Doggie kisses are valuable whether you want them or not

Doggie kisses are one of the nicest gifts your dog can give you.  Its' true that doggie kisses can be slobbery, smelly, messy, annoying and noisy.  Just remember, Valentine's Day is coming and there should be one time of year where doggie cases will be sincerely received and appreciated!  I encourage everyone to remember the incredible gift of love, devotion, and loyalty that goes into every slurp, messy or not!  Enjoy your kisses today!


Happy Pooch Tribune
Professional Tips to Pamper Your Pooch
DuAnn Lustig-Chambers

http://www.thepoochparlor.net

A Natural solution for incontinent dogs

Today we groomed an 11 year old Old English Sheepdog Sassy, owned by Sandy Sparling.  Sassy has been suffering from incontinence for several years, but in the last year, it has gotten much worse.  Sandy had Sassy on a prescription for incontinence called Proin.  Sassy is 70 pounds.

Sandy wasn't getting a lot of results from the Proin anymore, and so she bought a bottle of cranberry pills and started Sassy on 1 pill, 300 mg a day.  In four days time, Sassy's leaking had subsided by 80%.  That's pretty astonishing results!  Sandy checked with the vet to be sure the pills were safe to give her and she got the green flag.

Incontinence is an issue that is very common.  If you are needing help, cranberry pills are available at most supermarkets, and any holistic retailer.  It's a cheap, easy, non-intrusive remedy!

DuAnn Lustig-Chambers
Happy Pooch Tribrune
Professional Tips to Pamper Your Pet
http://www.thepoochparlor.net

Why won't my dog be social anymore?

I was asked by my business coach, 'My dog sleeps a lot.  Is that normal?"  She told me her dog always wants to be upstairs where her bed is, and she cannot be coaxed to spend much time on the main floor being social with her family.

My reply to that Suzanne is that dogs and peoples base feelings and behaviors mirror each other through life.  Just as with humans that need more sleep as time passes, so it happens with dogs too.  Remember to multiply your dogs age by 7 to know how to compare her to a human.

My guess is that your dog is close to 10 years old, so you could compare her behaviors and feelings to those of a 70 year old human.  I have noticed that as humans age, they tend to filter out all environments, peoples, foods, and pastimes that are not their favorite.  Older people can and do become more predictable and patterned in what they do everyday.  Older people like to sleep, rest and nap.  Older people do not want to be in the middle of activity, they want to be in the space they are most comfortable.

Additionally, dogs needs mirror those of their human family.  My guess is that you need quiet and your own space (your own office) to focus on your work - what is important for you to do during the day.  It seems strange, but your dog wants a productive day also - sleep is her work, and that's important to her.  She needs her own space and her own things (like her bed) around her to get serious about her sleep.

Rest assured that your dog's need to sleep and not seek social time with her human family is not a reflection of her love for you. Just like you have designated times for work, and for personal, you may be surprised to find your dog being more social if you actively encourage and support her need to get productive sleep during your productive work hours.

Let me know if that makes a difference.  I would encourage to take your dog on a walk every day at the same time for 10 days, making it obvious that the work day is over, and family time is starting.  After you have started this new exercise regimen with her, I bet she expects and asks for it.  That will encourage her to interact with you in ways that you need to be social.  And if she is sleeping her life away, she does need to move her body sometimes to stay healthy.

DuAnn Lustig-Chambers
Happy Pooch Tribune
Professional Tips to Pamper Your Pooch
http://www.thepoochparlor.net

Dogs can get nosebleeds during the grooming process

Today I had a student ask me, is it normal for some dogs to get nosebleeds during the grooming?

The answer is this, it does happen fairly regularly, however, it is not normal.  Nose bleeds can happen from a number of different factors.  Typically, it is stress induced and the dog's breathing increases enough to create friction on the air passage.  A little extra snort, or sneeze, or breath can create a bloody nose.  As a groomer, or pet owner, you want to be sure and monitor the amount of blood, the length the nose bleed lasts and the color of the nose bleed.  If the blood is clumpy or darker than fresh blood, it is likely that a tumor in the nose, throat, or lungs has burst.  In this event, you may have an emergency.  If the nose bleed is a tumor that has erupted, the behavior of the dog will tell you if you should call the vet or rush to the vet.

Fortunately, a simple nose bleed that is not an emergency is what happens 95 percent of the time.  Do you best to calm the dog and quiet his breathing.  The bleeding should not last longer than 60 seconds.  Call the owner and let them know about the nose bleed and see if they know why it happened.  You may just be surprised when you hear the owner say, 'oh, don't worry! Charlie goes diving in the mud for frogs every day!

Nose bleeds are pretty common, be sure you follow them up with the owner.

DuAnn Lustig-Chambers
Pooch Parlor Tribune
Professional Tips to Pamper Your Pooch

http://www.thepoochparlor.net

Can husbands and wives work together in the grooming room?

Today a future student asked me, 'Can husbands and wives work together to run a grooming business?"

The answer is absolutely yes.  As with any job, coworkers need to be aware of each others needs, and duties to keep the grooming shops running smooth.  When your co-worker is also your marriage partner, the need to communicate on common ground, doubles.

I have recently worked with a husband and wife team that do an admirable job at running the shop together.  Bringing the marriage into the workplace is never an easy task, but since I have seen it firsthad, the answer is yes.. with hard work, consideration, and more praise than complaining, husbands and wives can make and operate a successful grooming business together.

Check out the website, www.thepoochparlor.net and see Sara and Jim Goss.  They are an amazing couple that are successful at working together in the grooming shop that they own and operate.


DuAnn Lustig-Chambers
The Pooch Parlor
Professional tips to Pamper Your Pooch

http://www.thepoochparlor.net

The dog that picks you is the PERFECT dog!

Today I had a customer bring in their new puppy, Tucker, after having lost their 6 year old poodle cross to a freak accident last month. I told her how impressed I was that this 11 week old pup seemed to know me and know the grooming process.  It was very amazing to see.  She almost whispered it to me as she left with her new puppy, "I think Charlie told this puppy to pick us!  He would NOT leave us alone when we visited the litter".  I believer her.  When  puppy picks a human, it is MAGIC.

DuAnn Lustig Chambers

The Pooch Parlor

Professional Tips to Pamper your Pooch

http://www.thepoochparlor.net

  

Funny boy groomers

Here's a funny true one:  my new male student is interested in learning how to scale dog's teeth.  He said to me today at work.  I am going to try to do my dog's teeth, how long does it take to clean up his teeth with the dremel?

The Royal Dutch Clip

Today, Montee was groomed with the Royal Dutch clip.  He looks so great!  The scissoring and sculpting work were also wonderful.  I love to see a male pick up this trade so quickly!  The funny part of his grooming was when his male student groomer moved the grooming arms around Montee, instead of moving Montee around the table (as the woman do).

Differences between male and female groomers

Here's a real life scenario that happened today.  I said to Leslie, a student groomer, did you do that dog's anals? Her husband, Gary had stepped in that moment and said, "Honey, my pliers are in the car, do you need them?"