[Love's_Sophie]

Originally Posted by GroovyGroomer777

I can respect this.

You must have very well behaved clients to take 30 seconds to trim nails.
Where is the line drawn? What if they come in for the free nail trim, and then when you doing that they say..."While he's here, can you pluck his ears too?"...then maybe..."While your doing that, can you trim the hair out of his eyes?"....so on, so forth.... when do you start charging?

What if the dog goes kooky for his nail trim, do you charge then?

I'm pretty sure she was talking figuratively there; although for some dogs, it really is only a 2 minute job to dremel or trim the nails, because they are so good. For those that flip out...well, the ones that are good make up for that...imho; I would prefer to see dogs walking on short nails than long painful ones, and I wish I could do them for free sometimes too; I think more people would come in...and then you can 'sell them' into getting them groomed there too, if you do your homework right! In this economy, people are looking for deals, and sometimes it's nice to give them one...if not for the animal's benefit! And for those who ask for more, well, that you would have to charge for...course when I get walk in 'burr removals', ear pluckings, or eye trims, I charge maybe 5 bucks for that...for exactly the point being, that those things don't take long to do.

I do make it clear to the owner that the specified thing is all I'm doing for that price though... and like Graco, dogs who come in as walking pelts, usually walk out 'naked', and the owners are charged and spoken to accordingly. I do not like combing out dogs that the owners don't spend the time at home grooming; it's the dogs who suffer through the process, not the owners...I just wish one could get it through their heads, when their price keeps going up, and they get talked to everytime they get the dog groomed! The owner of the shop I work at, disagrees with my last 'point' and thinks that the only good groomers are the ones who will comb out every dog...apparently I'm not a good groomer, because I refuse to comb out alot of dogs...it's not fair to them to suffer through the owner's neglect!

Graco, I wish I could do walk in nail trims for free...the owner of the shop I work at would never allow it though!

[Graco22]

Originally Posted by GroovyGroomer777

I can respect this.

You must have very well behaved clients to take 30 seconds to trim nails.
Where is the line drawn? What if they come in for the free nail trim, and then when you doing that they say..."While he's here, can you pluck his ears too?"...then maybe..."While your doing that, can you trim the hair out of his eyes?"....so on, so forth.... when do you start charging?

What if the dog goes kooky for his nail trim, do you charge then?

Most of my walk in nail trims are large dogs, and I do them in the reception area, with the owner holding the leash. The few small dogs I get, I usually put on the table, or have the owner hold them and again do them in the reception area. My salon is all open, with a high counter separating my grooming area and the front reception. I either have my bather stand by my dog on the table, or put it in a cage while I do the nail trim. I have never had a dog be so bad that it took more than a few minutes, tops. I have retrained MANY dogs that were told at the vets they would have to be tranq'd for nails next time. I am not a fan of holding dogs down and forcing it. I just hold on to the leg til they relax. Some I dremel, some I clip, depends on the nails and how often they have them trimmed.

I draw the line at nail trims. I don't do ala carte things, like pads, in front of eyes, etc. If they want that done, they will have to schedule an appt. for a full grooming. Its that cut and dry, and it has to be. I did get ALOT of clients when I first opened my salon, because of the free nail trims. And I can count on one hand how many regular walk in nail trim people don't leave me at least a $5 tip.

Sophie, I am with you on the pelted dogs, and I disagree with your boss. Those "good" groomers that comb out matted dogs every time will be kindly rewarded with dogs that hate to be groomed, snap, bite, shake, cower and are terrified, etc. And to top that off, eventually, the groomers body is going to give out, carpal tunnel, etc. and when they aren't working, maybe their mind will be changed about all that dematting. I give my clients one free pass. (Except on puppies...I will NOT demat a first time puppy groom for any reason at all, and trust me, I've heard every excuse.) And that free pass is only within reason..A few matts here and there. I won't spend more than 15 minutes dematting a dog. I will not hurt a dog for vanity's sake, and I tell my clients that exactly. If they want to hurt their dog, because "he's so cute when he's long" then I send them home to dematt the dog and bring it back matt free...obviously, that rarely happens. I am not in the business of hurting dogs because the owners are too lazy to take care of the coats. As a professional, it is my duty to explain to the owner what haircuts are possible on their pet according to coat condition, and to not harm the dog in my care, just because mommy wants the hair left long. Its just hair, and it grows back.

[GroovyGroomer777]

[quote=Those "good" groomers that comb out matted dogs every time will be kindly rewarded with dogs that hate to be groomed, snap, bite, shake, cower and are terrified, etc. And to top that off, eventually, the groomers body is going to give out, carpal tunnel, etc. and when they aren't working, maybe their mind will be changed about all that dematting. I give my clients one free pass. (Except on puppies...I will NOT demat a first time puppy groom for any reason at all, and trust me, I've heard every excuse.) And that free pass is only within reason..A few matts here and there. I won't spend more than 15 minutes dematting a dog. I will not hurt a dog for vanity's sake, and I tell my clients that exactly. If they want to hurt their dog, because "he's so cute when he's long" then I send them home to dematt the dog and bring it back matt free...obviously, that rarely happens. I am not in the business of hurting dogs because the owners are too lazy to take care of the coats. As a professional, it is my duty to explain to the owner what haircuts are possible on their pet according to coat condition, and to not harm the dog in my care, just because mommy wants the hair left long. Its just hair, and it grows back.[/QUOTE]


I would like to make a poster of that quote and hang it up in my grooming room. Beautifully said.

[Yvette]

My Tux:
Before


After:




I know I missed a few hairs. I guess he has never had this done before & needs practice.

