Author Topic: Odd questions from groomers  (Read 11576 times)

Offline TwoNewfies

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Odd questions from groomers
« on: June 17, 2005, 12:37:45 pm »
Hello! I don't know if anyone can relate to this or not.  It seems like whenever we take Bella out people always say, "What a beautiful dog! Is she a lab mix?....or is she a golden mix? or is she a Cheaspeake Bay Retriever?" Last time I took her to her first grooming appointment the woman said, "She's so cute. Is she a newf mix?" Mu husband and I just want to scream. I think what it is is this: Bella has a flat coat for a Newf, and people seem to expect that all Newfs have the fluffy coat. Many are sure she is a choc. lab. We feel like we should put a sign around her head saying "I'm a Newf people!!!"  Today I took Rocco to get groomed (just a bath and nail trim).  I said that he is a Newf and is about 45 lbs, and then he asked if he was 8 months old. HELLO!  Wouldnt an 8 month old Newf be just a BIT bigger than 45 pounds? He's only 13 weeks old.  Oh my gosh, I have to laugh it off because I thought that groomers would be a bit more knowledgabe than they present sometimes.   Just had to vent! thanks for listening ;D
Gina

All dogs are pets.  Newfoundlands are family!

lins_saving_grace

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Re: Odd questions from groomers
« Reply #1 on: June 17, 2005, 12:40:16 pm »
Amazingly I've had 2 people ask me "is that a Rott?"

Offline mastiffmommy

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Re: Odd questions from groomers
« Reply #2 on: June 17, 2005, 01:32:31 pm »
Hi TwoNewfies, I totally agree with you, that groomers should know better. The question if a newf 45 lbs heavy is 8 months old, kinda makes me wonder if the groomer really is a groomer. Well you know what I mean. You have a lot of people that call themselves a groomer, just because they work as one, and know how to give a  bath and somewhat knows how to work a clipper.

I did work as a groomer for almost 10 years, granted it was not my first occupation, But I had all the schooling and training to become a licensed groomer, in Sweden which there takes proof, not just to get a licens for your company and then open the doors. Okay so even though you are a goomer you can not possibly know every detail about every breed. There are breeds that are more or less common in a certain area and for obvious reasons you just dont know as much about the breeds you hadly or never work with as the ones you work with if not daily on a weekly basis. BUT the basic info about breeds, you SHOULD know, no doubt about it. There were times when I got a dog in for the first time, and I didnt feel very sure about it, I went back to all my books, to internte, or in some cases to groomer friends that were a whole lot more experienced than me. But the more common breeds (and yes lol...... the newf is a rather common breed) you should know about. After all when an owner turn the dog over to your care, you MUST know how to take care of that coat, the different particulars with that certain breed, regarding skin, coat, general health issues, and things to look out for. If you dont know that, it would be very hard to do a good job on a dog I'd think.

When it comes to people "on the street" well hehehehe, Galahad who still has pretty big ears to grow into, has heard more than once "ohhhh he is such a pretty bloodhound"  :o It kinda offended me at first, but now we make jokes about it. After all a lot of people you meet, really have no idea what a certain dog is supposed to look like, so I can live with that, but I would have a hard time with a groomer who thought my 13 week old newf was 8 months  ::) ;D

Marit
what the lion is to a cat, the mastiff is to a dog

GYPSY JAZMINE

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Re: Odd questions from groomers
« Reply #3 on: June 18, 2005, 12:56:45 pm »
I have had quite a few people ask if Samson is a white Saint Bernard...The manager at Petco insists there are white Saints...Is there?

Offline NatsaintB

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Re: Odd questions from groomers
« Reply #4 on: June 18, 2005, 06:39:13 pm »
There are albino saints like Miss Lilly, but I've never heard of a white saint other than that and I've done tons of research on them.  I don't think Samson looks at all like a Saint and the person who said it must have been sniffing too much dog shampoo!  Hey, there's an idea... I'm sure Nicker has beat me to it!  LOL :P

Offline mastiffmommy

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Re: Odd questions from groomers
« Reply #5 on: June 19, 2005, 01:05:58 am »
There are albino saints like Miss Lilly, but I've never heard of a white saint other than that and I've done tons of research on them.  I don't think Samson looks at all like a Saint and the person who said it must have been sniffing too much dog shampoo!  Hey, there's an idea... I'm sure Nicker has beat me to it!  LOL :P


Why did you think I loved to do grooming so much hehe, the shampoos are good, but gosh...... the dip is to die for  ::)

Marit
what the lion is to a cat, the mastiff is to a dog

Offline mitchie

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Re: Odd questions from groomers
« Reply #6 on: June 22, 2005, 08:53:43 pm »
I love it when people ask what kind of dog Daisy is-and once I tell
them a rottweiler they back off and look afraid.  Then there are those
who say "isn't she sort of tall to be a rottweiler?"  Or is that a doberman
mix?  To me she is Daisy, the best friend of my life.  That's all that matters.
Your newfs are a couple of the best tempermented sweethearts-
any groomer should just be glad at that!
Hi it's me!

