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.

Monday, October 21, 2013

Monday Makeover #18.....Matted Cockapoo







I have to admit, that when I checked this guy out before his owner left, I was pretty sure that he was mostly curls and very little matting.






I put him straight in the tub, and soaped him up with Best Shot Shampoo and Best Shot Conditioner.

I was hoping that the small mats that I did feel would be blown out by the HV dryer.

I knew by the time I was rubbing this dog dry with a towel that I had made a mistake.




The HV did blow out just about all of the small knots in his legs, but he had some tight spider matting all around his neck, chest, and belly, the rest of his body was in good shape.

This was only his second grooming with me.

The first grooming was basically a bath and scissor all over to shape up, because he had been growing out from a shave down at another shop.

His owner wanted him scissored again.


 The spider matting around the neck, chest, and belly were way too tight to brush out, so a call to the owner was in order.

We let the owner know that we had to take the dog shorter than she wanted to get under the mats.....she gave the okay.

Even though the dog was partially matted, I did not want to clip the entire dog short.

I had to clip the neck, chest, and belly with a #5F blade.







 I used a 3 3/4 blade on the back, sides, and tail.









I ran a yellow clip comb, with the grain, over the legs.







Then I scissored up the legs, and......










....blended the legs into the 3 3/4 length on the body.










I clipped the pads of the feet with a #40 blade.








I like to leave just a little bit of hair between the toes as a little protection for the webbing between the toes.









I used my scissors to blend the #5F blade length on the neck into the 3 3/4 length on the back.











Happy Grooming, MFF

11 comments:

  1. I am hoping to open my own salon in a few years. But I have no idea where to start. . I was wondering if you could give me any advice about owning a salon and other things like where do you get your supplies, deciding a location, managing books, how you schedule appts. Etc. Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

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  2. beautiful! What a great job!

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  3. He looks great Lisa! That's cool how you used the shorter blade where needed and kept length where you could. I never would have thought of that. The best part is you can't even tell the difference between the different lengths...or I can't anyway lol. And I absolutely love how your scissored legs and feet look. I have actually pulled up your past blogs on scissoring feet as a reference guide while I'm at school! XD How did the owner like the shorter cut? Even though she wanted it longer he still looks adorable! :)

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    1. Thanks Kasi,
      The owner was just happy that I didn't shave her whole dog. I shave out areas and then blend them in a lot as long as it is in an area that it either will not show very much, or I can blend enough so that the cut does not look stupid. Maybe I should do a post on little tricks about shaving out mats and saving the coat at the same time. hmmmmm. :) Hope you are having fun in school.
      Lisa, MFF

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  4. Great job! I have a Cockapoo that comes into my spaw that is very similar, and I had the same issue with the tricky to tell mats. Thought for sure that it wasn't so bad, then after the bath, there they all are! I should have known better, funny we can still make this mistake after so many years!

    I love your blog style, pictures are great. I am a groomer in Coquitlam, BC, and do a grooming blog too if you want to take a look: www.avivadogspaw.com

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    1. Thanks Miriam,
      Love your website! Very elegant and pleasing to the eye. Love looking at all your before and after pictures. I also enjoyed reading your blog. The neck ties on your grooms are great. I have been trying to figure out how to make something similar without having to sew. lol
      Lisa, MFF

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  5. so cute!!! He looks like a stuffed animal!!!

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