I LOVE GROOMING. IT ISN'T WHAT I EXPECTED TO BE DOING, BUT 30 SOME YEARS AGO IT WAS A LOGICAL PROGRESSION FOR ME. LIFE HAPPENS, AND I HAVE BEEN FORTUNATE TO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO RAISE MY CHILDREN UNDERFOOT IN MY OWN GROOMING SALON. I HAD CLOSED MY ORIGINAL SHOP, CAMPFIELDS PET GROOMING, TO PURSUE A SECOND CAREER IN TEACHING - BUT AFTER A FEW YEARS OF 7TH GRADERS I DECIDED I NEEDED TO BE BACK IN THE GROOMING SALON FOR MY OWN SANITY!! SO HERE I AM AGAIN......OR STILL............AND YES, STILL WITH MY YORKIES.
January 23, 2015: Two related incidents have been brought to my attention and I wanted to mention them here. First, a few days ago on a facebook group there was a discussion about grooming nooses/loops used in the grooming process to help keep the dogs restrained so they don't hurt themselves. Ironically, the op wanted to find "choker" type cable nooses, and I have been adamant about NEVER using chokers in the grooming salon. I was shocked to find that so many grooming shops were still using choker loops. Many breeds have a short face and fragile tracheas, and normally wear a harness because of this. They absolutely cannot have a choker on them at any time EVER. Other dogs, like labs for instance, are just very big and pull on their restraints, effectively strangling themselves if they are on a choker restraint. BAD idea that can cause serious issues and even death.
Which brings me to #2. A few days ago, in Whitehall PA, a pug was killed at a big box pet store. The smart one. The extremely short faced dog was put in a choke hold in order to cut it's nails. The owner reports that when she arrived after the tragedy, she saw that all the nails had kwik stop powder on them, which means all the nails were cut short enough to bleed. Pugs are notorious for hating their nails being cut, and to cut every one that short must have been incredibly painful and upsetting to the dog. But there is no reason to be using such a tight choke hold on him that he dies. They have a vet clinic at those stores!!! Please be aware of what is going on where ever you leave your dog. At the very least, the choke type nooses will give your dog bloodshot eyes and affect the blood pressure. If your dog is on a grooming table, or in the tub, and tries to jump, they could literally hang themselves if they are on a choke noose. It is easy to say that the dogs are never allowed to do that, but accidents happen. There are other options! Here are 2 pictures of the types of NON-CHOKING slide nooses I use in my salon:
Which brings me to #2. A few days ago, in Whitehall PA, a pug was killed at a big box pet store. The smart one. The extremely short faced dog was put in a choke hold in order to cut it's nails. The owner reports that when she arrived after the tragedy, she saw that all the nails had kwik stop powder on them, which means all the nails were cut short enough to bleed. Pugs are notorious for hating their nails being cut, and to cut every one that short must have been incredibly painful and upsetting to the dog. But there is no reason to be using such a tight choke hold on him that he dies. They have a vet clinic at those stores!!! Please be aware of what is going on where ever you leave your dog. At the very least, the choke type nooses will give your dog bloodshot eyes and affect the blood pressure. If your dog is on a grooming table, or in the tub, and tries to jump, they could literally hang themselves if they are on a choke noose. It is easy to say that the dogs are never allowed to do that, but accidents happen. There are other options! Here are 2 pictures of the types of NON-CHOKING slide nooses I use in my salon: