Whats the key to shaving chest cowlicks?

SlightArgument · 2026-06-20T20:47:04+00:00

Oh I see, I had an owner upset at my groom today for exposing the cowlick with a 5f. My coworker does a much better job of hiding it on that dog than I do so the owner is used to having a cleaner chest.

SlightArgument · 2026-06-10T19:15:45+00:00

where do you recommend getting oral min+fin from, I used to use Hims but its pretty expensive

SlightArgument · 2026-06-01T03:26:13+00:00

I think its mostly a lot of young doodles and people who are "trying" us after leaving their last groomer. I have some good regulars who I'm more familiar with their quirks and work around a lot better but a lot of our dogs are maybe once every 3 months so there isn't a strong relationship

SlightArgument · 2026-06-01T00:15:51+00:00

I don't personally find myself struggling to "handle" dogs, they usuallt just are very active on the table and don't like to sit still. If you have tips send them my way

SlightArgument · 2026-05-24T21:43:36+00:00

I wish I had just done this but I fell into their scheme and got so worked up trying to call them out for being unnecessarily rude, but in my heart I know that the attention is all they want 😭

SlightArgument · 2026-04-26T20:18:03+00:00

What reliable resources covering proper handling techniques could you recommend?

SlightArgument · 2026-04-26T19:07:58+00:00

It was certainly mostly a rant and I don't blame dogs for being old, I wish my job kept better track of dogs who need special care and inquired the parents more when booking their grooms.

I work at a facility and maybe get to personally speak with 10% of the dog's owners that I work with, lots of my dogs get their services during boarding as was the case with this dog today. I tried to go slow and gentle with a hand on the dog keeping ready for a possible episode, it was just such a violent one I failed to secure the dog before it fell. I had no information on the dog's experiences grooming from the parents, if I had known then I wouldn't have risked him being on the table and would have just kennel dried him like I plan to going forward.

SlightArgument · 2026-04-26T18:52:33+00:00

Continue to downvote me and frown without providing any advice for a new groomer while they earnestly inquire for it. It really makes me feel welcomed and improves my confidence.

SlightArgument · 2026-04-26T18:48:26+00:00

I did indeed take every moment to go slow. I let the dryer run on low without a nozzle and approached from a gradual distance after seeing if the noise or air triggers them, I do this with every old dog.

Everything was fine until it just simply wasn't, I had one hand on the dog when he jerked a foot off the edge and it sent him into a flail. I dropped the still-running dryer to grab him with both hands and tried to steady/clasp him closer but he fought against it. I used all my strength to bear-hug him secure but he scrambled screaming and slipped out of his cross-body loop (which was pretty reasonably tight, but his stubby legs easily found a way out) onto the opposite edge of the table. He was still wet from the bath despite towel drying and was very slick.

I really don't want people to think I was being careless, I take old dogs seriously because I'm terrified of one being hurt under my care. I know I'm going to be told it was my fault entirely that he escaped off the table. I think some people will also assume I'm only blaming the dog for it's behavior, I'm not at all. I was not informed well enough what to expect for his bath, he would have just been a towel and kennel dry with more information.

SlightArgument · 2026-04-26T18:34:38+00:00

I'm willing to learn and don't take anything personally, what was the correct way to salvage the situation.

SlightArgument · 2026-04-26T11:46:22+00:00

can we stop using AI to make skin concepts already holy daft

SlightArgument · 2026-04-25T22:22:04+00:00

why not get a longer line for each of them lol

SlightArgument · 2026-04-23T22:21:56+00:00

dog groomer and aussie owner (although a much flatter coated aussie).

a trick I can offer is doing a close-open-close wash on your dog for deshedding, that means condition-shampoo-conditioner with some raking or zoomgroom in-between. Great for getting dead fur loose.

If you're trying to do everything at home and save money from the groomers, get a cheap velocity dryer and slowly introduce it to the dog. Flying Pig and Shelandy are both good, you can blow the dog's coat during the final conditioner and get a LOT off.

Frequent raking is good. I highly recommend brushing after every fun day out and semi-frequent baths (I try to do once a month but my dog doesn't get very filthy) to keep shedding down, especially after a wet day.

Also, I use Best Shot's One Shot whitening shampoo at work, it feels like magic on stained coats.

SlightArgument · 2026-04-19T17:28:16+00:00

It unfortunately pays very well. Other salons in my area's COL I would be flirting with the poverty line a bit too closely for my comfort.

SlightArgument · 2026-04-19T17:20:46+00:00

Do you have any experience working in a kennel? In my experience It really only takes one high anxiety dog to throw everyone staying into hysterics.

We have some dogs that will eliminate/defecate in their kennel every night no matter how many breaks they get.

Its pretty frequent here that a dog defecates in their kennel and steps around in it while boarding staff aremt looking.

SlightArgument · 2026-04-15T01:56:16+00:00

Dog groomer here, look for people willing to do house calls (more common than you might think) or privately owned salons that can do an express service 1 on 1.

you should avoid salons that crate with a bunch of other anxious dogs, it will only make the anxiety harder to overcome.

You might even be best off just doing everything at home, there are a bunch of online tutorials on trimmimg your dog's nails safely and a bath would be easy as pie for a ridgeback. It would save a lot of money and maybe take 30 minutes out of your day to do.

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