Anyone ever try to "teach" you something that was wrong?

[mylady]

Over the years, especially when I was just learning, I worked with quite a few groomers and still remember some of the things I was told to do that were just plain wrong. One of the groomers I worked with told me to bathe all dogs in the hottest water I could possibly stand as that would help them shed out hair better. Even the poodles and Bichons she wanted bathed in scalding water. I never did, though she didn't know that. I had only been grooming a year and even I knew then that most dogs did best with luke warm water, depending on skin condition of course.
When I was learning I was also taught that you should NEVER EVER use a clipper on the face of a Bichon. At that time I didn't know any better and was surprised when I found out that it's common to use clippers even under the eyes to help give the right expression.
I'm just wondering what other "grooming myths" I'll call them have been told to others.

[darbygoo]

I heard a groomer tell a new bather " Don't get the force dryer anywhere near their heads or it will pop their eye out"
Well yeah if you jam it into their eye.
One groomer told me the hot water thing to, but it was to help remove mats.
"don't express the glands because you can rupure them"
Well, yeah if you jam the force dryer in them.

[odette]

Never clipper apoodle puppys coat or it won't get curly, so why do they have curly faces and feet?!

[cas]

crazy

Boy i'm glad no one has ever me anything that crazy as the hot water, there ain't no telling what i would have told that person. lol chris

[dogandi]

no no

the eyes pop out if the blower goes up the butt!!!!!!!!!!

[CutiePiesBySarah]

Not completely along the lines of being taught wrongly...but I was shouted at once for using a white towel on a black dog...and not even a shedding dog mind you....I didn't get it.....

[Debbiedogs]

Lots of different theories

Ugh, hot hot water?? No way!

But remember that when Bichons were new in North America you did NOT use a clipper on their faces, even under their eyes. So it WAS true for quite some time. Of course most of them in those days had lighter, thinner coats than they do now, as I recall.

I don't know if I can remember all the stuff I've been told. I probably remember more of the general myths that owners toss around, like the woman who called me crying about her Yorkie because she had trimmed his bangs and the mailman(!) told her he would now go blind. I told her that Yorkies usually had their hair tied up in bows by people who owned VERY expensive Yorkies and showed them, so her dog was fine and she should not listen to the mailman's advice when it came to dogs anymore, lol.

[lexapurple]

Never clipper apoodle puppys coat or it won't get curly, so why do they have curly faces and feet?!

I have just the opposite!
You HAVE to shave poodle puppy several times otherwise it won't get curly!

How about:
-Show schnauzers have long flowing skirts.
-Clipping in revers will cause ingrown hairs. Shaved hundreds of poodle feet and faces never seen one or heard of ingrown hairs.
-Hand stripping is cruel!

[keyray]

Never comb a wet dog, because it will ruin the hair.
Never shave a dog's testicles.
Never use heat to dry a dog.
Never clipper or scissor on wet hair.
Never get a mat wet.
Dawn is perfect shampoo for EVERY dog.
Conditioner is a waste of money.
Pushing a dog off the table will make it behave.

I really could go on all day but I have spent the last 2 1/2 years trying to forget what they taught me at the grooming school I attended.

On a slightly different note. I was recently told that if you put a goldfish in a heated and filtered tank they will "flake off" and poison the water. I just smiled and said, "Wow, I have never heard that before." Hee hee.

[sittingpretty]

I remember using Ivory bar soap on everything as a pre-wash before the shampoo was used. Otherwise I think I've been grooming too long to remember all of the stuff...

One thing that will always stick with me tho' one place I worked; we each had a tall garbage can near out table, this was to catch all of the hair...we weren't allowed to get hair on the floor.


sittingpretty

[OntheBRINKofDisaster]

Haha, one lady I worked for (oh, it was a VERY short amount of time) who had been grooming for "12 years" told me that scotties get a visor and not eyebrows. She gave her scotties what looked like a modified TB head...#4 on the middle top of head, full ears with the tip shaved like a yorkie, full cheeks, trimmed visor straight across. Sooo bizarre looking! She swore it was breed standard and a handler had shown her how to do it the "show way". She kept insisting I was wrong even after I showed her like 3 books with the correct clip.

Hmm...when I fiiiirst started a long time ago helping out local Am Cocker breeders they never wanted me to wash the face. I thought for the longest time dogs didn't get their faces washed. LOL! They didn't tell me that was how it usually was though...I think they just didn't want to deal with shampoo in eyes/water in ears or nose, etc. So its not like thats what they told me.

[petgroomaustralia]

There is a mobile groomer around here that tells owners that dogs faces cant ever be washed otherwise they will drown!!!

[Candee]

I worked first in my parents salon so I can't complain too much about how they taught me because a lot of it (even though it is out dated) I still agree with. They do believe that hand stripping is painful for the dog and is cruel. I have never had a dog yelp while hand stripping and I have had a lot of babies on my table.
They also didn't believe in conditioners, or any shampoo's with perfumes or finishing sprays. I believe this adds to the final result that my customers rave about. First thing my customers do is smell the dogs - they love a nice perfume!

[Smart-n-Pretty]

~Rough in EVERY dog. It saves time.

~Save your blades and use 2 sets. One for rough in & one for after bath clipping. ALL professionals do it.

~a PROFESSIONAL GROOMER can be able to handle ANY dog.

~NEVER comb or brush a wet dog. it stretches the hair and can break it.

~Express anal glands on EVERY dog. Every time or they will get infected.

~Slap a biting dog on the nose with the back of your metal comb so he knows who the boss is. Then he will trust you. Once he knows who the boss is he will settle down.

~Dawn dish soap works best to kill fleas. It's also the best thing ever to wash a greasy dog. Never condition a greasy dog.

~NEVER clipper a wet dog. It ruins the blades and you might as well throw away all blades after use.

[Helly]

[QUOTE=Smart-n-Pretty;381333
~Slap a biting dog on the nose with the back of your metal comb so he knows who the boss is. Then he will trust you. Once he knows who the boss is he will settle down.QUOTE]

You know what? That one's not as far off the mark as you think. More than once a dog I've been working on has taken a bite at me and recieved an accidental smack on the nose (example, I dropped a large shampoo bottle, and it hit the dog squarely on the end of his nose) and done an amazing turn-around. I don't know about the trust issue, but they did show me a lot more respect, and they did settle down.

Now, I don't advocate smacking a customer's dog, but I admit it, if one of my own dogs bites, he gets a swat. Which may be why I haven't had a dog try to bite anyone in years and years.

Nature is not kind, and dogs can be brutal to each other. I don't think they view a swat quite the same way we think they do.