Anoush is an Australian Shepherd, a beautiful one, with the kind of eye color that makes people stop and ask if she is a puppy. She is not a puppy. She is just opinionated in a way that makes her look like one.
I have been grooming Anoush for a while now and she has a whole routine she runs on me. I have accepted that the routine is hers. I just work inside it.
The Disappearing Feet Trick
The first thing Anoush does when I lift her onto the table is tuck all four of her paws up under her body. Completely. As far under as she can physically manage. Then she looks at me like “I do not have feet. You cannot trim what does not exist.”
This works on me roughly zero percent of the time. I always get the toes. We both know this is going to happen. She tucks anyway. I respect the commitment to the bit.
Why Aussies Are Fun to Groom
Australian Shepherds are working dogs through and through. Their coats are double coats built for weather, their energy is real, and they have a strong sense of what they think should be happening at any given moment. A few things I always pay attention to with Anoush:
– Her double coat needs a real blow-out, not a quick brush. Skipping that just means the loose undercoat stays packed against her skin and mats faster. – Herding breeds can be sensitive about their back end and their feet. Anoush is no different. We go slow back there. – Aussies shed year round, with two heavier blow-outs a year. The blow-outs are the difference between a manageable coat and a fur explosion on your furniture. – Her nails are dark. I always have good light on the table so I can see the quick clearly before clipping.
What Anoush Taught Me
Anoush is one of the dogs who reminded me early on that my job is not to convince a dog they want to be groomed. My job is to do the groom in a way the dog can accept. Sometimes that means letting the feet tuck happen and just working around it. Sometimes it means a calmer shampoo. Sometimes it means taking the appointment in a different order than I would with another dog.
Every dog is a negotiation. Anoush is just very clear about what she is and is not offering.
Watch Her Live
I stream most of my grooms on Twitch at DogGroomerNicole. Anoush has appeared on the stream a few times. You can usually spot the moment she tucks her feet and waits for me to figure it out.
Real grooming, real dogs, real community.
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.