Leave written directions for no perfume when you drop him off next time. Refuse to pay if perfume is used against your specific order. I've had to get tough with our groomer. Some of the perfumes bother my allergies but all of them annoy my Sheltie. She runs around chasing her tail in an attempt to catch and destroy the stink that is following her. Since she does not normally behave that way at any other time, it is safe to say the bath products cause the behavior.
Oh god. It's funny until I think of the dogs' reaction and then it becomes painful. Eight sets of frantic claws....
Elizabeth (who had never seen a skunk that white before)
I can tell you and Lucille how to make sure they don't forget in the future. Make the groomer rebathe the animal before you bring it home. Seriously. Why should you pay good money for a service that you have to then repeat because they didn't pay attention to your request? That, or I'd find another groomer and tell the first one why.
And in case anyone thinks I'm blowing smoke, I had a cocker spaniel that was grooomed every 6-8 weeks for 10 years (the first 7 years of his life, I was too poor to have him groomed and clipped him myself. He was occasionally funnylooking). I was allergic to the perfume and so was he. You can be sure I made a stink about it (no pun intended). But I also made sure to tip well for a job well done when they got it right.
Elizabeth
If I remind her, she tries to remember and she is probably the best, most patient and gentle groomer in my area. This is a girl who loves anything alive and wouldn't hurt a fly so I blame myself for forgetting to remind her.
Doing a Maltese is a pretty big job, especially when he needs a haircut and not just a bath. I've seen some pretty crummy cuts, so I take responsibility for remembering to remind her no perfume and put up with the occasional lapse.
Lucille.
When I had Chinchillas (cats) I had to bath them for shows, and fill their coats up with baby powder, then brush it out. They looked and smelled GORGEOUS!
Pat P
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The size of the job is kinda why I mentioned having a Cocker. The black ones get particularly hairy and are also quite a big job. But in my case, the perfume bothered the dog, too, so I was especially adamant about it.
Elizabeth
Oh dear, don't like getting wet do they?
We had one that was 90% white with a thin pair of black stripes. Funky looking beast!
Cheryl
Maybe lots of Tomato Juice. That what happen to my brother when he was hunting. We gave him a tomato juice bath. That did help a ton, he was so bad smelling. We are glad he didn't get any in his eyes. Hope it turns out ok.
But what happens when taking an allergy pill isn't enough to keep you out of the emergency room with an acute reaction? And no, I'm not speaking in hyperbole - this has happened to several members of my family as a result of perfumes and household cleaners.
If your groomer cannot follow your instructions to use non-scented products, then you need to find another groomer who will. I assume you make appointments in advance to take Puff to be groomed, that is the perfect time to reinforce these instructions without the stress of getting Puff to let go of you long enough for you to try and remember. And if, after stressing the importance of no perfumes when scheduling, Puff comes out stinky again, then you immediately complain and let them know you'll be looking for another groomer who will take your needs to heart. I bet that wises them up fast!
You might want to note that sometimes it's not worth it to sweat the small stuff. Since I don't wind up in the emergency room, I don't really see the need to change from a really good groomer, who occasionally makes a small error and uses a smell, to a not so good groomer who isn't particularly good to the animal or the owner, and costs more to boot.
There are lots and lots of little, pampered pets where I live, and lots of self taught groomers who are looking to make a fast buck, IMHO most of them don't do a particularly good job and act as though the animal comes second and the owner first. I prefer that he comes first and me second. I think it's better to have my dog come home without any signs of trauma, than it is to have him not smell for a few hours.
Lucille
You HAD one? As a pet? De-scented?
Pat P
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No - living in the drainage ditch across the street. Liked to wander around the yard in the early AM when I had test time before dawn.
Cheryl
I DID! I had a descented skunk as a pet. DH and I got him as a wedding gift (four of our friends chipped in to purchase him; they were quite expensive compared to our meagre college budgets).
I wanted a pet; DH is allergic to cats and because we were living in an apt. I wanted a small pet. So we got "Spot", and had her for seven years. But familiarity breeds allergies, and over time DH developed symptoms, so there was no getting another when she died.
I had DSIL make a little harness for her (she was into leathercraft - remember those Tandy kits?) . A collar was no good because skunks' heads are so small Spot could easily back out of it. I'd sometimes walk her on campus or even take her into class with me. She was very good at sleeping, especially in the daytime (skunks are naturally nocturnal).
Her funniest little quirk was this: We had a looooong hallway, with the bathroom at the end of it. DH called it the bowling alley hall. Well, at night Spot would grab the end of the toilet paper on the roll, and run up and down the hallway, and unroll the *whole thing*. After that happening repeatedly, we learned to just leave the roll on the back of the toilet tank; it's taken us 20 years to re-train ourselves to put it on the roll again!
She could squeeze her body almost flat to the ground and fit in the tiniest places. We had a big china cabinet with a 3" high opening on the base that she could get into and hide under; the cabinet was too big to move easily to get her out so that became her "private space". And she could climb *up* stairs, but not down. We had to rig a baby gate to keep her on the first floor.
Sue
Oh how cute - they`re so pretty! What was that dear little thing called in "Bambi"? I`d love one. Did you housetrain her too?
Pat P
Flower!
I understand you can litter train them!
How interesting. I can see why perhaps she would not want to go down stairs, having a small head proportionate to her body.
Answering my own post (as I often do!) I think the one in "Bambi" was called "Flower" wasn`t it? Something incongruous, anyway.
Pat P
She was litter-trained...more or less. Although cute, skunks are incredibly stupid. (At least this one was!)
Have you seen the PBS commercial with the skunk walking through the house, and eventually climbs into bed with the sleeping guy,and you're thinking, "uh-oh." Then he reaches out and pets it, with the tag line "think out of the box"? I get a warm fuzzy when I see that commercial, but then I turn to DH and say, "That couldn't happen. No way a skunk could climb *into* that bed!"
Sue
She was litter-trained....more or less
They're cute, but incredibly STOOPID critters.
And she never vocalized. I just remembered that. Never a peep. Just the scratch, scratch, scratch of her nails on the floor.
The cutest thing was that she didn't know she'd been de-skunked, so when she got angry she'd still do the whole dance. Stomp, stomp, stomp (three warning stomps with both front feet), then puff out her fur and try to look fierce and turn her backside, and...and...and...nothin'. How very frustrating for her! She'd be trying to express her anger, and we'd be laughing our heads off.
Sue
Sorry for the double post! My server hiccoughed and I re-posted, not realizing the first one went through. It's been one of those days...
sue
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