Three dogs today. After a full week of Halloween characters, it was genuinely nice to get back to plain old grooming. Although I will admit I missed the Velma glasses.
Daisy
Daisy is brand new to the pack, so everybody please make her feel welcome. She is a golden retriever with a lovely honey coat and the sort of face that makes you forget you are supposed to be working. She also does a small Elvis lip curl when she is excited, which I have decided is her signature move.
Daisy arrived with one important note: a mild chicken allergy. That means treats get read label-first around here, because a “small” ingredient is not small to a dog who reacts to it. If your dog has any sensitivity, tell me before the appointment — I would much rather plan around it than discover it halfway through.
She also had a solid case of grinch feet, which is my technical term for the tufts of fur that grow between the paw pads. It is a good reminder that those tufts collect grit, salt, and whatever else is on the ground, and they can make a dog slip on a smooth floor. Keeping them tidy keeps the whole foot working the way it should.
Daisy was not thrilled about the high-velocity dryer, especially anywhere near her head. That is extremely common and completely fair. We simply work around the head and let the dog set the pace — nobody has to love the dryer to leave with a lovely finish.
Scarlett
Scarlett is a cream doodle with apricot ears and an extraordinary talent for locating a squirrel at the exact moment I need her to hold still. She is also, in my professional opinion, one of the prettiest dogs I see, and one of the dirtiest. “She’s pretty but she’s dirty” is genuinely how I described her out loud today.
She came in with a few burrs, which is simply November doing its thing. Burrs are easy to miss until they have worked their way into a coat, so a quick hands-on check after every walk goes a long way this time of year. It is also why regular brushing matters more in fall than at any other season.
Scarlett was a very good sport about all of it. She put a tongue directly into my eyeball at one point, which I am choosing to interpret as affection, and she finished up looking like the little princess baby girl she clearly is. She deserves all the lovens and all the squishies and all the snackies, and she got most of them.
Archie
Archie is a brown/grey doodle and an extremely fluffy boy — the kind of fluffy where you are no longer certain whether you are grooming a dog or a very well-organized cloud. He is also a very good boy, and he would like that noted for the record.
His greatest talent is keeping his tongue out for the entire appointment. His second greatest talent is wanting to look up at exactly the wrong moment, which is precisely how a dog ends up with water up his nose. That is not a dog being difficult. That is a dog being a dog. The fix is simple: keep the head level while the top gets washed and everybody stays comfortable.
Archie took the villosity dryer in stride, stayed relaxed throughout, and came out looking like the handsome boy he already knew he was.
Three dogs, one squirrel, and one very fluffy cloud. A genuinely good Tuesday.
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.