My dogs are a breed that requires grooming because they have hair that grows rather than fur that sheds. They typically go to the grooming salon every eight to twelve weeks. Now, those of you who don't have dogs might not be aware of this, but most grooming salons keep dogs in crates for hours until it is his or her turn to get groomed. Because of this, dogs are typically at the salon all day long. I think this is COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE. I've brought my ten-year-old dog, Teddy to the same grooming salon ever since he was a tiny puppy, so that's how my expectations of dog groomers were set. This particular groomer took dogs by appointment only & Teddy never took longer than an hour to be finished. Once I had two dogs, they took an hour & a half to be finished. Last year, this groomer who was located about thirty minutes away from us ended up relocating to a town that was another thirty minutes away from us. She later had to close down completely due to medical reasons. My Journey Finding A New Grooming Salon: This was no fun task, particularly for an undiagnosed autistic woman like myself who dislikes change & is extraordinarily picky when it comes to her dogs' care. Seriously, NO ONE can do it right. This is also why I rarely travel. I don't trust anyone to take care of my dogs. Grooming Salon #1: We tried this salon a little over a year & seven months ago when our groomer had COVID & our normal salon suggested we give them a call. They also suggested that we stay with them if we like them, but my response was, "No way, we like you too much!" We didn't know our groomer was planning to relocate at this point, but now them making this suggestion makes a lot of sense. The groomer there barely cut their hair even though I gave her a reference photo, so Teddy & Ollie walked out looking almost exactly the way they looked when they walked in. This salon typically keeps dogs there for way longer than I'm comfortable with, but because they knew we had anxious dogs & both my mom & I were stressed over it, they told us that they would get them done as quickly as possible, which they did. It only took two hours. I knew they couldn't do that if we were regular clients, so this salon wasn't an option. Grooming Salon #2: One of my dog sitting clients takes her dogs to this salon & it is run by appointment, like I am used to. I brought my dogs here a few times & while they looked super duper cute after their cuts, there were several things about this salon that made me a little uneasy:
Grooming Salon #3: This salon was a salon that I had preconceived notions about because I know a lot of people who bring their dogs here. I absolutely DID NOT want my dogs to get groomed at this salon because of how uncomfortable it made me. The reason I was so uncomfortable was because one of my neighbors told me that their dog took four & a half hours here. My neighbor's dog is only slightly larger than my boys, so how long it takes to groom her should be comparable. ⭐️⭐️ Once an autistic person has preconceived notions about something, it is absolutely impossible to change her or his mind! Many neurotypical people think this is stubbornness, but I can tell you it is not stubbornness. This is in fact autism at its finest & it makes me just as uncomfortable as it makes you. ⭐️⭐️ I'll never forget the day that my mom called me to tell me that she thinks we should bring the boys here for grooming. She was trying to convince me that this salon was just perfect. It was clean, well-decorated, & obviously very well taken care of. The woman she talked to was nice, friendly, & helpful. I was not convinced, but not only that, I was furiously mad. Remember, you can't change an autistic person's mind once (s)he has preconceived notions about something (see above↑)! My mom told me I should stop by to see it for myself because she was impressed. So, I stopped by on my way to my client's house who lives just down the street from this salon. Stopping by solidified my negative feelings about this salon. When I got there, it was super hectic, which didn't give me a good first impression. Hectic environments are always a turnoff for me (that's my autism speaking again). But, here's what really made me upset:
My Experience Taking My Dogs To Grooming Salon #3:
My experience taking my dogs to this salon was just horrible. I felt like I was the only one who felt this way though because almost everyone else I know who uses them just LOVES them. I'm used to this though & that's another autistic trait— my opinion often differs from everyone else's. I used to look forward to Teddy & Ollie having grooming appointments. They both looked so dapper afterwards! But, now I dreaded grooming days. I usually had knots in my stomach that started anywhere from a week before the appointment to a day before the appointment. I knew my dogs were crated here, which really bothered me. I know that small dogs like mine are safer in a crate, but what I wanted in a grooming salon was for it to be safe for my dogs to not be crated. Plus, I needed predictability & I never knew how long they were going to take. Predictably is very important to autistic people & unpredictability drives us crazy. I couldn't handle the unpredictability of bringing my dogs here. Also, I am so attached to my dogs that if I'm home & my dogs aren’t, I am very distraught. So, I needed a distraction the entire time my dogs were there. That wasn’t possible. I based my tip on how long my dogs took. If they took two hours or less, I gave a 20% tip & if they took any longer than that I gave a lower tip. Since I've always paid for both dogs, my mom has told me how much to tip. We've brought them here several times & they only took less than two hours once. That was the only time I gave the tip my mom suggested. I was always in such a bad mood on grooming days that it caused me to get into these really bad arguments with my mom & I would snap over the most minuscule of things. Thinking back, I think there wasn't a single time my dogs got groomed at this salon where this didn’t happen. I knew I couldn’t continue bringing my dogs here. It just wasn’t good for me, or for anyone. But, it was important to me that both dogs got groomed together & because of that, I had no other choice. I HATED it. This is a very good example of how I feel so unheard & like my opinion & my feelings don't matter. The fact that I downright HATED this salon didn't matter to my mom & that hurt. Finding Grooming Salon #4 😇: My mom called me one morning a little less than a week ago & said to me, "I found a grooming salon you'll LOVE! I know what you like & you'll love both the salon & the groomer here." Unlike the time she called me to tell me about Grooming Salon #3, the vibe I got from her that morning was completely different. I totally trusted my mom this time, so there was absolutely no convincing needed. But, she wanted to bring me & the pups to this salon to see it & to meet the groomer. This salon was perfect. I LOVEd the groomer, too. She also listened to us when we told her that the easiest way to tell our dogs apart is by their tails. The salon was clean & well taken care of. The groomer had her Cavalier with her that day, but also had a Bichon at home that she takes with her sometimes, too. We let Teddy & Ollie run around in the grooming area & they both looked happy. They were probably super confused as to why they were at a grooming salon & left without a haircut though. They both hate getting groomed! Our First Appointment At Grooming Salon #4: We went to visit the salon this past Wednesday & we booked an appointment for this morning, the following Tuesday. We also cancelled yesterday’s appointment we had scheduled for our dogs at Grooming Salon #3. I was beyond excited for that. The groomer brought her Bichon with her today because she remembered that I made a comment last week about how our dogs love other small, white dogs. She also knew which dog was Teddy & which one was Ollie immediately, so she remembered how to tell them apart by their tails. I gave her a reference photo of a haircut they had at our original groomer & they both came out looking super duper cute. Their hair wasn't cut short enough, but it usually isn't on a first visit to a new salon. That can be easily fixed though. How long did it take us to find this salon? Slightly less than a year & seven months. I'm hopeful that we'll continue to be happy here. Did almost no salon fit my needs because I'm autistic? I don't know, but I think that's quite possibly the case. That's also why I told you all this. To show you how being autistic can complicate someone's life & to show you just how frustrating & aggravating it can be.
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AuthorHello! My name is Kim, I didn't know I was autistic until I was in my thirties, & this is my story. Categories
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May 2024
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