Your Groomer, Your Dog

If you don’t allow your dog to mouth your hands (and you shouldn’t) but the groomer does, sooner or later someone at the groomer’s will likely be bitten. If your dog is not comfortable with a groomer, don’t blame the groomer unjustly. Like two people don’t always hit it off sometimes some dogs simply don’t like some people.

 Your groomer should tend to the details of grooming. For pets this means a “sanitary shave”, trimming the hair around the genitals and rectal area as well as the fine hairs under the ‘armpits’ that can become tangled and uncomfortable for your pet. Regular ear cleaning if needed can note infection or discharge which may need veterinary attention or may be handled simply with extra time by the groomer.

 Touch up trimming of the nails and trimming the hair between the pads of the dog’s feet means less places for dirt and debris to cause irritation for your pet.  A thorough bathing and drying allows another pair of eyes to look over your dog for skin issues, lumps or bumps and other concerns that often as owners we “don’t see” especially if it comes on gradually. This can be a lifesaver for your pet.

 The groomer gets down and gets any tangles or mats that you miss in your regular grooming at home. For some dogs they trim long hair on the legs, shorten the coat which makes home maintenance easier for you and insure your dog is groomed thoroughly and healthy. Breeds such as the schnauzer, poodle, bichon or shih tzu have clip styles available that are much less work than the coat sported by their show cousins. While the show dogs are beautiful, that coat takes an immense amount of time to care for, with a team of people devoted to the show dog. Your pet dog is happy and comfortable just being with you – and spending time with him is the biggest benefit of having a dog – enjoying him!