Back to My Original Cordless

My very first Cordless clipper was a Wahl Arco Clipper.

I LOVED that clipper.

I used it for many years.

I told other groomers about it.

It came with two rechargeable batteries.

Each battery ran for 45 minutes before it needed to be recharged.

You charged one battery while you were using the other.

It ran so quietly that it was great for faces and feet and puppies.

It also came with a charger/clipper stand, and a 5 position blade.

Oh, and it is very light weight.

That was a big plus for my poor over worked wrists.

The only con that the clipper had was that the #9 blade setting always clogged up and did not cut, but the #10, #15, #30, and #40 blade setting worked great.

Then one year, at Groom Expo, I found the Wahl Chromado.

I liked that it ran for 90 minutes before needing a charge, and I also liked that it had lights on the front that showed the battery level.

So I bought one.

My daughter bought one.

I eventually stopped using my Arco.

I have been using the Chromado for a few years now.

I still like the clipper, but...

I have decided to go back to the Arco.

Why?

Because my Chromado's have let me down.

We have 4 in the shop.

Two old ones and two new ones.

My daughters newest one is working fine.

Her old one is used as a spare when her new one is charging. (or I am using it)

My old one is a spare for me.

My newest one?

It died!

Dead..Dead..Dead.

I am not happy.

I have only had it a little over a year.

I started noticing that it did not seem to be holding the charge as long as it should have been at first.

I always use it till it is totally dead before I recharge.

It got to the point where I could not even get two feet shaved before it lost it's charge, and this was after a full charge.

Then it died.

I have also noticed that the two older ones are also not holding their charge as long.

I am sad because I really like this clipper.

I thought about trying the Wahl Bravura.

I have heard a lot of groomers say that they really like this cordless clipper, but like the Chromado, it recharges by placing the whole clipper in  the charger.

If it stops charging you lose the whole clipper.

With a the Arco, if a battery stops charging, it is a lot cheaper to buy a replacement battery.

So I decided to go back to my old faithful, the Arco.

It does not have the same torque that the Chromado and Bravura have, but I really don't see that much of a difference.

I also really like the fact that it only takes seconds to switch out the battery and I can keep on clipping.

I don't like the comb attachments that come with the Arco clipper.

They detach to easily.

But, I got a surprise when I went to order the Wahl Arco Clipper.

Wahl has a new 5-in-1 Stainless Steel Comb Set.

If you buy a Wahl Arco Clipper now, you get the Comb Set for free. (a $37 value)

*Note: I am not a spokes person for Wahl. I just like their clipper. They don't even know that I am taking about them. :)

I have the Wahl Stainless Steel Attachment Guide Combs, but I don't use them very much.

I use them with a #30 blade but have found that the hair gets clogged a lot, and sometimes the comb rattles on the blade, scaring the dog.

You can not use them with a #40 blade because they will break the teeth on the 40 blade.

I ruined a couple of 40's trying to use those combs.

Grrrr.

They are also a pain to get off and on the blade to clean out the clogged hair.

 I saw the new 5 in 1 Stainless Steel combs at Groom Expo and noticed that they slide on like the plastic combs that come with the Chromado, and I like those combs.

The combs slide down onto the blade really nice and snug.

No popping off of the blade there.  :)

I stayed after work Saturday to groom one of my girls.

She was really overgrown and needed it.

I have bathed her several times with the intention of grooming her at the end of the day.

Then the end of the day comes...

...I don't feel like giving her a haircut.

I decided that MY dog was getting a haircut for the holiday.

I also decided to try out my new clip combs on her.

I like her full and fuzzy for the winter.

Sound like my customers don't I?

Anyway, I started with the longest comb.

It did not take much off.

So I moved on to the next comb.

I liked that length.

The comb glided sooo nicely through the hair.

The hair never got glogged.

I like using these combs on the #40 setting.

It left about an inch of hair on her back.

I used full pressure on her back, and almost full pressure on her legs.

I skimmed the bottom of her legs.

That's the great thing about using the #40 blade setting, you even get hair off when skimming with a clip comb.

I have to say that the fuzzy, overgrown look suits her personality.

But, sadly she gets too dirty too fast.

I have been letting her ears grow out, but it does not suit her.

