It's funny how you get those days that one breed comes in on the same day.
Cocker Day
Poodle Day
White dog Day
Black dog Day
You get the picture.
Today was Shih-Tzu Day.
Half the dogs today were Shih-Tuz's.
Four of them were new customers.
This is 'Ronnie'.
I have groomed him about half a dozen times.
He came to me because he had been thrown out of other shops.
I was told he is was biter.
I groomed him 4 times with no problems.
I talk to him a lot, and work slow.
He has always been good.
Until...
The 5th time.
'Ronnie' had been so good about grooming every time.
This time I let my guard down.
I had just finished carefully clipping his nails, one of his touchy spots, no problem.
Then I started talking to my daughter while scissoring his feet.
Suddenly my scissors clicked and squeezed his toe nail.
Fast as lightning, he whipped around, and one quick bite to the hand that was holding his leg up.
Then he was back to standing like a good little dog he had always been for me.
Now, I ALWAYS squeeze the bite to flush as much blood out as I can.
Then I flush it with peroxide and alcohol.
First warning flag... the bite would not bleed.
Second warning flag...it started to swell within 5 minutes.
That one little puncture hole cost me a little more than $800.
$420 in medical bills.
$380 to repair my wedding rings after the nurses butchered them cutting them off of my finger that night.
The picture above is a couple of days later.
The swelling had gone down quite a bit.
No, I did not charge 'Ronnie's' owners.
I knew the dogs history, I took the risk, I got careless.
Today, he was good.
Okay....I got WAY off track.
That's me, diarrhea of the mouth.
Or, I guess you would say fingers. (typing)
Shih-Tzu's, that is what I started to talk about.
This is 'Sunshne'.
She is a doll.
I just love her.
She hates having her face washed.
What Shih-Tzu doesn't?
We have been working on that, and she is much better about her face now.
It feels so good to work a dog through their phobias.
This is 'Niki'.
It was my first time grooming her.
What a sweet girl.
She was very shy and scared.
She also did not like having her face washed.
By the time I finished grooming her, she was wagging her tail and gave me a kiss.
Have I said I love this job?
This is 'Brady'.
He is 'Niki's' friend.
He is also a sweet and very happy dog.
But, boy is he a wild man.
I wish I had that much energy.
This is 'Bells'.
This is 'Holly'.
'Bells' & ' Holly' are sisters.
They are almost identical.
They are a little over a year old.
Both were very over grown and matted.
It was not only Shih-Tzu day, but all of their owners wanted almost the same cut on each one of them.
Funny how things like that happen.
Most of the Shih-Tzu's I do get puppy cuts, that's why it's so funny that all of the Shih-Tzu's today wanted short clip downs.
Oh, one other thing...
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this shampoo for Shih-Tzu faces.
You know, those stinky, moist Shih-Tzu faces.
Well, actually I use it on a lot of faces.
It really takes the stinky smell away from under the eyes and around the mouth.
It also smells wonderful (to me), and leaves a nice mild smell after the bath.
Happy Grooming, MFF
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