Are all dog groomers like this?

[FrangipaniDeLaSqueegeeMop]

My sister got her dog groomed today but had to work overtime so I picked him up. He's a cockapoo puppy, almost 1 and this is his third groom. The groomer is new to him.

When the groomer opened the door she didn't say hello, just started abruptly bellowing at me "Tell your sister to start looking after her dog. He was absolutely matted, it's neglectful, she's lucky I haven't reported her. £45 please" I said sorry can you elaborate. She then asked "How often does she brush him?". I said AFAIK 3-4 times a week. She snapped "Not good enough. It has to be everyday. I practically had to skin him". He wasn't skinned at all, he has a good couple of inches of hair still. She told me she'd left my sister a voicemail telling her "exactly what she thinks". I was annoyed and said how about educating people rather than shouting and carrying on at them? She said she's sick of people not brushing their dogs properly, to which I replied maybe find a new profession then.

Anyway when my sister came to pick him up she'd been upset by the voicemail - to avoid drip feeding, since having the puppy for various reasons her teen DD has been self harming and has had more than one hospital admission as a result. My sister is going through a lot and I know she tries her best with the dog, but she's had days where her entire energy had to go into ensuring her DD doesn't try to kill herself and it's been hard work.

But this is her third sanctimonious groomer. The first who did the dog's puppy groom moaned about "people forking out thousands for crossbreed mongrels" and the second moaned at her for being "yet another lockdown dog buyer". She pointed out she had him reserved since January 2020 and he is her sixth dog as an adult.

Are all dog groomers like this? I've seen some on FB actually take pictures of dogs and rant about how their (paying) customers are disgraceful for it coming sooner/not brushing its belly etc. I know it's not ok to allow a dog to be matted to the point where it's hurting them but whatever happened to educating and not judging people? I'm a teacher and me ranting at someone about how awfully they behave (not something I'd actually do) would be as effective as a chocolate fireguard.

Dog people can be such sanctimonious dicks.

Honestly, your DSis should heed the advice but the rude delivery of that advice is on those groomers. I am on loads of fb dog pages cos I rescue dogs and the tone-deafness of some of these people is astonishing.

The irony is that lots of these people work with animals ‘because animals are nicer than humans’. (Answer: Er, well, if you mean animals can’t call out you on gauche behaviour...)

Sorry but she was right. It’s cruel to allow mats to develop. They pull and tug at the skin, and when cut out blood can rush to the area which is very painful for the dog.

I have 2 Lhasa Apso and they take a great deal of brushing and actually combing is best as the brush goes over top fur but does not get out tangles in soft under fur. 1 dog is not too bad with being combed but the other won't stay still and cries. I made the conscious decision to get them clipped every 6 weeks rather than let their fur grow long. I still have to brush and comb everyday though now it only takes 10 mins per dog instead of 30-40 mins per dog. Maybe your sister could consider getting her dog clipped shorter, especially in the summer. It hurts dogs having tangles as it pulls on their skin and if left to get bad even limits their movements. I also have 3 long haired cats who each need a good 7 minutes combing every evening.

There's better ways to educate the owner they need to groom more often/more effectively and being so rude doesn't help the dog if the owner is then put off returning to a groomers. Done correctly the groomer could've even encouraged more frequent visits to make easier.

The groomer maybe happy to lose clients which take longer than should to groom as presumably lose money & run late with others as I bet many people refuse to pay any extra for matting. Though sensible people would just refuse future bookings as kicking off like she did could easily damage her business reputation.

I agree with others that many working with animals have poor interpersonal skills & maybe struggling with constant reinforcement of how crappy other humans are. However some people are just self righteous twats, knowing can get away with being arseholes without usual worry about being fired.