She is such a tomboy.

I used the clip comb to clip the outside of her ears. 

I skimmed the inside of her ears with the #10 blade.

 I got her done in a little over an hour, so I didn't have to stay after too long.

I really like using these Steel combs on my Arco clipper.

I have a feeling I will be using these a lot.

Only two more Standards to go.

I don't think that I have ever had them all groomed up nice at the same time.

If I ever do, I will have to take a nice picture of the three of them together, because it may never happen again.

When does a groomer ever feel like grooming their own dog?

Let's put it another way.

When does a groomer ever have the energy and time to groom their own dog?

Happy Grooming, MFF

Sweaters

Dog sweater to be exact.

It has already started.

The dog sweater dogs are already showing up and it is only November.

What is a 'dog sweater' dog?

It is those dogs whose owners think that their dogs are freezing, and keep a sweater on their dog 24/7.

Then a lot of them are surprised that their dog is matted and has to be shaved down in the middle of the winter.

I had a 'sweater dog' in the other day.

His Mom did realize that the dog was very matted...thankfully.

We had a long talk about how it was not necessary for her dog to wear a sweater in the house.

We also talked about how the friction and static of the sweater rubbing against the coat causes bad mats.

 In my opinion, this dog had more than enough coat on it that it did not need a sweater.

Especially in the house.

This coat is so fine and cottony that a sweater really reeks havoc on the hair.

I could tell that she had also been bathing the dog with those mats.

 So, what did I do?

I bathed it too.  :)

Only I was trying to get the mats to loosen up enough to get a #4F blade through the coat.

I really didn't want to take this little, thin, white coat any shorter than I had to.

 The shampoo and conditioner did not loosen the mating as much as I hoped that it would.

Hopefully the HV dryer will come through for me.

Well, it did loosen the mat a little, but not as much as I wanted.

Little did I know that this  friendly, cute face could get very upset, very quickly.

He had a nice airspace on the back of his head, between his ears to start getting  a blade through the mats.

He wanted nothing to do with having the clipper behind his head.

I had to find a spot lower, between the shoulder blades.

I also had to use a #5F blade.

At least bathing him before the clip is leaving the coat looking velvety.

Of course the mats on and behind the ears had to be clipped off with a #10 blade.

I tried to use a light touch and pick at the mat so that the ear would not look too skinned.

The mats on this dog were mainly on the body.

The lower part of the legs were not matted at all.

I was planing on trying to do a Lamb type clip, and leaving the legs a little longer than the body.

As I was clipping, I noticed how long the hair was on the legs, and it reminded me of a question someone asked me on my blog.

This person had asked me if I had any pictures of a Shih-Tzu with a 'Bellbottoms' cut.

I have seen that cut on one Shih-Tzu and a couple of Yorkies over the years, but have never done the clip myself.

So I tried it on this little guy.

How silly does that look?

It didn't really turn out the way that I wanted.

He needed more hair on the lower part of the legs.

It looked a little better from the front.

Only a little better.

This is the way that I sent him home.

Nope, I did not keep the 'Bellbottoms."

The 'Bellbottoms' that I saw on the two Yorkies looked really cute.

I wish that I could find that old picture, but that was 20 years ago.

The 'Bellbottoms' defiantly look nicer on dogs with long, straight hair, and a little thickness to the coat, so that you can bevel the bottoms of the feet.

Oh, and so much for having that long talk with the owner.

As soon as the owner saw the dog, she asked my husband if it was okay for the dog to wear it's sweater all of the time, now that the hair was so short.  :p

Happy Grooming, MFF

Am I Wrong?

Am I wrong to refuse to clip certain breeds of dogs?

I can say after 28 years of grooming, that I have never shaved down a Golden, a Sheltie, or a Collie.

I have always talked all of these owners out of shaving their dogs.

I have always tried to educate them on what shaving could do to these double coats.

I used to shave a SheltieX coat because it was recommended to be done by the Vet.

I warned the owner what would happen to the coat, and she understood, but 'the Vet' recommended it be done.

So I shaved the dog with a#5F for years.

For years the coat grew back, a little thinner and sparse, but it grow back.

Until one day...it stopped growing back.

Only it stopped growing back in spots.

