Question for you groomers

Durbkat · 10-08-2007, 03:27 PM

I got Snoopy an appointment for friday at the groomers and from how he is with me I think he may be alittle frisky and snappy when they work on his face. I have heard some groomers will give the dog a sedative so they can get the job done. Buts since I will be dropping him off in the morning then picking him up when I get home from school do you think they would just take breaks when he gets to worked up since they will have him all day or will they just give him a sedative to get it over with? The reason I ask is because I heard its more dangerous to put a dog like mine under because they have short snouts and can have difficulty breathing. I am going to tell them to use it as a last resort if they can't get one or two people to restrain him. Because I know this lady who has a older shih tzu with a heart problem and they gave her dog a sedative without asking to see if the dog had a medical condition that if they sedated the dog it would die. So she was very lucky the dog didn't die because it was drowsy all day and she couldn't understand why and thats when they told her they sedated the dog.

Sorry for all the questions, but one last one. I want Snoopy's hair about as short as it was a couple of months ago when he had short puppy hair. So what do I request to get that, would it be a puppy cut?

Ella'sMom · 10-08-2007, 05:32 PM

Yikes I have never heard of a sedative being given. I thought they just put the dog on the leash and groomed him. Maybe for an aggressive dog they would put on a muzzle. I never heard the sedative thing. Ella has her last round of shots tmrw and I am going to set up an appointment for her to be groomed soon. Will be interested in hearing what everyone replies to your post.

Durbkat · 10-08-2007, 05:34 PM

Nope, this person's dog was just jumpy. It wasn't aggressive, it was just moving around to much and they could have killed it because it has a heart problem!

Dieselsmama · 10-08-2007, 06:00 PM

I would never dream of sedating someone's dog. If that is something that would be necessary, I always send someone to their vet so the dog could be checked out head to toe and then prescribed valium or such. Honestly there have only been two or three dogs in over 16 yrs. this was necessary for. Most people I work with will gladly come back a time or two if it's necessary to get the job done rather than stress the dog. I would certainely make sure you state you DON'T want him sedated just in case this is a common practise in your area. Never heard of such a thing around here.

Durbkat · 10-08-2007, 06:02 PM

That is what I was gonna do and tell them that he can be easily restrained if one or two people hold him down as it only took one vet tech to restrain Snoopy so the vet could trim the fur off his pads because after a minute or two he stopped struggling, he just moaned.

Love's_Sophie · 10-08-2007, 09:02 PM

I have so many people call in and tell me straight out that their dog will need to be sedated or that they are nasty and snippy with them at home; then when the dog gets to my grooming station, they barely raise a whisker at being groomed. But then, I know how to handle them with out making being groomed 'a big deal'...I won't let go if they argue with me, but I won't 'pull' on them either, rather I will let them figure out that when they stop squirming the job that I am doing (foot or face...the usual squirmy spots)get done in a matter of seconds! I have yet to sedate any of these 'nasty' dogs...

So my guess is, if these groomers have good dog handling skills they will not have any issues with your first time puppy. They often behave much better than you would expect, just because they often know they can 'push it' with their owners. If a groomer is a calm being, the dog will react in that fashion as well... I am pretty non reactive to dog's behavior's which is why I probably have an easy time with hard to handle dogs...they are "expecting" a reaction out of their handler, and if they don't get one, they stop fussing; then I make a 'good fuss' over them when they are all done...you know, treat them praise them...make the grooming place an okay place to be!

I never hold a dog down either...no matter how fidgity he is; they tend to get more fussy when they are held down...plus, I don't want them to 'have' to be held down everytime I groom them so teach them right away to stand on my table. Maybe I will take a picture of my set up tomorrow; as I have my regular noose tie, and then one on the front of my table to keep them from backing up, or turning around...this tends to keep the dog's calmer. I rarely ever have to have anyone help hold dogs; usually the ones I have to have some help with are older dogs...mainly because they have a hard time standing.

TeddieXRuxpin · 10-08-2007, 09:09 PM

I groom Teddie because he does get aggressive when it comes to grooming. There are few groomers that don't have a problem witha nippy dog.

IMO it all comes down to where you'e getting him groomed. Is it a nice groomers or is it like at a PetSmart/Pecto?

