A Groomer's World

Pictures of a Yorkshire Terrier - Pomeranian Mix

Here are some before and after grooming pictures of a... Yo-Pom?  Porkie?  I don't know what the "designer" name for a Pomeranian-Yorkie mix would be!  What I do know is this might be the most interesting mixed breed that I have ever seen!  Sam has a Yorkie-shaped body and face (even with the uncut Yorkie tail), but with Pomeranian coat and facial expressions!  It's the craziest thing - but in the cutest way  :)  He is a brother to Harry.  They both have that gorgeous thick, soft, silky Pom coat that I could just comb and comb all day.  I'll definitely need to see these boys again!  Here are the pictures of Sam:

Before:  Look at that shag.  I love it!
        Do you see how thick he is?!  Of course a ton of that came out, but he's still a thick one.

After:  Is he photogenic or what?  A full-body pose, then a smile  :)
    

Shop Talk: Thursday, Oct. 9 2008 (and a Before and After Bonus!)

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! 

Before and After Grooming Photos: Wednesday Edition

Alright, today's before and after grooming pictures feature Dulce.  She's a pretty little Yorkie-Poo with the longest legs I've ever seen!  I told her grandma that she should be a doggy model  ;)

She came in with plenty of wild fluff, a few mats in her beard, and a HUGE mat on her rear end.  I think she'd been biting at her tail for a while.  Aside from her above-the-tail area, it seemed like her mom had done a pretty good job of keeping her combed out.  I'll give her efforts a B+. 

The left picture is Dulce's "before" shot in the bath tub (notice the wonderful bath mat!), then you'll see my favorite time for all dogs - right after the blow dry, and finally we have the "after" shot.  See that happy smile?  She knows she's a pretty girl!

How did I do it?  In the bath I used Espree's new Cucumber Melon shampoo followed by Bark2Basic's D-Mat conditioner lightly all over and then heavy on those rear-end matts.  After soaking and working it in for about a minute I used my comb and mat stripper to demat her tail.  Ear cleaning was done with a couple squirts of Top Performance ear cleaner and Q-tips.  To wrap up the bathing process I toweled her and used my B-Air force dryer to dry and fluff.  Her body, legs, and top of head were done with a #2 Andis blade comb.  I did the usual maintenance of nail trimming/filing and ear plucking.  I used a #15 on her eye corners and sanitary areas, then neatened everything with my Geib Gators.

Shop Talk: Monday

It's time for Monday's pictures and shop talk!

I had one cancellation, my other four showed, and I did a full Soft Paws application!  I was so excited  :)  I just started the Soft Paws program for dogs, and so far I really enjoy it.  It's a great benefit for the seniors, especially, since their babies have a tendency to rip their thin skin wiiide open.  I'm not charging much:  $10 for two paws and $15 for four (haha, buy 3 get one free?) but I'm still making money from them and gaining clients.  It's so hard to set prices in our area because so many of our clients are wonderful low-income clients who really care about their critters and want to take care of them.  I just have to stay away from those pricing surveys for a while, I guess.  If (when!) I get my own place, though, there will have to be a total pricing restructure.  But anyway, about Monday:

This is going to be a short one, because I am still not in the habit of taking pictures of everyone!  I had a... Cock-a-Tzu?  Followed by two black poodles and a yorkie, with a Soft Paws application somewhere in the middle.  Everyone was good, and I only have pictures of one of the grooming clients, so he can be the Before and After star of the day! 

Coalie's Mom wanted to try out square ears and, so they are in transition from round to square.  She also wanted me to do the crazy shaving above his eyes, but it actually turned out handsome on him.  You'll see Coalie before, Coalie after, and then a picture of Button with her snazzy new Soft Paws pawdicure  :)

      

Friday's Before and After grooming photos

Rusty on top; Little Guy on bottom:

 

Tuesday's lineup

Today was a fun-but-stressful day!

