Today was a two-dog day, and both of them were characters. We started with a Cavalier who has been in my books long enough to have opinions about the whole process, and we finished with a little long-haired Dachshund who was convinced he was going somewhere far more exciting than a grooming table.
Here is a look at today’s pair:
Lexi the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
Lexi and I go back a while now. When I first started grooming her, she would yell. Not a little, either. She would yell through the entire appointment, start to finish, and I just worked around it. Her family moved out of the area for a stretch and we lost touch, then they landed back in my neck of the woods and reached out again. These days she is a different dog about it. She is still wiggly and she is still not entirely sold on having her feet handled, but she settles, and that is a big change from where we started.
Today was right on her six-week schedule. She had a bath with the tearless shampoo, a tidy-up on her feet and around her ears, and a really cute blue bandana to finish. She tried to walk her way out of the foot trim, which is a very Lexi move, but no harm done and we got it done. Before long she was all finished and headed for the door.
Tucker the Long-Haired Dachshund
Tucker is a spinner. He came out of the gate twirling and kept the energy up for most of the visit. His mom had told him something about a golf cart ride on the way in, and he clearly thought that was still on the table. Sorry, buddy. This is a grooming van, not a golf cart. Maybe afterward.
He is also a wall hugger. Every time I put him down he pressed himself right up against the side of the tub, like if he leaned hard enough he might just vanish into it. He does what I call the nervous turn, one little spin when he is not sure about something, and then he settles right back down. For all that, he is a good boy on the table and he lets me work.
Tucker got a bath, a go-over with the high-velocity dryer, his nails and feet done, and a trim through his ears and tail. His tail had worked up a few little pin knots that needed coaxing out. Long-haired Dachshunds carry a lot of coat for such a small dog, and his came out beautiful. His mom also tipped me off to a trick that gets an instant head tilt out of him, and it worked like a charm.
Two very different dogs, one very good Wednesday. Thank you to both families for trusting me with your dogs.
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.