Durbkat · 10-08-2007, 09:28 PM

Its a nice one, fancy sign and fancy inside. They charge $30 for a shih tzu. lol

TeddieXRuxpin · 10-08-2007, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Durbkat

Its a nice one, fancy sign and fancy inside. They charge $30 for a shih tzu. lol

That is a great deal!! I'm bring Teddie lol. Here in TExas most places charge 60-150 bucks to grooma Shih Tzu. That's one of the reasons I groom Teddie myself.

Just make sure you tell them not to use sedation if you don't want them to use it. Teddie was sedated to be neutered and also when he went in to get his ears cleaned and his nails trimmed. Yes for his nails snd ears. He's very aggressive when it comes to grooming.

Lorina · 10-08-2007, 10:09 PM

Around here, most groomers will NOT sedate a pet at all, and places like Petco and Petsmart will not even allow an owner to give a sedative before bringing the pet in.

I prefer a more natural approach to sedating before I groom Beav: a nice, brisk mile and a half walk up and down the hills of my neighborhood.

TeddieXRuxpin · 10-08-2007, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lorina

Around here, most groomers will NOT sedate a pet at all, and places like Petco and Petsmart will not even allow an owner to give a sedative before bringing the pet in.

I prefer a more natural approach to sedating before I groom Beav: a nice, brisk mile and a half walk up and down the hills of my neighborhood.

I asked about the PetSmart/Pecto groomer because all of the stores around my house will not touch a dog unless it's is SUPER well mannered because they groom in front of a huge glass window. Everyone can see and if the dog acts up they say it makes the whole store look bad.

It's all BS imo and all to cover there own A***s. We've been turned down and even given dirty looks because one of our dogs didn't like his nails to be cut.

Durbkat · 10-08-2007, 10:34 PM

Geez, how many dogs do enjoy it. They must hardly have dogs then. I went to petsmart yesterday because they had grooming and Snoopy needed to be groomed and all the other ad's in the phonebook said "by appointment only" and they weren't open on sundays. So we drove 30 minutes out to this petsmart and on their door it said something like "Nails and paws trimmed $12" Then below it said "Walk in's welcome" so I figured that finally I found a place that was convient for me and I walked in and told her I needed Snoopy's hair cut and she said that they only took appointments and then I pointed to the sign that said "Walk in's welcome" and she said something like, oh thats just for the nail trimming and she brought another employee in to prove to her that the sign was confusing. I was so peeved off because I had just convinced my grandma to take me out there and they only take appointments and there was two groomers in there with no dogs so I didn't understand why they couldn't have took him real quick. But whatever.

There is my little rant about petsmart.

kendallj · 10-09-2007, 02:10 AM

I believe the short cut for Shi Tzus is called the puppy cut... atleast that is what I was told when I was looking at getting one... still kinda am... I think it would be a good friend for my Sheperd mix! lol a big gal with big man syndroms (thinks she's a lap dog) and a little guy with little man syndrom THAT would be interesting!

Dieselsmama · 10-09-2007, 05:55 AM

Wow $30 for a full groom on a shih-tzu Durb?? That's amazing (I'm glad I don't groom there LOL) Here it's a minimum of $60

lovemygreys · 10-09-2007, 10:31 AM

I would NEVER allow a groomer to give my dog a sedative. EVER. I would be extremely clear about this with the groomer. I also wouldn't expect a groomer to handle an unreasonably unruly or aggressive dog. If it required two people to groom my dog, I would expect to pay twice as much for the grooming.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeddieXRuxpin

I asked about the PetSmart/Pecto groomer because all of the stores around my house will not touch a dog unless it's is SUPER well mannered because they groom in front of a huge glass window. Everyone can see and if the dog acts up they say it makes the whole store look bad.

It's all BS imo and all to cover there own A***s. We've been turned down and even given dirty looks because one of our dogs didn't like his nails to be cut.

So what if it is. Working with animals is, shall we say, challenging at times. It's worse when you have owners that, basically, try to dump their dog's behavior problems on someone else. All dogs should be taught to politely tolerate basic grooming. This, IMO, is the OWNER'S responsibility, not the groomer - who sees the dog every month or so at most.

