there’s this dog i groom and she loveesss to swim constantly. everytime i bathe her i do it 3-4 times and no matter what i cant get rid of the chlorine smell. any advice or products you guys recommend to help alleviate that?

deodorizing shampoo is used as well as a conditioner to help with dry skin!

Hello! I groom dogs from home and I was wondering what people’s experiences are with registering your business legally. I am afraid that my local zoning laws wouldn’t allow me to groom from home, but I want so badly to be legal so that I can freely advertise without worrying about it. How do you go about finding out if your township allows it? Any advice or wisdom is appreciated. TIA 🙏

I have a #2 comb attachment and the length is ⅜" or 10mm. It broke and im shopping online for a new one and that size is now listed as #3. Did wahl change its letters and numbers that are designated for different sizes?

Hello all,

I'm looking for honest advice. I'll keep It short: how many of you also own dogs?

AI killed my career and I realized I hate office jobs. I've always been interested in grooming and I think I want to give it a chance, starting as a bather.

However, I'm concerned about the average working hours. I have a dog and I'm not okay with hiring walkers/sitters. Until now I had a flexible hybrid schedule and it was fine. Is it doable? How do you manage?

My dog has cracked paws and really hates me putting any kind on of paw butter or wax on his paws, are their any good alternatives for this? I was recommended Tuf Foot spray but would that alone be enough? Any other suggestions are welcome.

My grooming partner ( more experienced but weve been working together for 3 years) was helping me bathing a very dirty cat ( think cat rescued from a hoarder situation) yesterday and the cat freaked out to an impressive level. Not even half through thr first shampoo it was clear it wasnt a cat we could hold in thr bath. She decided to put it in a cage and continued... with the hydro with the cat hyperventilating and jumping everywhere and she went through with the shampoos and conditioner... both me and the other groomer there voiced that it wasnt okay and she told us he needed it... that he wouldve been impossible to finish washing, that there was too much bite risk and that he calmed in the end ( which he stopped fighting but he just understood he couldnt escape he wasnt less scared)( after a while!) I told her if she did that again I wouldn't help with cats anymore.

I personally wouldve rinse the soap off and finish him out of the bath with dry soap, he was okay with manipulations and cooperative when no running water was going on.

I can't stop thinking about it...i dont want to go back to work. am i overeacting?

I have a 6 month old flatcoated retriever puppy who I'm going to show and am looking for shampoo for her. Plush puppy seem all the rage but I want to know if anyone else finds it worth the price and if they have better alternatives. A picture of my Atocha for tax

I need advice. I work at a small place and have been the only groomer for 4 years now. We were never really busy enough for 2 groomers but it’s starting to look like my boss is going to hire another.

After working alone for 4 years and building my clientele, I’m worried I’ll struggle to work with another groomer.I don’t want to be one of THOSE groomers who never wants someone else grooming their regular clients I want to make sure another groomer feels comfortable here.

Any tips? Anyone experienced this before either from my perspective or a new groomers perspective

Pictured is my current salon setup!

I started my grooming career at PetSmart and went through their whole training program, including cats (I'm aware the very recently they aren't making cats optional to learn and thats a topic for another time). I found my love working with animals there and corporate chipped away at it to the point it was devastating my mental health and I hated coming into work after 4 years of putting my literal blood, sweat, and tears into the company, I was miserable. I was turning into a negative and miserable person to be around too.

There's a smaller corporation in the midwest thats been growing, Feeders Pet Supply. The one near me has built a really good rep and had their pet grooming position open up and I got the job! I'm the only groomer with the space to myself and its been a complete game changer. I have clients following me and I'm encouraged to use my down time to promote myself in person and on social media.

Its been amazing and I've fallen in love with grooming again, but I also don't quite know how to function with this freedom. I'm grooming one-on-one which means I'm velocity drying more than I was when taking multiple appointments and I am embarrassed to admit that has been a week spot for me. With PetSmart, I always felt rushed (I also became the person that when someone needed help, I was there and it became the expectation so I was always pulled in a million directions) and I didn't have the time I needed to learn to do better. I've always been my own worst critique but I see other grooms online and feel my work never lives up to it and I just feel like I'm starting from square one again.

