Did I Groom That?

Every once in awhile I get a customer ask me to clip their dog in such a way that I would not choose.

As long as they are not asking me to do something that would hurt the dog, I am game.

I used to work at a Vet/Kennel that had a customer with a Lhasa.

The very first time that I groomed the Lhasa it came in with matted legs.

I was told to only clip the legs and leave the body.

The next time the dog would come in, the body would be matted, and I only clipped the body.

Of course when the body was clipped the dog looked cute in a lamb cut, but clipping the legs and leaving the body...

Well, I am sure you can visualize it.

Just picture a mop walking around on toothpicks.

Apparently that was the routine that the dog had had for a long time.

The owner did not want the entire dog clipped short all at one time.

That was my very first experience feeling that I didn't want an owner to tell anyone who groomed her dog.

I mean really, if you saw an owner walking her Lhasa down the street and it had about 4 inches of hair on its body and it's legs were totally naked, would you take your dog to the person who groomed that dog?

The two Pomeranians that I groomed today didn't look bad when I was done, they just looked a little silly to me.

This owner has been having her Pomeranians clipped over the years, so there was no reason for me to go into my speech about ruining the coats...they are already ruined.

The Poms are Mother and Daughter.

This is the daughter.

Her coat is not as bad as her mothers coat.

The owner wanted both dogs very short, but she wanted them left full around their heads.

I asked if she wanted a Lion cut on them.

No.

She wanted them left full around the head, but also wanted it scissored and shaped up.

So this is what I did to the Mama Pom.

I used a #4F on her body.

Her hair had not grown back as much, from her last hair cut, like her daughter.

I had to follow the same lines that the other groomer had clipped because the hair was not growing back right.

Then I shaped and scissored all around the neck and head.

I guess it is not too bad.

A little silly maybe, but she is very cute.

The daughters coat was a little different.

The hair around her head and neck was silkier than her mothers.

It fell differently around the neck.

So I decided to taper the chest into a point and let the main fall naturally and then shape it up.

I thought that that would look nicer on her than the round head like her Mom.

 It is a little hard to see on this picture.

I could not get her to sit right and look straight at me.

I also used the #4F blade on her body.

 

I guess it is okay if the owner tells people where she got her dogs groomed.

At least the body and legs are the same length. :)

I don't know...

The more I look at them, the more the cut grows on you.

I have a feeling though, that if another groomer sees them, they will think; 'what was that groomer thinking when she groomed them?'

They will be back in 6 weeks.

I guess I will have to wait and see if the owner wants the same cuts next time.

Happy Grooming, MFF