I had a pretty calm, easy day in the grooming shop today. One of my clients pulled a permissible switcharoo: She brought in her Schnoodle instead of her Schnauzer. Fine with me. The other client is a total sweetheart and so are her two cute little Shih-Tzus.
I did spend a HUGE amount of time experimenting with the female Shih-Tzu, Lilly. My default method for doing trims on 'Tzus is to use a blade/attachment of whatever length my "psychic powers" (ha!) tell me the owner might want on all of the body, legs, etc. I don't typically leave the legs longer or anything. I'll stylize the ears, tail, and head, but everything else is roughly the same length allover with scissor-neatening. Well, today I tried leaving the legs a little longer on Lilly. It seemed to take forever because it's a technique that's new to me and because her legs were quite matted. I didn't charge extra for the time because it was my idea, my experiment, my own lesson. I did a #3 on the body, blended into a #1 Andis attachment comb on the legs. It's cute, but took way too long! I believe I ended up scissoring enough excess that I should have used a shorter attachment to save time. I can't forget the delay caused by the mats, either. In the end, I think I liked the "look" when I was finished. I'll have to keep practicing!
Ready for some bonus before and after Shih-Tzu grooming pictures? Sweet Lilly's pictures are as follows: "Before," "#3 on the body," "After blow dry," "Finished," and finally, "The smile of a happy customer!" (Click on the thumbnails to view the full-sized image in a pop-up window.)
Here are the boys: Lilly's brother Nashville ("Nash") and Mini the Schnoodle. Yes, Mini has a client-requested doggie mohawk! Or is it mo-hawk? Doesn't he look like some grungy guy with a mohawk and unruly goatee? I really do love when my grooming clients request such creative hairdos :)
Well, now that you've seen a picture of a dog with a mohawk your life is complete... ;)
Because I had a leisurely three-dog day, I had time to catch up on some call-backs, rescheduling, etc. You know, the stuff that eats up a groomer's time! I'm definitely looking forward to the day when I can hire someone to help with those things!
I hope the rest of you had a great day! If you have any cool stories (or rants/raves) to share about your day, leave a comment!
