When you first get your puppy it's very important that you get
them used to the idea that grooming is a fact of life and is going
to happen regularly. The sooner you start getting them used to being
handled and groomed, the easier it's going to be for you and/or
your groomer in the long run. It will also make trips to the vet
easier, as being handled on a table will come as no surprise to your
pup.
Tip: don't leave your puppy with a groomer until
you're
sure they are kind and gentle,
even when the going gets tough.
One bad experience on a stranger's table is all it takes for a life-time
of difficulty getting your dog back there again.
I personally think a grooming table is vital so (a) there's no
escape and (b) they get used to the idea that table means grooming,
which means stand still and it'll be over in no time with TREATS
after. Never lose your temper and always use your "happy voice" even
when you'd rather cry.
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I started out using our verandah table with a
home-made "arm" that hubby built for me, but once I tried out a friend's "proper" table I realised how
much easier life is with the correct tools! |
This is my first table. It was $179
delivered when I bought mine. Click on the pic to go to the
site; if you subscribe to their newsletter you get $10 off |
 I
do recommend that you use some kind of covering on your table even
though "proper" grooming tables have a non-slip surface. The
cover will protect it from any products you use - I got doggy
toothpaste and other stuff all over my table on day 1 of use. Trust
me, it's
quicker and easier to throw a towel or mat into the washing machine
than scrub down the table surface to try and remove all traces of
"gunk".
Nowadays I use a cheap foam-backed bathmat ($12 from
K-Mart). They call it a "memory
foam bathmat". I found it not only protects the surface of my table from
product stains, it makes it easier to scrape the dog hair off of as you go
(using your comb as in picture on the right) so cut hair doesn't form sneaky new mats when dog
sits/lays down. I'm guessing it's also more comfortable for the dogs as mine
keep going to sleep!
I have a smaller one from the Reject Shop that I bought first
(same price), but then I spotted the Kmart one which fitted my first table
better; so I now just stand on the smaller one, which helps my sore
back when standing for several hours.
In between dogs I just throw the mat on the floor and easily
vacuum off any fine hairs so next dog has a clean mat to stand on.
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| Kmart Foam Backed Bathmat. You may spot the bucket I keep under my table to put dog hair
into as I go |
Reject Shop Mat is Grey, Kmart Mat is Blue |
Showing the Foam Back |
Difference in Fit on my first Table |
 Then
there's the question of where to put your "tools" when
you're grooming. Before I got my "proper" grooming room, I
used a tool trolley like the one on the right. At that
time my stuff needed to be wheeled out onto the verandah
on grooming day and then returned to my study when not it
use.
Believe it or not they've come down in price since I
bought mine years ago for $85. November '24 I found it on
ebay for $55 with free delivery. I lined it with old
towels and had all the stuff I wanted to use laid out on
the top. It worked very well - the wheels were a bit
ho-hum and never locked properly, but it did the job.
Then we converted my float tank room into my grooming
room; I upgraded to an electric grooming table (see below)
and the trolly just did not fit - well it may have, if I
hadn't also acquired an electric doggy bath (another
story!) which took up a LOT of room. So it was back to the
drawing board.
Initially I bought a Sherbao grooming caddy for about $40
+ delivery. They come in black, blue and pink - I chose
the blue one. Then I found something similar on
Temu for $22 including delivery. It's a little smaller and only
comes in black, but it has
the advantage of rotating on the support arm, whilst the
Sherbao is static. The rotation part is very handy when
you're using scissors cos, if you're anything like me, the
ones you need right now are on the other side of the
table. Naturally, two caddies is overkill - but that's my
speciality!
I also got a cheap shelving unit from Kmart for about
$45 that hubby screwed to the wall just near my table (I
should've tidied it before I took the photo!). This means
I can access my potions and wipes by only taking one small
step back from the table - because we NEVER leave our dogs
unattended on the table, not even for a millisecond.
Blue Sherbao caddy underneath, black Temu brand up the top
Remember, if you're buying from Temu make sure you look
around the various sellers of the same thing as prices do
vary; sometimes significantly; and if you leave stuff in
your cart for a couple of days they frequently offer a big
discount to encourage you to check-out.
So don't get me wrong, I loved my (excellent value
for money) grooming table; but I'm not getting any younger and after
surgery the hubby agreed that I should go "auto".
So in April 2022 my electric table arrived.
 I
also treated myself to a barbers' stool. For less than $45
delivered, it's made a world of difference to how my back feels
after grooming. If you're young and/or standing for hours doesn't
bother you, then it's probably not for you; but I LOVE
mine.
