I'm sorry, but we will NOT be able to groom your dog

He might be better if he had allergy meds. My dog used to chew her paws constantly. The vet prescribed allergy meds, and her skin calmed down immediately. She is so much happier.

muzzle on arrival - sounds all very Hannibal Lecter

I inherited a 6 year old Westie last year. His skin was a mess. After a year of allergy shots, and still having issues, we put him on a fish/bug diet. No more beef, pork,chicken, or corn. He wasn’t happy about giving up his beef chews, but after being on this diet he is now completely off of his allergy medication and his licking has stopped. He also lets me groom him without hesitation. He’s a really good dog!☺️

When I worked as a vet tech, we had a running joke that when a client came in with a Westie puppy, their “new puppy gift bag” had the contact information for the local veterinary dermatology specialist. In 20+ years of that career, I only met ONE Westie that didn’t have horrible allergies.

Hi from Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿. Westies are notorious here for hating being groomed. They are feisty wee critters but such great dogs. 😊

as someone who is allergic to outside, especially in the spring, I can understand why he’d be cranky. allergies suck xD

For a muzzled grumpasaurus he was a remarkably good boy

My folks had a Westie. I would stay with her when they would go out of town. I would take her for walks around the neighborhood. Several times I would hear from a distance "Hi Angel".... walk some more..." Hi Angel" ...........walk some more "Bob, it's Angel, come out and say hi to her"... on and on. It was like I was walking a celebrity. It's been 20 years and my dad still talks so fondly about her.

Personally, I think there are several factors as to why Vanessa has success with these difficult to groom dogs. The love, care, respect and compassion she shows towards these animals is wonderful. Her first priority is for the safety and wellbeing of the animals. The fact that she is able to groom in an isolated environment without all the other noises and distractions found in grooming salon goes a long way towards the comfort of these nervous and often physically challenged dogs. Bless you and thank you for all the incredible work that you do.

Vanessa “We will not be able to groom your dog” Later (also Vanessa) “ Except I am super groomer and can do anything!”

We had a cross Westie/Maltese. He displayed everything that Dougie did. I was smiling, you are patience personified with lots of reassuring “good boy” in a calming tone. Ours was on allergy tablets, licked his paws constantly. He was feisty. No groomer would touch him, so I had to invest in a Wahl clipper some decent scissors and do him myself. This we managed, we got along quite well, up to a point, but it had to be done in stages. I divided his body into quarters, and then did his head. Including the wash, it took almost a week to groom him. Didn’t like his paws or butt being touched. He wouldn’t have won any dog shows, we came to a compromise, each of us understood. Other than that he was a good dog. I miss him, he passed to doggie heaven 12 Jan this year. Watching you groom Dougie brought back so many memories, even to the gold in his coat along his back. I wish your videos had been around earlier, I could have learned so much, instead it was definitely through trial and error. 😊

Vanessa does some amazing work even on the most troubled pets. Thank you for being so kind and gentle Vanessa, we could all learn something from you 😭

Doogie: "Yeah... I've brought many a groomer to tears. I'm a career ender." 🤨

It's great that his owners haven't given up on him.

Perfect carrot tail. So sad about the poor fellow’s allergies. Vanessa you did a superb job. Terriers are never easy.

Considering his sensitive skin and experience at other salons, this doggie is SUCH a good boy - and of course Vanessa is pure genius!❤️🐶❤️

My West Highland Terrier, Westley, lived 2 months shy of 19 years old and passed away in my arms at home. He was the most sweet intelligent well mannered dog and miss him every day! 🐶🕊️❤️

A lady that i used to clean house for had a Westie. Very sweet dog, she said it cost her a fortune to figure out what was wrong with his skin and digestion issues. Turns out the dog was gluten intolerant. After changing his diet to raw food, he became very sweet and his skin and digestive issue went away. Its was very similar to me, as i too am gluten intolerant. When stopping gluten i felt better and all other issue went away. May this poor guy is the same.

Vanessa I know he’s on a sedative but Omgoodness what a sweet boy. My heart went out. To him when you clipped his nails with his crying. You are so good with him. And so patent ❤️. He looks so good 🥰

Poor baby! If I had really bad skin allergies and ingrowing toenails, I might be cranky for a groom too! You did a wonderful job. You were so gentle and encouraging with him, and that really helped. (so did the meds 😉). You made it a very good experience for him. 💜