How many of you groom your own dogs?
- Thread starter stellasmama
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we have been through so many groomers, I just cannot tolerate you cutting my dog and not bothering to even tell me. Also, at least around here it is hard to find people who are actually trained, too many are like "well I cut my own dog, that must qualify me to be a groomer, im gonna open shop".
I actually have a groomer now who went to a very good school and is great with the dogs, sadly she is dealing with all the prior bad groomers because a few of mine are now "hard to handle" at the groomers because of those bad experiences... and we drive 30 minutes to get to her.
Oh and I am one of those annoying customers who gives Very very very detailed instructions on how I want the dog to look, LOL and too many groomers have been like "oh you meant LONG? I thought when you said long you meant shaved?!:yikes:" You shave my dog, I dont come back, no negotiating.
But the groomers on here need to understand that its nothing personal but YOU GUYS are not the typical groomer people deal with... the people on here are ANIMAL LOVERS first... MANY groomers out there are just in it to make a buck. And yes it is sad that those people give everyone a bad name but there are many more of them.
I actually have a groomer now who went to a very good school and is great with the dogs, sadly she is dealing with all the prior bad groomers because a few of mine are now "hard to handle" at the groomers because of those bad experiences... and we drive 30 minutes to get to her.
Oh and I am one of those annoying customers who gives Very very very detailed instructions on how I want the dog to look, LOL and too many groomers have been like "oh you meant LONG? I thought when you said long you meant shaved?!:yikes:" You shave my dog, I dont come back, no negotiating.
But the groomers on here need to understand that its nothing personal but YOU GUYS are not the typical groomer people deal with... the people on here are ANIMAL LOVERS first... MANY groomers out there are just in it to make a buck. And yes it is sad that those people give everyone a bad name but there are many more of them.
I just wanted to clarify, I know that I didn't tell Auggie's groomer exactly what I wanted done (because at the time I didn't actually know what I wanted done - and certainly never imagined aussie pants), but I find it easier to just do the grooming myself rather than take him to a groomer and say "Thin out behind his ears a little so all the dredlocks disappear. Round up the very tips of his ears and ONLY the very tips. Trim off the whiskers that curve backwards against his face, the ones on his cheeks, and clean up his lower jaw only. Shape up his paws but you have to do it creatively because he stands silly on one paw so you have to shape them up according to how he stands rather than just a straight shaping up. Clean up the bottoms of his paws and clean up the hocks but not TOO cleaned up. And snip just a few of the long hairs from his underbelly, the ones he pees on. You can thin out his pants a little but they really don't need too much."
And I think if I did that, a groomer would think I was crazy or that I was going to be the biggest diva client ever, LOL.
So it's nothing against groomers, I just find it so much easier to do it myself when what I want is so incredibly specific.
And I think if I did that, a groomer would think I was crazy or that I was going to be the biggest diva client ever, LOL.
So it's nothing against groomers, I just find it so much easier to do it myself when what I want is so incredibly specific.
I just groom my own because it's so easy. Then again I won't ever have a breed that needs routine clipping, it's just something I don't want to have to deal with because I'm lazy. Plus papillon grooming is kind of weird. You don't clip the feet like normal breeds, you certainly don't touch the ears to trim up or pluck hairs out. It takes forever to grow fringe so it's not something I want to risk getting chopped off. And yep, I've known people that's happened to. There goes two years of fringe down the drain...
We did take Trey once upon a time to the groomer's. They did a decent job but nothing I couldn't do myself. They asked a million times though if we were sure we didn't want him shaved.
We did take Trey once upon a time to the groomer's. They did a decent job but nothing I couldn't do myself. They asked a million times though if we were sure we didn't want him shaved.
I am sure that you do a wonderful job and not to pick on you, but it is for this very reason that groomers get a bad reputation. If you want to groom your own dog because you trust yourself more, than wonderful. But when you say that you groom other dogs and you could wing it with other breeds I cringe. I NEVER wing it with a dog, nor would I recommend any person who wings it. Many people that call themselves professional groomers are self taught like yourself, and these are often the people who call themselves professionals and give the real professional groomers a bad name.
