Most interesting (?) grooming instructions to date, and randomness.

1st, randomness.

The Cocker from the this post was adopted the very next day, by a really nice guy, who has told me he will be bringing him back for grooming with me.  I'm so glad he is well-loved.  Apparently the dog is "scary perfect" housebroken, loves the Grandkids, and never barks.  Why are these dogs at humane societies?  I don't have a clue, but I'm so grateful there are places like this to help unwanted pets. 

I groomed the Weinerschnitzel.. they were wrong, it was really a WeinerSHITzel.  No, he wasn't mixed with a Shih Tzu.. he was just a very naughty dog.   I groomed 3 Dachshunds that day, and only one didn't have to be muzzled.  I'm just not a fan of the Weinershitzels..

And finally, the instructions I was given for a Maltese.  Even better, these instructions were given to me in a strong Texas accent.

"Do his face really short.  When you are done, he should look like one of those Harp Seals.   You know the ones they hit over the head with a club to kill them?"  O... K...  sure.. I know that haircut.   The guy loved this dog..don't worry.  After I had the tiny little canine in my arms the owner had to go in for a kiss on the dog's face.  It was a bit too much in my bubble.  If I would've had time, I would have handed him back for the kissing part.  By the time I realized what was happening, it was too late.  I think I was still picturing the death of a baby Harp Seal.. it's hard to shake that image.  T.G.I.F.

I'm really not in the mood.

Today's little slice of crazy.

A new employee of ours came back to ask me for a quote on a dog, as the owner waited on the phone.

Me:  What kind of dog is it?

H:  A Weinerschnitzel.

Me:  Uh.. what is that? 

H:  Weinerdog something?  I'm not sure.   It sounds like they just want a bath and nail trim. 

Me:  I better talk to them, It could be a long-haired dog or something..

H: Line one.

Me:  Hi, this is D, one of the groomers, H tells me you would like to know how much for a grooming on your dog.  What type of dog is it?

Client:  A little Weinerschnitzel.

Me:  Uh.. I'm afraid I don't know what that is.

Client:  Oh, ha ha, a Dachshund.

Me:  A Dachshund mix? 

Client:  No, a purebred Dachshund.

She said Weinerschnitzel so seriously, both H and I thought she had some designer breed.. Wow.  I just don't have time for this crap.  Really.

Can you fix this?

Sometimes, they try to pretend nothing is wrong (like I'm not going to notice!).

Sometimes, they blame their husband.

Sometimes, they tell me how they just didn't have money for a grooming last month, so they thought they'd try it themselves.

Can you fix this? 

Most of the time.. not really, but we try.  We do have a decent amount of people who will try and then fail to groom their own dogs. Then, after spending all that time (most will tell us it took all day), they must pay us to fix the haircut.  If the dog is lucky, there was no bloodshed. 

Some don't even go out and buy a clipper.  Here is a prime example of a home SCISSOR trimmed dog.

It kind of resembles a turtle shell.. I should've made this a "guess what this is" game.

Anyone know what kind of dog this is?

There's a little wider view.  The dog came in looking like this.. no trimming had started yet.  The problem was that those line were right down to the skin!  Sadly, there was no way to get it completely smooth, short of Nair.

There were still faint lines in the coat.  A #10 blade was used.  Going any shorter would've been pretty bald.

It was a Shih Tzu, by the way.  Oh well, at least they left the face alone for the most part.

I saw this cartoon on Facebook recently, that says it all:

Sad, but sometimes true, though I do have customers that do a pretty good job of haircuts at home to cut costs.  I do understand needing to save some money, just know, grooming is not as easy as it looks!



Crouching Groomer, Hidden Dog's Head...

That's my caption for the following photo.  That's J, grooming a gigantic Shepherd Mix who couldn't stand well.  She finished his groom on the floor.. in that crouched position!

J told me she would like the caption to be:  I'm getting too old for this shit!  She also wanted it noted that she is 52 years old.  I guess groomers stay pretty flexible. :)  I've written about it before, we do what we have to do.  That dog just couldn't safely stand on the table.. so this is what happened.  Luckily, he was fine with relaxing and lay flat like that for her. 

J had a pretty rough day today.  Here is another one of her challenges:

This picture does NOT do this mess justice.  It looked like one of those long curly haired sheep.. or maybe a small Yak.  It was actually an American Eskimo.. with the coat of two Samoyeds.  the owner gave strict orders that she wanted NOTHING cut on this dog.. she gets it groomed once a year.  She brought her other dog along today as well.  It didn't have an appointment.  She thought maybe J could just fit that one in too.  Uh.. not a chance. It was just as bad.  When J let her know that she would at least have to shave out the huge matts behind his ears, she said "well, I better go home and work on the other ones ears, so you won't have to do that to her!!"  Maybe, you could brush your dog for a better reason than that, like it JUST NEEDS BRUSHING?? Maybe??

Here he is after.. wow. 

Here is the hair that came out.  There was another huge pile in the tub.

Here's one of mine.  A shelter dog, I donated a groom for.  My guess is this little guy is only around 9 months old.  He was PERFECT for his grooming, and I am certain it was his 1st ever.  Someone will get a really great dog when the adopt him!

Here he is before:

He had a little excess facial hair....

And, after...

So freaking cute!!

If you or anyone you know is looking for a dog, visit your local shelter.. you will be surprised what you find there!