🐾 Reasons NOT to be a Dog Groomer 🐾

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

Thanks for the response to 42… I could understand everything else because yeah, jobs will always have a sucky side but the whole hate against mutts is so god awful to me. A purebred does not mean a good dog and saying you hate a specific breed for simply existing is beyond me.

OP is the kind of groomer that made me work on my own dogs which eventually led me to becoming a groom.

 

[sillyfool]

@sam1986 i just quit my job and god i relate to so many of these

 

[catholics_r_christians]

@sam1986 I started as a bather in 2018. Left that salon after a year and came back to the shop i originally started at. We had 2 groomers here and i did manager for pet shop and bathg for the groomers etc.

In june of 2021 one of our groomers passed away. The same day she was buried our other groomer was moving and already had her 2 weeks put in. So the day of her funeral and the other groomer moving i had to come in that day and bathe dogs scheduled for the groomer that passed. I was thrown into a month of prebooked dogs. I was fine with nails ears feet and sani and pre shave down at this point. By july of 2021 i had people begging to just do a haircut with no experience no training and just the cards of the clients to go based off of and what i have seen in the past few years.

I have learned many styles and cuts. So many breeds and dogs. I was so overwhelmed my first few months alone and not having anything to guide me but the dogs themselves and the cards we have on file. And i wanted to give up so many times.

Whats kept me is the dogs themselves and my need for making them feel better. At this point in my area there is a total of maybe 5 groomers. Maybe. Thats being generous. Since ive started ive been booked out a month.

This is a hard job. No doubt. Right now i have a border collie that attacks the velocity blow dryer and cries the entire time in the crate dryer. But i know shes safe. Shes clean. Her nails are clipped. She might not be having the time of her life but shes doing it and we are doing it together.

I always tell all the dogs that. That i know this is hard and scary for both of us but we will get through this because we have to.

I love your post. Not a single thing you said was untrue. I just felt thr need to tell my story and hope it helps someone struggling. You will get through it. And if you cant dog gets picked up and goes home. There will be another groomer that can get the dog done.

If you give up that is okay. But i love this job. I love being just me and the dogs. My days go by incredibly fast. Some days i cry all the way through with the dogs and some days im so happy and so are all the dogs. Its different every single day but at this point in my life im making good money, helping baby beans get through their appointments and trying to maintain stability.

Just keep trying. Keep learning. You will get better. You will get faster. You will find confidence as you go.

"Progress looks like a bunch of failures"

Just keep going guys. The dogs need us.

 

[bordogamesdev]

@sam1986 Have recently started doing ear cleaning…gotta say, I get upset whenever a customer brings in a dog and their ears are just so SO BAD, like wtf, I don’t even see the skin just the ear dirt?!!

Poor doggo…

 

[vanfossenfi]

@sam1986 Dog owner curious about #5. I have a 9 month old pup who isn’t a fan of being brushed, but we are working on it. He tends to treat the brush as more of a toy than anything, and will play bite at it when you are trying to brush him. It can be alarming at first, but it truly isn’t an aggressive “don’t touch me with that or I’ll bite you” behavior (I’m not a trainer but I’m experienced enough with behavior to know that this is just obnoxious puppy behavior). How should I tell/warn my groomer about this without sounding like a crazy owner? I want to make sure she’s aware that he is working on tolerating brushing, but that it isn’t aggressive behavior.

Edit: for reference, I totally trust my groomers to take good care of my dogs and I really don’t care what kind of cut they do. I mostly just don’t want to sound like I’m minimizing behavior lol

 

[sam1986]

@vanfossenfi In my experience, all puppies at first don't like it. All groomers are use to it and expect it. It’s no biggie.

Usually when try brushing a young one, they bite at the brush a lot and don't understand what you're doing or how to respond to it. They think you’re trying to play with them and refuse to sit still. It takes time simply because they don't know any better

I’ve had repeat appointments with the same puppy and over time they stopped biting at the brush and just sat there wagging their tail, enjoying it.

 

[keeley120]

@sam1986 It's still better than vet medicine though lol

 

[samwiri]

@sam1986 Wow. Seems to me that this type of job is not for you at all. I would just move on to a totally different type of career (maybe some kind of work from home vocation) instead of torturing yourself.

 

[johnyork]

@samwiri There’s always downsides to everything and people are allowed to vent about it. It doesn’t mean that they don’t love their job, it just means there are parts of it that are frustrating and can be deal breakers for others. I applaud dog groomers, shelter workers, veterinarians, vet techs, etc. for doing these difficult jobs.

Yes, you get crazy people and crazy dogs. The work can be very physically taxing, some days it can be too much but the reason many stay in the profession is for the good moments. For example:

1.) When pet owners pick their dog up and LOVE the hair cut.

2.) When you meet a very well behaved, happy dog.

3.) When you gain a dogs trust.

4.) When you finally get the haircut done and it looks AMAZING.

5.) When you meet an awesome pet parent and gain a lifetime client.

6.) Puppy kisses!

7.) When you get the mats off and the dog is finally pain free.

The list goes on. The post was made to highlight some of the not so fun parts of grooming and show others what many go through on a day to day basis. There are just as many rewarding parts to grooming though and many are in the profession because they want to help and provide an essential services to dogs.

 

[sonofedward]

@samwiri Are you a groomer

 

[yakdip]

@samwiri Don’t know why you are getting downvoted for this. I was thinking same thing

 

[rickt65]

@sam1986 Yep, dog actually drew blood today scratching at my arm! Like come on dog, I was only trying to dry your face, no need to attack me!

 

[seventytimes7]

@sam1986 As someone who is also leaving the industry, I’d say half of these are legitimately problems in the industry and the other half are a part of the job. Probably the right call to leave.