Grooming Molly, Cooper & Zeke

Lucy, Ace Reporter, with a story about 3 new grooms.

Once again, JoJo’s Mom sent a co-worker to Groomer Mom. This new client has three pups: two yorkies and a yorkie/dachsund mix. I guess if Chia is a Jacksund, then Zeke would be a Yorksund?

Groomer Mom offers what she has named “winter grooms” when the weather gets cold. With a “winter groom,” the pups gets their face and paws groomed, along with their “private” areas and little touchups where needed. Of course it also includes the removal of ear hair, a nail trim and/or filing, and a bath and brushout. Her clients love this option, and I think the pups appreciate it, too.

Why don’t we start with Zeke? He’s 6 1/2 years old, a quiet, gentle soul, and the largest of the three. This is Zeke after his winter groom.

Do you like the manly tie Groomer Mom gave him for Christmas?

Next up is Molly. She came to us right after her 7th birthday. It is noteworthy that she is JoJo’s mother. This is her pre-groom picture.

All three pups were in similar condition, but this is the only pre-groom picture available.
Here is sweet Molly after her winter groom.

Last up is Cooper, who is 7 1/2 years old. You may have noticed a pattern here…they are all six months apart in age. Cooper is the smallest and wildest of the three. His Mom said she wanted his hair very short around his eyes. And remember, Groomer Mom did not take hair off anyone’s body and legs. In this shot, Cooper is done and ready to go home.

Their Mom was thrilled with the grooms and the price and included a nice tip. Groomer Mom told her they were all good pups and she would welcome them back. Afterward, the new client texted asking if the pups did ok for her, and asking if she would do them again when the time came. Mom reassured her that all went well and answered absolutely!

Today we are joining Brian’s Thankful Thursday, with special thanks to Brian for hosting it!

That’s all for this week’s edition of Grooming with Mom. Lucy, Ace Reporter, signing off until next time.

The Last and the First

Lucy, Ace Reporter here on the Groom Beat

I hope everyone had a good entry into the new year of 2022, the year of the Tiger. I am here to tell you not to fear, I do not have any reports on an uprise of tigers in either residential neighborhoods or “out in the country.”

Instead, I would like to share with you the last groom that Groomer Mom did in the year 2021 and the first one in the year 2022.

Small Dog Grooming’s Final Grooms of 2021:

Slider (L) and Peyton (R) were the second family who started coming to Groomer Mom for their beauty appointments when she opened her current shop in our home. Their first appointment was in January of 2014. This time, Slider, a large Yorkshire Terrier, got his ears shaved because of intense matting. His Mom said, “He looks more like a terrier now!” If you would like to see what he looked like before his ears got shaved, you can click here.

Now, for Groomer Mom’s first groom of 2022:

Groomer Mom asks that you please excuse the white area on the top of JoJo’s head. The effect Groomer Mom used on the photo amplified the shine from the overhead light. Please use your imagination and pretend it is all the same color as the front of her head. *sigh, the allowances I make in this reporting gig*

JoJo, another Yorkie, is a more recent addition to Groomer Mom’s clientele. She started coming in April of last year. JoJo’s Mom brings her every four weeks without exception. Today, as well as last month, were mini-grooms, which means her hair is left long on her body and legs to help keep her warmer in the colder months. JoJo’s Mom has been staying to hold her for her nail trim and to have herpaw pads shaved. She’s just terrified! Her Mom said that even though JoJo’s been with her since she was a little puppy, she has always been fearful. We are grateful that her Mom entrusts her to Groomer Mom’s care. Our hope for her is that she realizes she is safe here and will eventually relax and not be afraid.

That’s all today. Please check back this Thursday for a report on our newest set of grooms!

Also, we want to thank Comedy Plus for hosting Happy Tuesday.

Lucy, Ace Reporter, signing off.

Grooming with Mom on Awww Monday

Hi again friends. Sometimes Mom feels bad that she doesn’t have a puppy picture of me. I assure her that I looked exactly like I do now, just smaller BOL! Here, let me show you what I mean.

Left: How I think I looked as a puppy. Right: me now.

Today, instead of reporting on new grooms, I’m taking my reporter hat off to show you an awww moment. Slider is a pup who has been coming here for a haircut and bath since January of 2014. I’ve shown you pictures of him, but to refresh your memory – or for those of you who weren’t with us then – here’s a pre and post groom look at him.

• 

• 

OK, maybe not much difference, but it makes his Mom happy.

The new thing I wanted to show you is his puppy picture his Mom shared with us today. Can you even believe it’s the same pup?

