Brush and Grind

Sometimes after work you just gotta get that shower and pout…

It never fails: When one thing starts going well, everything else will test you.

I had to groom a 10 month old, filthy, matted, possibly pregnant puppy today and it’s everything I got not to just scream about it…

Not just the neglect—But the straight audacity of this lady today… All non-chalant as she’s dropping off, “Oh. And she might be pregnant…”

What? You don’t wash, brush, or comb this small, matted puppy—And you think it’s cool that she’s pregnant? This lady constantly tells me that “She’s a mom” and “doesn’t have time” to care for this puppy—What is she going to do when there’s a whole litter of them?

Some times I wonder if I chose the wrong career. If it’s even worth it for me to continue doing it. I worry about my skills, my qualifications, and my education constantly.

I feel beat up by the lack of respect our trade has—Because it seems like the only people who respect dog grooming are the ones who said, “I’m not going to wait three weeks for an appointment, I’m just going to buy a clipper and do it myself…” And then they come in three weeks later telling me, “Yeah, I tried to give him a haircut and it didn’t go so hot…”

People, in general, have problems viewing it as a trade/skill—Which means it’s hard to get paid appropriately because it’s difficult to charge appropriately.

If you’re ordering beverages at the bar:

Order the beers first.

Then the drinks (liquor first, mix second. Ex: “Whiskey-Coke” NOT: “Coke-Whiskey.” Ex2: “Vodka-Red Bull”, NOT: “Red Bull-Vodka” It does matter, this is how we organize our orders to be more efficient.)

Then any N/A stuff.

Have your money out by the time those drinks are ready—Don’t start digging out your wallet after everything is up. 🤣 We want to be paid and move on to the next person in line.

Don’t string-order. That means, don’t ask for one thing at a time—We make the most of our trips. So if you make us run to the cooler or the well 4 times to make drinks—We gonna be big-mad.

If it’s busy—Keep it simple, stupid. No one wants to make Bloody Mary’s at 10:00pm 3-people deep at the bar. No one. And $1 tip ain’t gonna make up for it. If you absolutely have to have that Bloody Mary—Be gracious and tip well.

If they say they can’t make your 10-ingredient drink, just believe them and get something else.

Be patient and TIP YO PEOPLE. Bills don’t get paid with compliments👌🏻 I mean… At the very least buy them an after-work beer. 🤣 They do have to put up with your dumb-ass and all your dumb-ass friends after all.

I just wish someone could see the potential that I see in their dog… Sometimes I hope that if I do an exceptional groom that it will change their mind.

It’s so much more than just a haircut or just a bath—I took a class on incorporating massage into my grooming practice and I was practicing on my pug. I’ve never seen her just conk-out and relax so quickly.

Some fun before and after’s for ya’ll. ❤️

But when we do, all of it just echos into the silence and no one really cares or sees or wants to help.

I work hard and hustle every day at my job. I take extra clients, do extra cleaning/duties, deal with areas of work that aren’t specifically my job for the sake of teamwork—

I get to my days off and just want to sleep—But I also have to start my cleaning routine.

I want to have fun, but I can’t have too much because I work tomorrow and I should try to rest.

I have constant requests, interruptions, questions even on my days off—So I never really stop working... Ever. But if I don’t take those issues up on my days off—I get buried in them on days when I’m already busy at work.

It never fails that I get questions from acquaintances, not even family or friends, at weird times of days asking for advice or if they can get booked—As if I don’t already spend enough time looking at my schedule and having anxiety attacks all week.

It affects my home life—It affects how I feel about myself, because surely someone who has their shit together doesn’t feel overrun All The Time, right?

The nature of my job is that I’m unappreciated—People take my knowledge and skills for granted, and not just my clients either.

I feel like a failure at home a lot of the time because it’s hard to keep up with the housework when your whole body just wants to stay in bed. It’s hard to have a relationship when you constantly have to run social media to drum up business and fight for your right to get paid what you’re worth.

Burn out is rampant in this profession, and I feel it in bursts of painful depression...

