Maggie Sees the Dog Groomer for the First Time
When my mom, dad, brother and I went to pick up our dog from the Corgi rescue in Kentucky, we did not know what to expect. We knew generally what she would look like, but we had no idea about her behavior or her strange little habits. But when we finally saw Maggie for the first time, she looked like a crazy , running around in her pen, barking at all of the other dogs and her coat was very thin and coarse. The lady who took Maggie in at the rescue, Jean, recommended that to fix her coat we take her to get groomed immediately. Jean told us about two places. She told us about one office for dog grooming in Florence KY and another place for dog grooming in Hebron KY. We chose the Florence location just because it was closer and as soon as we got Maggie home we made her special appointment for her to be groomed.
On the day she was supposed to be groomed , Maggie knew she was going somewhere. We put her in the car and took her about ten minutes down the road to help give her a pretty, new coat . The lady who was ready to groom Maggie picked our dog up and placed her in the tub. And that is when Maggie’s strange behavior began.
Maggie really did not like being in the bath , you could see it by the look in her eye. She looked very pitiful standing in the water while the nice lady shampooed her fur . Maggie did, however, like the groomer who was washing her off . Maggie warmed up to the groomer by licking her ear every time the woman leaned over to shampoo and rinsed the side that was facing away from the woman.
After her bath, Maggie was put on a table top to be dried and brushed. This was the first time anyone in my family saw that Maggie does not like any kind of electric household appliance. As soon as the blow dryer started Maggie became squeamish and tried to get off of the table. However, the groomer held her very nicely and tried to help our dog understand that everything was going to be alright.
Finally, after her fur was dried, the groomer began the best part for Maggie , brushing her fur. My mom and I found out on this trip to the groomer that Maggie thoroughly enjoys being brushed. She loves any kind of attention, but being brushed made her feel at ease. It must have seemed like a wonderful prize to her after she must have felt she was being somewhat tortured by the bath and blow dryer.
Maggie’s first grooming was the first time my mom and I got to know our little dog. We realized that she didn’t like her bath, but she was willing to tolerate it because her new family was there. Also, we saw first hand that she does not like any kind of electric household appliance as she tried to runaway from the blow dryer. And finally, we saw how we could give some of the love she gives us back to her, by giving her lots of affection and brushing her. Although she might not have been the best dog at the groomer’s, Maggie’s first experience at the dog groomer’s helped everyone in the house learn a lot about our new little family member.
