[SECRETO]

Okay I survived the longest day of my life. Okay, well maybe Im exaggerating but Im exhausted! The boys (2 standard poodles) arrived at 8:30 am and I started on them by 9:00am and finished at 5:30 pm...NO breaks! That was also with my husband helping me the whole time. Yes, thats right, he groomed those dogs until the end with me. That man can shave a muzzle! lol

Not only did they come over looking like matted Shepdogs but they were horribly dirty, smelt aweful and had ticks. The lamb clip did NOT happen or was it even a option. I had to shave them down and was only able to save there head and ears. I have before and after pics that I will post tomorrow to show exactly why Poodle's should not live outside!

Anyhow, Im sooo exhausted and Ive neglected my dogs for almost a full day now. Tomorrow I'll be asking for forgiveness and hope they all except. lol

 

[FUZBUTZ]

Hey Jenn, was thinking about you all day, wondering how things were going for you. Sounds like a really long hard day for you and your Hubby. Yes you are so right about poodles not living outside. We have seen some that do live outside and we feel so sorry for them. There is one down the street from us, it is a toy and lives outside all year round. It has a dog house for shelter, but thats it. When it is cold outside at night we sometimes hear it whining and it makes us feel terrible. Even our rottie has a dog house w/2 100 watt bulbs hanging thru the roof of it for warmth, and blankets too. The dog house is in our garage that is attached to our house. If she wants to get warmer she gets in the dog house, but many times she only sleeps in the garage, but not the doghouse because she doesn't like to be to warm. I bet you guys are truely exhausted, should sleep well tonight. I'm sure your dogs will forgive you. Give them a lota' lovin' tomorrow and be happy for them that they do not have to live like the dogs that you groomed today. Why do some people have to be so stupid shen it comes to taking care of their animals, that have to depend on their humans for their care. It really saddens me.

 

[Mandycasey'smom]

send those pics to the spca so that they can see what a mess these guys are

 

[roxy25]

This job took my sister 6 hrs

Before

during / almost done

[/IMG]

I don't think she had a finish picture or i just can't find it on the comp

 

[SECRETO]

Roxy,

I wish those dogs looked like the one your sister did. lol Great finishing look though....I like the blue on that Poodle. He/she is pretty!

Well here are the pics of before and after. I tried to save what I could and even after several washes that's as bright as there coats would get (ecspecially around the legs and top of back). They hated there faces being shaved and there feet touched at all. They gave us a hard time but we never got a lifted lip, growl or nip. They were good boys and very happy to get all that nasty matted hair off. These pictures don't do any justice for what they really looked like before. Anyhow, here are Theo and Preston....now POODLES...not Shepdogs! LOL

The dog before on the table is Preston, which is the dog with the pretty full head in the after pic. Theo is the dog in the first three pics and then the last after pic.

 

[WonderPup]

I can relate

Yeah Jen that looks like it was a lot of fun. I saw that stauts thing on your myspace last night and was wondering what you ment, now I know. LoL.
On the bright side, I'm sure both the dog's feel better and I suppose it could have been worse right? I wish there was an IQ test required before a person was allowed to own a dog... Hummmm lets see I want a dog that is cute and fluffy but I don't have to brush it ever... Oh great I'll get a poodle!!! LoL, Honestly I don't know what some people are thinking.
Check out these spoos from last week...
Classic, "what???? I need to brush them??? WHAT?? I need to have them groomed more often????" Umm yeah Duh.





This big boy accoriding to his momma is a "Royal poodle" meaning he's bigger than the average standard... Whatever. He weighed in in the neighborhood of 90 plus pounds AND hasn't been groomed in five or six months now. The vet shaved his nose and momma wanted me to try and leave a moustach... uhhh NO.


This is the 5 month old son of the dog above, he is already Jazz's size and about 50 pounds in spite of being bit on the thin side. He hasnt been groomed... EVER.


This is supposed to be a doodle, and momma hates that it looks so much like a poodle. In fact if you didnt know any better you'd probably be inclinded to think that it WAS a spoo with a natural tail. She was shocked when I said I needed to see him every month to keep him dematted and clipped.

 

[WonderPup]

Oh and just for grins here is the only after groom picture I thought to take.

