Why is it overwhelming to react to a situation you have not prepared for? The keyword here is “react.” When you don’t have a plan, you can only react to the circumstances because your body is dumping endorphins such as adrenaline in your body. Adrenaline is responsible for fight, flight or freeze—there is no thinking; only reacting. However, taking a deep breath to force oxygen back up to your brain and getting the “If This Happens, Do That” checklist to follow will take thinking out of the equation.

Your policy is only in effect as it appears on the insurance company’s end. Don’t make assumptions. It’s also important that your insurance company knows if you are changing your business structure, such as going from an LLC to a C corporation; otherwise, you don’t have insurance coverage.

Take a hands-on human and pet first aid class at least every two years. Hands-on programs create muscle memory in the body. You are more likely to remember those skills when faced with an emergency because your body remembers the motions.

• Watch them walk. Do they appear to be favoring a limb that may be painful? (Bite risk)
• Walk in front of them. Are they tracking you or do they appear lethargic? (Sick, possibly contagious, or drugged pet)
• Discharge from the nose. (Highly contagious respiratory illness)
• Run your hands up the body, watching for subtle changes in body language. They may indicate a pain response. (Bite risk)
• Look for matting. (Possible open wounds or irritations underneath)
• Discharge from ears. (Infection)
• Gum color. Anything other than pink or normal mottled gums should be sent home. (Pale gums indicate poor blood flow; possible heart condition. Yellow gums are a jaundiced pet; liver failure. Blue gums are poor blood flow or trachea issues. Red gums indicate heat stroke.)

The most crucial part of check-in is knowing when to say “no.” You should say no to a pet that is a bite risk or has a medical concern that you don’t want to exacerbate, or a client that is not respecting the boundaries of your business by trying to dictate what you will do. A thorough check-in also opens up the lines of communication between yourself and owners.

My personal philosophy of assuming the best (optimist) but preparing for the worst (realist) allows me to stay strong and take on any challenge that comes my way in my business.

The diagnosis of allergies is a guess based on very limited information. However, the tests can show a rise in the eosinophils (blood cells that rise with allergies and parasites), the biopsy can show an inflammatory response, and the allergen test can show that the individual may be allergic to certain things but does not guarantee the dog is itching due to these allergens. The allergens they are positive for may not even be in the pet’s environment.

The major rule-outs that most veterinary dermatologists use in working with itchy skin are environmental allergies, food allergies and parasites. Common sense says they have overlooked the most obvious rule-out—dry skin! But why is this left off the list? Mainly because we are not directly taught this in school or seminars. In almost all teaching platforms I have attended, they talk about the need to repair the skin barrier (sebum or oil layer), but yet in their treatment protocol, rarely is this addressed.

In order to replace hydration and oils back to the hair and skin, we must be able to condition the coat with products specifically designed to do that—and shampoo is not the answer. Shampoo is made to strip oils, not add them back. Some shampoos may include oils, but the function of the shampoo is to strip off at least the top layer. This means the detergents and the added oils would work against or negate each other.

Groomers commonly complain about their dry, itchy hands and skin every spring and fall, and they will often say their lips are very dry and chapped. Does that mean all these groomers have allergies? Unfortunately, if you went to a dermatologist and said you have itchy skin, there is a good chance that “allergies” would be their diagnosis. Why bring this up? Most consider spring and fall allergy seasons. My question is, is it truly allergies, or have we been missing the boat all along? This is also the time of year when the seasons change, which can have a drying effect with the transition of heating/cooling systems, pets swimming (hunting or pools), changes in humidity and temperatures, etc.

In order to deal with either of these conditions, it is important to be aware of the time of year these problems occur within your area and plan to get a jump on it. My typical recommendation is to start with a super-hydrating (humectant) conditioner a month before the “allergy”/dry season. I also encourage groomers to shorten the grooming cycle during this time. Instead of every four weeks, consider every two weeks. Because if the reaction is associated with pollens, by shortening the cycle, you can remove them before they create too much inflammation. Remember, the solution to pollution is dilution.

Educating the client and preparing them for the next cycle is a vital aspect of the process. This little extra work on your part may save the client thousands of dollars with the veterinarian. In this scenario, veterinarians often treat “allergies” the same as they did last year (which didn’t work) and expect different results this time, all at a price.

A strong skin barrier is an amazing thing and often the answer to the successful treatment of “allergies.”

Dr. Cliff Faver graduated with a BS in Biology/BA in Chemistry before getting a Veterinary degree in 1987. He is the past owner of Animal Health Services in Cave Creek, Arizona and now the US distributor for Iv San Bernard products, teaches the ISB Pet Aesthetician Certification program, and speaks internationally on hair and skin. His passion is to merge groomers and veterinarians to aid in helping and healing pets. He is also a member of AVMA, AAHA, AZVMA, Board member with Burbank Kennel Club, and has served on Novartis Lead Committee, Hill’s International Global Veterinary Board, and a Veterinary Management Group.

