About Me:

I am a professional Pet Groomer. I have been grooming for 28 years. This Blog is a kind of diary of my work. I wish I had started years ago, writing some of the experiences I have had while grooming. Most days are fun, some can be sad, some can be just down right crazy. If you are a pet owner and come across this blog, I hope it helps you understand how your pet is groomed. If you are a Pet Groomer, I hope you can relate to some of the stories. Maybe even learn a grooming tip or can leave a friendly grooming tip for me. There is always something to learn, no matter how long you have been grooming.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Model Dog Grooming

I bought a Model Dog a couple of years ago to compete with.
After I ordered the model dog I read the instructions for the contest.
It wasn't until after I took the time to slowly read all of the rules that I found out that I could not keep the Model Dog at the end of the contest.
It was to be auctioned off for charity.
They where going to take my Model Dog!
I just could not do it.
Those Model Dogs are way too expensive, and after all of the work that I would have to put into grooming a model dog, I wanted to keep it.
Don't get me wrong, it is great to raise money for a charity, but I wanted to keep my dog.
Does that make me a bad person?
I would rather give money and keep my model dog.  :/

That was a year and a half ago.

This is my model Dog today...








Yes, sad to say he is still in the box. :(










 I have gotten him out and brushed him.

He is mat free!  :)

He doesn't cost anything to feed.

And, he hasn't had one accident in the house.  :)

 



He came looking like a corded poodle.

I spent the time slowly and gently brushing out the cords with a pin brush.
You wouldn't believe the amount of hair that comes out.
You would think that I had just brushed out a Samoyed that was blowing his coat.

He is all ready for me to groom.

So what's the problem?

I still can't decide what kind of groom to do.


 These Model Dogs are expensive!

I would like to display it in my shop when I am done.
I have thought about grooming it in different lengths so that I could show customers the different lengths that I could do on their dogs.
Maybe really short on the back, and each of the legs a different length going from short to long and full.
But that seems like a waste of a Model Dog.

Maybe if they didn't cost so much, I could have a few of them. 
It would be great to give a customer a 3D visual of how their dog would look clipped at different lengths.

I have also thought of just grooming one particular Pure Breed, but which one?

Or, I could do a creative, fun groom on the model dog.
I even thought of doing the creative groom that I am hoping to do at Hershey this September.

The first time that I ever saw a Model Dog was at Intergroom in 2005.
They were Creatively groomed by Japanese groomers.

Here are some of the pictures.


 Side View>



This one was my favorite.

















Sorry the picture is blurry.
















This was the first time that I had seen the Model Dogs.

I remember thinking, at the time, that it would be so fun to do one of these.









 In 2009, Groom Expo in Hershey was having a Model Dog contest.
That was the contest that I was going to enter.
There were some amazing entries.





I am afraid that I did not get the names of the groomers who groomed these dogs.

I was not planning on blogging with these pictures then.  :/



















































































































































Aren't they amazing?
I think that they are so fun.
I think that I will groom my Model Dog creatively.

I'll do what I plan on doing this September.
Maybe it will help me prepare for the creative contest with my girl 'Hanna'.

I will take pictures while I am doing the groom to show here.





 If you would like to see more creative Model Dogs, here is a link...Barkleigh Galleries
Surf around the galleries.
There are so many great pictures.

Oh, if you would like to get your own Model Dog to groom, you can get one from Barkleigh Productions Inc.
Here is the link...Barkleigh on line store.

At least they are $20 cheaper then when I got mine.  :)

Happy Grooming, MFF

10 comments:

  1. Hello, I am interested in model dog creative grooming, do you have any suggestions where I can find material (books, videos) to learn about it..thanks Annia

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Annia,
      Here is a link to Barkleigh.com, they have a on-line store that sells model dogs.
      http://www.barkleigh.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=1255&idcategory=52

      Here the the link for some instructions for grooming model dogs.
      http://www.barkleigh.com/store/pc/catalog/model_dog_instructions.pdf

      I hope that this helps you. :)
      Lisa, MFF

      Delete
  2. barkleigh costs 80 bucks a dog! where can i get one for cheaper!?!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Lauren,
      PetEdge has them for 47.99. :)

      Here is the link:

      http://www.petedge.com/product/Top-Performance-Model-Dogs-for-Groomers/51761.uts

      You probably will not find them for cheaper.

      Lisa, MFF

      Delete
  3. Are PetEdge grooming dogs good quality? If they aren't, then what ones are?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi dogblog,
      I have not ever used one of the PetEdge dogs. I got mine from Barkleigh.

      http://www.barkleigh.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=1255&idcategory=52

      As far as I know, they are made by the same company. Mine was a nice quality.

      Lisa, MFF

      Delete
  4. Hi MFF,
    the picture of model dog shown in Barkleigh is without eyes and nose,
    will I receive the model dog with eye and nose if i get from Barkleigh..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Elaine,
      There is a face under all of that hair. lol
      There are videos on how to brush the model dogs. The dog will lose half of its hair when you brush it. There are eyes and a nose under that hair. If you want the face to be clean like a Poodle, you have to remove the hair plugs from the face.
      Lisa, MFF

      Delete
  5. Help Please.... I am trying to find a place to purchase the Model Dogs. PetEdge and Barkleigh both are telling me they no longer carry the model dogs. Do you have any other suggestions. I am teaching a class at the local community college and would prefer the students learn the basics on models before setting the loose with a live pet. Thanks in advance for your help. Vanessa

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow Vanessa,
      I did not know that they stopped selling the model dogs. :( I was thinking of ordering a few myself. I did find some on amazon, but I think that they are over priced. It is the only place that I found that has them. Here is the link. Sorry I could not be of more help.

      http://www.amazon.com/Top-Performance-Acrylic-Groomers-Training/dp/B001VPEK5E

      Lisa, MFF

      Delete