SOMETHING TO PONDER
How Dog Grooming Videos and Russian Foxes Showed Me the Dependence of Domestication
Our pets need us. We did this to them.
I recently discovered dog grooming videos by various groomers on YouTube and have become fascinated by how a skilled groomer can vastly improve a dog’s quality of life by bathing it, ridding it of excess fur or fleas, cleaning its ears, and trimming its toenails.
Marybeth Marr runs Rover’s Makeover Dog Grooming in Piedmont, Oklahoma. In addition to her paying customers, she also sometimes grooms dogs free of charge when she encounters a dog who desperately needs a trim.
Marr’s videos have captivated me. She uses them to educate the public about the need for regular dog grooming and hygiene care.
These videos also help her grow her business and educate dog owners about useful products they can buy to enable them to care for their own dogs better. Each video usually lasts about an hour.
Lastly, these videos show me how to tell a good dog groomer from a not-as-good one. Marr takes as much care with her dogs as my hair stylist takes care of me when I visit my hair salon. Marr and he take the same pains to ensure a good look and, in Marr’s case, to maintain good health.