 

[roxy25]

Jenn thats not a bad job at all they look so much better! :star:
I can tell they are poodles now lol. They should look even better once their new healthy coat grows in. My sister has to do some crazy cuts on my friend bichon because he never brushes her and she gets matted up! she ends up looking like a poodle after my sister finishes her up. She usually has to cut her down like the poodles you worked on.

I think they look super cute now.

I don't even know how to cut a dog I might practice on some dogs for free once I help my sister get some new equipment. I was thinking about posting an ad in CL to get some guinea pigs lmao

 

[SECRETO]

Wonderpup, the afterwards pic look great. Ya, its amaging what people think...or don't! That Goldendoodle looks like a Poodle to me. I think that lady was sold a Poodle with a tail at a ridiculous Goldendoodle price $$. lol He looks like a sweet heart and probably looked beautiful when he was done.

Roxy25, you mean sister wont let you practice on Enzo? lol

 

[roxy25]

Wonderpup, the afterwards pic look great. Ya, its amaging what people think...or don't! That Goldendoodle looks like a Poodle to me. I think that lady was sold a Poodle with a tail at a ridiculous Goldendoodle price $$. lol He looks like a sweet heart and probably looked beautiful when he was done.

Roxy25, you mean sister wont let you practice on Enzo? lol

HAHHA hell no ! she barely cut his dead hair off last week and she still is being careful about how she wants his hair to look for his first show.

I agree with both you and wonder pup goldendoodles look like poodles. I just don't understand why people wont just get a poodle. Designer mutts make no sense to me and people spending extra money for them. Especially when there is a perfectly nice mixture of the same breed at the shelter for 37 bucks lol:banghead: ?

 

[WonderPup]

I looked up doodles, both labs and goldens when I first met this dog last year. Apparently there are like four different coat varieties and two sizes... this one happens to have the "wooly" coat according to the site I was looking at. This dog's littermate also lives in the area and to if you saw him you would instandtly think doodle, not poodle. Wierd. Anywho, poor dog, that was the first time I groomed him, I met him when he took my obedience class last October. I kind of doubt he will be back in. I don't sugar coat things with clients, I tell them straight up how often I need to see the dog, in most cases every four weeks. If a dog like this doesn't come in often enough and the owner, like this lady, doesn't really want them shaved I drop them. I will give a client the benifit of the doubt and demat a dog exactly one time, and then if it comes back matted again it gets shaved or doesn't get groomed here. Most people understand, some don't like it, but I try and comb out one matt in front of them and let them see and hear the dog's reaction, then they agree to a shave down.

While we are on the subject of the weird and unusual, did anyone happen to notice the tail on the black poodle... or lack of tail? Apparently she allowed somebody to use the big white guy at stud and she took a puppy out of the litter in payment. She pointed out the tail to me when she came in saying," can you believe that, they took his tail to short". I started to make a comment about dumb backyard breeders but thought better of it. LoL

 

[SECRETO]

I looked up doodles, both labs and goldens when I first met this dog last year. Apparently there are like four different coat varieties and two sizes... this one happens to have the "wooly" coat according to the site I was looking at. This dog's littermate also lives in the area and to if you saw him you would instandtly think doodle, not poodle. Wierd. Anywho, poor dog, that was the first time I groomed him, I met him when he took my obedience class last October. I kind of doubt he will be back in. I don't sugar coat things with clients, I tell them straight up how often I need to see the dog, in most cases every four weeks. If a dog like this doesn't come in often enough and the owner, like this lady, doesn't really want them shaved I drop them. I will give a client the benifit of the doubt and demat a dog exactly one time, and then if it comes back matted again it gets shaved or doesn't get groomed here. Most people understand, some don't like it, but I try and comb out one matt in front of them and let them see and hear the dog's reaction, then they agree to a shave down.

While we are on the subject of the weird and unusual, did anyone happen to notice the tail on the black poodle... or lack of tail? Apparently she allowed somebody to use the big white guy at stud and she took a puppy out of the litter in payment. She pointed out the tail to me when she came in saying," can you believe that, they took his tail to short". I started to make a comment about dumb backyard breeders but thought better of it. LoL

Yes, I did notice the tail. Did you see the tails on the boys I did. The same result of a BYB. Even Eli's tail is longer then the boys from rescue.

