How to Explain Your Dog’s New Haircut to a New Groomer
Once you find the right person for your dog’s needs, it can be hard to change. Why go to another groomer when Fido already has one with all their information, right? Well, circumstances can always change. You might find yourself moving to a new state, or maybe your groomer retired. Regardless, you’ll have to find a way to communicate your doggy hair care needs to someone new. Sit Means Sit has some tips to help you explain your dog’s haircut to a new groomer.
Why Should You Take Your Dog To A Professional Dog Groomer?
Whether you have a new puppy or a dog with a beautiful mature adult coat, it is a good idea to acclimate your dog to being handled by a professional dog groomer. Once you find a grooming shop your dog likes and does a good job, you can go to the same groomer for all your grooming needs. Sometimes taking your dog to grooming sessions is easier than trying to groom them yourself, particularly for a dog owner with high-maintenance breeds, who have a desired style, or if they don’t want to groom or do a nail trim themselves. Most groomers do not style the same breed but work with all dogs and hair types. This could be double coat type dogs, long or short hair, poodles, doodles, or even little pups that need regular trims like the Shih Tzu.
A good dog groomer will take the grooming session seriously and want to make their clients beautiful and pet owners happy. A professional grooming session typically consists of your pup being brushed, bathed, and dried. During the grooming appointment, the groomer will trip or clip your dog with clean, sanitized brushes and clipper blades. Groomers brush or comb out mats before the bath, making it easier to lather the dog with shampoo during the grooming process. The will usually include a nail trimming while cleaning the dog’s ears, and checking for signs of infection. When the coat dries, the dog is trimmed, clipped, or shaved if requested.
Finally, Regular grooming sessions with your canine companion with a trusted dog groomer will help them develop good behavioral habits. And not only on the grooming table! They will learn to good coping skills if they ever have to stay at the veterinarian or be kenneled.
How Often Does Your Dog Need To Go To The Dog Groomers?
The frequency of grooming your dog depends on several variables, including breed, coat type and length, amount of time spent outside getting dirty, and climate. You also have to factor in the kind of haircut you want your dog to have and how often you groom your dog yourself. Therefore, it depends on how you ask your current groomer to groom your dog.
No matter whether you visit a professional with your dog every six weeks or three times a year, it’s best you do a little grooming session every once in a while at home. Regularly run a comb or brush through their fur, trim the fur behind their ears, or give them a quick nail trimming. Husbandry skills like this will make their future appointments much less stressful.
How to Tell Your Dog Groomer Exactly What You Want For Your Pet
Be Specific
When communicating in a new environment, learning the language is helpful, unless you don’t use it correctly. For example, a pet owner might go to a new groomer and say, “I’d like a puppy cut,” to which the groomer responds with: “Easy! He’ll be ready in an hour.”
While this might seem like a simple interaction, there was no discussion on the actual details of the cut. To help you understand: a puppy cut usually means one length all around (but can change from groomer to groomer). Typically, this all-around length is super short, but that wasn’t communicated. So, you can imagine the pet owner’s surprise when they go to pick up their dog and find them practically hairless! Obviously, they’d be livid. The best way to avoid the trauma is to be specific. Give details and guidelines to your groomer. They’re there to make you happy and give your dog the best haircut.
Say What You Want!
Humans have this habit of starting off a conversation with: I don’t want… Starting off a sentence like that is more useful in black/white contexts, like saying “I don’t want onions in my sandwich.” However, it’s much more difficult in situations where something is more likely to get lost in translation, like saying “I don’t want my dog’s hair too short.” What is “too short?” It depends on the person.
When you take Fido to a new groomer, make sure you start off with what you do want instead of what you don’t. This keeps anything from getting lost in nuance. So, if you want your dog’s hair to be a healthy medium length, don’t say you don’t want it short. Tell the groomer specifically that you want 3 inches off the top and a nice shiny conditioner.
Don’t Skip the Deets
Unlike your previous groomer, the new one won’t know every habit, skin or medical condition your dog has. Communicating these can help the groomer determine if the cut you want is actually possible given the circumstances. If your dog has an allergy then the groomer can prepare accordingly. Similarly, letting the groomer know your dog’s hair history can be helpful too, as they can recommend haircuts that might work better for your dog than the one you want.
Bring Your Photo Album
If you still have trouble communicating, then the best course of action might be to just show them a picture of what you want for your dog. This way, they can assess and choose the best course of action. It’s easier for your groomer to tell you if they can do what you want if they can actually see what you want.
Realistic Expectations and What Happens at a Dog Grooming Appointment?
Before taking your dog to the grooming shop, it is important to explain to your groomer exactly the haircut you want. Remember that depending on your dog’s breed, coat, behavior, or age, it might not be the haircut you envision.
Most dog grooming begins with a thorough bathing to clean the coat and prepare it for cutting. Your dog’s coat must be completely clean and dry to get an even and neat haircut. Clipping dirty or oily fur can be difficult and is also hard on the blades of the scissors and can dull them prematurely. Before using clippers or scissors to cut your dog’s coat, a groomer will thoroughly blow dry it.
While blow-drying your pet’s coat, your groomer will brush out their hair. Not only will this get their hair as straight as possible but helps brush out any loose fur. This is exceptionally beneficial to double-coated dogs that shed their undercoats seasonally (some breeds, like huskies, might shed worse than others). This step in the grooming process not only removes any excess fur but will hopefully reduce excess shedding. Once their coat is blow-dried and brushed, your dog will receive their trim or haircut. Usually using clippers, a groomer will cut down your dog’s hair to a particular length and style.
Finally, after bathing and clipping, groomers will often perform several husbandry services for your dog. Trimming or Dremeling a dog’s nails is usually a part of the grooming service. Depending on how active your dog is, their nails need to be clipped regularly. Some groomers even offer a nail-trimming-only service since some pet owners are uncomfortable with the task. Groomers will also clean their ears. Certain breeds like spaniels and doodles are prone to ear infections and need regular ear cleanings!