I hope to be back soon in my Ace Reporter mode to show you more of Mom’s grooms.

Thanks to Comedy Plus for hosting Awww Mondays.

Love and kisses, Lucy

Grooming with Mom: Chiefly

Lucy, Ace Reporter here to tell you about a new groom who came to us as a result of COVID-19. Our client, Angela – who has the schnauzers Sophie and Dexter – recommended us Mom when her friend asked if she knew anyone who was grooming right now.

This is Master Chief – Chiefly for short – before his groom. Mom forgot to get a picture until after she had started, so that’s why you see hair on the table.

Chiefly is a 5-year-old yorkie-poo. He definitely has the tight, curly, poodle hair. He was pretty stressed, as you can see, with his tongue hanging out.

Mom called me to come help calm him down.

Xena ran in the room first and they growled at each other. Then Chiefly growled at me. I knew it was just because he was scared, so I started sending zen thoughts his way. Mom told him that’s what I was doing, and that he should be a good boy and let me help him. He did, and I did. I helped so much that when Xena came running back in and put her front paws on the table to look at him, they touched noses and called a truce. Good boy, Chiefly!

Chiefly’s Mom, Maryanne, said to shave him from his head to the end of his tail. Mom called her to be sure she got it right, cause who gets pretty ears like that shaved, right? The conversation went sorta like this:

Mom: Hi, everything’s good, I just want to check, do you want his ears shaved.
Maryanne: Yes, shave his ears please.
Mom: You really want his tail shaved?
Maryanne: Yes.
Mom: What about his face?
Maryanne: Shave it.
Mom: Shave the whole face, short, like his body? No mustache? No beard?
Maryanne: Right. I want him to be cool for the summer
Mom: OK, bye.

Chiefly: I look pretty, don’t I?

Yes, Chiefly, you look pretty, or handsome, as the case may be.

Chiefly: Is my Mom coming now? I’m ready to go home.

You can’t see from the pictures, but Mom left a bobble of hair on the end of his tail, almost like a poodle. His Mom and sister loved it, as well as his cool summer cut.

Lucy, Ace Reporter, signing off with another success story.

Grooming with Mom – Benny

Lucy, Ace Reporter here, with another episode of Grooming with Mom. Today I am featuring Benny, a 2-year-old Cockapoo. Mom first groomed Benny when he was three months old.

Mom hated didn’t like how his face looked in this groom, but it matched the picture his Mom asked for him to look like. Kinda crazy, huh?

We didn’t see him again for a couple of years, and today learned that his Mom had gotten married and moved across town. With the Shelter in Place order, it has been a long time since Benny was groomed anywhere. His Mom remembered bringing him here for his first groom, and called, hoping my Mom was open for business.

Benny has grown into a sweet and loving dog (kind of like me, he, he). He also was a very matted dog from missing all those appointments. His Mom expressed her desire to have him groomed like last time, in a scissor cut, but, if that wasn’t possible because of the mats, ok’d a shave-down. Although Mom did her best to work through the mats, his ears were matted like felt, and the only thing to do was to shave them.

After, that, the rest (of his hair) was history. That also gave Mom the liberty to groom his face and head how she thought looked good. Benny’s Mom was pleased. We may have just saved him from a life-time of ridicule by his peers.

Lucy, Ace Reporter, signing off

Thankful Thursday and Grooming with Mom: Bailey

Hello friends. Lucy, Ace Reporter here today to report on another fantastic groom. It all started at a party…a Super Bowl party to be exact. Mom went to the party thrown by her work-place, and she sat down to eat with some of the people who attend that synagogue. The couple next to her said they were looking for a new groomer for their sweet shih tzu, and mentioned that Aoife’s Mom had told them what a good job Mom does on Aoife. A few weeks later they called Mom for an appointment. Mom didn’t bother with a “before” picture, because Bailey wasn’t in bad shape. He mostly needed his face and paws and certain other areas trimmed. Here he is after his mini-groom and bath.

Bailey is a little over two years old. Mom said he’s one of the best behaved pups she’s ever had the pleasure to groom.

Do y’all remember Rhett?

Rhett

He came to us to be groomed for the first time last September, and has been coming back every six weeks.

And Maggie, whose Mom is a cancer survivor. We know all your prayers and POTP helped!

Maggie

Maggie is coming every six weeks now, too.

And lots of other regulars like Maggie the schnauzer and her sister Dora the explorer shih tzu, who come to see us every three weeks.

Dora (L) and Maggie

As well as two of our yorkie friends, Slider and Peyton, who come every six weeks.

