should I try them?

[shrek]

Lady calls has 2 newfies each weighing 120lbs. They are inside/outside dogs. DO NOT SHAVE MY DOGS DOWN. They only have matts behide their ears, chest, tummy and butt. Just cut out the matts leave the coats. What?! I have never just cut matts and let a dog go out of my shop with a cut that is not in some kind of a good style. To me this would look awful. Happen to call a groomer she tried before and was told this lady refuses to let her dogs be shaved down. The will looked horrible done this way but it is what she wants. The groomer said the dogs are a handful, matts everywhere, and the lady will complain about how they look no matter what you try and do.

My thought, put one in the crate, hook the other to the gh. and show the lady how I can not get a comb or brush through the dog and tell her I have to shave it down. If she doesn't like it she can leave or pay me alot more to do my best at brushing the out and removing what matts I can.

[Chuck]

Grooming Standards Vs Customer Requests

Shrek,

You will get customers like this. They know what they want and will not or do not want what we think is correct. We chunk out matts all the time. Just listen to what she is saying. This is what she wants.

1. I do not want my dogs shaved down. Inside/outside dogs.
2. Do not care that the matts are chunked out.
3. They are hard to do (I think she means tough to groom because they will not stand for hours of brushing and/or dematt). They are big dogs. She knows what she wants and what to expect.

So lets recap.
All she want are cleaned chunked out dogs and she is going to complain no matter what this is her MO. You will not change her so either accept the job and make your money or send her elswhere.

I would:
Bathe them in Best Shot (great dematting shampoo), Force dry the heck out of them (if they do not destroy your arm and table), chunk out the matts, do your best to brush and comb within reason 30-40 minutes Max on each, clean ears cut nails, put a bandana on them and charge her $100.00 each. Anything extra we charge $60.00/hr. Stick by your guns $200 or the highway.

Make your money and send her on her way.

Good Luck,

Chuck

[diamienono]

I would do what she wants. What do you care if her dog looks funny. As long as you get paid. We do what the customer wants. Even if we think it looks dumb. Just take her money. then ask her not to tell anyone where she got her dogs groomed lol

[Shei77]

Reminds me of a Golden-doodle we had come through the shop. He was EXTREEMLY matted. The owners refuse to have the dog shaved. Thay clamed the dog would brush out easely. Make a longe story short after dematting a foot for 1/2 an hour we called the owner and said the dog would not tolerate a de-matting she told us reluctantly that we could shave him down. He came off in sheets of matts. We had to use a 7 skip tooth and in some places a #30. Moral of the story you need to do what is best and most human thing for the dog. If that is a stripp than it is a stripp. Some customers will never get that what they are asking (or demanding ) is crule. Don't let ego get involved. Don't say that you can dematt anything even if you can. Doing that can turn a good dog into a P.I.T.A. dong in no time. IF you can tell her to take the dog home and dematt it herself. After a day or two most will either bring them back and ask for you to stripp the dog. Once in a great while you will have an owner who can do it.

[dogsdayspa]

sherk, unless you need the money or want to to give yourself undue stress I would not do it, it is not worth the money I have dealt with people like that you can`t please them and they won`t pay what the job is worth wait a little longer and get some good poeple that will listen to you and the dogs are nice to work with and plus what the other groomer had to say, Just my thought

[borzoimom]

I agree with dogsdayspa, I would not do those dogs for any $$ amount. Too much stress. I had a client like that with a cocker. After a year and a half, I fired her. And that was just a cocker, I couldn't imagine doing 2 Newfs that you know will be a PITA and an owner to match.

[Fur Elite]

I agree with dogdayspa. IF you absolutely need this money urgently, then that is one thing. In this case, the quote of at least $100 each is the minimum. If, however, you would get by just fine without them...pass it up. Look at it this way. This is not a frequent client. You want repeat customers that you enjoy doing and that do not age your body prematurely. You may see her again or you may not. If it were me, even IF she brought those dogs in regularly I would rather not have her as a client. She is unpleasable, the dogs are huge and you only have so many good years on your body as it is. These dogs will deplete your energy, your nerves and your body. The client will deplete your nerves and possible enrage you. Is that what you want? When I get tempted by these calls, I just think about what my ideal client is.,..this is not the ideal client. Sure, someone has to groom them, but that someone doesn't have to be me. I am 41 and my back hurts. Why put your body through something that is going to be unappreciated and overall, does not fit the mold of the ideal client. For me at least, there is no amount that someone would be willing to pay me that would be worth it.

