11/29/2020
10 things your groomer wished you knew.
(These are not in order of importance, they are all important)
1. We love your pets ... like love them as if they were our own. When you move away or they pass away, please consider letting your groomer know. We do notice when you don’t come back and we often think about your dog and wonder what happened. When your pet passes away we cry for them too. We miss them and we mourn them as well.
2. At Home coat maintenance is necessary. We would love to give you that 1 inch teddy bear cut you want but we cannot do that if you don’t brush and comb your dog at home between grooms. De matting and excessive brushing will hurt your dog and we will not hurt your dog to give you the haircut you want. Humanity over vanity. If you maintain your pets coat at home we will gladly do whatever haircut your heart desires. Dogs must be combed as well as brushed. Brushing usually only gets the top of the coat and the base of the hair at the skin can still be matted.
3. Accidents happen. Nicks, cuts, razor burn and quicked nails are all unfortunately part of the job. We use sharp tools on moving animals that don’t often just sit still and let us do what we need to do. We have been trained to complete the grooming process as safely as possible. However, accidents do happen. You can rest assured that we feel awful and probably cried for hurting your pet. Most of us are in this industry because we love animals and accidentally hurting one can be soul crushing.
4. Times cannot always be guaranteed. Most groomers will give you a time frame for how long your pet will be. These are approximate times and we do our best to stick to them but sometimes things happen that are out of our control and can cause us to get behind. Maybe the dog booked before yours takes longer due to poor condition or behaviour that we weren’t aware of upon booking. If you have somewhere to be or plans you need to get to, communicate that with your groomer before hand so we can do our best to have your dog done on time.
5. Matting not only looks bad but is
painful for your dog and can cause many health issues such as hematoma, skin infection/ irritation and bruising etc.
6. We love what we do but it’s very hard work. It’s mentally, physically and emotionally draining and it’s by no means glamorous but there’s nothing else we’d rather do. I think every groomer has heard the phrase “you’re so lucky! You get to play with dogs all day!”. That is so far from the truth that it makes most of us laugh. We deal with getting pooped on, peed on, bitten, scratched, hair in our eyes, nose and mouth. dogs that refuse to stand up, dogs that alligator roll on our tables, dogs that hate their feet touched, dogs that hate their face or bums touched, dogs that are scared of water, dogs that are scared of the driers or dogs that hate other dogs. But even with all the difficult stuff we deal with, we also get kisses and snuggles, we get to see the dog that was once scared come running up to us and give us a kiss, we get to gently groom our senior dogs on their final groom and say goodbye to them with tears in our eyes and we get to experience the love and trust our furry clients put into us. I know many of us have cried while grooming severely neglected dogs but take a small amount of joy in the fact that we get to make them feel better. Our job requires skills that we’ve spent years learning and perfecting, standing for 8+ hours a day, lifting heavy dogs and that’s just some of the physical stuff. Our bodies take a beating in this industry and many of us have back, shoulder, knee, wrist and neck problems. Not to mention the scars from bites and scratches. No it is certainly not glamorous but we love it.
7. Our industry is not regulated although many of us believe it should be. Anyone can watch some YouTube videos, pick up a pair of clippers and call themselves a groomer. Do your due diligence to ensure you are leaving your pet with someone qualified.
8.Be loyal to your groomer (unless you’re unhappy with the service of course). If you are happy with your groomer but they are booked to far out and you don’t want to wait... just wait if you can. Set up pre booked appointments for the future so this doesn’t happen again. We spend so much time building a relationship of trust and respect with your pet and taking them somewhere else can ruin all the time we’ve put in with them. Most groomers could probably squeeze you in for a face, feet, bum and nail trim to get you through until your appointment.
9. We know your dogs body probably more than you or your vet do. When grooming a dog we touch pretty much every inch of that animal, places you as the owner probably don’t touch such as, between the paw pads, ge****ls, armpits and bums. When we groom a dog regularly for many years, we notice that new bump that wasn’t there before. We notice a small scab or abrasion in an armpit, ear infections, eye infections and skin issues to name a few. I’ve heard of many groomers, myself and coworkers included that have saved dogs lives by alerting an owner about a possible issue and recommending veterinary attention right away. So please listen to your groomer if they bring any concerns about your dogs health to you. We are not vets but we have seen many health issues over the course of our careers and we know when something is cause for concern.
10. Be honest about your dogs behaviour for our safety and the safety of your pet. We know you may have been kicked out of groom shops before or you’re worried we won’t groom your dog if you tell us they are aggressive but your honesty about any behavioural issues is imperative for us to be able to proceed with grooming safely. Some groomers may choose to turn you away if they do not work with aggressive animals. Maybe they work alone or are just not equipped to handle that type of animal, if that’s the case then you must continue your search for a groomer who will. Not being honest about your pets behaviour is straight up dangerous. We have muzzles and restraints that we can use to protect ourselves and your pet but if we don’t know ahead of time that we may need them, things can escalate quickly and result in injuries to us or your pet.
Thank you for taking the time to read all this. I know it’s long! Hopefully this can help you as a pet owner to have a better understanding of your groomer and together we can continue to have safe, happy and healthy pets.
Written by Tali Whittemore
Calgary, Alberta
