Visit to the dog groomers

I swear my dog spends more time (and money!) in the salon than I do. With corona, that isn't too difficult as I haven't been to the hairdressers in over a year now (and it shows). My once neatly trimmed perm has long since grown out and is very scruffy. I just tie it back most of the time. My husband was looking positively like he slept rough, so I recently got the clippers out on him. I was quite proud of that as I've never cut anyones hair before. I dare say a half decent hairdresser would be able to spot faults in his new coif, but it looks ok to me, and he's quite happy with it. But my dog is another story.

I'd never attempt to cut his hair myself, as I just know I'd make a right mess of it! Proper groomers have harnesses and things to keep them still too, so I know he's better off with a professional doing it. Shih Tzu's hair grows so quickly. They don't really shed like most dogs, but it grows continuously. When I first got him as a tiny 8 week old ball of fluff, I was determined to let his hair grow long. Shih Tzu's look stunning with their full hair! But he very quickly turned into a lively dog, loving the outdoors and accompanying me wherever I go, so he was forever getting knots and it was just impossible to keep up with keeping him groomed. So we took him to the groomers for the first time. Ever since, he's gone every 2 months. She keeps his ears and tail long, but he has a short cut everywhere else. It just suits his lively personality. I can let him be a dog and play in the grass, and he's just so much easier to keep neat and tidy. So it's a win, win. He isn't arm candy or a handbag accessory, he's my best friend. So I need to let him be himself and run about and have fun, rather than limit his activities in case he gets a bit messy, or have to keep pulling him about. So he goes to the groomers every other month. He's not keen on getting wet, and of course he gets a bath there. So when we collect him, he gets rewarded with a nice walk in a nearby park.

So here are his before and after piccies. What a transformation, eh? And it was only 2 months ago that he last got a haircut!

It's hard to believe he isn't allowed on the sofa, isn't it? He re-wrote that rule himself, as I'm sure most fur baby owners can relate to! As for the dumbbells in the first photo, he likes to join in with home workouts so he has his very own toy dumbbell. He isn't like all the dogs on YouTube who cooperate with their humans or just sit patiently while they workout. No, he gets the zoomies and then drops his dumbbell strategically so we trip over it! But he enjoys the whole taking part, so it counts! Of course, his little haircut was followed by the usual trip to the park afterwards, where he promptly made friends with a Border Collie and we returned to the car with him looking like he hadn't been to the groomers only a short while before. But that was easily fixed once we got home, followed by a quick phone snap to prove he'd been, as in a couple of weeks we'll start to doubt it ourselves!