He doesn't like grooming much, but he looks at it as part of his job of being a poodle and he likes doing a good job.

This really made me smile. I love this about Standard Ps. They really do rule in this regard.

(Little Pico apparently will stick her paws out to have them fondled or nails trimmed or whatever you might choose to do because she's fairly sure that whatever it is it will be awesome).

I wish Bartleby was this optimistic. Seriously, it took years of waiting for just one of the shop's groomers, no matter how log it took to get him, to get Bartleby to calm down on the table.

In the last year or so I have loosened up a little though today's episode has set that back considerably.

Bonny, remember the other day when I said I bookmark a lot of your posts? This is why.

Steph, I have a ton of totally non-huggy affection for you! air-mwah.

I need to figure out a way to brush Pico's beard that doesn't make her look at me like I have betrayed her in some horrible manner. That's the worst thing about her thinking everything will be wonderful. When it turns out it's actually not the best thing to ever happen she looks like we just kicked her.

I think it's just that everything has sort of worked out for her. Even though she was abandoned, Jon's boss found her on her front porch, took her in, and she immediately found a home with us, and now she has Oz to play with and gets bones.

She seems to take everything with a grain of "Yes please!"

bonny, I'm going to go a slightly different route and suggest that you see what the shop owner does before going to a different groomer.

We do most of our own grooming for our cats, though we took Max to a professional a couple of times and Marie once. It's how Max ended up with two lion cuts, which he considered humiliating. (He was a pretty small cat under all that fur.)

Yeah, the Biscuit is like that too. And the abuse history means he doesn`t complain about some stuff that he probably should, like his tooth that needed to come out.

Wow, bonny, what an ass-hat! I'm not a pet person but if I had one and it was treated that way, I'd have taken my dog away and waited until the owner apologized for that guy before I took my pet back there!

IOmeN, I just advanced myself money on one credit card to help pay my middle and end of month bills, including other credit cards. *sigh*

Then I called my temp company and strongly suggested that a 40-hour-a-week job would be much preferable to the current 27-hour assignment I have. The woman I talked to wasn't aware that it was so few hours. Here's hoping I can get something more steady soon!

When it turns out it's actually not the best thing to ever happen she looks like we just kicked her.

Is there a treat she especially likes? If you hold it up over her nose, just out of reach, while you take a few swipes with the brush, it might become a more awesome experience. Bboy used to hate his bath until it became a major treat opportunity.

Here's hoping I can get something more steady soon!

Yes, this!

It's hard to get "just out of reach" and yet in reach of brushing her. She has finally gotten "sit" down, though she practically vibrates while she's doing it.

She has finally gotten "sit" down, though she practically vibrates while she's doing it.

Oh my. I know what that looks like. Patience is such a challenge for the furfolk.

The trick most trainers recommend is to wait until the vibrating stops before treating. To treat during the vibration reinforces it.

I had to do this with Bartleby today. He was soooo excited about the tasty...um, ear...he was about to get (ick) that he popped out of his sit and lunged for the treat.

"UH oh! Try again. Siiiiitttt."

It took a bit for him to cotton on that he would not get the treat without relaxing. The wait was worth it for both of us.

I once again envy those of you with a dog who cares about treats.

He was soooo excited about the tasty...um, ear.

I was highly amused when I first saw that there are "Better Than Ears" dog treats.

Mr Peabody will bark wildly about a passing jogger, but not make a peep when I've accidentally shut him outside. He just stares longingly through the glass.

Report from the field:

Valentine's chocolate is not yet half price at Target. There were a number of men wandering about aimlessly through the denuded Valentine's section, which looked positively post-apocalyptic.