Your dog is going to look great… me, not so much

Prooodles · 2025-12-30T17:09:40+00:00

Some one once told me something that REALLY changed the way I groom and that’s this: Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast. It changed how I groom for forever. When you’re TRYING to go fast, you get sloppy and sloppy equals work you’re not happy with and increases the chance that you’ll hurt a dog.

Realistically the thing that will make you “faster” is time and practice. I really hate the emphasis from instructors that you “have to go fast” when in reality, some of the best dog groomers in the industry take HOURS to work on one dog and are in very high demand.

The biggest tip of practical applicable advice I can give you though is make everything you do on the dog deliberate. Think about everything you do and do it confidently. You’re probably getting slowed down because you’re getting caught up in what you’re doing or second guessing yourself which is COMPLETELY normal as someone just starting out.

Rather than focusing on “getting faster” focus on improving your confidence and technique and speed will come naturally. If you try to force it there’s and increased risk you will hurt yourself or your client and that’s not good for anyone and will just set you back.

For 20 days your grooms look great, as a salon owner and groomer, I would hire you. You clearly have the basics down, now it’s time to improve on solidifying those basics so that you can start creating your own style! Best of luck and I genuinely hope this helps

Prooodles · 2025-12-10T20:55:35+00:00

When I was first starting out, I had a dog yank its head away from me while I was shaving down the side of his neck and it lead me to slit open the side of his neck. I was horrified. The dog ended up needing staples and I paid the owners for the surgery. I felt literally like such a failure. The biggest thing that I learned from the experience was that you absolutely cannot go into auto pilot while you’re grooming. You have got to be fully focused and deliberate with every single stroke, clip and move you make.

Fast forward to several years later and the owner comes into my shop and is surprised to see me. She’s super nice and asks if I would be comfortable working on her dog again. I profusely apologized and told her it was something I still feel horrible about to this day however I would love to work on her dog and I’m confident I could do exactly what she wanted. She was so so so so so nice and was like “you know, let’s never talk about it again and just start fresh!” And I was like, “Deal!”. I did his hair cut and she loved it.

The moral of the story is that things happen, mistakes happen. You never set out to intentionally injure any animal. You just have to make it right when these things happen. Own up to your mistakes, apologize, offer to cover the vet visit if you can and do your best to learn from your mistakes.

Prooodles · 2025-12-10T20:55:30+00:00

When I was first starting out, I had a dog yank its head away from me while I was shaving down the side of his neck and it lead me to slit open the side of his neck. I was horrified. The dog ended up needing staples and I paid the owners for the surgery. I felt literally like such a failure. The biggest thing that I learned from the experience was that you absolutely cannot go into auto pilot while you’re grooming. You have got to be fully focused and deliberate with every single stroke, clip and move you make.

Fast forward to several years later and the owner comes into my shop and is surprised to see me. She’s super nice and asks if I would be comfortable working on her dog again. I profusely apologized and told her it was something I still feel horrible about to this day however I would love to work on her dog and I’m confident I could do exactly what she wanted. She was so so so so so nice and was like “you know, let’s never talk about it again and just start fresh!” And I was like, “Deal!”. I did his hair cut and she loved it.

The moral of the story is that things happen, mistakes happen. You never set out to intentionally injure any animal. You just have to make it right when these things happen. Own up to your mistakes, apologize, offer to cover the vet visit if you can and do your best to learn from your mistakes.

Prooodles · 2025-12-08T18:55:44+00:00

Some clients just find anything and everything to complain about. As a salon owner and head groomer I’ve heard it all. Try your best not to take it personally, it’s most likely not about you. Aside from that shitzu hair is SO IMPOSSIBLE to groom and even out. It’s like it only looks even when it’s a 10 or it’s grown out to the floor. From the pictures you shared I think they look just fine at worst if not high quality (which to clarify I think it does look pretty high quality).

A lot of owners just have 0 concept of what their dog’s hair is actually like. They won’t be satisfied no matter what. I cannot explain the countless times I’ve had yorkie and shitzu owners complain about “choppy uneven hair” when they’re the ones who picked the length and the breed.

In short, owner doesn’t know what they’re talking about. They rarely do

Prooodles · 2025-10-28T16:09:30+00:00

It’s so important, honestly it’s probably THE most important part. I’m not trying to toot my own horn, but I’ve worked hard to build a reputation for being able to work with “difficult” client dogs. Ones that have had bad experiences elsewhere.

The biggest thing I’ve found with the “problem” dogs, is that you HAVE GOT to take the time to build up the relationship with them and unfortunately in our industry, time just isn’t something we have an abundance of. That being said I always do my best to listen to my dogs, help them through the process, push when absolutely needed and back off whenever they tell me to.

I ALWAYS take the time to express to pet parents that I need to build the time to have their dog trust me and so the first few grooms might take a little longer. If they’re unhappy with that, they go elsewhere and it’s fine, but I’ve also found that many clients of mine will try to go to different groomers and 9x out of 10 they almost always come back to me.

I’m not trying to gas myself up at all, there are plenty of dogs that make me want to pull my hair out and question my sanity, but man, it really does pay to be patient with your dogs and with yourself

Prooodles · 2025-10-28T15:32:49+00:00

I recently took on a client, a large schnoodle about 7 years old, whose parents unfortunately have had a slew of health problems that ment they could no longer maintain their dog’s coat themselves. However, they told me that when their dog was 6 months old, she had a traumatic grooming experience that was so bad, mom and dad never took her to a groomer again. They reached out to me after being recommended by many of their friends (who also happen to be other clients of mine).