 

[Purple Poodle]

It took you 8 hours! Holy cow! Tell me you did not wash them first! :doh:

They do look much happier. :good:

I do a strip down of Rooster every summer, takes me about an hour and a half, including a bath.

Before, (8 months of no brushing and living outside)

After

 

[WonderPup]

Ewwww 8 months outside, he must stink. LoL, I told a client one time that I charge extra for super stinky dogs. You should have seen her face. Of course I didn't charge her extra, I was only kidding. She gave me a huge tip though.

Jen I hope they paid you for those grooms!! Thats a lot of time to spend for free....

 

[Purple Poodle]

Ewwww 8 months outside, he must stink. LoL, I told a client one time that I charge extra for super stinky dogs. You should have seen her face. Of course I didn't charge her extra, I was only kidding. She gave me a huge tip though.

Jen I hope they paid you for those grooms!! Thats a lot of time to spend for free....

Haha yes he did stink XD

Yes Jenn I hope they paid you something! You did a nice job.

 

[SECRETO]

Haha yes he did stink XD

Yes Jenn I hope they paid you something! You did a nice job.

I charged her $90.00 total for both dogs and yes I did strip them down first. I originally attempted to try and keep some coat. After awhile I said just forget it. If someone bring's me a matted dog then the rule is it gets shaved with the exception of the head. If the owner/person doesn't like it then go somewhere else. lol

I listed my prices at $23.00 Toy, $30.00 Mini, and $50.00+ Standard. I know Im the cheapest in town but I also don't have much experience and Im just self tought. For those prices Im not dematted dogs because the owners neglegence. Minimal matting is ok but no more then that.

I wanted to ask the groomer's here a question. Do you guys have your clients fill out a certain type of form and what would you recommending me to do in my case. I have a lady with toy poodles and she is scheduled for the beginning of march. Her female dog is due for delivery the week after she comes for delivery. Any suggestions on that too?

 

[Purple Poodle]

What type of form do you mean? Like just a general form or a release form?

 

[SECRETO]

What type of form do you mean? Like just a general form or a release form?

Well I figured a general info form is necessary. (emergency contact #'s etc)
What kind of release form does everyone use and what is it geared towards?

 

[Blue Fox]

Have a look at www.groomers.net it is a fantatsic forum full of very experience groomers who are happy to share their knowledge. There are quite a few forms they use. I have a card system, the clients fill in the front of the form, has name, phone, address, contact details and then dogs details and vets details. Also a spot to put any special grooming instructions, whether they are regular, any sort of discount you are giving, and a personality alert eg. easy, fair, difficult, nervous or biter.

It also has one line down the bottom which says "In case of emergency, I authorise this establishment to provide the becessary treatment for my pet" which they sign.

On the back has lines to put date, what grooming procedure you have done on the pet eg. length of comb, scissored legs, left topknot what ever, groomers coments eg. dog bites, difficult for legs, and then how much you charged them.

I love this system. You then file them alphabetically and when someone rings you can pull out the card and know what is going on and what to expect from the dog. Also this way people don't pull the wool over your eyes, once you have done the dog you have the details you need on behaviour and what price you charge. I would scan it but my scanner is on the blink.

I don't have the matted release form but I am going to make one up cause the more dogs I see them more need I have for it. I am sick of people not understanding what they have just give me when they hand over the dog so I figure a fairly stern form will help get my message across.

I have also decided I am going to try and build up the grooming side of our business so am going to try and get people to book again before they leave and am half way through designing an appointment card.

ANyway I have got carried away again and written an epic so I will stop now :smile:

I had a lady last week tried to tell me I only charged her $20 for the dogs last groom, well says on the back of his card he was charged $35 so I know what I charged her!

 

[Purple Poodle]

Well I figured a general info form is necessary. (emergency contact #'s etc)
What kind of release form does everyone use and what is it geared towards?

Well what I do when clients call is get name, phone, alt phone and address. Then once they come in I get the dogs name, breed, gender, and what type of service they want.

I don't do release forms but I would think if you wanted too for elderly or in your case pregnant dogs, type up just a catch all and have them sign it on their first visit and log it with their "client card".

Something like:

By signing below you understand that grooming can be stressful on any dog but even more so with shy, aggressive, senior, pregnant or overly excitable dogs. You will not hold this establishment responsible for any stress related illness.

Owner signature X
Groomer Signature X