Now don't get me wrong, there are some horrible professionally trained groomers out there. I have seen first hand the damage they have caused both physically and emotionally to a dog. This is where it becomes the owners responsibility to find a groomer that can be trusted.
Poodle Mommy and Beanie, you would be the type of clients that I would love because you know what you want and give me a very clear picture of what you want. I always love it when a client says you are going to think I am crazy but I have a huge list of things I want done. I don't think someone is crazy or a diva, I think that they care enough about their dog that they know what is best for them.
I agree with you 100%, and the reason that there are so many more groomers who have no buisness putting clippers against a dog are the ones that just go out and buy a pair of clippers and look online or buy a book and think they have what it takes. This is why I firmly believe we need regulations in the grooming industry. The same as we need to get rid of the BYB's the BYGroomers need to get the boot aswell!!
I am so sorry that the majority of you have had such bad experiences. But I can assure you the good groomers do exist!
Now don't get me wrong, there are some horrible professionally trained groomers out there. I have seen first hand the damage they have caused both physically and emotionally to a dog. This is where it becomes the owners responsibility to find a groomer that can be trusted.
Poodle Mommy and Beanie, you would be the type of clients that I would love because you know what you want and give me a very clear picture of what you want. I always love it when a client says you are going to think I am crazy but I have a huge list of things I want done. I don't think someone is crazy or a diva, I think that they care enough about their dog that they know what is best for them.
I agree with you 100%, and the reason that there are so many more groomers who have no buisness putting clippers against a dog are the ones that just go out and buy a pair of clippers and look online or buy a book and think they have what it takes. This is why I firmly believe we need regulations in the grooming industry. The same as we need to get rid of the BYB's the BYGroomers need to get the boot aswell!!
I am so sorry that the majority of you have had such bad experiences. But I can assure you the good groomers do exist!
Wing it does sound terrible.. But what I mean Is I have experiance now with the clippers, scissors, And I know what the breeds cut SHOULD look like.
Far to many groomers would rather cut the animal then cut thereselves. I think that is WRONG. I alway Put my own fingers in a place where I cannot cut the dog, I would be cut. My aunt is a hairdresser and her fingers get cut because she believes the same thing.
And I would NEVER call myself A proffesional Groomer. Never ever ever, Because it is very much untrue..That is why I would NEVER exceot money or a strangers Dog.
I tell friends and family that I cut my dogs hair, And because they have had bad experiances with strangers that didnt givva crap about the dogs, they ask if I would try it.. Alot just dont care about the animals. I do. I dont just care about mine, but i care for my friends and families. If some random person I didnt know came in and asked me to do it, I wouldnt. No matter how much they offered me (I do it free anyways, because I enjoy it) I would NOT do it..
Far to many groomers would rather cut the animal then cut thereselves. I think that is WRONG. I alway Put my own fingers in a place where I cannot cut the dog, I would be cut. My aunt is a hairdresser and her fingers get cut because she believes the same thing.
And I would NEVER call myself A proffesional Groomer. Never ever ever, Because it is very much untrue..That is why I would NEVER exceot money or a strangers Dog.
I tell friends and family that I cut my dogs hair, And because they have had bad experiances with strangers that didnt givva crap about the dogs, they ask if I would try it.. Alot just dont care about the animals. I do. I dont just care about mine, but i care for my friends and families. If some random person I didnt know came in and asked me to do it, I wouldnt. No matter how much they offered me (I do it free anyways, because I enjoy it) I would NOT do it..
I considered grooming my dogs myself. My sister loaned me a couple of videos to watch, but what I learned from them is I do not want to do it. LOL! I found a great groomer who does a fantastic job with them. I wish I could save the money, but I'm too scared to try, so this is what I do.
