Just Can't Do It....

I don't know how to say this without sounding conceited, so I guess I will just say it....

Sometimes I actually wish that I did not groom as good as I do.

Oh boy, that sounded even worse typing it out.  :p

Let's see if I can say this a different way.....Sometimes I wish that I could give a dog the haircut that I know the dogs owner deserves.

There that sounds better.

So, what exactly do I mean by that?

I mean, that there are times that pet owners bring me dogs that have not been groomed in a long time.

The poor dog is very over grown, and matted.

Almost without fail these owners do not want you to shave their dogs.

Some like to pretend that the dog isn't even matted.

Some like to turn it on the groomer and say that we are professionals and should know how to remove all the mats and keep the dog long.

In other words, pull out that magic wand, wave it over the dog and make their dog fluffy and mat free.

Now, here in lies my problem.

I very rarely ever have to 'shave' a dog. (shave to me is using a #7F, #10, or #15 on the body and legs)

No matter how matted a dog is I am usually able to get at least a #5F between the mats and skin.

Of course using a #4F or #5F is considered 'shaved' to some pet owners.

I always try to leave a matted coat as long as I can. (unless the pet owner does want the dog shave as short as possible)

So, where am I going with all of this rambling?

I had a dog in the other day.

 He had last been in the beginning of November 2013.

He had another appointment scheduled for January.

Needless to say, the owner canceled that appointment saying that she would wait, because it was too cold for a haircut.

It was recommended to the owner to still bring the dog in and get a bath and tidy to help maintain the coat and clear out the eyes and private areas.

I owner refused and said that they would wait.

We knew that five and a half months was way too long for the dog to go between groomings.

What can you do?

We try to educate.

As we expected, the dog was pretty matted all over.

Yes, my brain was saying 'teach this owner a lesson and take the dog down very short'.

There was only one problem..... after feeling and examining the coat when the dog came in, I knew that after bathing and HV drying, all of that matting was going to loosen up enough to most likely get a #4F or #3/4 blade through the coat.

That would still be a short length for this owner, but most likely would not teach this owner to bring the dog in more often.

I know that there are groomers out there that would say I should just go ahead and shave the dog with a #10 to teach the owner not too wait so long between groomings.

The problem is, I don't think that that teaches pet owners anything but that the groomer shaved their dog naked, and they won't take the dog back again until they absolutely have to, i.e. dog matted again.

The other problem is.....I just can't bring myself to shave a dog naked when I know that I can save some of the coat and don't have to shave it.

Maybe it comes from all those years of not knowing how to say 'no' when pet owners begged me to demat their dogs, or leave them as long as possible.

I spent a long time finding ways to save faces, legs, ears, and tails.

 As I guessed, the mats in this dogs coat loosened up quite a bit after the bath and HV dry.

 I was able to get the 3/4 blade under most of the matting on the body.

The legs were a different story.

I did not want to use a shorter blade on the legs after I had been able to get the 3/4 blade through the body.

So I scissored the legs down to half of the hair off.

After the mats were cut in half, it took less than a minute to brush the leg out....

....run the 3/4 blade over the leg and scissor to finish.

(Before the bath)

The face was also pretty matted.

(after the bath)

The bath and HV dry also loosened up the matting on the head and face, but....

...it was still pretty matted.

So, I did the same with the head and face.

I scissored the face as though I was doing the finish work, cutting the mats in half.

Then I brushed the head and face out.

Again, this only took a minute or two.

It did help that his coat was very forgiving.

And, that he didn't mind being brushed.

So, he still gets his cute face that the owner likes....even after five and a half months.

I know he felt much better with all of those mats off.

I am glad that I was able to leave him on the longer side.

I'll just have to keep trying to educate the owner about grooming the dog in the winter months.

Intergroom 2014 Creative Grooming

Finally finished getting the creative grooming pictures together.

Unfortunately, I did not get every groomers name, sorry.

At Intergroom the groomers go into the ring with the dogs 80 to 90% complete and then they have an hour to do all of the finishing touches before being judged.

I didn't get the name of the groomer who groomed this little dog.

This creative groom was an Ocean theme.

This dog was very hard to get a good picture of because of the set-up the groomer had around her table.

Kayla Spears did this creative groom as a tribute to a friend.

This was her first time competing in a creative grooming contest.

Her theme was a rock&roll theme.

Kayla played the guitar and sang for her presentation.

Angela Kumpe did this amazing creative groom of 'Popeye the Sailor Man'.