OK, so maybe Peyton (top) isn’t really a yorkie, but that’s what the guy who sold her to them said.

We’re thankful for all the wonderful pups who come to get groomed and loved-on by me and Mom. There’s lots more, and each one is special in his or her own way.

This is Lucy, Ace Reporter, signing off with wags and kisses. I hope you enjoyed this segment of Grooming with Mom.

Grooming with Mom – Christmas Puppies

Today I, Lucy Ace Reporter, bring you a fun episode of Grooming with Mommy. You may remember Louis and Laila, proud three time parents. They came to get groomed, like usual. What wasn’t usual was that after they were finished, their Mom brought their last three puppies that hadn’t gone to new homes yet. They are 12 weeks old, and all are little boys. Mom asked me to come downstairs to help her.This little guy was first up, and he was really terrified. I gave him some thoughts of confidence that no one was going to hurt him, and to just relax. He listened to me, and while we passed thoughts back and forth Mom was able to hold him in her lap to finish cutting his nails. He is to be a Christmas present from a fire fighter in Georgia for his little girl. The puppy promised me that he would be a good boy for her.

I checked on the other boys in the kennel to be sure they were doing ok. The one with hair like his daddy growled at me. If you look hard, you can see my tail wagging, ’cause this little guy fussing at a big girl like me made me laugh.

The other two boys were much easier, and I didn’t really have to do anything else. Even so, I stayed just in case Mom needed me again. Besides, their Mom came back and pet me a lot while she told me how beautiful I am. I think I made her feel good, too!Mom said, “Sit,” and we all sat. The growler (he, he) is up front. He is the only one with a single coat (that means no undercoat), like his Dad. The one that I helped with is in the middle, all groomed and ready to go make a little girl happy. Mom’s favorite is the one in the back. Just looking in his face, we could tell he is smart. He’s really good-natured too, and has a thick coat. He’s in the middle in the next picture.Mom said me and Xena are enough for this home, so I won’t get to raise a baby brother.

Love and wiggles from Lucy, Ace Reporter and Doggie Therapist

Scooter and Maggie on the Table

Hi my friends. It’s Lucy, your favorite pup (in this home).  Mom got some new dogs in to groom, and I get to tell you about them. This first one is Scooter. Scooter is a 9-year-old multi-poo. That is a maltese mixed with a poodle. I guess you could also say he is a pootese, he, he. He belongs to some friends of my peeps brother, Andrew. Scooter cries and screams, but he doesn’t try to bite. Mom just needs to get ear protectors. Heck, we all need ear protectors with Xena around. Scooter was covered with fleas and flea dirt, and his hair was a bit matted. He got 3 – yes three – baths while he was here. I’m lucky to make it through one bath.

Scooter had bad teeth, so his Mom, Beth, took him to the doggie dentist and they pulled about 12 of his teeth. They wanted to pull a bunch more, but his Mom said, “No.” Beth called my Mom to see what she thought. Mom said she could go to a different dogtor to get another opinion. Isn’t my Mom smart?

This next pup is named Maggie. Maggie is a 2 (almost 3) year old – wait! I just watched Xena bark at Riley and chase him out of “his” chair in the library. He’s like 87 gazillion times bigger than her! Dad warned us she would take over the house.

Anyhow, where was I? Oh yes, Maggie. Maggie is a poodle/shih tzu mix. Mom said she could have tons of fun with the names for that combination, but it’s best to leave it up to your imagination. Maggie was very good on the grooming table and has a sweet personality, kind of like me! She was matted to the max, and the lady did not want her shaved. Mom worked and worked on her, using her best grooming tricks and tools to get out all the mats, until Maggie looked as sweet as she was.

In closing, I remember the days before a certain schnauzer puppy took over.

Our feet and tummies and Mom’s flip flops were all safe. Life seemed much simpler back then. It seems so long ago…

Love and wiggles, Lucy.

Grooming With(out) Lucy

I’ve given up. Mom’s never going to let me groom dogs. A couple of weeks ago she got a 15 year old miniature poodle dog named Muffy in to groom. Do you think Mom let me help? Right. Mom forgot to get a “before” picture, but she remembers thinking that under all that hair there has to be a poodle. It took her two hours to find the poodle, though. Muffy is also a screamer. Speaking of screaming, I can hardly wait for Mom to let me tell you what Riley did at the vet. (he, he)

 

 

This morning Mom did a mini-groom on Dora the shih Tzu and Maggie the schnauzer. I’ve told you about them before.

