# Groomers and puppies.



## Naira (Jan 9, 2015)

I have a question.
After grooming my own puppy this weekend (FFT, full body clip and legs)..I really wonder how groomers deal with puppies...especially the multiple puppies they deal with weekly...some that can be quiet combative.

Now, I was lucky and girl didn't give me that hard of a time but I definitely had to do what was best for her. For her body and legs, the grooming table was fine. For her face and feet, I definitely had to ditch the grooming table and have her down on the floor. She wouldn't let me hold up her feet on the table but she was ok with lying down on the floor with her head on my leg and her feet in my lap and letting me clip them. She was very wiggly, but we got through it.

Do groomers have to do these same things? I mean...at pet smart, there are all the other dogs on the table, wiggly, crazy, non-tolerant puppies...I really wonder how they manage it.

It took me 6 hours to do Naira over two days, taking very frequent breaks and lots of treats. I know groomers don't have 6 hours to spend on one dog, esp a dog that doesn't want to be groomed. It kind of scares me actually. I want to believe that everyone uses positive methods and goes slow, but something inside me thinks that over the years some of my puppies have been pinned down and rushed to get the job done.

Please tell me otherwise. :-(


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## BrooklynBonnie (Jan 16, 2015)

I can't speak for the big commercial places like PetSmart, but I took Mochi to a local groomers when she was about 3.5 months and I insisted on staying the whole time just in case, and also to get an idea of what happened during the groom. I am glad I did - I was reassured.

She was very wiggly and cried most of the time, but from what I could see (mostly just the groomers from the shoulder's up) and hear (everything), she did well for the bath and was handled gently. They put her in cage dryer at first, but soon took her out because she was so obviously unhappy (not with the dryer I think, but with being in a cage and having a human walk away from her). They finished drying her on the table and took over 2 hours to work on her. The groomer went slowly and took a lot breaks. I heard the groomer talking to her a lot, mostly along the lines of "It's okay it's okay, just stay there." "No, no no, Mochi Mochi Mochi baby, stay still!" and more of the same which was totally what I'd be saying if I was trying to groom a wiggling ball of "I don't wanna be here!" And I did notice during the breaks the groomer just set the tools down gave her a calming "okay okay, we'll wait" and a few rubs. Mochi came out happy and ready to play - none the worse for wear. 

Edit: She looked pretty good too, for being so wiggly as they admitted. The groomer said she had trouble getting everything the same length due to wiggling so there was some spikes from uneven buzzing, but I thought she looked great for the situation!

I also paid attention to the other dogs being groomed at the same time and did not see much but it did seem none of them were being rushed or mistreated despite the doggy daycare being in the same room as the grooming tables. It was controlled chaos most of the time, but probably just because dogs were still being dropped off while I was there.

Just one experience, but thought it may help.


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## Naira (Jan 9, 2015)

Thank you for replying. I'm kind of sad now remembering how a couple times my mini came back from the groomer's with MULTIPLE nicks. And now that I've really looked at poodle forum I learned how unacceptable that is.

No he was not a biter, he was just a normally wiggly puppy. I think whenever I take her back to a professional, I will ask to stay around too just to calm my fears


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## glorybeecosta (Nov 11, 2014)

Niara I agree with you it takes me over 8 hours to do both of mine a 3 and 7 pound. I am afraid to take my 3 pound to the groomer as I am afraid they may hurt her little legs. She lets me do her face, I have trouble with her legs, and to do her feet I put her on my lap wrap a towel around her and work on 1 foot at a time, she is doing better and knows I will win in the end, I do give her chicken when grooming. Bella I lay her on her back on my lap and she just lays there, she knows after 5.5 years it is going to get done so why fight it, LOL


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## ericwd9 (Jun 13, 2014)

First time I groomed Grace I took 6 hrs too. Now 1-2 Hrs. she just stands or lays and puts up with it. She will wag her tail and jump up onto the table for grooming now. At the beginning not so. Finding a good! groomer can be very difficult. Be firm, treat and above all be patient. Does not matter if you do the job in 10 sessions over 3 days as long as it is pleasant for the dog.
Eric


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## glorybeecosta (Nov 11, 2014)

Tomorrow hopefully my girls will get the Miami cut, just cannot take the time to groom long hair. I watch both videos and Think I have most of it down, not all of it.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Don't forget that groomers will have assistants, and grooming arms with nooses to hold them still, I think that can make it easier.
I bet it is tougher too with Spoos leaving their breeder at 8 weeks - Toys who stay with their breeder from 12-16 weeks have had a lot more experience being groomed before we ever get them!


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## Ellis1342 (Sep 23, 2014)

I just did my 3mo. old boy for the first time today. Thank god for youtube! I didn't realize how patient he was with me till I read through this. Two hours for a kinda lambish cut. Well it is a puppy coat and I've never done it before. With how wiggly he was I have a lot of respect for groomers now and can understand the prices, even though $70 bucks still hurts and sounds like too much.


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## PoodleFoster (May 25, 2013)

Naira said:


> I have a question.
> After grooming my own puppy this weekend (FFT, full body clip and legs)..I really wonder how groomers deal with puppies...especially the multiple puppies they deal with weekly...some that can be quiet combative.
> 
> Hello
> ...