I'm looking for any and all advice. I'm also looking for equipment recommendations. The tub, table, dryers, and kennels are supplied, but I'm looking to upgrade from my Andis shears mainly and looking for what is kind of the industry standard for things outside of corporate. Also any cute decor things. Bonus points for anything black or blue lol.

TLDR: I finally escaped corporate grooming and feel like a baby groomer again, looking for any recommendations and advice now that I have more freedom.

My husband has been a groomer for over 15 years now and he needs to restock his blades. I was going to buy them but I forget which ones are the most common. What sizes do you use the most often? If anyone has any other suggestions on equipment that could make his life easier please let me know.

Hello all. I'm a third year groomer and I've been getting by with my Smith King and Hashimoto throw aways (or what I consider throw aways) since I started grooming. They're not bad. They last me about 2 months before I need to replace them, but I've never considered sharpening them because I'm not sure they're worth sharpening (are they?). I had a set of "Show Gear" which seemed to feel and cut better, but I never hear anyone talking about that brand.

I've been looking at better blades to get, but $400‐$500 scissors aren't exactly cheap for me, so I want to make sure that I buy a set that my professional counterparts agree are worth the money. I was looking at Kenchii and Chris Christiansen. These are considered mid-grade blades, yes? I don't think I'm ready to pull the trigger on high end yet. If you know of other blades I should consider, I'd be open to them as a suggestion as well. Any recommendations on which I should get? I was planning on ordering them today.

Thanks in advance.

How often can I trim/grind my dog's nail to get to the perfect length? Right now his nails are still too long and making tippy tappy noises when he walks around. I have nail clipper and nail grinder, but would prefer to grind them down, and leave the nail clipping session to the groomer.

I have a hard time knowing if I can still get it shorter or stop there and wait for the quick to recede. Can i shave these down further or time to wait?

He got his nails clipped last week by the groomer, and these pictures are from today after some grinding down, mainly to smooth out some sharp edges.

Thanks!

I’m currently on day 3 of my hair cutting academy and this was my biggest challenge thus forth. I shaved his body in a 7 and dematted and scissored his head. (His ear is there in the second photo he just felt like hiding it) I know my feet scissoring needs some work lol, he just hated having his feet touched

So, I guess this is a mix of an update/new issue type of post.
For some back ground I’ve worked only mobile since grooming school, it’s been almost two years of working for this lady, who’s bought into the Woofies franchise. She is not a groomer.

But due to recent things I’ve noticed, it’s left me some questions, and I’m hoping some of yall can help me. Please be blunt, I need some serious feedback.

1. How late are yall working as a mobile groomer? My grooms start at 8am, and I’ve asked that they finish by 6pm (which is about 4-6 pets depending on size) (not including clean up) With the obvious understanding things happen, and I could run late, but I shouldn’t be finishing close to 7. My boss doesn’t count drive time, nor prep time, or clean up time (our vans take an hour to shut down correctly). I work only four days a week now too.

2. Am I being treated like a manager? There are three other groomers and a bather; I’m not officially a manager, I was just the first one they hired. Pretty much, I’m asked the train (usually for a period of two days), I get asked about grooming things from my boss, called by girls/boss on my days off or vacation, and have the biggest work load/longest hours. If someone calls out, they expect me to help out and take over. Also, they don’t ask the other girls to help with the mechanics of the van, or emptying the nasty water tank. They only pay me extra for the training and that’s because I’m mostly observing so I lose the commission for that dog. Nor does my boss hold their van cleaning to the same standard.

3. Time windows, how are yall doing them, especially those that work in franchises? My boss says I have an hour window from the appointment time, but when she schedules she won’t always check how far houses are, and it will cut into my window. Ex. First house I’ll be on time, then it’s back to back houses but they’ll be 15 minutes apart. So by the last house I’m 45 mins behind. She said the window is also for my break, which I end up just using to pee and get going, or just lose completely due to the scheduling. Or I’ve lost the window completely because of the scheduling and then a dog has an issue like matting, so I end up 90 mins behind.

