Curls, Curls, Curls

I have a lot of customers that like long, scissored cuts.

Every once in a while a customer will come in with their dog and want a long scissored cut, only they do not want me to 'fluff' up their dog.

They want the hair to stay curly.

I usually explain to them that I have to 'fluff' their dogs coat, because I hand dry every dog, and I also need the coat fluffed as straight as I can get it to get an even cut.

I also tell the customer to just give it a few days after the grooming and the coat will start to curl  up again.

The owner of this particular dog does not bring him in as often as I think that she should, for the amount of coat that she likes to leave on the dog.

The owner really loves the curly, scruffy look that her dog has when it comes in.

It is  just a guess, but I think that she does not bring the dog in more often, because she really does not like the dog 'fluffed' out, although she does understand why he is fluffed up.

I can't even begin to tell you how much this dog HATES being brushed. (I could show you the bite on my arm)

Because he hates being brushed so much, his owner just cuts any mats she finds out of his coat.

So, because of that, I can not give him a full scissor cut and also get his coat even at the same time.

Again his owner understands, and would rather have the full coat instead of an even cut.

So, because he looked so uneven when I finished scissoring him, I decided to surprise the owner and make him curly again.

Only a groomer can understand how hard and painful this was for me. lol

 I made a mixture of water and finishing spray.

Then I just started to spray away...all over the dog.

I grabbed small hands full of hair and squeezed it to get the curls back in the coat.

I also used my fingers to brush the coat up and backwards to encourage the hair to curl.

I felt like I was putting mats BACK into the coat. :-p

It worked.

The coat did curl back up.

There was only one problem.

Now I had to get the coat dry again without removing the curls.

I used my hand dryer and my fingers to dry the dog again.

I used my big pick comb to pick at the coat just enough to separate the curls to help them dry quicker.

This dog dried so fast with the HV.

It took FOREVER to dry the curls.

I did end up putting him away a little damp to finish air drying.

The coat wasn't as curly as the owner liked, but I am sure that by the next day he was pretty curly.

The owner loved it.

She made another appointment for sooner.

Hopefully, the fact that I showed her that she could get her dog back curly, she will become a regular.

If this dog comes in more regularly, maybe, just maybe, I can get him to at least tolerate the brushing.

He is so sweet....as long as you don't have a brush in your hand.

✂ Happy Grooming, MFF ✂

Chunkers....Just Not Crazy About Them.

A couple months back I talked about the Chunkers that I bought at Intergroom.

I have used them chunkers several times, but I am not impressed with them.

Well, at least I am not impressed with the pair that I have.

Maybe a more expensive pair would be nicer....I don't know.

I personally feel that they are too hard on my hands, and that I can get the same finish with my scissors, much more quickly.

I have a grooming friend that told me once that she was taught to scissor everything with her thinning shears.

She did all of her topknots with only thinning shears.

I couldn't believe it.

I remember my hands and wrists hurting just thinking about it.

Today I decided to test my belief that I could get the same look that the chunkers leave with my scissors.

This pretty girl gets all of her feathering and flyaway hair scissored up tight and neat.

So, I decided to use my chunkers on one side and my scissors on the other side.

I groomed this side first with the chunkers.

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  The chunkers left a nice soft finish.

But, my hand was tired and hurt while scissoring with the chunkers,  and going back and forth, and back and forth over areas to make sure to get all of the hair was time consuming.

Now the other side with only scissors.

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 I still had to do some more touching up after this photo, but I really don't see that much difference between using the chunkers and using my scissors to get the same look.

It is most definitely quicker and easier on my hands with the scissors.

I can always come back and use the chunkers or thinning shears to quickly soften up any sharp lines I don't want.

I know that there a lot of groomers out there that love using the chunkers and/or thinning shears over scissors.....more power to you.

I like my scissors. :)

There was one thing that I did notice as I was finishing up this dog.

The side of the dog that I used the chunkers on....the cut just didn't stand up to the dog moving around and sitting down.

When the dog would shake,or stand back up the hair looked messy and uneven.

The scissored side stayed looking nice and even.

As I have said before in my posts, these are just my opinions.

I would love to try a couple of the chunkers that I saw at Intergroom.

They felt really nice and smooth in my hand

Much smoother than the one that I bought.

But, I most likely never will try them, because I can't bring myself to drop $300 to $400 on them.

If I got them home and found that I didn't like them either, I would just have to sit down and cry.

I did without chunkers for 29 years.....I'll survive. :)

✂ Happy Grooming, MFF ✂

Just A Personal Observation

I am sure that there are may groomers out there, who have been grooming for a while, that there are some dogs that you just know you may have trouble with just by the way they look.

The way they physically look.

Some special trait.

You have no idea what the heck I am talking about, do you?

Let me  try to explain.

Have you ever noticed that many apricot Poodles are nuts....sweet.....put nuts in some way?