 

 

 

Then a newer client asked if Mom could groom Daisy, her cockapoo. Of course Mom said, “Come on!” and there was one more dog I didn’t get to groom. *sad sigh*  Daisy will be one year old next month and her Mom is planning her a birthday party. I bet she would have been tons of fun to play with. Oh, wait. Maybe that’s why Mom won’t let me groom.

Daisy before groom

    Daisy after groom

Love and wiggles, Lucy

 

Grooming without Lucy

Introducing Jaxon, a 10-year-old Yorkshire Terrier. He is cousins with Chloe and Chaz who were featured in a previous post. His Mom and Grandmom stayed for his groom and saw what a good boy he was the whole time.

Love and wags, Lucy

A Dog Grooming Double Entendre

My Mom was watching videos on grooming tek neeks when her new groom got to the house. She set her laptop on the floor with the you tube video still running. Can you guess what I did? Yep, I watched how to groom shih tzu faces and yorkie faces and malteses all overs and tons of other stuff. Dad put me out in the yard for a while, but I couldn’t wait to get back in to watch more videos. I ran right to the laptop and kept watching until Mom was all done in her groom room and came back upstairs. I hope I get to watch more videos of dogs today.

Zoe is a Papitese. She is half Papillon and half Maltese. Mom said she was a very, very good girl and got a treat and a fancy bow on her collar. Maybe I can groom Zoe next time, ’cause I have to get some paws-on experience. I will see if there is a you tube video for Papitese grooming.

Loves and wiggles,

Lucy

It’s a Sign!

My subdivision, Port Royal, is relatively small, maybe 30 or 40 houses. It is also on a cul-de-sac, so we have no through traffic. There are two houses for sale on our street. Earlier this week I got a call from a lady who had been house-shopping and wrote down my number from the sign in my front yard.

She had looked at so many houses that she couldn’t even remember where I was located, but she wanted to bring  Winston, her 10 month old multi-poo-shih-tzu to me to groom. It ended up being a 20 minute drive this morning, but she didn’t seem to mind. What a wiggle butt, and a sweet boy!

After the groom, Winston’s Mom couldn’t come for him for over an hour, so after I grabbed a bite of lunch I carried the little guy upstairs to meet Lucy. She was very gentle with him while he sat in my lap and made friends with her.

My next groom had rescheduled for Good Friday, so I thought I was done for the day. After returning from a quick run to Walmart, which, for an early Friday afternoon, was uncharacteristically packed, my mobile rang with a local number I didn’t recognize. Unbelievably, it was another person who had driven through the neighborhood to look at the houses for sale and had seen my sign. They were a retired couple who had just returned from three months of wintering in Florida. She claimed they couldn’t find a groomer there for their three pound yorkie. Huh?? They lived nearby, so I told her to bring 15 year old Daisy on over. This was definitely another one of those “I wouldn’t normally groom her this way, but if it’s what you want” grooms.

Isn’t this Senior Lady precious? Their granddaughter convinced them to adopt this cutie as a rescue when Daisy was four years old. Daisy is also an experienced girl on the groom table. Such a delight!

Out of curiosity, I did a spread sheet on the origin of all my active grooms. The results are 20% from my yard sign, 55% from the neighborhood blog, 15% from referrals, and 10% from people in the neighborhood asking who groomed my dog (Lexi) when we were out walking.

Angel Lexi: POTP for Sophie

This is Angel Lexi, taking back my blog tonight for an important message. The front part of the story  goes like this:

Mom groomed two schnauzers today. It was just their third time coming to Mom for grooms. Dexter is still a pup at two years. Mom got a before and after picture (he’s looking down because he is thinking about jumping off the table):

Mom likes schnauzers groomed like schnauzers, but she does what their Moms ask. (I think that’s how she gets paid.) In this case Dexter and his sister are outside playing in the woods a lot and only get groomed every three months, so I guess it makes sense to get all that hair off.

Dexter’s sister, Sophie, is nine years old. She got kinda scared when Mom tried to shave her back legs, so Mom stopped and just loved on her a while and got rewarded with a kiss on the nose. That calmed Sophie down enough for Mom to finish.  I don’t know who is the bigger sucker. Anyhow, Mom forgot to get a “before” picture, so here she is after Mom stole her hair. Yes, we schnauzers have hair, not fur. That is why we don’t make people sneeze.

Sophie has had a lot of trouble with hematomas in her ears and had to have surgery on both of them. Now she has a scary-looking tumor on the edge of her left ear. Mom was almost crying, ’cause she really, really likes Sophie and Mom is scared about the tumor. I guess that’s cause of what happened to me. Anyhow, I got called in to intervene with the Big Guy. Mom took another picture and if you look real close, you can see the tumor on the bottom part of Sophie’s ear.