[shrek]

I don't even weigh as much as these dogs, so I hope they don't drag me around the shop to bad. Chuck good advice. Your gh's will be put to the test. I going to try them at least once, it they look like ****, ask her not to tell anybody it was me that made look that way. I have never just chunked out matts before and not blend in the body nicely. I can't vision these dogs coming out nice looking.

[Indogtrinated]

I had a sweet little Shih Tzu in Saturday that is usually in very decent shape. This time, however, the owners failed to brush her and she was matted in the chest, around the neck and on her butt. I normally leave her about an inch all over, but of course this would have been impossible in the matted areas. I discussed the options with the owners, finally asking them to let me try something different. Rather than shave her all over, I shaved the matted areas pretty short (leaving the coat as long as possible) and blended this length into the one inch length. She actually looked pretty good and they were very pleased. Maybe your client would accept this as a solution.

[Reader]

I have seen a couple of dogs that were matted and just had the mats cut out. Sometimes not much is left. It always looks terrible. If they need to be shaved, I would either shave them or not do them. There's no way to be sure that she'll comply with not telling anyone where they were groomed.

[Briarpatch]

Personally, I'd refer her to the local Petsomething! Their groomer are younger and stronger than I am. I can make the same money doing a few easy grooms with a LOT less stress. When I was younger and broke, I'd have done what she asked, clipped out the mats and blasted the heck out of it. This type of client usually doesn't care if the dog looks good, they just want it comfortable.

[stacie-gotg]

If you try these dogs you might want to use a Coat King. Have fun. Good Luck. Better you then me. I would never do it. I want 3 easy ShiTzus with owners that tip then that job. Weigh your options.

[Luvkitties]

I agree with Reader, who is to say that she won't tell everyone that you made her dogs look like horrible. Why doesn't she just go back to her old groomer?

I would also think long and hard about your area. Do you live in an area where grooms are plentiful and everyone does not know everyone else? I would just hate for this woman to bad mouth your shop and reputation just b/c she can't keep up with the coats of her 2 small horses!

[Tammy~]

I would tell her that I would love to help her out by shaving them down for her then we could start over with their coats and perhaps get them on a grooming schedule to avoid this in the future... I don't have a problem setting a pattern on a dog even if it isn't to breed standards IF I can make it look neat and tidy, but I will not send something out the door that embarrasses me.. I agree with everyone on the fact that it is your reputation and business and lets face it just snipping out matts looks very choppy and sloppy and I would not take the chance of someone seeing that and knowing you did it.. I once had a man ask me to shave his poodle using a 30 blade over the entire body and just leaving a strip from the top of the head to the tip of his tail a mo-hawk basically and I smiled, but declined, he called later that week and we agreed on a trim that wasn't exactly something I would pick, but I was not at all embarrassed about sending it out the door either...Good Luck on whatever you choose to do...I agree with you about charging her a lot more ...Let us know what you decide Tammy~

[Wisconsin]

First consider if you can deal with the amount of work involved but I would do what the owner asks for. Let the force dryer do the work. Maybe you can loosen the mats up enough that you can get them out either by thinning shears or clippers after. It may not look as choppy as you think.

My double coated Keeshonds I rinse well, use a degreaser first, let sit for five minutes. Then shampoo twice down to the skin with a nice conditioning shampoo. I water the shampoo down quite a bit so it's easy to rinse. A light conditioner, light mist of the stuff, step back and watch the fur fly. The brushing is minimal.

You may have to vary your method a bit based on the condition and amount of undercoat but this has worked well on my OAY's of varying breeds.

My brother has a newfie mix I shaved once. Ick, I just prefer the look of the coat. IMO that's what makes the breed.

Good luck, let us know what you decide and how it turns out if you take on the job.