Have you ever noticed that buff Cockers tend to really hate the front legs clipped, and are more likely to snap than black Cockers?

Have you ever noticed that Schnauzers that have the more course, wiry type hair, whose hair  would normally brush out really easily, can't stand to have their legs brushes, and most likely will snap at you when you try to brush their legs?

Have you ever noticed that orange cats are nuts?

Oh, sorry.....my orange cat just decided to have a deranged moment and fly down the hall crying at the top of his lungs.....he'll get over it in a minute.

AND...Is it just me?

Have you ever noticed that ShihTzus, or ShihTzuX's  who have these types of eyes tend to have issues?

Temperamental issues?

Doesn't she have a sweet face?

Yes, she does, and she can be real sweet....if and when she wants too.

When I first started grooming her she didn't even think twice before she went after me.

She is better now.

Now she just puts her teeth on my hand to warn me that she does not like what I am trying to do, but doesn't bite with any pressure.

Not that she wouldn't bite me anymore.

The potential is always there, and I have no doubt at all that she would nail me really good if I pissed her off in any way.

It just happened to dawn on me, while I was grooming her last week, that I have three ShihTzus that come in these types of eyes.

Two are serious biters and one has some mental issues.

I have also had some that I groomed in the past (that have gone to the rainbow bridge) that had these same types of eyes and were also bad, or unpredictable biters.

Oh well, maybe it is just me.

I honestly don't look at these traits and automatically expect these behaviors.

I usually notice the behavior first, and then look at the dog and think; 'oh yeah, I should have expected.'

Just an observation.

I am probably the only one who notices this type of crazy stuff.

Don't mind me. :-p

✂ Happy Grooming, MFF ✂

Money Wins!! :(

This morning I was so excited.

I had a great story for my Happy Grooming Stories facebook group today.

Let me start at the beginning.

About eight weeks ago I wrote a post about a  very matted Lhasa mix that came in for a grooming.

I charged about $20 more than my usual price because of the matting.

I also explained to the owner that if she brought the dog in to be groomed no later than every 8 weeks, I would be able to do any length that she would like, and the price would be lower. (as long as the dog was not matted)

I spent time educating the owner about regular groomings, how mats hurt a dog, and that if she got her dog groomed more regularly, she could keep her dog in a length that she liked.

The owner made another appointment for 8 weeks right then and there.

To be honest, I was not holding my breath that she would keep the appointment today. 

I try to educate every customer that comes in with matted dogs, and most of them will rebook before they leave.

Unfortunately, not all of them keep those appointments, and go right back to letting their dogs mat before they get them groomed again. :(

I was afraid that this customer was going to be a no-show.

So, I was very happy to see the owner and dog show up this morning.

The owner kept telling me that the groom that I did 8 weeks ago was the best groom the dog had ever had.

She also remembered that I had said that she could have any length that she wanted on her dog if she was not matted.

 She did not have a mat in her.

I had managed to get a #4F and #5F through her matting the last time.

The owner wanted a longer cut this time. 

No problem. :)

 She also wanted the hair around the mouth short and tight, but not shaved looking.

Got that?

So, I ran a yellow comb attachment over her and scissored her up.

  I ran the yellow comb over the top of her head also.

Blended into the ears and scissored to finish.

I concentrated on scissoring the long hair right around the front of her mouth and taking that short, because that was the hair that the owner was pointing to when she talked about going short.

I also clipped along the lip line, under the mustache and above the beard.

Then I rounded the rest of the face off.

I took pictures, because as I said before, I was going to post about her in my facebook group.

I was just so tickled that this owner listened to me and came back before her dog got matted again.

Then she came to pick up.....

The look on my husbands face, when he came back to get the dog immediately told me that something was wrong.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.
"She is pissed," he told me.
"Pissed? About what?" I asked totally confused. "She hasn't even seen the dog yet."
"I'll tell you in a minute," he said as he got the dog out of the kennel.
"Nooo! Tell me now," I whined.
Grrr I didn't want to wait.
"She won't be back," he told me as he started to take the dog up to its owner.
"What!  Why!!" I sputtered.
As he disappeared through the grooming room door, he turned his head and whispered; "She is pissed about the price you charged her."

I had to wait for him to come back into the grooming room to hear the rest of the story.

But, I was in shock.

I had charged her the price I told her that the groom would be if she brought the dog back in 8 weeks, with no mats.

It was almost $20 dollars cheaper than when I groomed the dog in June.

I jumped right on my husband when he came back into the grooming room.
"What is going on? Why was she pissed? I charged what I told her it would be?" I shot the questions rapid fire.
My husband put his hand up to get me to stop so he could explain.
"She came in and put her credit card on the counter, and as I swiped her card I told her the price," he explained. "She immediately got pissed and said that she thought the price was going to be $30."
"What? Where in the world did she get $30 from?" I asked. 

