The dog you are grooming has been carefully bathed and dried and is now on the table, ready for the rest of the grooming process. Do you reach for some coat spray before you proceed? If not, you should consider doing so.
Picture this; you get a pile of clipper blades sharpened and are delighted to groom the day's dogs with them. You picture how the freshly maintained blades will slide through the dog's coats smoothly and cleanly, making your work easier, and the results will look so fine. While a dog dances on your table, you unwrap the first blade and snap it onto your clipper, happily anticipating how well your work will go. Then, to your horror, you find that the blade barely cuts.
Some dogs come in to be groomed, looking like their feet have not touched the ground since the last time we saw them. They are still clean. They are still fluffy. They look like they have not had a bit of fun. Most come in dirty. Like they have been having a doggy life. Playing at the dog park, walking down dusty roads, running through the pucker brush. And some come in not only very dirty but with serious grossness on specific body parts.
Dogs that require a medicated shampoo or a shampoo designed to kill fleas need to have the shampoo stay on them for a prescribed period of time. Read and follow the manufactures instructions. For most products, a soak of 5-10 minutes is recommended. The shampoo must remain in contact with the skin for the prescribed time in order to be effective.
It almost always seems to happen when you are taking just one last tiny snip as you are nearly finished with the groom. The dog's tongue pops out at the exact wrong moment and gets an unfortunate nick. Tongues are rich in blood vessels, so even a tiny "scissor kiss" will bleed a lot.
I was at a grooming trade show the first time Debi Hilley introduced her seminar on wet-clipping matted dogs. It was standing-room only, and groomers excitedly talked about what they had learned all weekend. Since then, many people have authored articles and taught about the topic, but still, not all groomers know about the magic of wet clipping.
A customer who arrived a few minutes early to pick up their Yorkshire Terrier last week watched as I finished the dog’s haircut. “He acts a lot better for you than he does for me,” he said. “He seems so calm.”
When a new customer calls you for the first time, what happens next sets the tone for how they perceive your business. In an ideal world, they will reach out to you during business hours, and you will be free to answer the phone and help them personally.
Experienced groomers know that the time and skill put into preparing a dog for grooming is the cornerstone to good results. A great groom cannot happen on a pet that has not been cleaned and dried correctly.
When it comes to grooming cats, there are many things that stylists should do differently than if they were grooming a dog. Take ear cleaning, for instance.