[Graco22]

Originally Posted by GroovyGroomer777

I would like to make a poster of that quote and hang it up in my grooming room. Beautifully said.

Thanks Groovy. Maybe it will help give groomers the backbone to stop dematting dogs because the owners neglect their coats..Nothing good comes of it, cause the dog comes in even more matted the next time, and shaking and trembling because it remembers all the pulling from the last time.

[Max'sHuman]

Wow. You guys do some GREAT work. I wish y'all lived around here because any groomer who can make a dog smile that big and look that good is sure to be excellent. Keep the pictures coming, they are fun to see...

[Love's_Sophie]

Lorrie, is that your pooch? He looks really nice; his topline and face are nice and shiney smooth! One tiny thing I would try next time, would be to leave the rear leg pants up higher on the hip...it will give him more of the appearance of an actual 'pant', instead of a pant leg 'falling off' his leg On 'fluffy leg' trimmed cockers, I drop the clipper off the legs where the normal pattern would lay on the cocker pattern...that should give you an idea of where to leave the rear pants. The front ones can be left up higher too, if you wish. Leaving the pants higher on front and rear legs, also makes the job of blending the longer hair into the shorter hair easier, because there are 'natural' lines, that one can visualize and blend to.

[j.le]

tried out a new groomer and i'm really happy with the results

before:


after:


i don't like the shaved poodle face but i'm a sucker for poodle feet.

[Love's_Sophie]

Awwww...he's a cutie!

[Graco22]

Very nice JLe! What a cutie! Here's a few more of my recent ones.
A matted maltese before and after, and one of my competition poodles, getting cut down for the winter months, and just a cute pic of a puppy and one of my kitties helping pose for the picture..lol

[Mom2Sadie]

I'm not a groomer but here's a picture of my five month old cockapoo before and after. Did they do a good job??


BEFORE






AFTER

[Graco22]

Looks darn cute to me. If the photo was taken the same day as the grooming was done, only thing I don't like about it is how curly the coat still is. I blow dry all my dogs, especially the curly ones, so they are straight and fluffy and each hair is separated. Gives a better, more even finish. But they usually curl back up in a week or so. Still a very cute dog, and a nice cute groom.

[Mom2Sadie]

Originally Posted by Graco22

Looks darn cute to me. If the photo was taken the same day as the grooming was done, only thing I don't like about it is how curly the coat still is. I blow dry all my dogs, especially the curly ones, so they are straight and fluffy and each hair is separated. Gives a better, more even finish. But they usually curl back up in a week or so. Still a very cute dog, and a nice cute groom.

Nope, grooming was on Tuesday and the pic. was today. Today is the first day he looks a little curly again. He was straight for the past couple of days.
I like the curls though. I miss the long hair, he looks like a different dog to me but he's so soft!

[musicmom116]

Originally Posted by Love's_Sophie

Lorrie, is that your pooch? He looks really nice; his topline and face are nice and shiney smooth! One tiny thing I would try next time, would be to leave the rear leg pants up higher on the hip...it will give him more of the appearance of an actual 'pant', instead of a pant leg 'falling off' his leg On 'fluffy leg' trimmed cockers, I drop the clipper off the legs where the normal pattern would lay on the cocker pattern...that should give you an idea of where to leave the rear pants. The front ones can be left up higher too, if you wish. Leaving the pants higher on front and rear legs, also makes the job of blending the longer hair into the shorter hair easier, because there are 'natural' lines, that one can visualize and blend to.

Aww, come n Love's_Sophie, I work at a high school at all the guys wear their pants very low and yes they do look like they are falling off LOL

[Love's_Sophie]

Originally Posted by musicmom116

Aww, come n Love's_Sophie, I work at a high school at all the guys wear their pants very low and yes they do look like they are falling off LOL

Hahaha...I always want to hike those pants up...they look like they are carrying a sack of poo in there!!!

[j.le]

i LOVE how they blow out the hair. i wish i could keep his hair straight always.

[Graco22]

Owners that request "odd" clips like that drive me crazy..lol I know its their dog, and they want what they want, but its so hard for me to let a dog walk out the door from an odd request. A mohawk or something is one thing, but a cut like that makes it look like the groomer just didn't know what they were doing, and tried to do a cocker clip...So anyone that sees the dog will think that the groomer is an idiot..When I have to do a request like that, I tell the owners I will do it, but I make sure they tell people that inquire, that THEY requested that cut..I have 2 airedales that are very big in obedience, and travel the country competing, and they get what I think is a ridiculous cut per the owners requests...I cringe every time I cut them, and I have asked the owners plenty of times to let people know this is their request, and NOT a proper dale trim. lol They laugh and have actually referred many clients to me.

[GroovyGroomer777]

That's very funny! May I ask how they like their airedales cut? And do you have pics?

[Graco22]

Good Lord, no, I don't have pics...LMAO! I try to forget about those cuts as soon as they walk out the door...least til next time..They get a #10 on the body in the summer (7F in winter) and I HATE doing a 10 on anything thats not a sanitary..but they insist...All the body #10..no belly fringe, etc..They get a #2 Stainless Wahl attachment on the legs,(which is about a 1/4-1/2 inch of hair at best) in normal airedale pattern. Reverse 7F head and throat in "breed standard" faces. Its so ugly...they look like worms on stick legs... Nothing is uglier than a dale with no hair on their legs to me...But the owners love it...Next time they come in, I will take pics for you guys on here...much to my chagrin..LOL

[GroovyGroomer777]

LOL thanks, I'd love to see that!