The poor dog looked like it had mange.

This was 3 months after the dog had last been groomed.

The owner came in and wanted to know "what did you do to the coat?"

Why is it that the groomer always did something?

I reminded her of our long ago conversation, and she was gracious enough to remember.

I had been grooming for about a year, at a kennel, when we had a Samoyed come in for grooming.

The coat was unbelievably packed with tight under coat.

As a newbie I remember being totally overwhelmed.

This was before HV dryers.

All dogs were brushed out before the bath.

Every bit of undercoat had to be removed before the bath.

I honestly can not remember who made the call that the dog could not be brushed out and had to be shaved.

I worked with another groomer at the time, but we were both newbies.

I am pretty sure that the kennel owner made the call.

He was not a groomer, but he liked to pretend that he new everything about grooming.

That was the first and only Samoyed that I ever shaved down.

I remember feeling horrible about it even then.

The kennel owner did not believe in calling owners and warning them or asking if the owner was okay with shaving the dog.

He believed that you did 'what had to be done.'

I was not there when the dog was picked up.

It would not have mattered anyway, because I was not allowed to talk to the customers.

I was told  the next day that the dogs owner cried when he saw the dog.

He cried!

Can you believe that that memory still bothers me to this day?

I still feel horrible that I shaved that mans dog.

I can not help but wonder how I would have groomed that dog today.

I know for fact that the dogs coat would have had to be pretty damn bad for me not to be able to save it with the tools that I have available today.

I had a collie in the other day.

This Collie was a dog that I used to groom a couple of years ago.

When I first started grooming this Collie, he was suffering from allergies, and his coat was so thinned out that you could practically blow on him to dry him.

After they got the allergies straightened out, that Collies coat came back in unbelievably thick.

The Husband was so happy.

The wife...not so much.

It was going to take a little while for the coat to blow the way it was supposed to.

The wife didn't want to wait, she wanted coat off of the dog.

I offered to shorten all of the feathering to please the wife.

When said wife came to pick up the dog, she was not happy that more hair had not been taken off of the dog for the price that she paid.

That was the last that I saw them until a month ago.

The husband brought the dog into our self-serve for a bath.

They had been taking the dog to someone who was shaving him.

Okay... not my dog.

They want to shave the dog, that's okay, as long as I am not the one doing the shaving.

Turns out that the Husband hates the dog being shaved.

I showed him pictures of what shaving could eventually do to his dogs coat.

He made an appointment.

The Collie came in last week.

He was growing out of his summer shave.

His coat is very thick, but the coat has already changed.

He looked like he was full of undercoat.

Some areas of the coat where not growing in as fast as other areas.

Thank you for Best Shot Ultra Shampoo and Creme Rinse!

I really worked the shampoo into the coat and let it sit for a few minutes.

Then I completely rinsed the dog.

I followed up by very lightly diluting the Creme Rinse and than putting it on the dog like I was shampooing him again.

I really rubbed that Creme rinse into the coat, let it sit for a few minutes and then rinsed well.

I told the Husband that instead of shaving the dog, I would scissor all of his feathering tight to the body.

He was happy with that.

He thought that his wife would be okay with that.

Personally, I have a feeling that nothing short of dipping this dog in Nair would be okay with the wife.

Why, Why, Why get this breed of dog if you don't want the hair.

I don't ever remember seeing 'Lassie" look like this, no matter what scrape she got herself into.

The Wife still thought that we charge too much, but she said that the dog looked nice.

We will see if they come back.

I have a feeling that this guy will be seeing the shave down groomer come spring.  :)

Isn't he a beauty?

Imagine what he would look like with his long flowing coat.

The only thing that I ever cut on my Collie was his feet.

 I think that I will always stand my ground on this subject.

Some coats just are not meant to be shaved.

I want a Golden to look like a Golden.

I want a Keeshond to look like a Keeshond.

I want a Sheltie to look like a Sheltie.

I want a Collie to look like a Collie.

And...

I want a Samoyed to look like god created him to look.  :)

I am not asking for much, am I?

From the general public...

Who am I kidding, of course I am.

If it comes down to the dog shedding all over the house, and the dog keeping his coat, the house seems to always win.  :/

Happy Grooming, MFF