Welcome to Macy Monday! A new feature on my blog to share some insights about pet ownership I’ve found in my nearly 11 year tenure being a mom to my beloved Shih Tzu, Macy! I’ve been following several pets on Instagram and really enjoy the blog features that accompany them, so I thought it would be nice to join the fun!
As a Shih Tzu, Macy has hair not fur. This means her hair will grow and grow until she becomes a total show dog style Shih Tzu with tresses that sweep the floor. If she or I were up for daily brushing, which we aren’t. One of the best characteristics of most hair not fur dogs is that they are hypo allergenic, so most folks (not all, but most) who are allergic to dogs are not allergic to them.
If you let your Shih Tzu or other groomy dog, like a Poodle, Maltese, or a Chow Chow grow out without taking care of the fur it can get matted and cause intense problems. I read rescue dog stories all the time where the dogs aren’t taken care of and need intense veterinary intervention and a super difficult grooming experience to begin their healing process.
So if you have a hair not fur dog, part of your dog ownership journey is getting your dog groomed once every 2-4 months. If you have a long-haired cat like a Persian or a Himalayan (Bear and ALF were one of each) they also can go to the groomer. For Bear, the Himalayan, getting a haircut every 8 months made a huge difference in his quality of life. For ALF, he didn’t need cuts but getting a wash and blow out saved me from a lot of extra cat hair on my stuff, making a huge difference in my quality of life.
I tried grooming Macy myself for about a year and it was a huge hassle. I knew right away why it is that grooming costs what it costs (a bit more than a human haircut at a salon, but humans don’t bite and heads are shaped pretty simply while dog bodies are not). Also my grooming skills are pretty shitty, and actually it was my ex fiance who did most of the grooming work on Macy. The one time John tried to groom Bear, Bear thanked him by pooping in his shoe so we decided to just go back to the groomer for the cats.
The home haircut years were HILARIOUS. Like, by week 3 it grew out enough to just look shaggy shih tzu chic or whatever, but seriously her legs were so choppy! We had bought a dog grooming clipper kit for $30 and you really get what you pay for with those tools!
Macy is a really easy dog to groom because she’s so used to it and easy going, but I knew she hated going to the groomer. I always thought that she was not super thrilled with being groomed but I realized after beginning in home grooming how she was just reacting to being in a grooming salon!
Grooming salons are intense. They range from super posh to super NOT posh. Most salons involve a waiting period where your dog sits in a crate on a wall with other dogs in crates. Macy hates that. The other dogs are sometimes yowly and scared or obnoxious and I can tell it’s a very stressful environment for her. The last time we took her to a salon it was at the local Petsmart in Brooklyn and she was clearly freaked out when we brought her home.
Macy at her fully grown-in look, around 4 months from having been groomed. I don’t let her go so long anymore, since she’s older Sequinette said it’s easier for them to get more frequent groomings because taking off less fur is less taxing. Having a groomer come to me makes it way easier for me to schedule them more often.
Enter Sequinette, my longtime friend, local drag performer and new dog groomer (Fur Majesty NYC). She had a burgeoning in home grooming practice and in May of 2014 I gave her a try. It was great!
First of all, Sequinette is so sweet and clearly has a deep connection with animals. I think that’s a crucial element to a dog professional in any capacity.
She has great accessories and continues to get newer and cooler stuff, much of which is pink. It does not surprise me that professional grade grooming equipment comes in pink given the gender presentation of some of the grooming professionals I’ve known.
In-home grooming at my partner’s place because we don’t live together.
She’s also very concerned with making sure the client gets what they want from the haircut.
By which I mean, I am a totally picky mom about how Macy’s hair looks and I love that I’ve worked with Sequinette enough times that she knows exactly how I like Macy’s cut.
She comes in, hangs with the dog, gets set up, does the shave, washes the dog, does the rest of the cut, the nails and then Macy’s done. Sequinette sweeps up when she’s done, but I usually use it as an opportunity to do a good sweep and mop afterwards to make sure there’s no white fur anywhere.
In the process of dying Macy purple.
It takes about 2 hours total for the groom and Macy is only about as annoyed as she is when she gets a bath from me. She’s totally happy by the time we say goodbye to Sequinette. Super ultra bonus that I don’t have to schlep anywhere to pick Macy up and drop her off, and she’s not stressed and agitated by the other dogs in the cages at a salon.
I usually work in the next room while Sequinette is grooming Macy so I am ready to answer questions and occasionally hold Macy during some difficult to reach parts. Since she’s my friend sometimes I just hang out and visit with Sequinette instead of working.
Anytime she can’t give me exactly what I want with Macy’s aesthetic there is a reason, and it usually has to do with me not brushing Macy’s hair enough between grooms and having some knots in her ears or tail. Now I’m getting specific homework from Sequinette to brush Macy twice a week and it is helping.
We started in May of 2014 and the next cut after that was her first cut post back surgery and hospitalization! Understandably, we had to wait awhile and Macy got really shaggy. I felt 100% confident getting Macy groomed in home during what was a really rough recovery from surgery and a week in the hospital. I know if I had to take her to the salon I would have FREAKED OUT about it so I’m glad I already had an in home option!
Sequinette was so good with tender post surgery Macy (Macy was super traumatized by the surgery and hospital stay) and I knew from then on that we would always do in home grooming with Sequinette.
Sequinette is working on creative grooming and I got her to come over to dye Macy’s fur lavender for Pride! It faded out in about 2 weeks. Our next project is going to be zebra stripes!
The Pride purple look.
Sequinette is also doing some pet sitting for us and is really great. She’s available to do in home grooming throughout NYC and also does grooming in the Catskills, NY when at her partner’s place in Phoenicia if you’re an upstate person.
I cannot endorse in home grooming enough if you have pets who hate the grooming salon. They just are more relaxed in their home environment. And if you’re in NYC Sequinette is truly a wonderful gift to have as a groomer!! Fur Majesty NYC has a website, an instagram and a forthcoming email list!
You can follow Macy on Instagram here, (she’s a Leo), and if you follow me on snapchat (queerfatfemme) you’ll get some daily doses of Macy cute as well!