Heather does all of Hudson’s grooming and handles him in the show ring. The bond between the two of them is apparent because he is not only a show dog, but also a daily companion and cherished pet.

“Hand stripping is so unlike all we are taught while learning to groom pets,” she says. “You don’t cut hair to length; you have to pull hair to get hair, and it’s a lot about timing and consistently working the coats. But for any groomer wanting to have a niche, it’s a great skill to learn. If you learn and are adequate at it, the clients will come. I hear all the time, ‘No one near me wants their dog stripped.’ Simply not true. They just can’t find someone to do it. Learn it and they will come.

“Hand-stripped terrier breeds are double coated. Cutting their coats is no different than cutting double-coated Arctic breeds, Golden Retrievers, etc.,” she adds. “The coats are ‘ruined’ just the same, and they lose the ability to have a double coat that insulates and protects. While this isn’t going to cause a health issue in either instance, it does make the coat ‘ugly,’ with a loss of color and texture. Carding out the coats before and after clipping can help unclog follicles and keep the skin healthy. Every pet groomer should know how to card and should be doing so to the appropriate breeds as part of every groom.”

So what’s next for this talented duo?

“We are enjoying being home! I am a homebody by nature, so these last few years were a lot,” Heather says. “We did some barn hunt last year, and he titled up through Open (RATO) in just a few trials with no prior training. He loves it, and we are going to do some more of that for fun. He gave me so much for three years in the show ring, now it’s time to let him be the perfect pet he is and enjoy all kinds of fun.”

Trainers offering group classes should consider investing in a grooming dryer to be used during classes. A networking idea for groomers is to reach out to trainers in the area who don’t have grooming services available at their location. They can discuss the advantages of having a grooming dryer for training purposes and offer a complimentary demonstration of the drying process to their students. The groomer can do this in exchange for leaving cards for the puppy students. This could be a great way to connect with new puppy owners looking for a groomer.

Many dogs react to the sound of the nail trim. With each clip, their anxiety seems to build. Using ear protection to muffle the sound, many dogs will immediately react less to the nail-trimming process. Pet owners at home may hesitate to trim their dog’s nails. However, they can introduce more helpful paw-handling by touching each nail while exposing the dog to the sight and sound. A wooden skewer works well for this. You can clip the skewer with nail clippers, which will sound just like a nail being clipped. Use inexpensive nail trimmers or ones that are already dull to save good nail trimmers from becoming dull.

Another sound of nail care involves the nail grinder. While nail-grinding solves the problem of sharp nails, not all dogs are cooperative during the process. To practice at home, owners can use an electric toothbrush. The toothbrush sounds like the nail grinder and it helps acclimate dogs to the feeling of one as well. It is a useful tool for trainers in puppy classes, showcasing successful nail-care preparation for puppies.

One tool trainers can use to help teach dogs how to behave for being brushed, which they can teach to owners, is a brush with the pad of pins removed. This is an easy way to teach dogs to settle for brushing and teach puppies that the brush is not a toy. The key is for the owner to practice brushing without using a brush on the coat.

Dogs and puppies should learn to be brushed without inspecting the brush. Many owners feel the need to show their dog every tool. This can become problematic if the dog continues to sniff and follow the tool. Presenting a brush to a puppy is too similar to presenting a toy. It is more helpful for the puppy to learn to look forward instead of following the movement of the brush. 

Not all grooming training tools need to be obvious. To find the best tool, it’s helpful to think about the end goal and take into consideration the behavior of the dog. This will tell you at what level the dog needs to be introduced to the aspect of grooming that is being addressed. Helping owners train their dogs for the grooming salon can be a challenge but is well worth the reward.

“THEY were able to get into my phone system and began texting and phoning my customers trying to get them to send THEM money. My older customers who were not very tech-savvy were the most vulnerable. I lost a lot of customers because of that.

“When THEY hacked my Facebook business page, THEY changed my salon phone number to THEIR phone number. When new customers would message an inquiry, THEY would tell them that they had to put down a deposit to get an appointment. Someone inquired about boarding and THEY had her send a $200 deposit, and later, others told me they called me and I never returned the call. This all really hurt my business.

“I had to call and shut everything down—my credit cards and banking accounts. I was unable to pay my employees for a week. I had to contact Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian and put freezes on all my credit.

“The only account that was not hacked into was my Groomsoft account. I called Groomsoft and talked to a real person. They were great! I told them what happened and they helped me. They changed my email and secured it down. They changed all my passwords and fixed it so I was able to send a mass message to all my customers telling them what happened.

