Thursday, July 22, 2010

Dog groomers

No, I have never been a dog groomer. But I have had Rigel for almost 4 years now. And as a yorkie in a puppy cut, he needs a hair cut about every 4 months. I have one BIG problem with most dog groomers.

It does not take 4 hours to clip and bathe a 6lb yorkie.

Rigel has been to many different dog groomers, in my attempt to find a good one. And we had a GREAT one, but I will tell you about her in a sec.

As it has been explained to me by many groomers, they work on many dogs at once. So while one is drying from a bath, another is being clipped. Plus many groomers I have tried do the dog drop off before the groomer even gets to work. So if I drop Rigel off at 8:30, and the groomer doesnt show up until 9am (which, lets face it, she doesnt come in and get right to work. She needs coffee and to chat with her co-workers, then she gets the first dog), Rigel could be in a cage for a good 45 minutes. Rigel is not a cage dog. He doesnt have a kennel with bars at home. He has a soft sided mesh box and he's usually left in a room when I'm gone. Sure, I'm a snob when it comes to Rigel, I'd be the first one to tell you that. But I'm paying for a service and I should get what I pay for. There have been many times I pick up a terrified anxious dog 4 hours later. And that just doesnt cut it folks.

So my parents have a neighbor that is a former dog groomer. She is a single mother and my parents help her out a lot, fixing her sons' bikes, mowing her lawn, etc. So she would clip Rigel for free. I would take him over and while we chatted, she would cut Rigel and bathe him. Even while talking and laughing, tending to her sons, and answering her home phone, she would STILL have Rigel done in about an hour.

So Rigel goes to the groomer next Wednesday. He has been to this place before. They did an okay job with his actual hair cut, but we're going back to them because he came out of the back room acting like my Rigel, not the tail-tucked scared pup I usually get back. I'll let you know how it ends.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I give my three Yorkies haircuts myself... no, they would never win any awards, but it keeps their hair manageable. I just went and bought some regular hair clippers (like guys use) for the body, scissors to shape the face in the puppy style, and bikini trimmers to do their potty area, paws and ears. It takes me anywhere from 30min to 1 hour per dog. It saves on the cost and the pain of taking them to the groomer if you are brave enough to take it on.

Sara said...

I keep his face trimmed up and out of his eyes. And I used to clip his body with the sheers until Joe took them. I just cant clip his nails. I tried once and we both started crying. Never again! And I cant seem to figure out how to express his anal gland. I had the good groomer show me how and I have looked it up online since then. But I just cant figure it out.

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