try to clip nervous rescue dog myself or send him away to be done?

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darkhorse123

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Ive had my 4 yr old bichon frise/ poodle for about 6 weeks.
He is still settling in and just getting over seperation anxiety though i feel it could be triggered very easily
He really needs a clip around his eyes - the rest of him isnt too bad at the moment but obviously will be soon. (He has typical curly poodle hair)

Ive never clipped or even trimmed before - my old shih tsu used to go the clippers to be done when needed but Im dreading sending joey - he will hate it. Or will he?

If you were me would you try to clip yourself - for now im more concerned about his eye area - or would you send him to be done proffessionaly? Im not worried for cosmetic reasons - just want him comfortable and happy as poss and his eyes really need trimming.

Guess im asking which is the worse of 2 evils - risk stressing him out by sending him to a stranger for a couple of hours or try to do it myself - if do it myself can you reccomend any websites to show me the basics?
 
Try & find a groomer who will just trim his visor while you watch.

I often do part grooms for newly adopted dogs to save stress (mainly the owner stresses more than the dog)
 
ty both - a very good idea.

I will ask if i can stay - I had thought of this but thought it would be cheeky - as you say if he just has his face done and no bath etc it should only take a few minutes

Thing is Im at least his 4th owner and hes only 4 so I dont want him stressing out thinking hes been dumped again - maybe it is me worrying more than him :D
 
When I got Buster (october this year) he needed a clip. Decided to send him to groomers, stayed with him and he was fine. Glad I did as it took 3 baths to run him clear lol. He was fine so we will clip him our selves.

Couldnt leave the last OES he used to bite people he was scared of, so had no choice but stay with him and then he was fine.
 
Oh hes not nasty in any way - Im not scared of clipping him its just ive never ever clipped before and am very wary of attempting to do it - especially where he needs it most ie his eyes.
A friend suggested i just trim his eyes with scissors but I just woudlnt dare.

Im not at all worried he will bite the clipper - its taken a long time to settle him down and relax with everybody at home (its only in the last week hes gone out into the garden for my husband)and I dont want him getting stressed and back to square one
 
darkhorse123 said:
Oh hes not nasty in any way - Im not scared of clipping him its just ive never ever clipped before and am very wary of attempting to do it - especially where he needs it most ie his eyes.
A friend suggested i just trim his eyes with scissors but I just woudlnt dare.

Im not at all worried he will bite the clipper - its taken a long time to settle him down and relax with everybody at home (its only in the last week hes gone out into the garden for my husband)and I dont want him getting stressed and back to square one
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Personally A good groomers would let you stay throughout its not cheeky to ask, just mention it when booking. He wont be the first rescue they do.
 
a_toffee_xmas_pud said:
Personally A good groomers would let you stay throughout its not cheeky to ask, just mention it when booking. He wont be the first rescue they do.
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Hang on there...a good groomer? Personally I don't let people stay ! And I'm a very good groomer. I do scores of rescues on an annual basis. But there are some groomers that might allow one to stay. But my own personal reason for not allowing folk to stay is two fold

One - I'd have to charge way more to make it worth my while (like 2x) as I am basically giving you a one to one service where normally I might be working on 2 or 3 dogs safely at one time. Some people don't want to spend that kind of money.

Two - I do find that owners are far too distracting in my shop. If they promise to sit and stay ;) and not speak to the dog or in anyway try to distract either myself or the dog, then it is possibly workable. We get people who want to baby talk, tell the dog it's good when really it needs to be ignored for it's undesirable behavior. I find that it takes much longer to rehabilitate a nervous/bad/biting/cowering dog if owners are present.

But in my near ten years of grooming, I've allowed some folk to stay. It's not always in the dog's best interest. However, I do understand it is a huge leap of faith to entrust a stranger with your nervous baby.

It's really hard to say how the dog will react, but if you accidently nick the dog - which is more likely than the groomer, it is very possible that you might make the dog more worried about the process.

Having said all that, you might find a mobile groomer who is already working one to one - and they might not have issue with you staying around to observe or assist.

Best of luck! :)
 
If he just needs his face cleaning up could you use a mobile groomer? Doesnt sound like they would need all the salon-based equipement for what you want, then he would be somewhere familiar with you present, but you dont have to worry about any scissor slippage!
 
These days it's fairly common for mobile groomers to have fully kitted salon on wheels. I wasn't referring to the ones that come and set up in your kitchen. Personally, I would rather not have someone clip my dog IN my house. Parked out on the kerb is just fine! LOL
 
PucciNPoni said:
These days it's fairly common for mobile groomers to have fully kitted salon on wheels. I wasn't referring to the ones that come and set up in your kitchen. Personally, I would rather not have someone clip my dog IN my house. Parked out on the kerb is just fine! LOL
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why?
id love it if i can find someone who will do just that
 
darkhorse123 said:
Are you serious?
Do you keep dogs at home?
A bit of fur and fluff you can vac up ????

