 |
| before the cut, and hardly able to see. |
Growing up, I have been around a decent number of babies. I
myself have three brothers that are a lot younger than me and remember their
toothless drooling stages well. Parents often get emotional over their child’s
first haircut with some even keeping a lock of the baby’s hair and growing up I
found it to be utterly ridiculous. People would talk of what a big moment it
was in the child’s life and how something was different afterwards and I
scoffed inside because the baby would still drool and try to shove a crayon in
its mouth when it got home. It is just a haircut right? People get them all the
time and it is not like the child is only ever going to get one so in my eyes
there was nothing to get worked up or fussed about.
Then Nico needed clipped.
Suddenly I got it parents of the world, I just got it.
I booked him for his first grooming session when he was 18
weeks old and found myself getting steadily more nervous about the whole thing.
Part of it I put down to my General Anxiety Disorder and the way everything
gets me wound up but there was something more to it, something that just felt
like it would have been there regardless. There were the normal things to get anxious
about, of course, like how would he be in the groomer’s bath considering his
escape attempts at home and would he sit still long enough to get clipped? I knew the woman would know what she was doing
but still I worried he was going to move at the wrong moment and get a chunk
taken out of him. Nico is just as unpredictable as a human child in that way.
Then, there was the fact that he would look different. He
would be moving on to another stage in his floppy eared life and not be a right
baby any more. He gets more independent and bigger every day and while it is
amazing to see, there is also a feeling of loss in there too. I gain a
wonderful personality a little more each day but at the same time his ‘puppyhood’
gets chipped away. This was going to be a rather large chip I slowly realised. I’m still pretty sure that the sharpness of
his claws and the fact that he was half blinded by his own coat was what made
me stick to my guns.
When he was younger I was all for letting Nico’s coat grow
out so he would look like the stereotypical Lhasa Apso dog you see on the front
cover of books, but I decided against that as soon as he was getting outside.
Nico is fond of rolling around in grass, and brushing him after that with a
short coat was hard enough work as it was. Then came the fact that he would get
his claws stuck in his coat very easily despite the brush going through his
coat with no problem at all. Apart from the fact that it is easier on me if his
coat is at a shorter length, Nico seemed to be getting genuinely irritated with
his coat as it grew longer and since his clipping has seemed more content. He
can see, which is a bonus. The getting
his foot stuck to his own head two minutes after a brush did play a part in my
decision though. It is very easy for people to say ‘if his coat was brushed
properly that wouldn’t happen’ but he is a puppy. He likes to roll around like
a fool as I said and that doesn’t bode well for his perfectly brushed locks.
His nails needed clipped and I confess getting the groomer
to do that is because of a lack of confidence on my part. I have the clippers
required but when I try I just can’t tell if I am hurting him or not and while
I can afford to get his nails done with his trim I don’t want to risk it. We
walked along and it started raining halfway along but hey, he was getting a
bath so I didn’t feel too bad about presenting a drip to the woman. He was a
happy drip.
I was able to see everything that would be used and
proceedings were explained before the choice came as to whether to stay with
the wee man or leave. Nico was perfectly content to wander around the room
sniffing things and didn’t seem all that aware of my presence now he had new
things to explore. He had the previous week gotten a hold of my glasses and
chewed them, putting some scratches on the lenses. (We had words about who they
belong to after that and since they have been safe) I decided to leave Nico in
capable hands and see about getting some new windows as it were. If he was
going to squeal the whole time, I wasn’t sure I could handle hearing it and I
admit I took the cowardly route out and toddled off down the road. However, I
was assured this was a good thing and must once again bring in the dog to
toddler comparison. If was there, Nico might have tried to get back to me at
the waiting area and been constantly aware of what I was doing or how I felt
about things and he would probably be nervous enough about the giant buzzing
clippers coming towards him without me feeling just as, if not more, scared in
the corner. So off I went.
 |
| right after. totally different dog! |
I returned to find an adorable puppy sitting on the woman’s
lap at the computer some hour and 15 minutes later and did a double take. He
looked nothing like the dog I had deposited there just over an hour before! As
you can see from the pictures, he is far lighter now. I adore being able to see
his eyes and it was a rather emotional moment to see him hop down and come
running all bright eyed. He just felt so soft and I guess I felt a deep sense
of relief that no meteor had hit earth because of my choice or something. I was
assured the groomer would do what Nico allowed her to and not force him and cause
him distress and gave herself 2 hours to work, thinking she wouldn’t need it.
She was right and Nico was a star that behaved perfectly. I must add, it was
wonderful to get his bum hair cut. People don’t like talking about it but
little dogs with big coats can get poop stuck to their bums and cleaning that
up is about as much fun as changing a nappy.
I just kept looking at him for most of the remainder of the
day. As a reward for good behaviour I got him a bone and that meant he just sat
at my feet for most of the afternoon while I fawned and stared. They don’t warn
you about going all soft at your pup’s first haircut that is for sure. It was a
very emotional experience in many ways and yes I admit to being sappy over it
all. He’s just so damn cute though, I can’t help it!
Sam and Nico
