Dog Grooming Diary - Rupert The Cavalier
Rupert wondering where his humans have gone
The Importance Of The First Groom
As professional groomers we want every dog to enjoy their time at the salon and strive to make their visit as pleasurable as possible. This is especially important on the dog’s first groom as this is the time to lay the foundations for future happy visits over the coming years.
Accordingly, we treat the first groom as an introductory session where we introduce the dog to such scary things as a grooming table, brushes and air dryers! We take each step slowly, spending our time encouraging good behaviour on the dog’s part whilst ignoring the less acceptable aspects. The aim is to do as much as possible without pushing the dog and making it feel uncomfortable and stressed. A lot of dogs settle in very quickly and treat the whole thing as a great game. Others need more time and take two or three sessions to get used to it all.
Still looking
Rupert was in the former category. It was as if he was a grooming salon veteran instead of a youngster. He took everything in his stride and at times even seemed very bored by it all. By the time Rupert had had enough, we had managed to make a good start on his coat and hopefully, in the next session, we can give him a full-blown groom.
Cavaliers are beautiful looking dogs
Unfortunately, I neglected to take any photos of Rupert after the groom but both Rupert and his owner seemed very pleased with the end result so all in all, it was a good experience for everyone.
