their coat ready for you to collect. What consent based groomers are trying to do is put more of a focus on the dogs emotional welfare as well as physical. For that reason, they can’t always guarantee a “finished” groom. Whilst some guardians are completely on board with this, many are still stuck in the mindset that the dog should just accept what’s happening and the groomer simply needs to get on with it. It’s often this reason that guardians don’t want to pay the more expensive prices as they don’t quite understand what the end goal is.

Awareness - on the other hand, for majority of guardians they simply have no idea that this is an option for their dog. Due to the lack of consent based groomers, most guardians whose dogs are struggling being groomed will reach out to a behaviourist, which although is definitely the right approach, a lot of behaviourists don’t know what happens in a grooming salon so it can be hard for them to support - especially if the groomer is unwilling to follow the training plan that’s been put in place!

It takes its toll on your body even more so than traditional grooming, and so unless you’re willing to offer training and education it’s unlikely to be a long term career. You can of course prolong the duration by taking regular breaks, investing in a good physio and doing core strength exercises such as yoga or Pilates.

The heartbreaking thing is, some of the most incredible and passionate consent based groomers have hung up their scissors for one if not all of the above reasons.

It’s not an easy profession, it’s often met with negative comments that we simply don’t know how to manage dogs or that we’re just inexperienced. You have to be mentally strong as well as physically.

And yet, there are some of us still desperately fighting to be heard. Why? Because the reward of earning a dog’s trust and knowing you are putting their needs above all else is second to none.

I am proud to be a consent based groomer, and although yes it is extremely challenging and there’s been many a time I’ve considered walking away, I’m here to stay, for as long as I’m needed.

If you are interested in becoming a consent based groomer, even in just a small way to begin with then please don’t hesitate to get in touch and I will do my very best to support you ❤️🐾

17/12/2024

Pleased to announce our raffle winners from Saturday are
120 - katie
5 - Mark
55 - Kelly

I will be in touch today to arrange how to collect your prize.

Thanks you to everyone who bought a ticket for little smudge.

15/12/2024

Last chance to buy some raffle tickets before I draw this on Monday 16th.
£1 a strip and 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes are amazing.
Thank you to all of you who donated prizes.
Comment if you wouldnlike to be in with a chance to win.

15/12/2024

14/12/2024

Eeek!!

Join us tomorrow 10am- 2pm
For the
Doggy Christmas Extravaganza Fair

FREE ENTRY
Here at Marsden Road Community Centre

13/12/2024

Just a few reasons to keep ontop of those nail clips.

What's the big deal ❓What have they got to do with my dogs reactivity ❓
Pain 💥
If you can hear "click clack" on a hard surface, your dogs nails cannot go into the surface, so that pressure and force can go back up right into their feet.
The toes can splay because they cannot do anything else BUT become misaligned if their nails/claws are too long.
That affects the foot, that affects the joints and that can affect a dogs behaviour.
Pain affects behaviour and yes....pain can cause reactivity.
Is it just a coincidence that when your dog leaves the soft carpet or lawn of your house and goes outside on the footpath their behaviour changes?
For some dogs, taking this simple step can make a huge difference to their reactive outbursts.
Cutting or grinding the nails can make a big difference.
If you can hear "click clack"...it really is time for the "clip clip".
This dog training graphic is available abcdogsnz.com

12/12/2024

This event is a must and it is also free entry. There is something for dogs and humans as well as a fantastic coffee van selling sweet treats outside.

10/12/2024

"MY DOG KNOWS WHEN HE HAS DONE WRONG." Dogs may show appeasing behaviors such as turning their head and showing whites of eyes, licking lips or laying down and ears back, when they've done something that upsets their owners, but this is not the same as guilt or knowing they have done wrong. They only know their owners are upset and are responding to their owner's body language and tone of voice.

[image: dog showing appeassing behaviours next to a puddle of p*e and a human pointing at the p*e]

10/12/2024

What a lovely day! Just look at these adorable doggies. 2 oldies, one pup and the last little Georgie.