Lorina · 10-09-2007, 11:10 AM

Petsmart had no problems with Beavis, and I told them upfront that he can be a little ****head at times (Fill in the blank with your four letter word of choice. Any will do.). They just laughed it off and said he was "a typical Pekingese."

He actually surprised me at how well-behaved he was. The right equipment (especially a grooming table) makes a huge difference.

The Lhasa Apso that came in next growled at us as we were leaving, so I guess Beav's not the worst they've seen.

Love's_Sophie · 10-09-2007, 11:18 PM

I agree, the right equipement can help alot; however, knowing how to use that equipment helps too...Lol!

I also will agree with who ever it was who said it is the owner's responsibility to get a dog used to what a groomer will do; however, I have come to a realization that most owners don't, or won't...some do, and they do a wonderful job of it, and that just totally makes my day! I have done several Shih tzus and Shih tzu mixes lately, that have been wonderful about their first time being groomed! I am greatful for owners who get their dogs used to their paws and faces being handled!

But there are those who don't, or stop short of it, because the dog 'doesn't like it'...these are the ones that are the 'problem' dogs. However, I don't mind doing these dogs, because usually after a few times of being groomed and realizing that they aren't going to get their way while they are with me, they are just fine. I only charge extra if the dog takes me more than a half hour extra to do; unless it's a large dog who is fighting me...we all know how tiring that can be!Lol!

They also get charged extra if they are 'super aggressive' but I have actually only had one really really aggressive dog at the place I groom at currently...she got charged 35$ extra for her dog, although it was supposed to be more. She had only paid 26$ (5 years ago (the previous groomer undercharged frequently, to get this same dog groomed), well, since then the dog has not been socialized; he literally attacked my neck and face, he also grabbed both my arms; fortunately, because I didn't react in fear or anger, he let go immediately in all areas. The neck injury was the worst, and if I would have reacted I am sure he would have done substantial damage, especially since the bite was dangerously close to my jugular! Anyway, I was going to charge 80$ for the dog...but was informed that the woman would probably 'freak out' or not pay at all...I was going to argue it, claiming, "hey, this dog not only attacked me, but caused me to miss classes, and made other clients have to wait over an hour longer for their dogs...hello!!!" But figured the hell with it...The dog will most likely not be back anyway...if it is, I WILL sedate it, and will inform her if she wants her dog groomed this is the only way I will do it, and that no other groomer in town will do him (there is an 'alert' so to speak on him), so she will have no choice, and she will be charged extra, plus the sedation fee, because a dog like that just isn't worth the risk of trying to groom unsedated...the crappiest part of that whole situation is that the woman was MORE concerned about her dumb mutt than she was me!!! She was like "oh my baby" to her dog, and then looked at me and said "oh, he bit you"...uggghhh...Idiot...I could have smacked her face off...

Anyway...hmmm, I geuss I went on a tangient, but my point is, that socialization is just as important has the owner handling the dog...a dog can 'not' be used to being handled in 'groomer fashion' but still be fine with being groomed, just because he is socialized well; I would rather have a dog that is a bit touchy, or ticklish about being handled than one who has not been socialized at all...period...

Durbkat · 10-10-2007, 03:42 PM

I massage Snoopy's feet daily and clean his face daily so I think he will be ok in those areas, he just gets alittle snappy if I pull to hard when I'm brushing him with the comb or if he gets crud stuck on his face and I have to use the comb to get it out.

Puppy_love_122 · 10-10-2007, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dieselsmama

Wow $30 for a full groom on a shih-tzu Durb?? That's amazing (I'm glad I don't groom there LOL) Here it's a minimum of $60

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeddieXRuxpin

That is a great deal!! I'm bring Teddie lol. Here in TExas most places charge 60-150 bucks to grooma Shih Tzu.

Sheesh I'm gald I dont live where you guys live unless I'd have to groom Shadow myself. I pay the same as Durb, $30 plus tip or my shih tzu poodle mix. I live in Missouri, in a rural area, it is more expensive in St. Louis to get them groomed, I have heard.

squirt1968 · 10-10-2007, 06:04 PM

I pay 20 to 30 depending where I go for my shih tzu to be fully groomed. i live in central WA.