After 26 years of grooming, I Love trying new things.
Or finding new ways to groom.
Especially those light bulb moments.
The times you read a grooming post, or see a grooming demonstration, and you think...
I can't believe I didn't think of that!
How stupid am I?
I can't believe I have been doing things the hard way all of this time.
I am sure I am not the only one.
I hope I am not the only one.
Well, I get mad at myself for about 5 minutes.
Feel stupid.
THEN, I can't wait to try what I learned.
This is 'Osito'.
He is a Havanese.
He is SO sweet.
This is 'Osito' after he has been bathed with Show Seasons, and blow dried as straight as I could get him.
As you can see he is one fuzzy dog.
I love the Show Seasons.
His Mom brings it in for him.
'Osito' is the only Show Dog I groom.
He is the only one I have ever groomed.
I will tell you, I am not crazy about that responsibility.
'Osito's' Mom is new to the Show world, and it is too political for me.
I don't ever want to be responsible for him not winning.
When I signed up for the Groom Expo in Hershey a couple of weeks ago, I went to the Judges rules to make sure my dog qualified.
I also wanted to make sure that I knew all of the rules.
While reading, I came across a reference to using a Flat Iron.
"Curling and Flat Irons are permitted."
That was a light bulb moment.
Use a Flat Iron on a dog?
Why hadn't I thought of that?
Really, sometimes I wonder about myself.
The first dog I thought of, was 'Osito'.
His Mom always asks me to get him as straight as I can.
Well , I went right out an bought a Flat Iron.
I got lucky too.
It is back to school time, and there were a ton to choose from.
I picked one that you can control the temperature.
It also came with a Mini Flat Iron. :))
I could not wait till 'Osito" came in again.
Bare with me. A lot of this grooming was trial and error.
I also made sure that I was being as careful as I could.
"Osito' stood there like a statue!
If he had not been so good or moved too much, he would have stayed fuzzy.
I never let the Flat Iron touch the skin.
(Common sense)
I parted the hair down his back first.
Then I made sure he was mat free.
I started at his rear leg, and worked with small sections. I worked my way up the leg.
I used a hair clip to hold up the hair I wanted to keep out of the way.
I started at a low Tempeature, and slowly set it higher, till I liked the look of the hair.
This particular Flat Iron puts moisture back into the hair.
I moved the Iron slowly, never allowing it to sit in one place.
Look how good he is being. :))
One side done.
You can see the fuzzy hair sticking up on the other side of the part.
I could have done more, but I was being a little conservative for my first time.
On the left: Before the Flat Iron.
On the right: After the Flat Iron.
<- Back leg: Before
Back leg: After ->
Next time I will use a little higher setting.
His Mom was thrilled.
I had fun.
'Osito' was great.
Using the Flat Iron only took me an extra 20 minutes.
Did I mention, I had fun.
I love grooming.
I love when everything turns out right.
I love when the owner is happy.
"Osito' has won once before.
I hope he wins again!
Happy Grooming, MFF
No comments:
Post a Comment