Is it okay to just say no to puppies?
Hi everyone! This is my first post here but i'm just curious on some opinions or advice on how best to handle this situation i'm in.
I'm an independent groomer with my own private salon, I work 1 on 1 with all my clients dogs.
I've been grooming for about a year now and i've really enjoyed the experience, but due to a potential job opportunity coming up I plan to only continue to groom for another 1-2 years to build up some funds.
I get a lot of nervous/reactive dogs in my salon due to the 1 on 1 environment and it's become my niche in the community and from word of mouth everyone comes to me with their nervous dogs. So my day to day grooms can already be a little bit more difficult than standard. Most of these dogs get better whilst coming to me and eventually don't feel like 'troubled' clients at all.
In the last few months however i've decided i'm fed up of working with puppies, and i've found a lot of owners that come to me don't listen or brush their dogs, or even seem to allow really naughty behaviour. I've charged less for puppy grooms as it seems the standard in my area to do so, but they take me the same amount of time if not longer than adults and it just doesn't seem worth it for me.
If I was continuing to groom for the rest of my career then I'd understand the idea of the owner bringing their dog to me for the rest of it's life potentially if I take them on as a pup, but I won't really feel that benefit with my career plans.
Do you guys think it's okay or unprofessional to turn away dogs based on personal preference?
How would you best word it that you aren't taking on puppies at all?
Super interested to hear everyone's thoughts/advice!