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I groom my dogs myself. :rofl1:
Get it? Ha ha... Smooth coated Chihuahuas, short haired mix, before a Doberman Pinscher. It's a bath and an occassional brushing. There are advantages to having short haired dogs.
But if I ever get a Poodle, which I might love to get, I will learn how to clip myself probably.
Some of those horror stories are enough to scare anyone....like the dogs that are left on the table unsupervised and they fall and strangle to death. Or the groomers that are nasty and forceful toward the dogs. Pretty scary out there. If I'm too inept at learning that skill, I might have to travel a long ways to come to one of you more conscientous Chazergroomers.
Get it? Ha ha... Smooth coated Chihuahuas, short haired mix, before a Doberman Pinscher. It's a bath and an occassional brushing. There are advantages to having short haired dogs.
But if I ever get a Poodle, which I might love to get, I will learn how to clip myself probably.
Some of those horror stories are enough to scare anyone....like the dogs that are left on the table unsupervised and they fall and strangle to death. Or the groomers that are nasty and forceful toward the dogs. Pretty scary out there. If I'm too inept at learning that skill, I might have to travel a long ways to come to one of you more conscientous Chazergroomers.
A lot of Strider's grooming I do myself. I keep his feet all trimmed and pretty, plus his brushing and bathing, teeth care, nails, etc.
The only thing I don't do with him is the thinning of hair in front of his ears. The woman who is mentoring me let me know I could really screw it up if I trimmed it wrong and it would take months to grow back so she does it instead and I watch and learn. Eventually I'll be skilled enough to do it myself.
One of my friends is an apprentice groomer, she is very skilled at rough collies, and learning borzoi with me. One of the things I love about her is she refuses to groom a breed until she learns EVERYTHING about how to do it right. Right now she is training on scottish terriers. Since none of the local groomers know how, a really good breeder is teaching her the right way so she can groom that breeder's dogs for show. Once a month I take Strider down and we bathe him using her nifty shampoo machine thingy and blow dry/train his hair with her good dryer. After our next borzoi I'm saving up for one.
Charlie is waaay easy. I brush him with the Mars Coat King to get dead undercoat out, and pretty much just pluck his ear hair. Which for some reason he loves.
There are some really sweet, caring and marvelous groomers out there. I know some of them and would trust them to groom Strider without any second thoughts. And then, there are some yucko ones who I would rather punch in the teeth than let touch my dog. I know one woman who is still grooming, who got fired from the last place because she punched a dog in the face and then shoved it off the grooming table when it wiggled too much as she was clipping nails. I don't think those groomers are the norm though, and you can avoid them by talking to their clients and seeing what their experiences are like.
The only thing I don't do with him is the thinning of hair in front of his ears. The woman who is mentoring me let me know I could really screw it up if I trimmed it wrong and it would take months to grow back so she does it instead and I watch and learn. Eventually I'll be skilled enough to do it myself.
One of my friends is an apprentice groomer, she is very skilled at rough collies, and learning borzoi with me. One of the things I love about her is she refuses to groom a breed until she learns EVERYTHING about how to do it right. Right now she is training on scottish terriers. Since none of the local groomers know how, a really good breeder is teaching her the right way so she can groom that breeder's dogs for show. Once a month I take Strider down and we bathe him using her nifty shampoo machine thingy and blow dry/train his hair with her good dryer. After our next borzoi I'm saving up for one.
Charlie is waaay easy. I brush him with the Mars Coat King to get dead undercoat out, and pretty much just pluck his ear hair. Which for some reason he loves.
There are some really sweet, caring and marvelous groomers out there. I know some of them and would trust them to groom Strider without any second thoughts. And then, there are some yucko ones who I would rather punch in the teeth than let touch my dog. I know one woman who is still grooming, who got fired from the last place because she punched a dog in the face and then shoved it off the grooming table when it wiggled too much as she was clipping nails. I don't think those groomers are the norm though, and you can avoid them by talking to their clients and seeing what their experiences are like.