Backboard Makeover

Today's makeover is not on a dog, it is on my backboard.

What the heck is a backboard?

It is a life and career saver for me.

I am sure that many of my readers have seen the backboard on my grooming table when I post pictures of dogs.

I built the backboard to help save my back while grooming.

I love my electric grooming table but the top of it is just way too wide.

Personally I have never understood why grooming table tops are so wide.

I mean a groomers wish is for the dogs to stay as still as possible on our tables so that we can safely groom them.

Why give them so much room to move around, or away from the groomer?

 This is all of the extra room left on my table when I push my backboard all of the way to the back edge of the table.

I don't need all of that extra room, even for large dogs.

I know that a lot of groomers like to walk all around their table while grooming, and I like that too...if my table top was narrower.

 My backboard has really saved my back while grooming.

The dogs can no longer insist on standing right at the opposite back edge of the table while I am trying to groom them, causing me to have to stretch my arms and back to reach them.

The backboard keeps the dogs right up close to me.

I just turn the dogs around when I need to groom the opposite side of the dog.

My backboard needed a little makeover.

I t needed a new mat, and the bumpers around the top edges needed to be replaced.

There was also one other thing that I lost when I started using a backboard on my table.

A mirror.

I used to have a mirror on the wall behind my table, but I took it down after the backboard made it useless to me.

Why a mirror?

No, not for the dog to look a him or herself.  lol

The mirror comes in handy to look at the dog while it is being groomed to get another perspective on how the groom looks.

So, I bought these to use on my backboard.

12x12 mirror squares!

I was going to glue them over top of the existing tiles on my backboard.

Wa-La!

New mirror tiles.

New mat.

New bumper.

Now I can check out the dog in the mirror as I groom and still use the backboard.

 Wow, I know I have a bad habit of laying my tools on the table, but this picture makes it look even worse. :)

Anyway, the mirror tiles work great while working on small and medium size dogs.

Not as great with large dogs, but that is okay.

I can still check out the legs and feet.

I like it.

I am happy. :) 

Oh, did you notice the tiger striped duck tape down the front edges of the side panels?

I was afraid that the  mirror tile edges might be sharp and did not want to take any chances that a dog gets hurts, so I felt that the funky duck tape was a good idea and fun to look at too.