GYPSY JAZMINE

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Re: Odd questions from groomers
« Reply #7 on: June 22, 2005, 08:57:26 pm »
I am just going to start telling people he is a Polar Bear hybrid...LOL!

Offline newflvr

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Re: Odd questions from groomers
« Reply #8 on: June 23, 2005, 08:55:47 am »
I am chuckling about silly things people say about our dogs!!!  We have Cowboy, a two year old Landseer Newf and Chester, an 18 week old brown Newf.  When people ask about the two of them "are they related???"  and "are they mixed with something else?" but my MOST favorite (and it's happened a lot!!) is when people ask if Chester is going to lose his brown coat and become a white dog with black spots!!!

I do think it's important for groomers to understand what they are working with.  I took my first Newfs to be be groomed and they came back with their paws bleeding.  The groomer took clippers to their feet not realizing that they have WEBBED feet!!!  We never went back there!  The last time I took Cowboy in, he came home limping from laying on a cold tile floor all day with NO cushioning for his big old joints!  We are back to home grooming...and it's NOT pretty with me in the shower scrubbing those two!!  (and you should see the bathroom!!! ::)

Offline Titansmom

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Re: Odd questions from groomers
« Reply #9 on: June 23, 2005, 11:45:28 am »
Ok so at least I know its not just me and my pup.
I think its funny people get so excited and shout oh umm umm just like Beethoven a ST. right
 Me: No. He is a Landseer Newfoundland
Them Don't they only come in black.
Grrr I have to laugh it off and smile and explain. Then I feel better.

Offline greek4

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Re: Odd questions from groomers
« Reply #10 on: June 23, 2005, 04:19:38 pm »
The best question I got was when Maia was a puppy and a lady in Petsmart asked if Rocco (a male) was her Mom.  I would think if you were in Petsmart you would know enough about a dog to tell a male from a female (though Rocco is not well endowed).  And be able to tell the difference from a female who just had pups and one who did not at least.

Thanks,

Emily and 1 husband, 1 boy, 1 on the way, and 4 crazy dogs

Offline luvmenewfs

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Re: Odd questions from groomers
« Reply #11 on: June 25, 2005, 05:45:51 am »
 :D :D :D

Oh gosh, when Bryce was a pup, he was all fluff.  Major Newfie fluff!!!  Walking through the park, lots of tourists, and one lady, from here in town, who had a pack of tourist with her, she was guiding, said..."Oh look a Chow."

I cleared my throat and said, "Oh I suppose he looks like one, but actually this is a newfoundland puppy."

She insisted she knew her dog dog breeds, and what we had was a chow and the breeder lied to us.   ???

Then the next day, same trail... it was "Oh what a lovely miniature black pyranese."   :o
Again, a polite, "oh I suppose he looks that way, but he's a Newfoundland.  his name is Bryce."  Get this, again, the breeder lied to us!!   ::)  ROTFL!!!

People are so funny!!!

luvmenewfs

Offline TwoNewfies

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Re: Odd questions from groomers
« Reply #12 on: June 25, 2005, 10:36:40 am »
You guys are so great ;D  Thanks for the feedback!! Its so nice to know that others can relate!
It was funny because the other night we were walking the gang (that's what I call Rocco and Bella now) in our development and one man asked if Bella was a golden mix?!  Now that's one we havent gotten yet!!!  Another person the other week asked  if Rocco wasa Chow too.  And like sosmeone just said, we went into the explanation that he is a Newfoundland puppy, and the woman looked at us like "Yeah right. You obviously got screwed from the breeder. That's a Chow."  Now Mike and I can laugh about it. My husband, Mike, who is a jokester said that next time we're asked what breed they are, he is going to say a Chiuahua and Rottweiler mix, just to see the expression on their face ;D
Gina

All dogs are pets.  Newfoundlands are family!

Offline newflvr

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Re: Odd questions from groomers
« Reply #13 on: June 25, 2005, 11:14:32 am »
My favorite was when walking with Otis, our big Landseer (black & white spotted Newf) a woman told me that my Dalmation was WAY too fat.  I explained that he was a Newf, and not a Dalmation....a nd her response was that she knew dogs and THAT was a terribly overweight Dalmation!! ;D


Offline ksullivan

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Re: Odd questions from groomers
« Reply #14 on: July 06, 2005, 11:13:03 am »
We had problems with mats on our Newfie, and our groomer wanted to shave him down. She said he will look just like a large Lab (I have had labs, and they are great dogs, but if I wanted a lab I would have bought one). After talking on the internet I found a product to help get the mats out, I forget the make, but it is used on horses for detangling, and boy do the mats comb right out. I also talked to the breeder we bought him from, and she said if we shaved him down, he of course first of all could sunburn, but she said her experience was it tended to cause skin alergies in Newfies. I went through the skin alergies with my last ShihTzu, and it was horrible, and caused Cushings disease because of all the steroids they gave him through the years for that.
Groomers do not always have the right answers.
K Sullivan