“I called our local police department and had to file reports. I was told there wasn’t much they could do since most of this kind of crime is being committed by people who are overseas. THEY are using our internet and our phone systems to hack us, but since THEY are not in the United States, it is very difficult to locate and prosecute them. These people just sit behind a computer in another country and have no fear of repercussions.

“I had to have a police record of having my identity stolen, which I had to send to the Internal Revenue Service in case the hackers try to use my social security number in the future to file and get my tax refund. I was unable to change my social security or driver’s license numbers. I was told they would only change them in the most extenuating circumstances, and, apparently, having your entire identity stolen did not qualify.

“Now I have super-encrypted passwords that I have to write down because I don’t trust saving them to my Google account or my phone. I’m still worried about it happening again. Because THEY have my social security and driver’s license numbers, I have to watch all of my accounts like a hawk.

Mindy’s story is a real wake-up call for all groomers. Identity theft is real and can happen to anyone. She urges you to take every precaution possible to keep yourself and your identity safe—because THEY may be out to `get YOU!

While we don’t have exact data, historians speculate that it is likely that we human beings owe much to the terrier whose talent for digging, and their tenacity in going after rats, mice, moles, voles and other vermin, has no doubt saved many human lives and enhanced our food supply. Terriers are often credited with dramatically reducing the vermin population of Europe that carries disease. They were also used in the trenches of World War I to control the rat population, which limited the spread of rat-borne disease, saving hundreds of thousands of lives.

At first, clipping leaves the paler, thinner, softer mostly undercoat hairs. Later it can cause itchiness, discomfort, thinness and even comedogenic bumps, sometimes called “canine acne” or “schnauzer bumps,” which are caused by clogged hair follicles.¹ Over the years, if the clipping is repeated, it can clog and eventually kill the entire follicle, leaving some wire-coated dogs virtually hairless on their backs later in life.

Wire coats evolved to be much tougher than other coat types. Even their skin is thicker, especially in the outer layer of the epidermis called the stratum corneum. This also means that, compared to other coat types, the follicle in a wire coat is deeper, further from the surface of the skin. This is why keeping the follicle healthy requires a little gentle tugging on the wire hairs to get them to come out.

The most critical difference in the grooming requirements of this extraordinary coat type is that, because of these bigger, thicker, more voluminous hairs sitting inside a deeper follicle in thicker skin, they do not shed out when they reach the telogen phase without some help. They will sit inside the deeper follicle, sort of stuck, unable to fall out because of their size, volume, texture and depth, unless they are gently pulled out. This is called a “blown coat.”

Hand stripping involves holding the stripping knife at a 90-degree angle to the coat and, while maintaining a straight back and using your arm in a row-boat-like motion, you lightly allow the knife to find and feed into your thumb the longest hairs. You then brace those hairs lightly against the blade with your thumb and, holding your wrist flat, pull back from your elbow to remove them. This is a light, easy motion that takes no more work than holding a full-sized clipper and moving it over the dog’s body.

These descriptions are no substitute for a hands-on class. All groomers need to be trained in person in proper hand-stripping techniques. If you have questions about what coat type a particular breed is, you can read their AKC breed standards.² Each breed standard has a link to the parent club for that breed which almost always gives great information on that breed’s grooming requirements.

Start by letting the coat grow a little longer. For example, only use a ½” or ¾” guard comb instead of a blade. With enough length you can use fine de-shedding tools and carding techniques to start pulling dead hairs out of the follicle. Carding, de-shedding and stripping should be done before the bath because it will release dirt and oil, making a clean coat dirty again.

Another expert and educator in hand stripping, Heather Roozee, who has been owner/groomer/handler of wire-coated breeds for a long time, powerfully articulates an important point that hand stripping and carding are not just for show dogs: “Carding can benefit all wire-coated breeds, even if clipped. It helps to remove the undercoat and clear the follicles, helping skin to remain healthy.”

All dogs deserve to have their groomer care for their skin and coat with the same high standards for a pet dog as they would for a show or competition dog, especially our unique wire-coated breeds.

1. Schnauzer Comedone Syndrome. (2018, November 27). Veterinary Partner. https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=8814015
2. AKC. www.AKC.org

Delegating can also provide relief in your personal life, like meal planning or delivery, wash-and-fold laundry services or lawn care. Taking tasks off your plate not only helps you manage your time better but also ensures that all aspects of your business are well taken care of.

Time management is an ongoing process that requires attention and adaptation. By prioritizing tasks, setting realistic goals, creating a schedule you will actually use, delegating tasks and using technology when possible, you can maintain a good work-life balance while giving your professional skills room to flourish. Effective time management not only boosts your productivity but also ensures a better experience for your feline clients and their owners.