I had written down on her file, after her last visit, exactly how much I had quoted her for the next groom.

It certainly was not for $30 dollars, especially when the cut was a comb/hand scissor cut.

"She said that she did not understand why she was charged more than $30 dollars," my husband continued. "She said that she would not be coming back and would go back to PetSm*rt."

Right before she walked out the door, she told my husband to tell me that I do really great work.....

?????

The last time I was in PetSm*rt, behind a customer that was paying for their Lhasa's grooming, the man paid $75.

I waited in my car to see the man come out, because I wanted to see what $75 bought him.

The dog looked nice, but it was nothing more than a #5 or #7 clip on the dog.

Not sure where she thinks she is going to find a PetSm*rt that charges $30 for a full hair cut.

I was so upset.

I really liked the dog.

She was very sweet, and her hair was great to scissor.

I guess money wins. :(

It is more important how much the grooming costs, instead of how nice the dog is treated and looks.  :`(

Oh well, I tried.

I'll keep on trying.

 ✂ Happy Grooming, MFF ✂

Redicovering the ClipperVac

Hi everybody. :)

Sorry I have been away for a while, I am trying to get the writing bug back again.

So, today I am going to share a funny thing that happened.

Over 20 years ago I invested in a very large, 4 station ClipperVac unit.

It actually took me a couple of  years to pay it off.

I bought one, because I was having my first child and the baby was going to be at the shop.

I did not want any hair flying around the shop and getting on the baby.

It took a little getting used to, but I liked it.

We used that ClipperVac for years and burned through one motor.

My shop made a couple of moves and the Vac went with us.

When I downsized, 14 years ago, and went Mobile, I also had a ClipperVac Mini in my van.

As I said, I liked my ClipperVac.

I loved skimming with it, and it was great for really cleaning up legs on short cuts, and saving a lot of scissoring on those short shave downs.

I loved how it cleaned faces and feet, and kept the blades cool.

When my 'surprise' child came along, and I moved back into shop, the new shop was really too small for such a large ClipperVac unit, but I put it back up anyway.

Then we moved one last time, and I set it up again, but I was not using it as much.

I had bought new clippers at the time (Andis AG) and did not want to permanently glue the clippervac attachment to my new clipper. (That is what you used to have to do then with those clippers)

I had also bought a Wahl Arco cordless clipper that I really loved and could not use with the ClipperVac at the time.

So I slowly got away from using my ClipperVac.

It kind of became a glorified vacuum cleaner for my grooming table.

Once my daughter became a full time groomer, I needed more room in our groom room.

So I moved the large ClipperVac out.

I still don't have any room for that big ClipperVac to come back into the groom room, but I miss using it.

I have also recently checked out ClipperVacs website and have noticed that you no longer have to glue the attachment on your clipper.

What to do, what to do?

Well, believe it or not, I still have my van.

Yes, I still have it sitting in my driveway.

Up until this year I was still using the grooming van off and on for special needs dogs that I felt shouldn't come to a shop environment.

I know that I should sell it, but I just have not been able to let it go.

Plus, right now it needs some repairs.

We have the worst trouble with squirrels and mice getting into our engines and chewing hoses..grrrrr.

Anyway, I got the bright idea to take the mini ClipperVac out of my van and take it to work.

It does not take up much space and I can put it right by my table.

So that is what I did today.

I got it to the shop, set it up, and cleaned it up. (there were signs that mice had been all over the vac.

I turned it on and everything seemed okay....or so I thought.

I had to dig out my old pair of Oster A5 clippers, that still had the original clippervac attachment still on them.

They were so dusty, but they still work.

They are just slower than what I am used to now.

This was the little lady that I was going  to use the ClipperVac on first.

I used to hand scissor her very short, but the owner wanted me to take her as short as I could....shave her!

The owner even wanted me to shave her legs as close as I could get them.

So I got everything ready and started to clip.

This is how far I got when the ClipperVac just stopped running. :(

I asked my son to remove all the screws from the top of the ClipperVac so that I could check the brushes.

I thought that that might be the reason for the it suddenly shutting down.

There was also one other thing that I thought might possibly be stopping the ClipperVac from running.

Mice......

Well, it wasn't the brushes.

 There were no mice.

But, they had certainly been in the ClipperVac.

There was a massive nest smack dab on top of the motor!!

I am surprised that it ran at all.

There were even half eaten egg corns and corn kernels there in the motor.

My son cleaned everything out, and the ClipperVac was no worse for ware.

Of course, by the time all the cleaning was done I had already finished the dog.

  Yes, even though the owner wanted her shaved, this is the way she likes her head left. :)

She was my only short clip of the day.

Everyone else was hand scissored.

Tomorrow I will try to use the ClipperVac again.

I will also be buying new attachments for my current clippers. :)

I am looking forward to using the ClipperVac again for a lot of my grooming.

✂ Happy Grooming, MFF ✂