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## AngelAviary (Aug 12, 2014)

My groomer is a dream! She is a master groomer and owns Spoos and competes in grooming competitions with them all over the country. I always stay when Stella is groomed so we can talk and she gives me lots of advice and tips on how to maintain Stellas coat at home between visits. She has been grooming her since I got her at 4 months. She has never raised her voice or been rough with her. She had her wiggly moments but my groomer just hugged her closer or gave her a break. Each pup responds to things differently so if Stella had a problem with something she would just approach it differently as see how the pup acted. She is happy to show me things because the better job I do at home on her coat, her job is that much easier when I take her in. She has become a great friend and mentor, I wish everyone could find a groomer as wonderful!


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## Michelle (Nov 16, 2009)

99% of puppies are difficult. Granted I had two (a "shihpoo" and a "whoodle") who behaved as tho they were adults and have been doing it all their life. Most are very wiggly and fight for everything. At work I use a Groomers Helper for the wiggly dogs or dogs who like to turn a lot while on the table. Some puppies I use it on, others I dont...it just depends on the dog. 

I find that a lot of baby talk and goo goo gah gahing makes the process more difficult...the dog gets excited and "praised" for not cooperating. When I first put them on the table I give them a few minutes to explore and I give them lots of kisses and praise to show them the table is a fun thing...I let them see whats going on and I let them sniff each tool before I use it. I also fuss with their feet, face, tail, ears etc before starting just to see what they are going to fight for and I save that for the end of the groom when they are more tired. Staying calm, consistent and quiet makes a lot of difference. After we finish each section (like their legs for example) I give them some kisses and such, but not while I am using clippers or scissoring...I don't like getting them too excited because then I have to waste time and wait for them to calm back down. I use "ah-ah" if they start fighting, and "good" when they correct the behavior; stop what I'm doing and praise them...then practice a few more times until they let me do it willingly. I think its more about training the first few grooms, rather then fighting with them the whole time and making them dislike grooming the rest of their life.

Having the owners stay also makes it A LOT harder. Especially if they can hear them talking or they are insight watching the whole time. Then the puppy gets more anxious than it would be if they weren't there, and it makes it more dangerous for the groomers. It is SO easy to injure a squirmy dog, so if the owner can stay out of sight that makes things a whole lot easier.

I'm one of the few groomers who actually enjoys grooming puppies (I'm given them all at work because of this lol)...I also like training dogs so that's probably why. I also love grooming the extremely difficult dogs who bite and have been banned from every other grooming shop in town...I love seeing them learn and progress each time. I have helped turn around quite a few dogs at work and they are now only mine to groom, everyone else refuses to touch them.


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

I remember working at Petsmart in 1995, we had those darned windows into the store so customers could watch. OMG, what a pain in the tush! People would come up to the glass and tap on it, or just be generally distracting while we were working with extremely sharp instruments on wiggling dogs. It was even worse when the owners insisted on staying and they would stand right next to the window and wave and make faces at their dog! Every groomer there hated it but we had to just smile and keep grooming.


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## BrooklynBonnie (Jan 16, 2015)

Just for clarification - with everyone commenting on what a pain it is to have the owner stay during the grooming, I wanted to add that with their permission I sat on a couch out of sight and was mum the whole time. On a couple occasions, I leaned out to see what I could see, and my pup could not see me at all, but I was able to see the groomer working from behind and the side, mostly her shoulders and up because the window was high up, and the door was shut most of the time. I knew it would be distracting if Mochi thought I was still there so I made sure she didn't think I was there.


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## Naira (Jan 9, 2015)

Wow I never checked back. Thanks for all the replies. 

I've definitely had a share of bad groomers in my life, both commercial and private. I think I'd be pretty pissed off as a groomer to have people at petsmart tapping on the windows and making the pup even more distracted. I get annoyed when my dog is trying to poop/pee and people come up and try to get her attention or pet her. Ugh. 

Anyway, I'm really not concerned about Naira. The length of our groom had to do with my inexperience (first time ever), and just figuring things out. I guess I was just thinking back on my past very wiggly and combative puppies that would come home with multiple nicks. 

I agree with the poster that said it is unrealistic to expect a certain haircut on a puppy.


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## loves (Jul 2, 2013)

Majority of the puppies I have groomed have been a piece of cake, once they figured things out. They get lots of praise and when needed firm, but gentle, correction. So there is a lot of good girl, good baby, etc, intermixed with no, ah-ah, no when necessary. A gentle but confident touch, and when I pick up a foot, I say "foot", hold it firmly but gently, trim the pads, put it down with a "thank you" and good girl, then on to next one. Foot is tugged away? A "No", pick it up again, "foot" and continue. Repeated pulling out of hand, then simply hold foot with praise. They figure it out. Face work saved till last since many of the little ones in for first groom, 10 weeks old or so, are about to fall asleep on their feet, or do, so it is easy to gently hold their little faces, comb and trim what is needed. Also a good time to touch up feet and nails. Now when puberty hits, they sometimes forget, but that is just adolescent rebellion. lol

Dryers, baths, clippers seem to bother them the least, but first try or two to hold onto those little faces for trimming, that is what most dislike. It is the restraining the control you need that they try to fight. But firm but gentle works.


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