It would be great if all my friends would do some POTP for Sophie.  Her family loves her a lot and Sophie isn’t ready to say goodbye yet. I’ll be listening, and so will the Big Guy.

A Happier Nextdoor Story

On Sunday, my idea was to post about all the grooming business I have gotten from the Nextdoor website. Somehow, my flow of consciousness never got past the boat. I guess that was something I needed to share.

Back to Nextdoor and grooming. I believe in visualization. That’s sort of like seeing things in your mind’s eye as if they are really happening or have already happened and believing that image. Others might say it is how a person can manifest what they want. I have to be careful, though, because not everything I have wanted has ended up being good for me: otherwise known as bad decisions. I thought strongly about having more dogs coming to me to be groomed. Nice dogs. I love dogs and love grooming them, so what better way to make some money? Next came the action step.

I posted on the site that many of my neighbors read – even in surrounding neighborhoods – that I groom small dogs and included information like price and that theirs would be the only dog here at their appointment time. My first new groom was Della, a miniature yorkie whose Mom wanted to stay during the groom. No problem. As long as the dog isn’t acting out because of it, that just gives me someone to talk to — or listen to, as is usually the case. The next day I groomed Della’s brother, the teacup yorkie, Chaz, with Mom staying again. I didn’t manage to get a picture either day, but next time…

Next was Pete, a morkie (maltese and yorkie designer dog). Pete’s Mom told me the females were selling for over $1000, but they were giving away the males. *scratches head* His Aunt Freda sits in the pew behind me and Jeff every Sunday at 8:00, and also lives with Pete and his Mom. Again, next time I will get a picture.

Both these folks gave me such glowing reviews on Nextdoor that the appointments picked up steam!

Pretty soon Sadie Jo, the terrier/chihuahua mix showed up. The hair on this sweet girl’s back hadn’t grown since Thanksgiving. With all the hair on her head and legs grown and sticking out every which way, this was one crazy-looking dog. As I saw a big possibility of thyroid problems or Cushing’s disease, I encouraged her Mom to take her to visit her vet. While the vet agreed with me, the tests all came back normal. She wants to see Sadie Jo in three months to retest her. Another great review brought more pups through the door.

Emmy is a shih tzu with bad allergies and lots of mats. Then came Laila and Louie. Laila is a shitzu/poodle mix, born last November. What a sweetie, and what a handful. She is all puppy and wanted to keep giving me face kisses. ❤

                                                                    (Laila on left, Louis on right.)
Her brother Louis is a shih tzu/ petit basset griffon vendéen mix. When he showed up, his hair was standing up on his head and hanging in his eyes and he looked a fright, kind of like a gargoyle. He’s still a puppy at 10 months, but much calmer, and of course you can see how adorable he is post-groom in the picture on the right. After an hour with him I had fallen in love and would keep this pup forever, but he is his Mom’s heart dog. She is willing, however, to part with Laila to the right person, since she has only had Laila two months, and Louis was happier as an only dog. That was definitely a Lexi trait. After hearing all about Louis and seeing the tricks he already knows, I said something I have only said once before in my life. Louis would be perfect on stage as Toto. I encouraged his Mom to take him if — no, when — this role becomes available in Chattanooga again.  I guess his Mom would know where to come looking if I dog napped him.

Then I got Lizzie, the shih tzu/basset mix. She’s five. I promise you, this is how her Mom wanted her groomed and I aim to please, as they say. Below is Lizzie “before” and “after.” Can you see those little basset griffon legs?

Lizzie “before”

Lizzie “after”

Finally, on Saturday, I got in Bella, an older yorkie mix with lots of skin tags, so I just did a scissor cut on this good girl. I have to say, every one of these dogs have been absolutely delightful. And their folks have all been thankful to find a groomer they like in the neighborhood — giving me great reviews —  with all the activity keeping my post near the top for everyone to see.

I never dreamed I could generate this much activity, with such wonderful dogs. All I can say is, “Thank you, God!”

 

Another Groom Victim

For those of you just tuning it, Mom and I are in PA taking care of our BFF who was in a bad car accident. Pai the dog and Claudia the cat live there. Yesterday, Claud got shaved and this is what Pai looked like.

Paisana, earlier this week.

Mom got up early today. She took me out, fed me, then this happened. I watched. *grin*

Paisana, post groom.

Pai does look happier since her groom, doesn’t she? Tomorrow is Saturday and there is no one left to groom, except…. no, no, no.