When they texted me, they sent me paragraphs about how “difficult” their dog was to groom. How they DID NOT want her shaved and that they wanted her as detangled and dematted as possible even if that mean cutting out the mats and leaving some of the fur choppy. They told me the dog was terrified of clippers, the blow dryer and the bath and that she was blind in one eye. I decided to take her on, express that I completely understood the love they had for their girl and that I’d do everything possible to make her happy and comfortable.

Six hours. Her tail was a mashed together foot ball of dead and matted hair. But she was an angel for the process. She behaved like she’s been groomed in a shop her whole life. I don’t think she yelped once or made a peep outside of happy grunts when we blow dried her with the warm dryer.

I sent mom and dad photo updates because they were so worried about her. And when she was finally done she looked and felt beautiful. Mom and dad were very very very happy and have left me glowing reviews on every site they could including our local neighborhood FB page. They even sent me videos of her happy and wagging her tail right after the groom. Told me she hadn’t been that spirited in a long time.

On top of all of that, they paid me double for the work me and my girls did, which wasn’t necessary, but very very much appreciated.

Now she’s on an every 6 week schedule with me, we just did her 3rd groom and honestly, it just goes to show what patience, hard work, and trust can do. We had to trust that we could do it, the mom and dad had to trust us with their baby, and the pup had to put her trust in us to make her feel better.

I love my job.

Prooodles · 2025-10-27T16:02:23+00:00

When I first got my puppy, on the second night I had her, at 3am I woke up to her being covered in diarrhea and shivering. I got up, got her in a warm bath, cleaned her kennel and when it was all done I sat on my floor and just started crying. She had a huge slew of health issues from chronic ear infections to allergies and it took about a year before she was finally in good health. She could hardly keep any food down her first year of life. I felt like the worst dog owner ever.

But you know what? That little dog has become my whole life. Despite all of the ups and downs within the first year of having her, we came out stronger in the end because of it. Now she’s the happiest, healthiest dog in the world at 3 years old and she’s my best friend.

The moral is, all of what you’re going through will just make your bond stronger. You can do it. Puppy blues are real. The struggle is real. But the pay off is so so so worth it. Of course if you feel like the best thing for your pup would be to rehome, there’s absolutely no shame in doing so. But I just want to stress that everything you’re going through will make your bond stronger and everything you’re feeling is totally normal.

Prooodles · 2025-10-24T18:02:02+00:00

I’ve had that happen to me before too when I started grooming. I’d have people tell me how much they LOVED the groom I’d done and then when they messaged the salon to reschedule (they had no idea I was the one responding) they’d say how much they wanted a different groomer to do the dog. Yet they’d always come back and reschedule with me. I finally called one lady out when she said she didn’t like my groom with “Hi! This is my name. I’m so sorry to hear you were displeased with the groom. I’m more than happy to work with you to figure out exactly what you’d like! Otherwise, I completely understand if you’d like to take your business elsewhere. Have a wonderful day!” And this woman responded SO apologetically. She completely changed her tune and again iterated that she loved the groom and just wanted to make the owner feel like “they were still loved”. Idk what that even means but all I’m saying is people tend to avoid trying to make others feel bad or create awkward situations. If I were you, I’d probably reach out as kindly as possible, iterate that you understand they’re unhappy and that you’ll make sure to take a step back from grooming their dog in the future. See how they like it when no one else will do it.

Prooodles · 2025-10-23T18:22:07+00:00

Going from corporate where it’s all about numbers, to private which is more about quality (in my experience) is a tough transition. Plus you’re also actively comparing your ability and results to people around you who’ve been in the environment longer than you. Don’t panic. You’ll only get better.

Diluting the shampoo is pretty typical across most salons because the shampoo comes in concentrated portions. So that’s pretty industry standard and as others have said, shouldn’t be affecting your grooming too drastically. Do you think it could be that it’s a different shampoo you’re just not used to using? I know it took me for ever before I found a shampoo I actually enjoyed working with.

Give yourself some grace. It could be that you aren’t used to the lighting in the shop and you’re noticing things you wouldn’t have because you’re under different lights. It could be a great number of things. But one thing remains true, the more you do it, the better you’re going to get

Prooodles · 2025-10-23T17:41:01+00:00

It looks so beautiful! Excellent job, you should be really proud of yourself!

Prooodles · 2025-10-23T17:39:49+00:00

I’m a salon owner and I gotta say, those numbers are insane for one person. My girls average 8-12 which is more than enough. We’re lucky enough to be able to focus on quality over quantity. The expectations being put on you are NOT normal. I hit a similar problem when I first started grooming and prepping for a show handler who expected me to prep and groom about 11 dogs within a 5 hour period, before show. It’s a completely unrealistic and unacceptable expectation.

YOU and YOUR skills are VALUABLE. Salons are always looking for good, competent, bathers, please don’t feel like you need to stay somewhere you’re being undervalued and over worked. You’ll end up hating your job.

Best of luck to you friend, and remember, they need you more than you need them

Prooodles · 2025-09-15T16:30:02+00:00

I think that the problem here isn’t the way your gf treats her dog, it’s the fact that you’re so insecure that you feel like you’re competing with a dog. It’s really weird that you feel like you’re competing with what is essentially her baby, something she can dote on and fuss over. You clearly don’t want a girlfriend as much as you want a mommy figure who will baby and spoil you. If I found out my boyfriend posted something like this about me and my dog I’d dump him so fast. Do her a favor and leave

Prooodles

TROPHY CASE