When it comes to maximizing the profit of your grooming business during the Holiday Rush, “success” has three “S”es: Scheduling, Services & Staffing. Master these three and you’ll not only enjoy a prosperous 4th quarter, but you’ll kick off the New Year with a solid book of business.
Trimming a pet's claws is a fundamental and necessary part of grooming. In most cases, it is a pretty straightforward procedure, and once a groomer learns the skill, they can practically do it blindfolded. But then there are those times when there is a problem with a claw.
One guaranteed way to put a smile on my face is to walk into my grooming studio and say, “It smells good in here.” Pet-related businesses have many reasons to smell unpleasant, and most of those reasons have four feet. Dogs come to us needing the bath we are about to provide, so they often have an unpleasant odor. And they sometimes urinate or defecate, causing a whole new level of bad scents.
Moe is a kissable Pit Bull that comes to see us once a month for a bath. He's a very good boy but suffers from skin allergy problems. During his last visit, his owner came in and told us he was having some allergy-related hair loss on his tail. We popped him into the tub and got about the business of washing him, and sure enough, there was a bald patch about two inches long on the top of Moe's waggy, waggy tail. His owner was right about the hair loss, but her understanding of the cause was slightly off.
An internet search about dog breeds considered to be hypoallergenic will dish up a big old bowl of confusion. Many articles clearly state in their opening paragraphs that there is no such thing as a hypoallergenic dog breed. Then, they will go on to list hypoallergenic breeds. It's a real head-scratcher.
You glance out the window and see that the new customer you scheduled is approaching your door. You suppress a groan because you can tell, even at a distance, that their dog is severely matted. You begin to prepare yourself mentally for the upcoming conversation.
There you are, happily clipping along on a dog that is getting a smoothie-style groom, and whoops! A bald spot suddenly appears. You stare in confusion at your clipper. Did it suddenly manifest into having a shorter-than-you-were-using blade? No. The problem is that you ran into a cowlick.
Macy is a small poodle cross well into her senior years. Whenever her owner brings her in for grooming, she says, “Try not to clip her moles and make them bleed!” As dogs age, many develop a myriad of lumps, bumps, and growths on their skin. Some breeds seem to be more prone to this than others. As groomers, we get an excellent view of these growths as we wash and dry the pets. The problem arises when some of them become irritated or bleed during grooming.
There you are, grooming away when something cool and damp drops on your hand. You look and are repulsed to find a small, squirmy white thing about the size of a grain of rice wriggling on your skin. It’s a tapeworm segment and has dropped from the dog's anus. After you fling it off, do a little dance of horror, and scrub your hands, you might wonder what to do next. I have seen many groomers ask in online forums if they should send the pet home. Here is some information to help you decide how to proceed.
Although not a common diagnosis, post-grooming furunculosis is a severe skin infection that has been widely publicized recently and frequently discussed in online grooming forums. Many groomers have never heard about it before or don't understand what it is.
