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.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

What Would You Do?

(Sorry that the first few pictures are messed up. I forgot to change my camera settings)

This little puppy was in for her third grooming today.

Her owner really likes the way that I have been grooming her. (a yellow wahl stainless steel clip comb and scissor to finish)

The last couple of days have been warm here and this puppy apparently does not like the heat.

Her owner said that she is always laying on the cool tile, and pulled her bed pad out of her kennel last night and laid down on the bare floor of the kennel.



I used to have a Shih-tzu that was the same way, always hot in the summer time (and winter for that matter), no matter how short I clipped him.

This dogs owner really did not want to take her dog any shorter, but she left it up to me.

She told me that it was okay to take her a little shorter if I thought that I should.


It is nice to know that my customers trust me, but I am not the one living with the dog.

What if they don't like what I decide?


So, What Would You Do?






I decided to do the same clip that the owners like....with one small difference.








I clipped off all of the hair on the under belly with a #5F blade.

I used the #5F blade, because the dogs hair is actually fairly thin and I felt the #5f would be close enough.

I clipped from between the front arms all of the way down.

I clipped the belly as usual with a #15 blade.





I also used the #5F blade to clip down the inside of the back legs.

Why did I do this?

By clipping the underbelly very close,  hopefully she will feel cooler when she lays down and her bare belly feels the cool floor.

This way the owners still gets the cut that they like, and hopefully the dog will feel cooler.

I will tell the owner what I did, and warn them that when their dog lays down and rolls over, they will see a bare belly.









After I shaved the under belly, I scissored to blend the side into what I clipped.










The left side is the side that I blended into the longer cut on the sides and the short cut on the belly.

I have not scissored the right side yet.










All done and watching out the window for her owner. :)







The owner was happy that I didn't take her shorter and understood what I was trying to do by shaving out her under belly.

We will see if that helps her. :)






This little puppy was also my happy grooming story today. :)


Happy Grooming, MFF

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7 comments:

  1. She is too cute! Kudos to the owner for getting her in the grooming groove early in the game. I think the decision you made is a nice step in the right direction, one more chance before clipping shorter. Good call!

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  2. I call that underbelly clip "air conditioning" :)

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  3. I love doing that...we call it "hollowing". And do it to shelties and collies and cockers, anything they like long and say is to hot. Great trick..IMO.

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  4. We do this kind of thing all the time here on many different breeds. People LOVE it and we call it either shelling the belly or a cheater strip.

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  5. 'Air Conditioning', 'hollowing', 'shelling the belly', 'cheater strip'

    Love it!!!

    Love all of these different names for groomers doing the same exact thing! :)
    Lisa, MFF

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  6. That's so cute! We use the same technique, but didn't have a name for it - one of these will definitely work well!

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