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Originally Posted by PenelopePup  This thread reminds me of my days at grooming school. One day a guy gets out of his car, opens the trunk, pulls out this hairy ball on the end of a leash.
The dogs feet never touched the ground, he hung him by his leash till he came into the school. He told us the dog was a poodle, he was in the basement for a year (couldn't housetrain him, so he kept him in the basement), dog had never been touched. I started on him first thing in the morning, he was so matted I couldn't tell which was the business end of the dog. That is, until I found the maggots, then I knew which end was his behind. I had to call the vet to deal with the maggots and the fleas, the dog had so many he was anemic. When I finished the dog, what I thought was a 10lb dog was a tiny 4lb poodle, and he was a cutie! When the guy finally answered my phone calls and picked up his dog, he refused the dog (said it wasn't his) and wouldn't pay his bill. I told him if he didn't pay the grooming bill and the vet bill I was calling the spca and turning him in. He left, saying "keep the damn dog, I never wanted him anyway"! That was my first toy poodle and I have loved them since! He was a sweet little guy, and I had him house trained in no time, and he lived a long, happy life with me and my children. That was in 76, more years that I care to admit.  |
How sad.....but, the lil poodle ended up having a wonderful life.
I'm a groomer/exhibitor/breeder. In the defense of some new yorkie owners that bring their lil matted pups for their first grooming. Some and not all are afraid to brush their dogs, especially when puppies squeal....they think they're hurting them. So, all they do is bathe them and blow dry them. Now as far as the nails, you know how yorkies are and a new owner just doesn't know how to deal with that.
That's why when I place a pup in a new home, I always ask for the new owners to come with a couple of hours of time. Even though I offer free grooming to my pups for the rest of their lifes, we go through a grooming lesson. Bathing, trimming and cleaning ears. Brushing teeth. Expressing anal glands. Trimming nails, lil bottoms, foot pads and how to trim the paws. How to dry them (since I dry them in my lap and brush as I go). What products to use, brushes, combs, etc. Especially how to hold them while doing all this. Since my puppies start going through the grooming process as soon as they've had their first shots, they're pretty easy to handle and are table trained.