I Want to be a Dog Groomer

[wyominggrandma]

I groomed out of my home, had a shop set up downstairs, but you had to walk through the house to get there. I had some people call me wanting their cocker groomed. Said it hadn't been groomed in about 6 months, so I was expecting a matted mess, but have dealt with them plenty of times,so it was no big deal. They arrived and I walked outside to get this dog and there was a cocker tied in the back of the truck. GREEN.... I had not even walked close to the truck, but could smell the cow poop on it. It was dripping off the dog, its feet were matted with manure,its ears and coat was matted and packed with cow poop. I told them there was no way I was taking that dog through my house and they would have to find another groomer. It was awful.
I also was grooming a "ranch" dog one day and it had a horrible odor. As I was clipping it, I found some blood and a sore spot. It was a cut that was festering and had maggots crawling all over it. That was almost enough to make me quit grooming.
My worst owner experience was the husband brought me the dog, it was a springer spaniel. Well brushed and groomed regularly, I did it about every 6 weeks. The husband told me to stip him down, he was hot.I asked him " are you sure"and he said" Oh yes, that is what we decided" . Okay, so I stripped him down, bathed and dried him and had him all ready and the wife came in to get him.She about fainted when she saw him stripped down and started yelling at me and screaming at me, "I'm going to sue you" blah blah blah. Well, I told her the husband had said to strip him down and she called him and he said" no I didn't". She refused to pay me and left, yelling and screaming all the way. I got a call about an hour later, when the husband finally fessed up to wanting the dog stripped.She sent me a check in the mail and was very apologetic. Oh well, day in the life of a groomer.

[LissG]

WOW those are AWFUL experiences!

[DunRingill]

Bad grooming experience that makes you want to kill someone? How about this sweet cocker spaniel:


Yes, those really are his ears, somewhere deep in that mess.



His ears were so heavy he couldn't lift his head!!!

2 hours later, we were both exhausted:

[LissG]

oh my god how could someone let that happen to that poor little thing!? he looks GREAT after that, but he does look tuckered out! poor baby!

[msvette2u]

I have some professional clippers and we've gotten in some doozies.
One looked like that cocker, complete with big poop dredlocks.
As I clipped, I found a tick crawling up my arm! So gross.
If I can, I get the dogs to a groomer, but if it's a weekend or evening, I just whip out my clippers and go to town.

At barely a year of age, this kiddo probably never saw clippers. This is one of the better ones.

Before


The "rug" I clipped off him (part of it)

The worst part is there's weeds, burs, fleas, etc. embedded in these mats, digging into the skin constantly, so like the cocker, above, they'll have sores all underneath.

He hugged the upside-down tote bin that was my table, the entire time


Poor kiddo was so frightened of everything. He'd never been free of that fur his whole short life, and just feeling air on his skin was new to him.

[LissG]

awwww poor thing! do the owners blame you for the sores? or do they understand that they should've taken the poor little guy to the groom forever ago??

[VonKromeHaus]

Here is a silly cut that a customer has me do on their Standard Poodle. They like body short and pom poms.



A cocker with a mohawk, not quite done as the mohawk wasn't standing yet!

[msvette2u]

Originally Posted by LissG

awwww poor thing! do the owners blame you for the sores? or do they understand that they should've taken the poor little guy to the groom forever ago??

Oh these are rescues, not owned dogs. We have a rescue and get dogs in like this often. I blame the previous owners
And thank God they are no longer the owners!

Was going to add -- I only fiddle with grooming insomuch as to be able to have the dog in the house, because they come in this way and stink usually and are miserable and God-knows-what is lurking under that fur mat, from fleas to even dog lice!

[Freestep]

Ah yes... fleas, ticks, caked-on poop, cow manure, open wounds, maggots, barbed wire, rubber bands, fishooks.... seen it all. Haven't seen an embedded collar yet. Usually animal control takes care of that before the dog comes to me.

Biters? I'll take a thousand biting dogs over a nasty client any day. I don't mind biters because, well... I don't know, we seem to have an understanding. I can usually predict when they're thinking about biting, and I'll use a muzzle if I have to, but I rarely have to... I just alter my approach if I can see the dog getting upset. I have had very few truly aggressive dogs on my table. Most of them are just big babies, and if I can calm them down and console their fears, we get through the process in one piece. Communication is key.

Cats--LOVE 'em! If I could get away with having an all-cat grooming business, I'd do it in a heartbeat. They are not dogs and cannot be reasoned with the same way, but I can almost always groom the grumpiest cats without getting hurt. I do make use of the cat muzzle, as it covers their eyes and so calms them. I guess cats and I have a sort of understanding.

Shaved feet on Schnauzers, you'd be amazed how many people want me to do that. I HATE doing it almost as much as I hate shaving Cocker feet, but as I said, I'm a mercenary groomer. I'll do anything the client wants as long as it doesn't hurt the dog, and I tell the owner "If anyone asks where you got your dog groomed, be sure to tell them this is a CUSTOM clip that you specified."

In my days as a groomer I've been bit, scratched, peed on, pooped on, thrown up on, anal glands expressed on, just about anything a dog can do to a person, they've done to me. When I first started I was young, bold, and had a can-do attitude, but almost no experience, I took a lot of risks and got bit a lot. It will happen, just be prepared. Cat bites are the worst--in the case of a deep puncture from a cat, drop everything and go to the doctor. Do not finish out the last couple hours of your shift and then go, or you won't be able to move your hand for a couple of weeks.

Nowadays I don't get as many matted strips as I used to, mainly because most of my clients are regulars, but I do get rescues that are in pretty bad shape. The worst ever was a persian cat, she was matted down so close to the skin I could barely even get a surgical blade under the mats... it was like a turtle's shell. Of course, it took hours to get the hair off and the cat looked awful afterward, her skin was in awful shape, sores and lesions everywhere. Of course I got blamed.

I can groom bad dogs and cats all day long, but I still have a hard time with bad clients. Though I've weeded most of them out, I still have a few that I cringe over. But honestly, 95% of my clients nowadays are awesome, and I consider myself lucky when I hear other groomers' horror stories!

[LissG]

hahaha i like the poodle pic that's funny! i appreciat everyone sharing advice and experiences with me! even with the bad, i still have a strong desire to be a groomer! tomorrow i'm going around to local shops to try my luck out getting an apprenticeship. wish me luck!!!