Friday. Five dogs. One van. Zero chill.
That is the whole day in one sentence, honestly. What follows is a complete accounting of the chaos, the fluff, and the growling.
Khan & Storm: the sibling situation
These two are brother and sister, which explains everything about the next four paragraphs.
Khan is the nosy one. He came over to supervise his sister’s nails and I had to inform him, clearly and with love, that he cannot help. He disagreed. He disagreed with his entire body. There is a moment in the recording where I say, out loud, “Excuse you sir, your bum is on my shoulder,” and that was not a bit. That was genuinely what was happening.
He also attempted to sniff the toenail dust. I want to be extremely clear: you are not supposed to sniff the toenail dust, sir. We do not snort the grooming byproducts.
Stormy, for the record, handled all of it like a queen who was not going to comment.
Storm got her bath first and spent part of it sliding gently around the tub, so we put something under her feet and suddenly she was a whole new dog with whole new confidence. This is a small, unglamorous thing that changes everything: dogs grip with their paws, and a slippery surface makes them feel unstable even when they are being perfectly well behaved. Non-slip surfaces are not a luxury. They are the difference between a dog who is bracing and a dog who is relaxed.
Khan gets a medicated shampoo, Storm gets her regular one. Medicated shampoos need their dwell time to actually do their job, which is why Khan got parked in the back with conditioner on for a while. You cannot rush that part. Well, you can, but then it does nothing and everybody’s day was wasted.
Everyone got blow dried in their Happy Hoodie. Well. Everyone who left it on. Stormy, kept hers on. Khan not was not impressed and took his off.
Burrow and the Fluff Incident
Burrow got the full treatment and spent the entire time watching my every move like a tiny manager conducting a performance review. He has these little crusties in his hair that I kept finding, and a long nail that had clearly been running the show.
Burrow also ate his own fluff. Not a joke. I trimmed fluff off him, and he opened his mouth and inhaled it. There is now a standing rule in this van — a rule I had to say, out loud, multiple times, to a small cream-colored dog — and the rule is: no fluff eating. He was not persuaded. He is, however, extremely stinking cute, which is clearly how he has gotten away with everything for this long.
Nixon has an off day
Nixon’s mom told me he was acting a little off. That is a piece of information I take very seriously, because she knows him and I don’t — she spends every day with this dog and sees things I would never catch in a single appointment.
So instead of pushing straight through, we went step by step. Face, feet, and fanny first. Then a bath and a blow dry if he was still doing okay. Then a haircut if that was still fine.
Nobody has to tolerate a whole production on a day when they feel bad. A dog having a rough day does not owe me a flawless appointment, and pushing a dog who feels unwell is how you teach a dog to dread the van. Nixon was a little scared and he was still brave, and “doing pretty well for not doing so great” is a genuinely good report card.
Milo: threat level zero
Milo was the last dog of the day, and Milo would like everyone to know that he was not consulted about this. Milo growls. Milo growls the entire time. Milo has been growling at me for years, and I think it is adorable, so we have an understanding.
Here is the thing about Milo: he has zero teeth. None. His growl is a bluff, and we both know it. He knows I know it. He commits anyway, because he has standards, and honestly, respect. I told him he could growl all he wanted. He did. He also rubbed his entire face up and down my arm, which I am interpreting as trying to claim me as property, and I am fine with that.
Milo has a few things going on health-wise, so we took him slowly. When he got himself worked up and started coughing, that was the end of the speed portion of the program. We don’t do speed. The only time Milo got truly comfortable today was when I started baby talking him, which is his secret weakness and now yours too.
We found a burr in his ankle and got it out. We checked all the lumps and bumps — no new ones, which is the best news you can hear on a Friday. He kept it together, he got his trim, and I got to say the best line of the entire day: “look at you, there’s a handsome little guy under all of that.”
He walked out looking like the gentleman he always secretly was.
Five dogs. One sibling war. One fluff theft. One very brave off day. One toothless threat.
Happy Friday, everybody. My weekend is going to involve a lot of driving and possibly a nap.
Until next time, my furry friends!
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.