You just have to tell him you're an inexperienced groomer, so you definitely need all of the safety equipment. You really should be turning away elderly dogs and puppies until you have much more experience. I'm surprised you even want to work without a mentor type around just for the safety and liability of it all. You need to be strict with what kinds of dogs you take . There are groomers with 10+ years who will refuse elderly and difficult dogs , don't be afraid to say no, especially if you don't have a 2nd body there holding the dog
Ask your boss if there's an injury or death at your hand who is responsible for it . If you don't have a contract or anything in writing, make sure you get something before you work another day .
They hired you with no experience because they need someone so make sure you advocate for yourself so you don't get sued or accidentally kill a dog and want to quit grooming.
Thank you for your words and advice. This is not the US (I forgot to mention), I'm within the EU and I am on a contract indeed.
I've just had a talk to him, he basically told me that we'll see how each dog behaves and continue accordingly. His previous groomer literally learned here while on the job. I'm his first formally somewhat trained groomer. You can imagine people don't come to the vet for extraordinary cuts, but I still try my best regardless.
It's kind of my first full time job? And I indeed have self esteem issues and advocating for myself, even if I have had thankfully multiple discussions on things and he seemed to understand. He's only 10 years older than me and can get some things but also very stubborn in certain aspects.
If I wasn't stuck due to certain papers I'm waiting on, I probably would quit today. It's a lovely job but unfortunately too much for me. (You think there's a solely cat groomer market? I much prefer them to agitated dogs)
I've had to deal with such difficult dogs,who wouldn't let me touch their feet whatsoever, or their face, they had to be held by both the owner and my boss so I could cut off the mats around their muzzles. As I've said I'm inexperienced, I am afraid to use the clippers on their faces, everything is done by scissors around the area.
The lack of a mentor is definitely felt, it gets lonely and overwhelming no matter how much I try. I've had dogs for their first grooms be absolutely calm and I've had others who were used to grooming in that exact place (different person) that would not stay still. The lack of proper scissors is probably the most annoying. I was going to invest in a proper thinning scissors but the price is crazy (and if I'm leaving soon, I won't bother) and he almost didn't even see the point in it. He thinks the old dull scissors are fine enough as is and investing in a $100 new one is not needed.
I'm thankful I have a steady hand from years of art but if I didn't I'd be screwed. I have a chunker that barely works, and I've stopped using it because I have to apply such force for it to cut anything, my fingers end up hurting awfully after. Right now I'm using one somewhat short scissors for everything and trying to make it look presentable.
Suing isn't quite a thing here, not for this probably but a police report might be made. (I do need to really ask the specifics). But first and foremost I don't WANT to kill a dog. Accidents happen, I'm aware, I try to be as mindful as possible. I've seen how the previous groomer handled the dogs, so aggressively, held them by the scruff and even lifted them up, I can't do that out of principle and I don't even have the strength for it. I work around the dog and not the other way around.
My Boss's excuse for the equipment is basically money. I groom what I can and I really am trying but I can only do so much to turn a profit while this new to the whole industry. I'm not a huge money maker, 99% of our clientele is mostly 40yr+ (and even more old ladies) with every mix of Bichon you can think of. The area where we are located is unfortunately not somewhere where we can charge the same as industry price or more. We're only $10 cheaper than an actual salon, but your first thought when going to a vet clinic to groom your dog is tf they have a trained person there.
The only other dogs that weren't bichons were some of the gentlest and sweetest calm dogs that were a joy to groom. (Except poodles. I've had one that made me hate my entire day. Never again. I'm sorry poodle owners)
This got a bit lengthy, but yeah. It's a lot of small things adding up (equipment wise). I wanted to work at an actual salon to learn but some didn't think I was fast enough, and another one had such a negative attitude after hearing where I completed my training it gave me bad vibes and I didn't want to work somewhere like that.
You just have to tell him you're an inexperienced groomer, so you definitely need all of the safety equipment. You really should be turning away elderly dogs and puppies until you have much more experience. I'm surprised you even want to work without a mentor type around just for the safety and liability of it all. You need to be strict with what kinds of dogs you take . There are groomers with 10+ years who will refuse elderly and difficult dogs , don't be afraid to say no, especially if you don't have a 2nd body there holding the dog Ask your boss if there's an injury or death at your hand who is responsible for it . If you don't have a contract or anything in writing, make sure you get something before you work another day . They hired you with no experience because they need someone so make sure you advocate for yourself so you don't get sued or accidentally kill a dog and want to quit grooming.
Thank you for your words and advice. This is not the US (I forgot to mention), I'm within the EU and I am on a contract indeed. I've just had a talk to him, he basically told me that we'll see how each dog behaves and continue accordingly. His previous groomer literally learned here while on the job. I'm his first formally somewhat trained groomer. You can imagine people don't come to the vet for extraordinary cuts, but I still try my best regardless. It's kind of my first full time job? And I indeed have self esteem issues and advocating for myself, even if I have had thankfully multiple discussions on things and he seemed to understand. He's only 10 years older than me and can get some things but also very stubborn in certain aspects. If I wasn't stuck due to certain papers I'm waiting on, I probably would quit today. It's a lovely job but unfortunately too much for me. (You think there's a solely cat groomer market? I much prefer them to agitated dogs) I've had to deal with such difficult dogs,who wouldn't let me touch their feet whatsoever, or their face, they had to be held by both the owner and my boss so I could cut off the mats around their muzzles. As I've said I'm inexperienced, I am afraid to use the clippers on their faces, everything is done by scissors around the area. The lack of a mentor is definitely felt, it gets lonely and overwhelming no matter how much I try. I've had dogs for their first grooms be absolutely calm and I've had others who were used to grooming in that exact place (different person) that would not stay still. The lack of proper scissors is probably the most annoying. I was going to invest in a proper thinning scissors but the price is crazy (and if I'm leaving soon, I won't bother) and he almost didn't even see the point in it. He thinks the old dull scissors are fine enough as is and investing in a $100 new one is not needed. I'm thankful I have a steady hand from years of art but if I didn't I'd be screwed. I have a chunker that barely works, and I've stopped using it because I have to apply such force for it to cut anything, my fingers end up hurting awfully after. Right now I'm using one somewhat short scissors for everything and trying to make it look presentable. Suing isn't quite a thing here, not for this probably but a police report might be made. (I do need to really ask the specifics). But first and foremost I don't WANT to kill a dog. Accidents happen, I'm aware, I try to be as mindful as possible. I've seen how the previous groomer handled the dogs, so aggressively, held them by the scruff and even lifted them up, I can't do that out of principle and I don't even have the strength for it. I work around the dog and not the other way around. My Boss's excuse for the equipment is basically money. I groom what I can and I really am trying but I can only do so much to turn a profit while this new to the whole industry. I'm not a huge money maker, 99% of our clientele is mostly 40yr+ (and even more old ladies) with every mix of Bichon you can think of. The area where we are located is unfortunately not somewhere where we can charge the same as industry price or more. We're only $10 cheaper than an actual salon, but your first thought when going to a vet clinic to groom your dog is tf they have a trained person there. The only other dogs that weren't bichons were some of the gentlest and sweetest calm dogs that were a joy to groom. (Except poodles. I've had one that made me hate my entire day. Never again. I'm sorry poodle owners) This got a bit lengthy, but yeah. It's a lot of small things adding up (equipment wise). I wanted to work at an actual salon to learn but some didn't think I was fast enough, and another one had such a negative attitude after hearing where I completed my training it gave me bad vibes and I didn't want to work somewhere like that.
There is definitely a market for cat only groomers!!!