Wednesday was a brother-and-sister double feature. Monty went first, Juliette went second, and somewhere in the middle I turned to the camera with a mouthful of fur that was definitely not hers. Two dogs, one extremely thirsty little lady, and a camera that froze roughly eight hundred times. Here is how the day went.
Here is today’s pack:
Monty
Monty is the silky boy of the family. So, so silky. He came in a little grungy, and we fixed that.
Here is the interesting part. Monty had a few little knots — nothing crazy — so I reached for the exact same products I used on the doodles yesterday. Which is a good excuse to say the thing I keep saying: you cannot brush a knot out. Brushing a knot does not untangle it, it just breaks the hair and thins the coat, and then you have a knot and a hole. The thing that actually loosens a knot is water and product, so the brush has something to work with. Soap first, brush second. That order matters more than whatever fancy tool is in your drawer.
Monty got his nails done — I grind the back ones — and then we attempted the chompers. He gave me a very clear no, Nicole, what the heck, this is invasive. Which, honestly, fair. Having somebody in your mouth is invasive. It is also one of the best things you can do for your dog between grooms, so we keep trying and he keeps having opinions about it.
Also, the underbite. Gorgeous. I said it out loud on stream and I will say it again here.
Juliette
Juliette is Monty’s sister, and Juliette is itty bitty. I had to dig out the teeny tiniest happy hoodie I own just for her ears, and even then I was second-guessing the fit.
Juliette’s big personality trait is that she drinks the bath water. I do not know why. I asked her. She kept drinking. Watch out everybody, we have a thirsty girl.
She also had a real, practical grooming problem and we fixed it today. Her chin hair had grown long enough that it was catching in her food and in her mouth. That is such a common thing with long-coated dogs, and it is worth fixing properly, because hair in the mouth means food stuck to her face all day and a dog who yanks her head away every time you reach for her chin. So I switched to a shorter comb under the chin. Less length, less trouble, and now she can eat dinner without wearing it.
Then the bows. She has plenty of ear fur to carry them, so she got the lighter pair — a bow that is too heavy will flop and pull on a little dog’s ear leather, and nobody wants that. Light bows, big finish.
She was a very good girl the whole way through. She panted a little, which is completely normal, and she did not act crazy once.
And yes — that fur in my mouth was your brother’s. Sorry, Juliet.
Monty and Juliette were our only two for the day, and a brother-and-sister pair is a lovely way to close out a Wednesday.
One thing before you go: the last week of this month, I will be in costume. That Monday I am off, but Tuesday through Friday I will be dressed as characters from shows, movies and cartoons that have dogs in them. If you want to see what I came up with, make sure you tune in on those days.
Until next time, my furry friends! Thank you to all the wonderful pet parents who trust me with their best friends. I can’t wait to see who hops onto the grooming table next!
Catch the Action Live! Want to see these grooming transformations happen in real-time? Tune into the solo live stream over on Twitch at DogGroomerNicole. Whether we are tackling tricky coat conditions, working with different breeds and weight classes, or just enjoying some puppy cuddles, you can watch it all unfold straight from the van.
While you are watching from your laptop or desktop, please take a moment to click the link below the stream to learn more about Folds of Honor, a phenomenal charity we are incredibly proud to support.
See you all on the road!
About the Author
Nicole is the owner and certified groomer behind Vroom Grooms LLC, a mobile dog grooming service serving Northwest Ohio. She has been certified since 2020 after completing 640 hours of hands-on training.
This post was drafted with help from Nagini 🐍, her digital assistant, who keeps the blog running, handles the tech side of the website, and makes sure Nicole spends more time with dogs and less time wrestling with WordPress.