Hi,
Just wondering how others would approach this subject: I have a lady who brings here Cocker to me to be groomed - well, I say groomed, rather, I struggle for about 3 hours to clip the coat off as it is so badly matted/pelted all over, the dogs eyes are gunked together as there is so much facial hair going into the eyes and the dog smell to high heaven of urine! You get the picture! She brings him every 8 or 9 months and this dog is so patient and well behaved throughout although she says she is unable to groom him as he gets snappy. I have told her that unless she is willing to do her share of home maintenance (at least a brush through once a week) she needs to bring him to see me more often. Do you think this is so unreasonable? I have to say I am far too soft and do not charge her extra (I will blunt at least 1 blade on his coat) maybe I should? Maybe I should be really strict and tell her off!! or say unless she does her bit I am no longer able to groom him? I haven't been grooming for that long and maybe don't have the guts to tell her how bad the situation is!!! Help!!!

i dont thinks it unreasonable to say that i would and i would also tell her from now on because of the state he is always in that you will have to start chargeing a dematting price. you could make sure she knows how mush discomfort her poor dog must be in as well. it makes me so mad when dogs come in that matted that your only choice is to clipp off i did a tibten terrier the other day that was the same looked like a mop.

I don't think it's unreasonable.  I have two Bichons and when I got the first I only took her when I thought that she needed to go.  Despite my valiant attempts at home I didn't keep on top of it so was politely told that I would need to either bring her more frequently or make sure I did it properly.  Unfortunately it remained beyond me so I started taking her for fortnightly baths and 6 weekly trims.  It only costs a few pounds for the baths which is partially offset by the cheaper full groom cost and my bitch has looked brilliant since.  As soon as the little one had her jabs she started the same routine too.  It also means I can keep their legs and heads looking exactly as they should and I only have to do a daily brush (which I did anyway but obviously not well enough to last 6 weeks :rolleyes:).

Go for it, I am sure that the owner may just not understand what work is entailed in dematting a poorly groomed dog.

Andi

I can understand your dilemma.  If you get too strict with her she may well take offence and stay away.  Which would be fine for you but this might mean that the poor little dog will NEVER be bathed or brushed....hopefully you can keep things pleasant and she may well agree to bring the dog more often.

Good luck :)

Andi wrote, "Go for it, I am sure that the owner may just not understand what work is entailed in dematting a poorly groomed dog."

I agree this woman brings her dog to looking like a mini yeti and then gets it back looking and smelling lovely, she doesn't see what work you have to put into getting it to look like that.

If i was you i would tell her nicely and maybe when she comes in just show her a little of how to brush the dog so it doesn't snap.  I know this means more of your time but the woman might think she's getting special treatment which in turn might encourage her to keep on top of the groomimg or bring the dog to you more often.

If i had a dog who i took to a groomer i would rather them tell me if there was a problem and would be happy to take on board their advice.

Good luck!

Firstly, I feel very sorry for Cocker owners.  Most, if they've bought their puppy from pet breeders, don't realise the amount of grooming required and the need for them to be trimmed every 8 weeks to keep them healthy, clean and tidy.  Cocker owners either need time (to groom themselves) or money (to taken the dog to the parlour regularly) to keep their dogs in good condition.

You've already tried to speak nicely to the owner and it hasn't worked!  The next time that she brings the dog in, I would charge her double your normal rate for the extra work that you are doing.  It's only fair to your clients who groom their dogs and bring them in regularly to not charge a matted dog the same rate.  I would show her the matts that you've removed and explain how uncomfortable the dog would have been, how she's risking skin problems and ear problems if the air can't get to the skin and in the ear canals.  I would stand the dog on the table and show her how well he stands and demonstrate how to use a brush and comb.
If she booked him in for another appointment in 8 weeks, then when he came back I wouldn't clip him, but use thinners so that the hair doesn't grow through like a woolly blanket and will be easier to groom anyway.  I would thin all the furnishings, removing all the unseen coat, leaving a fringe on the chest, legs and tummy, so that the dog looked like a Cocker when it walked down the road.

If, however, your time explaining was obviously falling on deaf ears, then I would ask her if she realised that the RSPCA considered it an offence to neglect your dog's coat?  I have found them pretty useless in many areas, but they've been most interested when I rang them (2 seperate incidents) about a neglected dog in the grooming parlour.  Both times I was given an incident number, asked to take pictures and write a report and I was told that they would visit the owner if I or another groomer reported them again for neglecting their dog.  In both cases, just explaining this to the owners was enough to make them bring their dogs in every 8 weeks.  One belonged to a vicar!!!:rolleyes:

If all that didn't make her take care of her dog, then I would tell her that it wasn't my type of work and tell her to find another groomer.  There are plenty who will happily clip a Cocker off every 9 months............

Thank you so much for the advice. I am really keen to try and educate the owner as he is such a lovely dog to trim so think I need to start being more direct with her. A few home truths and I think I will be saving some mats as evidence to show her next time! I don't get much job satisfaction in just "shearing" either, this dog could look gorgeous as he is a beautifully marked black and tan but I can see he may already be developing ear problems too (which I have pointed out). I will let you know how things progress and hopefully I don't have to deal with too many cases like this a year. I have recently spoken to a groomer who will not continue to groom a dog unless they have booked their next appointment as they are leaving the shop. This seems sensible and just gets people into the right mindset. Thanks again for the replies.

I do the same. 
I do the first trim.  I explain to the owner what I've done and why.  I explain that I see all dogs every 8 weeks and ask then to have a good look at their dog at home over the following few days, and if they are happy with what I've done then to ring for their next appointment.
If you'd like to send your email addy to val@hanvale.com, I'll send you a copy of the report that I give to all new owners when they leave.

My groomer was telling me about a similar problem She works our her hourly rate and simply tells the owner that it takes her x amount of time and charges accordingly. Perfectly reasonable from the groomers perspective, but doesn't help the poor dog. I don't know what you can do to educate the owner. Goood luck

i agree with other coments i bought a shelltie she was 4 month old and when we got her home and i look at her coat what a mees i had to bath her and cit a lot of her fur of so i know what you mean it takes along time but i don think its quite the same  cos the ppl i bought her just did not  care  hope you get your point across all  he best

How about making her stay for the hours it takes you to sort him out.  You could say you want to show her how to look after the coat.

All good advice :)

Whatever you decide to do tho, save ALL the coat and give it to them in a carrier bag to take home. That way they will be in no doubt about the state of the coat ;)  Often a coat like this can look ok on top and be completely matted underneath :(

The vet I used to work for occasionally had to shave totally matted persians. When it gets as bad as that, the coat comes off like a fleece if you're careful enough as it is totally solid. She saved these "fleeces" to show to people with Persians, especially new kittens, to explain just how serious things would get if they didn't keep up the grooming. :) Excellent idea I thought.

I agree, save all the hair and show it to her, get her to buy a brush from you if she hasn't got the correct equipment, show her how to brush her dog, and insist she comes every 2 months - 3 at the outside. That poor dog must be so uncomfortable!! :-(