I took a dog grooming class some time ago from Lia at the Gentle Groomer because taking four shih tzus in for grooming is a little expensive! John is the one who usually does the grooming, though, because he is much better. We can never quite seem to get ahead, especially when it comes to pulling hair out of the ears and getting the hair out from between their paws.

I thought about making an appointment with Lia, but since the shih tzus are a little bit used to going to the Clear Creek Animal Hospital, and since Flower was kicked out of grooming school because of her behavior, I thought I would call and talk to them about partial grooming.

Dr. Lindsey answered the phone and said they do offer that service. I also told her that we had run into Delores from BFF Rescue at the park and that she had mentioned that a few of Candy’s nipples were a little discolored and oddly shaped and I might want to get them checked. Dr. Lindsey said she would take a look when we were there.

I felt very guilty this morning when I loaded the shih tzus into the car. Dottie, Flower and Nigel were so excited (Candy is always more reserved) and I knew they thought they were going to have fun at the park. When I got them out of the car at Clear Creek, they balked at going in, but I finally got them inside (Flower did briefly escape back out out the door but couldn’t get too far since she was on a leash).

The first thing I noticed when I walked in was a big black dog behind the desk, with his paws on it. I immediately took a picture with my phone of the “receptionist.” I talked to the actual receptionist about what I needed done and she said that the service that I probably wanted was called “face, feet and fanny.”

Of course, the female shih tzus all panicked when they had to get in the cage and wait for the groomer, Melissa Kowing. I felt like a bad mother leaving them in that mode, and I wanted to ask if I could stay, but I knew that they would never get used to any type of grooming from someone else if I was around. I ran some errands and then came back to pick them up.

Melissa had no problem with the other shih tzus, but Flower refused to play nice. She got her way, because she didn’t get groomed. I guess I am lucky that she lets John and me groom her, although she doesn’t let us pull the hair out of her ears. We are going to have to figure that out.

Dr. Lindsey told me she had looked at Candy and that she didn’t see a problem, although she had signs of allergies on her tummy. She had told me she suspected allergies before at her exam, because Candy has “elephant” ears — thick, wrinkled skin on the underside of her ear. I hadn’t noticed it, but she said Nigel has it too.

I talked to her for awhile about allergies. She said the only way to really find out is to be very strict about what I give them and see if the symptoms go away, and that it could be chicken, grains, beef, or something in the house. Since I feed them mostly grain-free food, my guess would be chicken, since they eat so much of it, or beef from the rawhide. She did note that they have great teeth, though, and that must be from the rawhide, since that’s their only toothbrush.

The sad news is that now that I know I can take them in for partial grooming, Melissa won’t be grooming there any longer. She does grooming in her home, though. My biggest problem next time will be deciding which groomer to go to, since Clear Creek recommends both Melissa and Lia.