This was my second time grooming Ben.  He is a challenge for me.  His Mom said she doesn't like getting him groomed because he always looks kinda funny after. 

It is my personal challenge to make all dogs that come to me look cute and have their owners be happy with their styling.  I want Ben to look as cute as possible.  I think what I did is good, but when I was in the middle of grooming him, just as I was starting his head I was really liking the way he looked with a full topknot and cheeks, and short muzzle.  I kept trimming though, because he doesn't come in that often and I didn't want to make a style that would end up in matting that would need to be shaved next time. 

He was actually rather matted this time, but by wet clipping him with a 13mm I was able to spend minimal time on the matting and finish him with a 1/2" metal clip-on. 

I should have called his mom when I had the thought of leaving his head long though, because when I suggested it to her for next time she said yes, she would like that and always likes when his head grows out and looks longer.  Lesson learned, but now I can't wait for his hair to grow so I can try his new style :D

Happy Tails,

Miriam

I've been looking for a dematting/shedding conditioner/spray that will work miracles for me.  It needs to be natural, non toxic, doesn't weigh the coat down, and doesn't make it take extra time to dry.  So, latest test out, Secret Weapon.  I ordered this little bottle all the way from Australia after I had heard good things about it.  So happy to have got it today, as my dog was matted.  Very matted. Actually felted in places.  I have the tail mat still, I'm thinking of making a finger puppet out of it.

I gave the dog everything with this product.  Sprayed before-hand, shampooed with it mixed it, sprayed again after bath and before drying, and then sprayed as well while brushing.  I have to say, I am pretty impressed.  Here is this boy's before, and some close ups of the condition of the matting.

I wanted to see what this Secret Weapon could do. Would it let me save any length under these felted mats?  Would it break up the felted mats enough for me to brush them out?  Well, I think no matter what product I used, this coat was just too far gone.  I tried, but I ended up having to shave the felted areas.

I was hoping I would be able to brush out the body, but alas, it was not happening.  The blades couldn't even enter the coat to get underneath it, it was really bad.  So I started on the head with a 7f where the worst of the felting was, and moved to a 5f on the body.  He has an absolutely amazing coat type, and the 5f looked really plush and smooth on him.  I am hoping I can use him next year if I decide to compete.

His cheeks were each a big balled mat, so I had to create a short face style for him.  His ears weren't saveable either, so I used a 5f on them and scissored the edges.

His tail was the worst.  It was just one long felted mat, base to tip.  It was rather uncomfortable for him, and I could not break up the felting to brush it.  It was too painful.  I can't remember the last time I had to shave a tail, I always save them, but this again, just wasn't happening.  It ended up looking not too bad though, I kinda like it with his short style! 

I used a 5 from the base, but by the time I got half way down the tail I had to switch to my 30 blade just to get under there.  The last part of the matting came off and I can put it over my finger like a puppet!

So, I finished just as Mom was pulling up, and he was SO excited I couldn't get a good after picture of him.  He was like, play play play, mom mom mom, I so don't care about posing for photos, play play play! lol :D

I gave him asymmetrical bangs like boys have, styled up in the front.  Just something fun :)  The tail works with the short head style, what do you think?

Happy Tails!

Miriam

Well if you hadn't noticed, I have the absolute blessing to be using a very good camera lately.  I have shown these two a couple times before I believe, but it's fun to continue as their Asian Fusion styling comes along. We are growing Misha's legs out into full flares, and I just love her little bob.

With Song-yu we are growing her boots out into flares as well.  It's coming along!  Her back legs are a little shorter because she had been chewing the hair off, but it's growing fine now.  These two belong to a local breeder, if you are interested in when they will have future litters, you can leave me a message in the comments :)

Happy Tails!

Miriam

I have had Zivah on here before the last time I groomed her.  Her mom is the fantastic photographer Rachel Barkman Photography, and this is a photo she took of Zivah after she came home from her spaw day with me.

I was looking forward to grooming Zivah again, specifically because the last time I groomed her I saw her photo on her mom's Facebook page, and noticed that when I trimmed around the top of her ears they ended up a little pointier than I had intended. The breed standard says:  

Here is a picture of a former best in show Samoyed from Sydney Royal 1994 photo courtesy www.aldonzasamoyeds.com .  Looking up best in show pictures for breed standards is a good way to learn to understand the CKC and AKC breed profile.  You can see the ears on this beautiful dog fit the description above.  And now, so do Zivah's ;P

It's funny, sometimes when you are working on a dog, it takes standing back, looking at the dog in a mirror, or seeing the dog in a photograph to really see what needs fixing or finishing.  It is a great way to get perspective.  I always stand back when I finish a dog to see the overall look, put them on the floor and let them walk around, shake etc., and then I will see something that needs more work.  Dog grooming is an art, it takes focus, skill, attention, and a little bit of talent. 

I am not very fast at grooming, but I like to watch the top groomers at seminars and study photos of their work.  It is great to have the opportunity to watch these amazing groomers in action, because seeing these masters create their masterpieces in the short time frame they do is just awe inspiring.

