multipoo – Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess with Lucy and Chia

Grooming with Mom: Plus One, Minus Two

Published on August 21, 2023August 21, 2023 by Xena, Lucy and Chia29 Comments

Thanks for joining us for another episode of Grooming with Mom. I’m here to tell you about a new groom, a pup who is moving, and a senior citizen who will soon cross the rainbow bridge.
Let’s start off with the Happy News.

Marr

One of our current clients got a new four-month-old puppy. Brinkley, shown below, is still figuring out how this whole not-the-only-dog-anymore thing is going to work.

While Brinley was home waiting to see if Marr was coming back, Marr was here getting his first haircut. Here he is at his home before he was groomed.

Marr is a Multipoo. He came to us with a lot of fleas hidden down under all that soft, fluffy hair, and a lot of hair and crusty dirt in both ears. Per his Dad’s instructions, Groomer Mom did not trim his crazy ears or his tail. She used the choppers (a funny kind of scissors) to remove a lot of that hair and trimmed his face. He came out looking like this.

Yep, crazy ears. And a little bit of hair still sticking up under his eyes, cause Groomer Mom said it was more important for him to keep his eyes than for her to get all the hair, BOL! Except for that, for a puppy, he was very calm and good on the table. We look forward to seeing both Marr and Brinkley back in the months to come.

Dora

Next to come visit was Dora. She and her schnauzer sister Maggie have been coming to get groomed since May of 2013. Maggie crossed the Bridge a year ago last April.

When Dora showed up last Saturday, her Mom said, “I’ve got to talk to you first.” She had been trying to get up the nerve to take Dora to the vet one last time. Her husband suggested that she go ahead with the grooming appointment and talk to Groomer Mom about it. She explained that Dora was blind and deaf, was incontinent, and ever since losing her sister Maggie, has had absolutely nothing to do with either of her pawrents.

Looking down at Dora in her lap where Groomer Mom had set her, Dora’s Mom said this was the first time Dora was even sitting with her. With a heavy heart, Groomer Mom tried to give her the affirmation she needed to put this 17-year-old shih tzu at peace. Groomer Mom said there was no sense putting Dora through the stress of a groom, so with Dora in her Mom’s lap, she only clipped the hair covering Dora’s eyes so her Mom could see her better. Tuesday, Dora will be reunited with her sister Maggie on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge. Our hearts are heavy.

Markel

Sunday, Markel aka Baby Dog, came to get groomed. As his Mom held him in the nail sling, she told Groomer Mom that she had accepted a job about 2 hours from here and would be leaving in 2 weeks. She said she felt like she had only just found Groomer Mom (read about it here) and didn’t know what she was going to do for a groomer there. She had previously experience terrible haircuts for her boy.

Baby Dog ‘s first groom here in June of 2022. Letting hair on top of nose grow out where previous groomer had shaved it.

Groomer Mom scissored his legs quite a bit shorter and also his beard some shorter to help it last a bit longer if needed. She told his Mom that if she was back in town with him and he needed a groom, just give her a call. We’re going to miss Baby Dog.

Groomer Mom has been grooming dogs from her home since 1993, taking a 10 year break (except for grooming her own schnauzer, Lexi) after she moved. She resumed grooming in 2013 with Maggie and Dora as her first clients. It feels like an end of an era. And perhaps, with the new puppies showing up, it is the beginning of a new era!

This is Lucy signing off on Awww Monday, with thanks to Miss Sandee at Comedy Plus for hosting it.

Scooter and Maggie on the Table

Published on October 25, 2017October 24, 2017 by Xena, Lucy and Chia29 Comments

Hi my friends. It’s Lucy, your favorite pup (in this home). Mom got some new dogs in to groom, and I get to tell you about them. This first one is Scooter. Scooter is a 9-year-old multi-poo. That is a maltese mixed with a poodle. I guess you could also say he is a pootese, he, he. He belongs to some friends of my peeps brother, Andrew. Scooter cries and screams, but he doesn’t try to bite. Mom just needs to get ear protectors. Heck, we all need ear protectors with Xena around. Scooter was covered with fleas and flea dirt, and his hair was a bit matted. He got 3 – yes three – baths while he was here. I’m lucky to make it through one bath.

Scooter had bad teeth, so his Mom, Beth, took him to the doggie dentist and they pulled about 12 of his teeth. They wanted to pull a bunch more, but his Mom said, “No.” Beth called my Mom to see what she thought. Mom said she could go to a different dogtor to get another opinion. Isn’t my Mom smart?

This next pup is named Maggie. Maggie is a 2 (almost 3) year old – wait! I just watched Xena bark at Riley and chase him out of “his” chair in the library. He’s like 87 gazillion times bigger than her! Dad warned us she would take over the house.

Anyhow, where was I? Oh yes, Maggie. Maggie is a poodle/shih tzu mix. Mom said she could have tons of fun with the names for that combination, but it’s best to leave it up to your imagination. Maggie was very good on the grooming table and has a sweet personality, kind of like me! She was matted to the max, and the lady did not want her shaved. Mom worked and worked on her, using her best grooming tricks and tools to get out all the mats, until Maggie looked as sweet as she was.

In closing, I remember the days before a certain schnauzer puppy took over.

Our feet and tummies and Mom’s flip flops were all safe. Life seemed much simpler back then. It seems so long ago…

Love and wiggles, Lucy.

It’s a Sign!

Published on April 7, 2017 by Xena, Lucy and Chia16 Comments

groom sign My subdivision, Port Royal, is relatively small, maybe 30 or 40 houses. It is also on a cul-de-sac, so we have no through traffic. There are two houses for sale on our street. Earlier this week I got a call from a lady who had been house-shopping and wrote down my number from the sign in my front yard.

She had looked at so many houses that she couldn’t even remember where I was located, but she wanted to bring Winston, her 10 month old multi-poo-shih-tzu to me to groom. It ended up being a 20 minute drive this morning, but she didn’t seem to mind. What a wiggle butt, and a sweet boy!

After the groom, Winston’s Mom couldn’t come for him for over an hour, so after I grabbed a bite of lunch I carried the little guy upstairs to meet Lucy. She was very gentle with him while he sat in my lap and made friends with her.

My next groom had rescheduled for Good Friday, so I thought I was done for the day. After returning from a quick run to Walmart, which, for an early Friday afternoon, was uncharacteristically packed, my mobile rang with a local number I didn’t recognize. Unbelievably, it was another person who had driven through the neighborhood to look at the houses for sale and had seen my sign. They were a retired couple who had just returned from three months of wintering in Florida. She claimed they couldn’t find a groomer there for their three pound yorkie. Huh?? They lived nearby, so I told her to bring 15 year old Daisy on over. This was definitely another one of those “I wouldn’t normally groom her this way, but if it’s what you want” grooms.

Isn’t this Senior Lady precious? Their granddaughter convinced them to adopt this cutie as a rescue when Daisy was four years old. Daisy is also an experienced girl on the groom table. Such a delight!

Out of curiosity, I did a spread sheet on the origin of all my active grooms. The results are 20% from my yard sign, 55% from the neighborhood blog, 15% from referrals, and 10% from people in the neighborhood asking who groomed my dog (Lexi) when we were out walking.