As pet groomers, we dance around the delicate issue of anal sacs more than most of us would wish. We hear customers make a wide variety of requests on the topic. “Can you squeeze his butt?” “Will you pop his glands?” “Can you do that anal thing?” It can be hard to keep a straight face while having these conversations, but even more difficult is knowing what to do when met with a request to express anal sacs.
Knowing how to perform basic first aid on the animals in our care is essential for all pet care professionals. Once groomers have a good understanding of how to care for pets in the event of an emergency, they should consider assembling a first aid kit to keep at hand. A good basic kit will have items to treat minor injuries on both humans and pets.
In a perfect world, no pet groomer would ever need to use any form of first aid on any pet they groom, but the last time I checked, the world still wasn’t perfect. In the grooming environment, all kinds of emergencies can crop up.
Some dogs come in to be groomed, looking like their feet have not touched the ground since the last time we saw them. They are still clean. They are still fluffy. They look like they have not had a bit of fun. Most come in dirty. Here are some tips to make bathing challenges a little easier to handle.
Cellular phones with built-in cameras have made taking pictures of the pets we groom easy and convenient. Groomers can take quick snapshots of pets on the grooming table or even set up a dedicated space with backdrops to take more formal portraits of pets. Here are some tips to help you make the most of your photo sessions.
Modern technology has changed the way we groom. Here is an example. In past years, many groomers brushed and clipped pets before bathing them. Once some of the hair was removed, the pet got washed, dried, and finished. The advent of more effective pet hair care products and, perhaps more importantly, bathing systems helped turn the tide. Now, most contemporary stylists put almost all the dogs they groom in the tub before doing anything else. There are many benefits to pre-washing pets.
The most crucial grooming tool you have is your body. Pet grooming can strain the back, hands, feet, and legs tremendously. It is not too late to start if you have not taken good care of yourself up until now.
Here are some ideas that will help you support your body.
As an apprentice groomer in the 1980s, I was taught to pluck every last strand out of the ears of any pet that had hair sprouting from that orifice. Back then, groomers went through ear powder like crazy, and many of us sported calluses on our thumbs from the hemostats we used to pluck all that ear hair. Fast forward 40 years, and times have, thankfully, changed.
Long-time pet stylists know this unspoken rule: a full appointment book offers job security. So if your appointment book is lighter than what you would like, how are you going to fix it? Here are a few ideas to help you boost your number of daily grooming appointments.
Everyone’s got a favorite comb and which type and brand is probably based on what breeds and coat types frequent that salon. But there are a few that I consider absolute necessities that I could not do without. Or, if you took all my combs away but these– I could still groom every dog that walked into the shop.