Wow you really have left me gobsmacked :confused::confused::confused:
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You come and work in my shop for a single day and you'll understand pretty quick how dirty grooming actually is! And I'm not hugely house-proud - but I do know of groomers that literally whack the dog on the kitchen table to trim it up. Sorry, I eat on that surface!

If it's a matter of just trimming the dog's face (which takes most five or ten minutes) it can be done without too much mess. A mobile groomer may or may not find it worth while to make the trip to someone's home for that small amount of work to be honest. But when you're talking bathing, drying, brushing, anal gland emptying, nail clipping, dirty backsides and all that - nope, not in my kitchen or living room. And that's not even thinking about the blasting out with a high velocity dryer where the hair gets EVERYWHERE and hangs out in the light fixtures and so on.
 
If I switched on my HV (High velocity) dog dryer in your home you would have dog hair in every room -walls and ceiling!
You can vacuum up hair that drops but not hair that blows. (Think of a Dyson airblade with a nozzle).

It is much safer to work with a dog on a sturdy table with multiple restraint/support points than compromising with portable equipment and much easier to groom a dog away from familiar surroundings so the dog is less defensive.

You will have to work on grooming this dog as it will need regular trimming given it's breeding. Either find a groomer who will build up to full trims every couple of months or learn to DIY.
 
s4sugar said:
If I switched on my HV (High velocity) dog dryer in your home you would have dog hair in every room -walls and ceiling!
You can vacuum up hair that drops but not hair that blows. (Think of a Dyson airblade with a nozzle).

It is much safer to work with a dog on a sturdy table with multiple restraint/support points than compromising with portable equipment and much easier to groom a dog away from familiar surroundings so the dog is less defensive.

You will have to work on grooming this dog as it will need regular trimming given it's breeding. Either find a groomer who will build up to full trims every couple of months or learn to DIY.
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Yes, absolutely re safety equipment and so on. Some groomers do lug all that kit about in and out of people's homes. But portable tables have a tendency to wobble and a nervous dog would be very worried on that type of surface.
 
I am a qualified dog groomer and run my own business and in my professional opinion it is mostly always better if the owner leaves the dog. I have never had a dog that does not settle when the owner has left. The dog picks up on the owners worry and it makes it worse. Then you can get on and do the job in hand quickly and efficiently. Don't worry your dog will be fine if your groomer is experienced and qualified. As for what type of groomer, ie, salon, home, mobile, well that is a matter of personal choice but they should all be city and guild qualified and have insurance.
 
padderpaws said:
I am a qualified dog groomer and run my own business and in my professional opinion it is mostly always better if the owner leaves the dog. I have never had a dog that does not settle when the owner has left. The dog picks up on the owners worry and it makes it worse. Then you can get on and do the job in hand quickly and efficiently. Don't worry your dog will be fine if your groomer is experienced and qualified. As for what type of groomer, ie, salon, home, mobile, well that is a matter of personal choice but they should all be city and guild qualified and have insurance.
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ty i do have a very good local groomer who i used for my old dog who was pts - tomorrow i will ring him and ask his advice - explain my concerns.
I do trust his advice so all i can do is give him what i know of my dogs background and leave it to him - your right, im probably stressing out far more than Joey will and as someone says it has to be done fairly often so he has to get used to it
 
PucciNPoni said:
You come and work in my shop for a single day and you'll understand pretty quick how dirty grooming actually is! And I'm not hugely house-proud - but I do know of groomers that literally whack the dog on the kitchen table to trim it up. Sorry, I eat on that surface!

If it's a matter of just trimming the dog's face (which takes most five or ten minutes) it can be done without too much mess. A mobile groomer may or may not find it worth while to make the trip to someone's home for that small amount of work to be honest. But when you're talking bathing, drying, brushing, anal gland emptying, nail clipping, dirty backsides and all that - nope, not in my kitchen or living room. And that's not even thinking about the blasting out with a high velocity dryer where the hair gets EVERYWHERE and hangs out in the light fixtures and so on.
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It is unbelievable where dog hair can end up in a salon,certainly would never want that in my home thanks!
 
EAST KENT said:
It is unbelievable where dog hair can end up in a salon,certainly would never want that in my home thanks!
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Hahah! Exactly - and no I'm willing to bet that you're not squeamish either. How many cuppas have you still managed to enjoy even with a bit of hair floating about in it. A bit of dietary fibre!
 
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