First side.

Second side.

This 'Nintendo' themed poodle was groomed by Brynn Haynes.

I have to say, this one was one of my favorites.

The groomer sitting next to me was very upset that this dog did not place.

First side.

Second side.

Adriane Pope took 3rd Place with this 'Peter Pan' themed poodle.

First side.

Second side.

Cat Opson took 2nd Place with this 'Ocean' themed poodle.

First side.

Second side.

And the 1st Place winner was........

Cindy Oliver with the 'Western' themed poodle.

Her scissor work is always so sharp and clean.

This creative groom was a crowd favorite.

First side.

Second side.

Mixed Feelings

One of the grooming contests at Intergroom was Creative Felines.

I have to say the creative groomings on these cats were amazing, but I have mixed feelings about creative grooming on cats.

Maybe it is all of the negative responses that I have heard over the last few years from the general public about any type of creative grooming.

The general public is so quick to judge things that they know nothing about.

Many people call any type of creative grooming (even a little color on the ears or tail) cruelty.

Now when I look at a creative groom, I can't help but think; "Hmmmm, I wonder what the public will think about this groom?"  or "Boy, the public is going to bash this creative groom."

That kind of thinking tends to take the fun out of the creative grooming for me.

A couple of years back our family went to Historical Harpers Ferry for a day trip.

We like to take some of the dogs with us.

They love walking around the town just as much as we do.

This particular time my daughter took two of her Bichons.

One of them had had its tail and ears colored.

The color was very faded after several bathes, and to be honest, I thought that it was hardly noticeable.

One woman did notice.

She very rudely commented on how cruel we were to the dog.

Not to our faces....she loudly expressed her feelings to her companion.

She wanted her companion to; 'look at that poor, sad dog.'

That 'poor, sad dog' was happily dancing around, wagging his tail, greeting anyone who would give him a second look.

I just don't understand what people 'think' they see.

Anyway, this past weekend at Intergroom, there were several news groups at Intergroom recording the creative competitions.

My heart sank when I saw all of the cameras, and an announcement was made that Dateline and Inside Edition were taping for future shows.

My heart sank, because I have not seen a positive new report on creative grooming yet.

Even the TV show that Angela Kumpy did on creative was edited to make creative grooming look like a joke.

Will Dateline do report a favorable story?

I say the chance is 50/50.

I am leaning towards...no.

Will Inside Edition?

I seriously doubt it.

There is already an article on the internet from  the 2014 creative cat grooming at Intergroom.

It is full of misinformation about the cats and about Intergroom.

The  public comments on the article are 99% negative.

Some comments are down right scarey.

(I do have to say that his article has better pictures of the cats than I do)

I personally am not crazy about creative grooming on cats.

Don't get me wrong, the creativity of these groomers is amazing.

I also know for fact that the owners of these cats love them very much and would not do anything to hurt them.

I also know for fact, because I saw these cats in person, that they were all happy cats.

They were not scared or upset.

The Siamese cat was an absolute sweetheart.

I also know that these creative grooms could not be done if the cat objected.

I have  couple of cats that would most likely have no problem letting me do something like this, they are so laid back.

I also have couple that would rip me a new one if I came within two feet of them with a clipper.

Even though I personally am not crazy about creative grooming on a cat, I don't have any bad feelings for the groomers who do creative grooming on cats, because I know that they are not hurting the cats.

I truly wish that the general public would research things that they disagree with, and not be so quick to judge and bash something that they know nothing about.

Okay, off my soap box.....

Here are some of the pictures that I was able to get from the Creative Feline Contest at 2014 Intergroom:

The Lion.

I am sorry that I did not get the names of all the groomers who groomed these cats.

This kitty was moving around so much that I was unable to get a good picture.

The creative cut on this cat was Scooby Doo.

Angela Kumpe did this groom.

I thought that the three birds on the back of this cat was clever.

This kitty could have cared less about all of the people and everything going on.

He was so ready to just curl up and take a nap right there on the table.

He could not have been more laid back.

The artwork on this cat is amazing.

 

This was the first place winner.

What a very sweet cat.

I am pretty sure that this was another entry from Angela Kumpe.

Tuesdays Tip #59 Bravura Clipper Battery Replacement

Today's tip comes from a fellow groomer, Jackie Basker.

Last week I posted about waiting for Intergroom to buy my daughter another cordless clipper, because the battery in her clipper was going up.

Jackie was kind enough to post a comment  with a link to buy a new battery for the  Bravura clipper.