Best price I found for the stool was on
Catch.com.au (link HERE). There were other brands that looked similar but I
read a lot of reviews and decided this was the best one for me. It
arrived very quickly in a flat pack which the hubby put together in
about 2 minutes flat. After playing like a kid with it on our tiled floor, I
learnt not to sit on the very edge or it can skid away from under
you leaving you flat on your bum on the tiles and that hurts
..... you have been warned!
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I did a LOT of research before choosing the
electric grooming table from
Clipperworld. I chose it primarily because it has wheels that
lift up and down with a strong-looking handle hydraulic system
rather than those unimpressive wheel-locks you see around the place
that, if they ever did work in the first place, fail very swiftly.
At the time I bought my table price didn't include
postage, which for me living in Northern NSW was $130+GST ... so I
bought myself a 2F (16mm) blade too as that didn't add to postage so
it made me feel better about life!
Last time
I checked, Clipperworld was offering free postage to all orders over
$250
I have to say that all throughout the back
ordering process Clipperworld were very helpful. They didn't
get cranky with me when I phoned every couple of weeks to see if
they had a delivery date yet; they let me know the same day the
table (which had been on backorder for several months) finally
arrived at their warehouse; and they would have had it on a truck
winging it's way to me that same day except I asked them to keep it
until I let them know that the floodwaters in our area had gone
down. The day I phoned to say it was safe to send out, was the day
it was on it's way.
My table with wheels pictured above - the one below is
excellent value for money for the more budget-conscious. A good friend of
mine purchased the one below and loves it. Once again the service
from
Clipperworld
was excellent so she tells me. I daresay prices have increased since
our purchases though.
My table arrived by Courier right to my front door and very well packaged in a thick cardboard box,
inside which the table itself was standing on a thick plywood base and
stuffed completely full of bubble wrap. There wasn't much in the way of
assembly required as the
base was already complete. All Himself needed to do was assemble
and attach the
overhead grooming arm - no tools necessary. Be aware that this
bugger is HEAVY. With a lifting weight stated as 250 kilos I expected
something fairly robust, but even I was surprised at just how solid
it is.
  
As you can see from the picture above right, the wheels are
pretty sturdy too - they'd have to be if you think about it.
With the handle up the wheels are up - which is when you find out
how even your floor is because that baby is going nowhere until you
lower the handle (and so the wheels). I found lowering the handle (and
so lowering the wheels to the floor so you can move it around) is
much easier than lifting it, as you can push it to the ground with your foot. As
you'd expect, the handle is quite stiff and I found it much easier
to move in either direction when the table itself is up high as this
moves everything out of your way so you don't clunk your head on the
underside of the table when reaching for the wheel handle, plus
there's more room to manoeuvre.
The up/down pedals are marked, a good size and easy to operate.
There is almost no sound when table is being raised or lowered
- if you click on the photo above right it should take you to a
movie with sound so you can hear it for yourself.
raising the table height gives you more room to access the wheels up/down handle
I taught Miss Molly to hop up and get down in approximately
one minute. Then I got her to "hop up" and held onto her collar whilst I
raised and lowered the table three or four times. When it started to
move the first time she looked at me as if to say "what's this
then?", but no fuss and no fear that I could tell (and she'd let me
know!).
Indie-dog will only hop up if she has a lead on - it doesn't bother
her once she's up and neither does the table going up and down
bother her, but she's not going to get on any grooming table unless
there's a lead attached to her person and that's all there is to it
thankyou! So I was taking the photos below of table fully up,
fully down and where I like it for grooming my Cobbergirls when I
came across a bit of a design flaw ....
table fully up is about my boob height (I'm 157cm tall) and too high for me
unless I'm underneath my dog to clip tummies and inside legs;
middle pic shows table not
completely lowered due to design flaw outlined below but low enough for most dogs
to hop up by themselves; far right is the height I like for grooming my Cobbergirls.
Picture below left -shows handle in full lock (wheels up) so table absolutely will not move
- which
is where you'll have it before you let a dog anywhere near it.
Centre picture shows that if you lower the table top too much you
will potentially damage the handle (and more?). Picture far right
shows how I've used cable ties to keep the power cable out of the
way.
In summary: despite the tiny design flaw which is easily worked
around once you know about it, this is a great table at a great
price and I do highly recommend it to anyone who's husband is daft
enough to say one day when he's feeling particularly well-disposed
towards one ... "is there anything you'd REALLY like to have
that you haven't already got my darling???" ..........
"well as it happens ...... " sez I...
last update
21/11/2024
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