When I was pregnant with my first child I used to dream about days like today.
The dream would start out like any other grooming day, then as the dream went on I noticed that every time I finished a dog, and it went home, a new dog would pop into the kennel to replace the last dog.
I would groom that dog and another would appear, and another, and another.
I would not wake up until somewhere in my goofy brain I realized that I was dreaming, and all I had to do was wake up.
When I did wake up, the relief I felt was amazing.
Well, today I kept trying to wake up, only, I wasn't dreaming.
It was just one of those days.
A book solid day.
Walk-ins left and right for nails and brush outs.
Nails on Self-Serve dogs.
It was like a Saturday, only today was Friday, and it seemed everyone was off work today except us.
I don't even want to think about what tomorrow is going to be like.
Another booked solid day with a bunch of large dogs, and it's the day before Easter.
I don't even want to think about what the Self-Serve is going to be like, and how many times I am going to have to stop grooming to go clip nails.
It's going to be another 'will this day ever end.'
I know it's going to be a bad day when I only have 3 dogs done by noon.
Then I had this little lady come in.
She came in with her friend.
Another little SpanX that is tan and white.
If it hadn't been so crazy today I would have gotten a picture of her friend.
I meant to, I forgot.
Anyway, this little ones friend has a smoother coat, more like a field spaniel.
A naturally smooth back with a little feathering.
This little girl has more then her fair share of hair, and peach fuzz all over.
(This is where a picture of the other dog would have come in handy.)
The owner wanted me to make this little lady look like his other dog, but he did not want her to look clipped.
He wanted her to look natural.
So I pulled out my Furminator.
I used the Furminator to remove all of that fuzzy peach fuzz.
The furminator does great getting out all of that peach fuzz and leaving the smooth, courser hair behind.
A natural look.
I also used it to take a lot of the fuzz off of the legs.
Most of this came off of the dogs back and sides.
This is what her back and sides looked like after using the Furminator.
Once I finished using the furminator, I grabbed my thinning shears.
I used my thinning shears all over to get rid of a lot of the long stringy hair.
They wanted the ears left long, so I also used the thinning shears to smooth out the ears.
I used the thinning shears to thin out the fuzzy hair and blend the head and ears.
This is what the back legs ended up looking like.
And the front leg.
I think it looks natural without looking clipped.
She looks as tired as I felt.
All she had to do was stand there. :)
I still had 4 more dogs to finish after her, and it was already 1:30.
Are you sure today wasn't a Saturday?
I will not dream about dogs tonight..
I will not dream about dogs tonight..
I will not dream about do.....oh sorry.
I think I am scared to go to sleep tonight. :/
Happy Grooming, MFF
May I once again tell you how much I appreciate your blog? I learn so much!
ReplyDeleteThanks Deb, I am so glad you enjoy reading it. I am very happy you are learning something from it. Every time I write a post I think someone is going to read it and think 'I already know that!' :)
ReplyDeleteLisa, MFF
Do you like the furminator tool??? I wanted to buy it but didnt because i saw how expensive and that each is for diffrent types of hair i would have to buy one of each i would like to know if it is reall worth it!....i also read on a grooming site that it was the same as a 10 blade with the clipper off...and when you use it do you use the furminator shampoo??
ReplyDeleteHi Jessica,
ReplyDeleteThe Furminator is defiantly a tool that you should have in your arsenal. It is a pricey tool but it does work great on Goldens, Labs, Sheps, and cats too. You can use it on most any double coated dog. I have the original one. Personally, I think that one is enough. For years I used the #10 blade and my hand as the handle. Boy, I wish that I had thought of the handle and marketing it. lol
As with many groomers out there, I don't have the money to throw away on 4 or 5 different Furminators. The original works well on every size dog. Right now I am fine with just the one. :)
As for the Furminator Shampoo, I have never used it, so I really can not say if it makes a difference using it. I would be curious to try it sometime just to see if it really does help get more coat out. To me, I would think that any de-shedding shampoo would work just as well.
I have also used the Furminator with my regular everyday shampoo and still gotten a ton of coat out of the dog. I hope this helped. :)
Lisa, MFF
Ok so I guess Ill give it a try but i buy everything from petedge ( because where I live seems to be the best shipping fee, i live in Puerto Rico) and they dont seem to have one for everthing they have small dogs long or short coat meduim dog long or short large dog long or short...which would you suggest?? Im starting at grooming and mostly what i get are shih tzus havent got any lab, shep or anything near just a pom pekinease mix and they wanted him short because of medical problems But i want to be prepared for anything
ReplyDeleteJessica,
ReplyDeleteI looked up the Furminator in my Petedge catalog. I see that they no longer sell the original Furminator. :( I guess like all company's today they had to come up with ways to sell more of their product. If I were you, or if I had to replace my Furminator, I would buy the Small Breed one for Short Hair. It is the one that looks the closest to the original. I have used it on both short and longer coats (Goldens) with the same results. I don't think that you will be disappointed once you have a dog to try it on. As long as you remember that you have it. lol I have done that with new tools before...forgotten that I have them till it's too late. :)
Lisa, MFF
Ohhhh thank you sooo much for taking of your time to check im really grateful your a charm :) i read ur whole blog its great...thank you again
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love the furminator tool & conditioner, the conditioner actually DOES help, but you have to keep up with it. I have a very heavy shedding dog (aussie<3) and I used it on her once, no difference, did it again 4 weeks, big difference, again in 6 weeks and barely anything. I can use my coat king on her and brush her for over an hour, and blow her out (I have done this on many occasion) and she would still shed! I just love how my dogs coat looks after I use it on her, she's not as hairy as most aussies, and it helps her coat look thicker. Also, I like that it's hypoallergenic, so it makes her smell good and doesn't irritate her skin so I don't have to use cologne. I was iffy about trying the new "long hair" tool because its so expensive, and the orig never really worked on her, but it works better than my coat king. But maybe not for every dog, just mine. Only problem I have with furminator conditioner is that I tend to use more than I should, and it takes a while to get it all rinsed out, and if you don't it gets all waxy. Sorry for the ramble, but I'm def. A furminator fan! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the information. I have never tried the furminator conditioner. I'll have to see if they have sample bottles at Hershey this year. :)
Lisa, MFF