SuperZoo's Creative Grooming Competition

You can't really say that these people use their dogs only as an accessory without knowing them. As far as I know, there are only a couple of these competitions every year, and the dogs spend the rest of the year pretty normally. In addition, I think most of the people who take part in these types of competitions own grooming shops and just want to call attention to themselves and bring in some business. I don't groom animals anymore, and taking part in this kind of thing never would have been that interesting to me, but I can understand a shop owner using this as an opportunity to promote their business. Standard Poodles are popular dogs for groomers to have because they can use their pets to showcase their abilities. That's not to say that they don't love their pets. The few of you who are crying that this is cruelty to animals haven't seen the effects of real animal cruelty. Guess what? I had a neighbor who left their partially matted, flea infested, underfed dog chained in the backyard year round with no shelter. When I called SPCA on them, all they did was tell them to get a doghouse. I guess they probably didn't see any signs of starvation since myself and the neighbors on the other side of their house had started feeding and watering the poor animal ourselves. When these people moved, they left the dog chained in the back of their house. The second time I called SPCA, they waited for a period of time, during which their landlord came and apparently told them to come get their dog, which they eventually did. My point is that if that wasn't enough to be considered cruelty to the authorities, how can you say that an animal that is well fed, well groomed, and well cared for should be considered as such? That dog is still stuck in his situation now somewhere, with no human contact, maybe no food and water, matted fur and fleas.

just what part of this is abuse? please. tell me.

As I have said, this competition is stupid. The dogs look pretty dumb. But to say that these dogs should be taken away from their owners is to undermine the efforts of animal rights advocates everywhere. Understand that there are people out there deliberately harming their pets, as well as people who neglect their pets to such a degree that you'd think they'd forgotten they own them. These animals are well cared for. When I groomed, I had to give dogs haircuts at the requests of their owners, and some of those haircuts were pretty dumb looking. But the owners seemed to love it, and the pets were happy and well cared for and could care less how they looked. I'd never advocate taking their pet away because they make them look dumb, unless they are letting their coats mat which has several severe effects on their health.

Mostly, dogs hate having their nails clipped. A few of them don't like being bathed, that is true. Some are nervous and some are excited, and wag their tales and lick your face throughout the bath and haircut. Some older ones need periodic breaks throughout the haircut so that they don't have to put the pressure on their back legs. Other dogs won't be groomed at all and have to be anesthetized and shaved down at a vet's office. Usually, this is due to neglect in grooming on the part of the owner. Long haired breeds need periodic grooming to keep their coats from matting. I've seen a few dogs come into shops where I worked that had their legs actually partially restrained against their bodies with severe matting. Underneath the mess of tangled dog hair, there were usually skin infections. Any dog that would come in in such a condition usually had ear infections as well. Anyway, please let us know what kennel/grooming shop you worked at so we know to NEVER bring our pets there. The fact that all of the animals hated entering this place tells me that it has everything to do with their experiences with the staff.

I have to disagree with you. Most dogs enjoy grooming when done properly. When I groomed professionally, dogs would RUN into my shop, my poodles would sometimes fall asleep during grooming because it was so relaxing, and dogs know when they look good, watch them preen after a groom.

If a dog doesn't enjoy a groom, then something is wrong. Either the owner has neglected the coat, has the dog groomed infrequently or the dog has skin problems, which makes it difficult to groom the dog without discomfort Or, the groomer is poorly trained and too rough with the dog.

When done right, dogs definitely enjoy being groomed. Nothing in Creative Grooming is wrong and not one person here has been able to describe Why its "abusive."

Exactly what I was saying, Liadan. The fact that this person worked in one shop that the dogs apparently hated definitely says more about the location than the profession. The sad thing is that dogs that have visited this place will carry the experiences they had there with them for a long time, so they will likely be nervous and stressed out for the next groomer, even if that groomer treats the animals how they should be treated.

In the entire time I was in that profession, I have only seen a handful of dogs that truly hated the experience, and I believe all of them had come in a neglected, matted mess. I'd have to say that while most of the dogs were pretty excited to get into the shop, a lot of them were pretty ambivalent toward the whole experience in general, with the exception of nail clipping, which made a good many of them uncomfortable and a select few of them freak out.

Maybe Brooke was thinking about cats, then? I've actually had a few cats that enjoyed being bathed and brushed, but I'd have to say a good 90% of them were just pissed.

At any rate, I think it would be nice if Brooke were to post the name and location of this shop, so that anyone reading these posts will know to beware.

I have been grooming for 14 years and there are plenty of dogs who like grooming just because you got a bad apple don't project your dogs bad traits on other poodles. Oh, you USED to work at a kennel so that makes you an expert at dog body language huh? what a crock. You don't know me or my dog so just shut your mouth about something you so clearly know nothing about. By the way I am the groomer who created the garden of Eden design and my 7 yr old champion mini poodle loves to be groomed and always has. Whether for show, or grooming contest, or just for around home, he loves to spend time with me including all the time we spend together while I groom him. I feel sorry for your dog if it doesn't like to be groomed, you must have done something to it in the past to make it that way. Grooming has always been a positive experience for my dog and he loves it. So perhaps it's YOU who doesn't deserve the company of your dog.

HI FACEPALM
I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING YOU SAY, THEY SHOULD LEARN ABOUT THE BREEDS OF DOGS AND THE UPKEEP IT TAKES TO MAKE THEM THEY WAY THEY SHOULD LOOK. SO MANY BREEDS AND NOT ENOUGH KNOWLEDGE OF THE BREED.