BLOG | The Ethics of Matting

We know a lot of groomers reading this will not want to work on old, matted and aggressive dogs, but we are hoping that the majority of our  community do.

This episode is an AI-read audio version of a blog article from igroomhub. The AI is helpful, but occasionally a little too creative with pronunciation. 

Read blogs @ www.igroomhub.com.au/blog

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Have you noticed a few posts lately on social media where groomers are announcing how they dodged a bullet or had a lucky escape because they turned away a client with a matted dog? Honestly, we find these posts disturbing. Yes, grooming a matted dog will place extra wear on your tools, take more of your time, require your highest level of concentration and skill to complete safely, and possibly lead to problems arising after the groom, including clipper rash, hematomas, and physical or mental stress on the dog. The groom will cost the owner a lot, and there may be a dispute about the price if correct documentation is not available to the client to read, agree to, and sign prior to the groom. But is any of this the dog's fault? Didn't we fight so hard over COVID to be recognized as an essential service? Did we not all agree emphatically that our role in society was not negotiable, that the welfare of our beloved pets was not to be sacrificed? Our job as groomers is to be the mouthpiece for the dog. Our job as groomers is to recognize and understand the pain and discomfort the dog is experiencing and convey that to the owner, and then assist the animal to the best of our ability. Sometimes over and over again. We know a lot of groomers reading this will not want to work on old, matted, and aggressive dogs, but we are hoping that the majority of our community do. More people are dog owners now than ever before. We need to keep banging the education drum, the client education drum. How? Spend an extra 30 seconds on the booking phone call determining the coat condition or get a photo sent to you. This helps manage expectations on both sides in advance. Get your matting forms and waivers organized, either digitally or old fashioned paper printouts, some ideas here. Print brochures outlining what matting is and what causes it, and how to prevent it. How to brush and comb correctly, there's some here. Create an aftercare brochure or email explaining possible outcomes from a complete shave off. What to look out for, why it might happen. Be actively educational on your social media. We've never in history had access to such a captive audience by way of literally having a device that plays videos to people in their hand. As frustrating as it is, and Nat has been grooming for thirty years, saying the same thing over and over, brush your dog, bring your dog in more often, etc. We just need to keep saying it out loud, and we need to be united in that voice as an industry. Our voice is the voice of the dog.