Groomers, have you ever has a "surprise" client come in?  One to whom you feel you should give the benefit of the doubt, because it's possible that you misunderstood something in the "appointment" phone call, or perhaps you forgot to write it down?  Well, I had one of THOSE today.  She came in at the exact some time that I had scheduled a squeeze-in.  Whoops!  So anyway, I was rushed and freaked out that I wouldn't get done in time to pick up Dude before the daycare locked him in for the night, but I made it  :)

Today I had:

Maggie and Izzy, my two beautiful little furcousins.  Maggie is a Bichon and Izzy is a Malti-Poo.  Did you notice Izzy's eyeliner?  One is pink (Malti) and one is black (Poo).  So cute!

Sadie, who is a Border Collie, whom I forgot to photograph.  Sorry!

Oakley the Shih-Tzu.  Doesn't he look like a man of leisure?

Finally, another Miss Izzy.  This one is a Yorkie-Poo.  She deserved a before and after.  You can click on most of the images on my blog to go to the full-size version.

If you'd like to know the tools/techniques used on any of these dogs, just ask!  Also, if you have constructive criticism then fire away.  I'm always learning! 

Before and After Grooming Pictures: Matted Shih-Tzu

Yeah, I had to deal with a lot of mats today!  This guy is a trooper.  Here is Shaggy, before and after:

How did I do it?  #7f on the body where I could, #10 on the rear, belly, legs, and feet because I had to.  #15 on the face because I had to!  I neatened his pads and "dug out" the mats with a #5/8.  #5f on the top of the head, skim on top but firm on the sides, then I scissor-neatened.  Shortened and rounded the ears, shortened and "fanned" the tail a bit, and scissor-neatened feet and any stickeyouties, of course!

How to De-Mat a Maltese Ear

OK, so this is something I would NEVER have tried a few years ago. I would have just gone for the #10 and zipped the thing off of the poor baby. However, today I was inspired by another groomer blog I read (you can check out Ms. BB's post here) about mat removal. So here's my experience today with the dreaded deed!

First, of course, I needed a very patient subject with a high pain tolerance and a mat :) Miss Betsie was a perfect candidate. Second, I needed enough grooming experience (years) to know what amount of pressure a Maltese ear can take before ripping open. I've never done it, but I know it is very possible. Maltese skin is thin and sensitive, especially on the ears! Next, I needed the right tools. Finally, I needed about 15 minutes without interruptions ("Leave a message!").

You can see Betsie's left ear has a huge mat blob. There was a little free hair to the left, but hopefully you can see how huge and "involved" this mat is.  First, I saturated the mat with Bark2Basics D-Mat Conditioner. I really rubbed the stuff into that mat. Might I say that the Cucumber Melon scent is very soothing at a time like this!

Next, I really worked through the thing with my greyhound comb. I dug in behind the mat and pulled toward myself in quick and tiny motions. My main goals here were to work the D-mat in even further and to get enough space between the ear and the mat to use my next tool:

The mat breaker. Be very careful with these things! The ends are blunt, but the side facing toward you should be the one with the razor sharp blades made for actually cutting through the mat. You slide it behind the mat very carefully, then make a couple of very small saw-like motions with the tool in an "up and away" direction from the skin. You'll see faster progress with this tool than you saw with the comb.

Finally, once you have the mat loose enough that you only have a few "remains," you can pull the rest off with your fingers, the comb, and a slicker brush. Tada! You now have an ear that will probably look thin and "holey," but not bald!

Below is the sweet Miss Betsie. Everyone say, "Awwwww!"

Edit:  I have been asked, "What exactly is a greyhound comb?"  Well, it's just another word for "finishing comb," a long comb with no handle consisting of two different sizes of teeth divided half and half.  I guess it's like calling a tissue a "kleenex"  :)  If you want to see a brand-name greyhound, click here.

A little fun with before and after grooming photos

This is Mr. Scottie-Mac.  Since he is my "cousin," he gets to be the first star of the "Before and After" series  :) 

He doesn't get anything fancy.  He's just a #4f zip off the top blended into his so-called skirt, a little scissor neatening of the face, and a thorough brushing of his furnishings.  As little Dude would say, "Tadaaaaaaa!"

*I should note that he is having some pretty severe skin problems due to his allergies.  His coat just isn't as lustrous and thick as normal.  Poor guy! 

**Another note:  I know the image quality is not so great right now, but you're stuck with camera phone pics until we get a new digital camera!  What happened to our old camera, you ask?  Well, it's what we call The Chocolate Milk Incident...