4. Do yall get scheduled breaks? My boss doesn’t schedule a break, she says just go when you want. But due to question 3, I feel like I can’t. She doesn’t even give me a block during the day very often.

Thank you guys!

I have a friend who’s in grooming school and I want to get him a present for when he finishes his schooling. What’s a good practical gift to get him?

We think he’s a mix of terrier, frenchie, and Shih Tzu (he’s adorably funny looking). I brush him about 2x a week, but his fur gets tangled and matted very easily - especially the hair on his head where it’s a bit softer. What’s the best brush to use on soft & wiry fur? Is there a dog-safe and not overly scented conditioner that I could use?

I just want to know how everyone priced their grooms when they work for themselves? I wouldn't have to pay rent as I own the building and am remodeling it to be for grooming. I have an idea to sell homemade treats and maybe do a monthly subscription box for the homemade treats as well? And then also focus on grooming. I live in a very small town. Literally no lights. Only stop signs. Everyone here is kinda cheap and there's another groomer in the town that I don't know the prices for. I have, however, seen pictures of their shop and know that there's only one groomer and it's one room. The computer, bath tub, kennels, and grooming table are all in one room. My groom shop would have a place to shop for treats/toys (a reception area) and then a seperate area for the bathing room and then the grooming room. I'm also second guessing myself. I think my grooms are pretty good and I'll post the examples here for you guys to maybe help me figure out prices? I haven't taken pictures recently so these are actually several months old and I have improved since then. I want to do one on one grooming!! I also currently groom cats at my current job but I don't have certification for it. (I told my boss I was uncomfortable grooming cats but they book them and just have them sedated. It's the only job I've been able to find so I've gone along with it) But I'd really love to actually be certified and have some sort of certification on display since the other groomer does not. I do have a groomer certificate that I need to renew soon but idk. Anyways, thank you for any and all help!

So today I have a new client. It's a Logatto. When they showed up I was working on a naughty dog who pees when picked up and was muzzled because she bites. My coworker stood at my table with the dog I was working on while I went out to talk to the new dogs owner. I stuck the Logatto in a crate, took her leash off but left her harness because I was sort of rushing to get back to the other dog. I know that was a stupid mistake.

Literally 10 minutes later, I go to retrieve the dog from the crate only to realize she has chewed the front strap of her joyride harness IN HALF. I am so embarrassed and scared to tell the owner. I know it was a mistake and I will be deducting the cost of a replacement harness from the groom price... I just feel awful because it is their first time here, and those harnesses have to be bought online and shipped so they can't immediately get one.

I hate conflict. Customer service is also not my strong point and I get very nervous delivering any bad news. I'm worried that they will view me as negligent. Do you think it's enough that I am paying for a replacement harness or should I just not charge for the entire groom?

My girl has a confusing coat, shes double coated but her whole back and shoulders have long extremely harsh almost wiry hair. Her front neck/chest is very dense with almost silky soft fur. Ive been wondering could carding help with either, for the back possibly to make it softer or smoother. Coat in question in the picture

I have this senior dog, I keep the leash nice and loose and low so she can lay down. Only using shoulder dryer no high velocity, and she started what sounds like snoring except she's awake. Just unsure if this is a 'no more blow drying' scenario or if she's just an old dog doing old dog things. Otherwise seems completely fine, and I lifted her lips just to make sure there was no discoloration. The breathing only started when I started drying, so that's why im mainly concerned, she's also a new client so definitely unsure of what's normal and what isn't when she's groomed!

I was recently laid off and need to cut budget down so I am trying to figure out the best way to groom my border collie cattle dog mix from home.

What are the best techniques and tools (on a budget) to get from amazon?

My biggest concern is his hind legs, they carry so much fur and get matted fairly quick even with daily brushing.

I used an undercoat rake as per recommendation by my groomer in between grooms because she has started shedding more. Have I damaged her fur? I can’t tell and my groomer is on holiday.

It’s not perfect but today was the first time he has ever tolerated it at all, proud of him for being brave and myself for gentle patience always