Think briefly about something you don't know much about, for example, the inner workings of automotive engines. If a mechanic starts telling you about something to do with a complex engine repair, chances are you will not be able to understand much of what they are telling you. For many pet owners, talking to a groomer is a similar experience.
Recently, on a social media page, a groomer posted a photograph of a beautifully groomed "Doodle." This "Doodle" had curly, poodle-type hair. After the dog had been skillfully styled, the pet owner sent the groomer a picture of an Old English Sheepdog with long, unkept, messy hair. She wanted her dog to look like that. The groomer who posted these pictures was understandably upset. She had done a magnificent job on the dog, but the owner wanted something very different. Something, in fact, impossible. The dog the person owned and the dog in the photo had drastically different coat types.
I once had a similar experience. A pet owner brought me a soft, fluffy Bichon-type dog and a picture of the West Highland White Terrier in the Little Ceasar pet food advertisement. She wanted her dog to look like that. In my head, I was shouting, "But it's not even the same BREED!" Then I stepped back and tried to translate because it was clear that this lady and I were not understanding each other. In this case, the pet owner liked the look of a little white dog with a round head. She didn't know that the coat types were different. That the body structure was different. That the ears were COMPLETELY different. She liked round and white. That I could manage. I had to think about the language she was trying to communicate with.
In the case of the "Doodle," the groomer got lots of sympathy, and the pet owner was roundly disagreed with. My first reaction was to roll my eyes, too. Then, I tried putting myself in the owner's shoes. She wasn't looking for a sculpted, styled groom. She was looking for a casually messy look. Windblown, if you will. The fact of the matter is that her dog's coat will never lend itself to the scruffy hairstyle she found appealing. But in much the same way as I will probably never understand the catalytic converter that is a part of my truck's engine, this pet owner had no way of knowing that the dog she picked could not look like the dog in the picture unlesssomeone can kindly and patiently explain it to her. But to be the groomer who can do that helpful explaining, you must try to speak the same language.
In the case of the tightly curled "Doodle," the groomer might be able to offer to leave the coat on the head longer so it would weigh itself down a bit and perhaps mist the hair with water to let it regain some of the curls lost when it was so nicely dried would lend a more casual, tousled appearance. Of course, it is possible that this owner might never be pleased with the look of the dog she owns, but as professionals, we owe it to people like her to make a serious attempt to understand the language they are speaking.