She also messaged me a collage of pictures showing step-by-step on how to change the battery.

Jackie has very nicely allowed me to share her step-by-step photo collage with all of her fellow groomers that read my blog.  :)

Copy and paste this link that Jackie provided to buy a battery:  http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Belissima-Wahl-Moser-Ermila-Ersatzakku-3-6V-NiMh-EXTRA-LARGE-Akku-Batterie-NiMh-/290870006611?pt=DE_Elektronik_Computer_Haushaltsger%C3%A4te_Kleinger%C3%A4teWellness_PM&hash=item43b9341353

Jackie said that the battery ships from Poland and that she received it in about a week.

Below is the photo collage directions that Jackie shared with me.

It shows you step by step how to change the battery yourself.

 

 Thank you Jackie for sharing!

~I have not checked  this next information myself, but another groomer talked about being able to go to a local battery warehouse (if you have one in your area) and also finding the same battery.

~If you don't like doing your own clipper repairs, I have been told by quite a few groomers that Wahl has great customer service, and that you can send your Wahl clippers back to have the battery replaced.

I am not sure what the current price for them to replace the battery is at this time, but you can call 1 800 767 92451 800 767 9245  or  1 815 625 65251 815 625 6525  for customer service.

Sending your Wahl clipper in for maintenance and/or repair is most likely cheaper than buying a new clipper.  :) 

On another note......

We just got back from Intergroom late last night.

Intergroom was held in New Jersey, but we were only 5 miles from Time Square in New York.

The ride up was smooth and half way home was good too until we drove into the rain.

The Jersey Turnpike and I95 through Delaware is no fun when it is raining hard.

I am grateful that we made it home safely with only one close call when a driver decided to change lanes, because she didn't want that exit, and almost side swiped us.

Thankfully the alert driver on the other side of me saw what was happening and was able to move into the shoulder just enough for me to swerve and avoid the other driver.

My horn caught the attention of the careless driver in time for her to move back.

Anyway, was it all worth the 7 hour round trip?

Yes and no.

We had fun, but Intergroom had shrunk considerably.

The conference center used last year was big and roomy.

The contest ring was in the center of the hall and you were able to sit or walk all around watching the contestants groom from all angles.

The Hotel that we stayed at last year was great and the rooms were really, really nice.

This year....

The Hotel room was okay, but very small.

Intergroom was held in the Hotel, so it was nice that you did not have to drive or walk to another building.

The vendors were in two separate rooms across the hall from each other.

Many vendors from previous years were missing.

The vendors that were there were so crammed into each room that it was ridiculous.

Sunday morning was spent just trying to walk through the room to see what vendors were there.

Forget trying to stop to look at anything.

The isles were so narrow that there was only room for people to walk each way.

If someone stopped to look at, or talk to someone in a booth, they cause a human traffic jam.

The lines at some of the vendors like Davis and Frank Rowe were crazy long.

I waited in line at Frank Rowe for 25 minutes to buy a few things.

We spent even more time trying to get to the things that we wanted to buy.

Several times we overheard vendors complaining amongst themselves about how they were losing sales because people could not get to their booths.

 

This was the larger room.

You can see that it does not go very far back.

1 800 76

 

 This picture was taken from the same spot as the above picture, only now I was looking at the small seating area in front of the grooming stage.

As  you can see, it was packed.

 Can you see what everyone was trying to watch?

  They were trying to watch the Poodle competition.

There were 50+ groomers, Poodles, tables, and chairs crammed into a very small contest area. 

The groomers had to be bumping into each other while grooming.

It was very disappointing not to be able to clearly watch all of the groomers groom. 

 

Some of the other grooming contests were not as crowded, because their were not so many contestants as the Poodle group.

The Rescue competition Saturday night was fun to watch.

Most of the dogs found new homes.

The Lip Sync contest on Sunday night was great and hilarious.

We had a lot of fun watching some really great talent and clever lip syncing.

I had my smaller camera with me at the lip syncing, but had forgotten to replace the memory card. 

So sorry, no pictures.  :( 

I met a couple of my blog readers at the Best Shot booth Sunday.

I am sorry that I did not get thier names.

I always feel a little funny and nervous meeting groomers that have read my blog.

I know, I am strange. :/

Anyway, if the groomers I met are reading this....it was very nice to meet you!

 

 

I did get plenty of pictures of the Creative grooms on Monday, and will be posting them very soon. :)

 

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