I set timers and say, “Just do this for 15 minutes—Go clean the kitchen. Move the laundry around. Sweep and mop.” I hate it though, honestly. I hate feeling like I HAVE to do it—Because if I just let myself lay in bed, maybe the house wouldn’t get cleaned this week, but it’s also not just going to burn down or disappear if I neglect it for another 7 days, but I’m scared that I’ll start a cycle that I won’t be able to stop and eventually it’ll be a hoarding situation and I’ll never get it figured out.

One of the weirdest problems I see facing people who work in a skilled trade or by appointments is this idea that the person providing the service should just always have time for you and have no life outside of their job.

When I started working at my current job, there was essentially NO grooming being done. We were doing 2-5 haircuts per WEEK. Now we do 3-6 haircuts per DAY. We grew.

A year ago I wouldn’t have had to “squeeze” someone into my schedule, because my schedule was still open.

Now the salon is booked out 7 days out and people act like you’re out of your mind to expect them to wait 7 days to get their dog in to be groomed—Or longer if they are high maintenance or just a very large dog.

First of all: I’m booked out because people think I’m good at my job, which you do also—Because you came to me.

Second of all: The response should not be, “can you squeeze me in?” It should be, “I’m so happy for your success! That’s awesome! I’ll take the next available appointment on a Tuesday.”

Third of all: Asking to be “squeezed in” is just a really terrible way of asking the person to come in early, skip lunch, or stay late. 👌🏻

Come on—Build your crew up.

I love seeing my hairdresser booked up, my esthetician booked up, my nail lady booked up because that means they are makin’ money AND are awesome at their job.

So: Pre-book that appointment if “No one else can do it like you can!” ❤️ We love to see people value our time and our trade.

Doggo for Attention ❤️

Hammer is my English Bulldog. He’s comin’ up on 8 years old and we’re seeing more white on his face. He doesn’t get around all that great first thing in the morning and naps harder than ever in the afternoon.

He’s the apple of my husband’s eye. They are best friends and totally understand each other’s personalities and moods.

He’s good people. He has a great sense of humor and never fails to make my hubby giggle, even at my expense.

When I clean his ears or his wrinkles he has to dramatically rub his face on EVERYTHING—Because he’s a drama queen. But he gets his payback by sitting on my pillow. Or making me stand outside while he stares off into space instead of doing his business and coming back in. 🤣

He has always been a good big brother to Juniper (his little pug sister) and Poppy (our trouble child dachshund we adopted a couple years back).

Before I started working with animals, I was a full time bartender/server.

I still bartend for extra cash here and there—But as anyone who works in the service industry knows, it’s emotionally, mentally, and physically draining to wait on people all day every day.

When I was just starting out trying to build my grooming clients list, I was working nights at two different bars—Essentially working 40 hours on top of my 40 hours every week. It was a very difficult time in my life, but consistency and routine paid off and now I don’t HAVE to work at the bar. I paid the bills, I got some savings, I built up my clientelle, and now my life is filled with much more fur and fun instead of caffeine and dreams of a different life.

She’s a kennel worker who has been promoted and I think she thought it would be a breeze. Sorry, girl. It’s hard work.

After only 7 years of working with dogs I have -CHRONIC- pain in my hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders, neck, and back. My knees and hips hurt from standing all day and lifting over-weight dogs into the tub or onto the table.

I don’t want to sound like I don’t think my job is rewarding—I have the best job, in my mind. I get to spend my day beautifying mankind’s best friend.

The repetitive motion, constant fatigue from wrestling dogs, holding clippers, brushing and combing, lifting and lowering is killer on your whole body—And many people have this idea that dog groomers go to work and “play with dogs all day.” Dude—I go to work and deal with people’s neglect all day. I wrestle the dogs the vet won’t touch. I bathe dogs who are 7 years old and never had a proper bath before. I get 2 year old doodles who haven’t seen a brush or a comb that need full haircuts.

My daily blessings are dogs who are on a regular schedule and owners who know my worth.

Most people can’t take 5 minutes to brush their dog once a week—I brush dogs for 3-6 hours A DAY on top of their haircuts, nails, teeth brushing, ear cleaning, and blow-drying.

Dog grooming isn’t for the faint of heart.

Part of dog groomer life is going through spurts of not feeling like you’re good at your job—Losing motivation, not believing in yourself, burn out.

Me and all my friends got new haircuts... You know what that means?!

We’re gettin’ some damn cuddles tonight.