Gordana Mirković, dog groomer: You need love for a hard and dirty job

Gordana Mirković from Banja Luka, a dog groomer, left her job at an urban planning and architecture firm in order to devote herself to caring for dogs' coats. It is now her only source of income, and she says that the most important thing in her line of work is love.

"This is a very hard physical job and a very dirty job. You need to love animals. You cannot do this if you are not an animal lover. You really have to have that something in you," says Gordana Mirković.

The Anadolu Agency (AA) crew saw this for themselves during a visit to Gordana's salon. One of her regular clients arrived for a treatment: Mićko, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. His owner, Petar Gvozden, explained that he is brushed every day after an hour-long walk, followed by paw washing. Mićko, who is 18 months old, comes to the groomer once a month.

"If someone takes on an animal, any animal, including a dog, in their home, then they need to look after it and take care of it. In our house he is like a member of the family; we value him no less than we value ourselves," said Petar Gvozden.

As soon as the client arrived, Gordana started cooing over him, and from her relationship with this dog it is obvious that love is essential for doing this job. Brushing, bathing, towelling, blow-drying and brushing again are pure enjoyment for Mićko, and all the while his hair flew around the salon.

She got into this work by chance, with her own dog, whom she had nowhere to take. So she bought a pair of scissors and slowly mastered the skill.

"In the beginning it was certainly choppy, short and uneven, but somehow I perfected it and here I am today," said Gordana.

There are enough clients, and their visits mostly depend on the weather, because fewer come when it is rainy and cold, so there are free slots for the next day. Most of them come after the winter period.

"You have owners who take care of their pet's coat regularly all year round, and you have people who bring them in only when they have to, when it can no longer go on, when the coat is completely tangled and neglected," she says, adding that coat care is basic and the most important thing.

"I would advise all owners to maintain and brush their dog regularly, and never to bathe a dog without brushing it out first, because that creates knots that stay in the coat," she says.

She explained that there are dogs that shed twice a year, but also breeds whose hair dies off throughout the year and stays in the coat.

"If we do not get that out with a comb and brush, it stays inside the coat and forms dreadlocks," she said, adding that this is why it is important to groom "small white dogs, such as Bichons and Maltese" all year round.

Dogs whose hair grows continuously need clipping every two to three months. By contrast, dogs that shed twice a year often come in for a bath to remove excess hair and speed up the shedding.

Asked whether owners can take care of their pet themselves, she says they can.

"When someone gets a white, long-haired dog, they need to find out from the breeder that this is a dog that needs daily care. The owner has to brush it. I applaud all owners who manage to clip their dogs themselves, that is how I started too; brushing is the basis. A dog lives with a person in a flat, and not maintaining a dog that lives in the house is simply incompatible," she says.

If the coat is not maintained, some breeds can develop skin diseases, and mats often form which are extremely painful for dogs, and once that happens it is impossible to maintain the coat. Another problem can be the grass awn plant that burrows into the hair.

"We groomers are usually the ones who notice changes on a dog, while bathing and brushing it out, because we examine it a little more closely; the dryer parts the hair and we see. Very often we are the ones who find ticks on dogs. Besides basic maintenance and hygiene, tick season is here now, when more attention has to be paid," she said, adding that for people and dogs to live together, regular treatment against external and internal parasites is also essential.

Dog grooming services, according to Gordana Mirković, are expensive for some and not for others.

"Some bring their dog regularly, some as needed, some when they can, because these days not everyone can afford it," she says.

That is exactly why she is delighted by owners who, if they cannot afford a professional service, clip their pets themselves and keep them neat and brushed. She explained that bathing and brushing, with a suitable brush and comb, should not be a big problem for owners, but that while bathing they must not let water get into the dog's ears. Besides a brush and comb, Gordana regularly uses clippers, trimmers, scissors, a Furminator and a dryer in her salon, and she says it would be impossible to work without the dryer.

Asked whether all dogs tolerate the groomer's treatment as calmly as Mićko, she explained that it all depends on whether the dog is used to it.

"If you bring a dog in after six months without brushing, if it is tangled, if you have not brushed it yourself at home, of course it will protest," added Gordana Mirković.

Dnevnik.ba