09/12/2024

This!!

If you have a dog that struggles the humans focus is often and understandably getting the undesirable behaviour to stop.

We are also programmed to want results as quickly and easily as possible, especially if something is making our lives harder, we just want it to just stop.

When people decide to reach out for help, are they likely to go with someone who promises results or someone who explains it's usually not that simple.

Reputable professionals know the focus needs to expand from the end goal.

Reputable professionals know its all the things leading upto and surrounding the reaction that's probably more important than the reaction.

A dog that struggles at the vet, is likely to always struggle at the vets no matter how much " Training" you put in if you are not addressing the other possible contributing factors.

Just like us, if we are struggling with an anxiety, simply trying to stop anxiety isn't likely to be successful.

Especially if we are not getting good sleep, eating right, being supported correctly by the people around us, are dealing with a health issue etc, it's very rarely just about the reaction.

There is often an expectation when people reach out that " were paying good money to fix it"

I'm always abundantly clear that the journey ahead is likely to be very different from what they thought

It's not a magic wand, a quick route into stopping the behaviour, it's unlikely to tick the box in our brains that gets us to the quickest and easiet result.

In order to help we need to understand, quick fixes, time frames, promises can all be red flags.

I know the client has goals and wants results, but as a reputable professional my aim isn't to make promises to get paid or get the business, my goal is to discuss those goals amd results and try and help both dog and human understand each other better.

The goal, the focus should be ' how can I help my dog" NOT " how can I get my dog to stop"

09/12/2024

This!

If you have a dog that struggles the humans focus is often and understandably getting the undesirable behaviour to stop.

We are also programmed to want results as quickly and easily as possible, especially if something is making our lives harder, we just want it to just stop.

When people decide to reach out for help, are they likely to go with someone who promises results or someone who explains it's usually not that simple.

Reputable professionals know the focus needs to expand from the end goal.

Reputable professionals know its all the things leading upto and surrounding the reaction that's probably more important than the reaction.

A dog that struggles at the vet, is likely to always struggle at the vets no matter how much " Training" you put in if you are not addressing the other possible contributing factors.

Just like us, if we are struggling with an anxiety, simply trying to stop anxiety isn't likely to be successful.

Especially if we are not getting good sleep, eating right, being supported correctly by the people around us, are dealing with a health issue etc, it's very rarely just about the reaction.

There is often an expectation when people reach out that " were paying good money to fix it"

I'm always abundantly clear that the journey ahead is likely to be very different from what they thought

It's not a magic wand, a quick route into stopping the behaviour, it's unlikely to tick the box in our brains that gets us to the quickest and easiet result.

In order to help we need to understand, quick fixes, time frames, promises can all be red flags.

I know the client has goals and wants results, but as a reputable professional my aim isn't to make promises to get paid or get the business, my goal is to discuss those goals amd results and try and help both dog and human understand each other better.

The goal, the focus should be ' how can I help my dog" NOT " how can I get my dog to stop"

08/12/2024

All set up at Take Away The Tears Charity Christmas Dog show. Come down and escape the weather, it's indoors, plenty of parking and so much fun!

07/12/2024

Well what a way to start the day!
Puppy Introduction to grooming courses.

06/12/2024

I had the pleasure of meeting Milo and his carer today. I went to visit Milo at his home because he isn't allowed out for walkies yet. Milos carer is all about positive re enforcement and training, so when she heard about consent based grooming and my Puppy Introduction course she gave me a call to arrange and meet and treat. Milo doesn't start his course until the new year but his carer wanted to give him the very best start. We talked about how to line brush and what brushes to use, enrichment activities and the best drying method. I shares some training methods with them so she and Milo can practice over the festive period prior to his course.
Isn't he cute!!

04/12/2024

Yet another amazing post from our founder at The Holistic Grooming Academy. So heartfelt and so true!

03/12/2024

Never underestimate the power of sleep!