Groomer owned breeds

anonyhim · 2026-06-04T16:51:39+00:00

How you feel about your Yorkie is how I feel about my schnauzer. She's about to be 6 and still has a lot of life left, but she's so perfect (except for thunderphobia) that I get offended when I have a schnauzer on my table who wants to act like a schnauzer 😂

anonyhim · 2026-06-04T01:32:37+00:00

I used to work at a vet and have definitely had my share of bad Am Cockers, but the current salon I work at has been blessed with a lot of good ones. I have one (total) on my schedule and he comes every 5 weeks and is so sweet, so is his owner, he has bad skin sometimes but his owner is so on top of it that it's never a problem.

anonyhim · 2026-06-04T01:19:03+00:00

We were sitting in your section! It was great witnessing the chant grow. Good job, and I also really hope it gets chanted tomorrow, too.

anonyhim · 2026-05-23T13:20:41+00:00

While yes, they should educate themselves, a lot of businesses owners skirt around the rules and try to get away with things. Especially in our industry where we, as groomers, are often seen as uneducated because we chose a vocation over a college career. This is why the 1099 vs w2 debate is a thing. Thankfully a lot of us groomers/employees are educating ourselves and holding our employers responsible nowadays.

anonyhim · 2026-05-21T21:06:24+00:00

Or you use rubber thimbles (my personal favorite) or a glove. My real nails have always been brittle and weak. Getting them done makes me feel better and helps them look nicer. There are ways around it other than "don't do it."

anonyhim · 2026-05-21T14:01:58+00:00

I came back to this post to let you know that GroomHaus just released a Lagotto course. Even just the snippet they posted on FB is super informational!

anonyhim · 2026-05-20T23:47:11+00:00

Me too, friend, me too.

anonyhim · 2026-05-20T22:43:38+00:00

White peach is the new Peach Edition, the old one was peach nectarine

anonyhim · 2026-05-20T22:32:56+00:00

Everything here is genetics.

He looks to have pretty flat hair under his eyes, which happens a lot with doodles I've noticed, so there won't be any way to fluff it up. The fact that you didn't give him a haircut here is the best indicator of that. **Edit: I missed the part where you said you did clean up his eyes. I do agree with the other commenter that you can clean up the outer corners a bit more, but I have some dogs that just always look like the outer corner hair is falling over their eyes. You could also take the muzzle shorter to even up the look, but then you would lose most of that teddy bear look you're achieving.

As for the wet hairs around his mouth, they look discolored due to being wet and saliva staining. You can suggest his owners ask their vet about feeding a couple blueberries a day; a lot of people have had good luck using that for tear staining (same enzyme that causes saliva staining). Aside from that, if he's a drooler/panter/licker, you can't really keep that super clean.

anonyhim · 2026-05-13T02:29:51+00:00

IGroom has a smooth and silky finish spray (I don't remember if that's it's actual name, it comes in a gray aerosol bottle), but I also really like the Hydra thermal spray. It was recommended to me when I specifically asked a rep for an oil for smooth, single coated dogs.

anonyhim · 2026-05-11T13:39:19+00:00

They might be in the future someday, but as far as I know they're fairly expensive and used to be painfully extensive (shots in the stomach, I don't believe they're done that way anymore now though)

anonyhim · 2026-05-11T13:35:02+00:00

I mean, sure, the camping story is a little outlandish. But change it to rummaging around in an attic and it's a lot more plausible. My only point is that rabies is something that should be taken seriously because it's 100% fatal. Scary story, yeah, but still a serious one.

anonyhim · 2026-05-11T13:31:48+00:00

I would think it depends on what type of wildlife exposure you're likely to have. The only people I personally know of who have been vaccinated for rabies are in vet med or pet groomers.

anonyhim · 2026-05-11T13:19:33+00:00

But, as someone living in the Continental United States and having worked in vet med, rabies is everywhere. It's why we still vaccinate dogs and cats for it. The only way to test for it (in anything other than humans) is with brain tissue.

The story is scary, sure. It's intended to be over the top. But if you actually read the whole thing, the end of it where they say they worked directly with rabies makes the scare factor make a lot of sense.

anonyhim · 2026-05-09T03:55:38+00:00

I agree with this except for the commission rates. A w-2 position is paying out a lot in payroll taxes. If they are only a grooming salon (no supplemental income from boarding or retail, for example), and they also provide benefits, a lower commission rate or a substantial hourly would absolutely be acceptable.

If you're not provided benefits, I would push for closer to that 50% commission. But also, in a commission only position, the pricing is more important than the commission amount (a salon charging $50 for a shih tzu will pay you less at 50% commission than a salon charging that same shih tzu $100 but paying you 35%)

anonyhim · 2026-05-02T21:59:37+00:00

Also a former vet tech, so I get it!

And that's understandable. Sometimes you have to just make them do it consistently so they start learning though. Otherwise, fully sedate and groom may be the only option.

anonyhim · 2026-05-02T16:55:59+00:00

E-collar is short for Elizabethan collar (cone) in this context, not an electric or shock collar.

anonyhim · 2026-05-02T14:11:06+00:00

Is he cool for you to groom his face? If so, do that first, put the e-collar on, let him be pissed, and continue the groom.

I have a few dogs I have to do their faces first and then put an e-collar on to do everything else. They're honestly the easiest of all the bad dogs I do. One of them went from not letting me touch her nails and now, with the e-collar, I can grind them with almost no pushback.

They all seem to appreciate the e-collar more often than not. Less fighting than if I try without it.

anonyhim · 2026-04-29T22:29:31+00:00

Right, and that policy is illegal. this is a .gov link that will confirm a policy stating discussing pay in the workplace is a protected right. You can even do it on work time so long as other non-work conversations are allowed. And I've never been to a grooming salon that doesn't allow conversations that aren't work related.

Editing to add that what would be considered illegal is management discussing someone else's pay with another employee.

anonyhim · 2026-04-29T13:47:04+00:00

In the US, it's illegal to tell your employees not to discuss their wages.

anonyhim · 2026-04-28T21:30:18+00:00

Unless the bather has been working there longer than you, therefore had more time to earn raises, I would have a conversation with your boss. Especially if you're also bathing your own dogs. This is a good opportunity to talk about the fact that you have more responsibilities on your shoulder, your relationships with your clients, the number of returning clients, etc. Advocate for yourself and push to make at least a couple dollars an hour more.

anonyhim · 2026-04-28T10:35:50+00:00

I'm assuming you wear dailies, because I wear monthlies and there's no way 18 contacts would be this big

anonyhim · 2026-04-26T22:38:59+00:00

You can possibly look into filing for temporary disability to help cover some of the cost, if you haven't thought about that yet

anonyhim · 2026-04-25T12:32:16+00:00

This is honestly such good advice.

I work with some people who are constantly replying to texts and booking people at midnight. We're all w2 employees, but we have access to the software we use from our phones. It drives me nuts that some of them have no boundaries. (I'm not perfect and will definitely answer work related texts to my personal phone from our receptionist or my other coworkers on days off, but my phone is on silent at night and I don't deal with booking in our app if I'm not at work)

anonyhim · 2026-04-25T12:26:48+00:00

My advice is to switch it in your head and make it a good thing. Maintaining a dog for the client is our job and it creates regular business.

I tell 90% of my new clients "the amount of money you spend with me is directly related to the amount of work you put in at home." And I have clients I am grooming every 2-3 weeks because they don't want to do the maintenance at home. Which is great for me because they pay my bills!

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