Since I started this blog and have been taking photos of my finished work, I have really appreciated the value of the photos showing me anything I need to fix, to achieve the really best finish.  I still find it kind of funny how I will immediately be able to see what needs doing in a photo (thank goodness for digital cameras) that I had a hard time seeing on the dog sitting right in front of me.

Sigh, I am happy in this work of the pursuit of excellence in the art of dog grooming.

Happy Tails!

Miriam

This is Sapphire.  I've posted her picture in my before and after photos, but this time she got a little bit of a different style.

Mom's son likes to go running with her, and wanted her coat left long for warmth.  I normally do a regular Schnauzer clip with short furnishings on her, this time I did her in an Asian Fusion style, with a  teddy bear body and Asian face.  She was really matted on all her furnishings (lots of outdoor time means wet dog + no brushing = matting)  Schnauzer fur does demat fairly easily, but the hair is so fine on the legs that it just breaks really, so you can see in her after picture that her furnishings are pretty sparse after dematting.

Late winter and spring are the seasons for grooming matted dogs, lol.  It makes sense to grow out coat for the cold season, but all that extra fur can get a bit much to take care of.

I encourage bath and brush or bath and tidy appointments for anyone who is trying to grow their dogs coat out.  Mats happen when the fur gets wet in the rain or snow, and doesn't get brushed out immediately. 

mud, but didn't realize that by not blow drying and brushing after the bath it was causing the matting.

Now Mom only has head and tail to brush, and she will certainly be easier to keep clean!

Happy Tails!

Miriam

Her name is Trouble, and from what her Mom says about how she plays with her brother's and sister's, she sounds like a whole lot of fun and trouble!  She likes to play and instigate play, and had the mats on her head and neck to prove it. 

I have heard of wet clipping matted dogs before, and finally figured out the amount of moisture in the coat that really makes it work.  It can't be too wet or the hair is still clumpy and won't go through the blade.  It has to be HV dried until it is just still damp, and then it works great.  What also worked to REALLY help get the clippers through the mats was forcing and clipping the wet hair at the same time.  Yes, my work space looked like a hair bomb went off in it, but for how quickly this was getting through all the mats I was willing to deal with it. 

Trouble was really matted everywhere, and especially on the back of her neck it was felted.   I thought I was going to have to shave that area with a #7f, which I was dreading because of how funny it would have looked.  I was able to wet clip it with a 4f and the finished length was a 13mm (3 3/4f)  I wet clipped the body and legs with the 13, and could have finished with a 1/2" clip-on if I wanted to, but the 13mm is a good length for her, since she does mat up easily.

What do you all think of her fuzzy teddy bear muzzle?  I think it is a great style for poodle type haired dogs that don't want to look like poodles :)

Happy Tails!

Miriam

Hi Readers!  Sorry for the gap in posts, my computer crashed and had to go in to the fix it place for a few weeks!  Back to the grooming!~~

Phew! Worked on this boy for a long time today!  I've posted him before too, his name is Ricky.  His Mom likes him really long and fluffy, like a little lamb or teddy bear.  However, he has such a dense coat, keeping up with the mats is almost impossible.

Shaving him down because he's matted is impossible too.  It just would not be a happy situation.  So, it took me 3 hours to demat, bath, dry and brush him out this morning before I even started styling him!  He was pretty solidly matted everywhere.

I left his legs in a bell bottom style, and hopefully Mom will be able to just concentrate her brushing on the feet and working up to keep the mats at bay.  This way the chest and armpits are kept short, which is where the worst of the matting usually is.  His body is 1/2".  I shave his muzzle to the corner of the eyes and blend into the cheeks, (like a Pomeranian).  Today I also used my Fishtail Shears and worked the topknot after I shaped it to give it a shaggy look instead of a smooth styled look.

I wish I had taken a few more pictures, but alas, Mom was walking down the pathway and I only had time for this one :)

Happy Tails!
Miriam

The last couple of times that I've groomed Gunner I haven't been able to get any good pictures of him.  He has a very happy tail and squiggly body when I'm not holding him, (or cuddling him, he gives such sweet hugs) and looks straight up in the camera, so it's hard to get a good clear pic!  

Today, success!  I really wanted to show how cute he is, with his soft plush body and cute little teddy bear face.

He tried to convince his Mom on the way in that he didn't want a hair cut today, but once we started and the separation from Mom was over, he had a great and relaxing time, smiling, cuddling, and just enjoying the nice feeling of having his hair done.

Happy Tails!
Miriam

I love long topknots on dogs.  If I had a long haired breed I would leave the topknot long.  I just think it looks cute.  Mao came to me after his Mom had trouble with her clippers not working, and they ended up trimming him too short in places on his body.  

So I had to do his body with a #10 blade, which is a little shorter than the shortest blade I usually do on a shave, but his fur was dense enough to handle it.

Since his Mom likes his body shaved and his head and tail long, I suggested having this cute teddy bear style muzzle and she said okay.  She looved it!

Mao's Mom had trimmed a little eyebrow fringe over his eyes, and I suggested growing that out so that the whole thing just goes into the topknot cleanly.  So I put two elastics in over his eyes to gather the short hair and then did the topknot.

I hope I get to continue grooming Mao, he's so cute and fun to do!  Though I know his Mom likes to groom him too :)

Happy Tails!
Miriam