Pricing Your Grooms

Pricing!

 I hate it.

I hate when price shoppers call.

I hate it when other groomers call pretending to be a potential customer, just to get some prices.

I hate when I under charge for a dog because I think the customer is going to think I am charging too much, only to have them stand there and say, "Is that all. Wow, your cheaper than the last person I went to."

I hate charging what I think is a fair price for a dog, then find myself defending it to a customer that thinks the price is too high.

And...

I can not stand a customer who thinks that they can tell me what they will pay.

Giving prices over the phone almost always backfires also.

You ask all of the right questions over the phone, but the owner does not always give all of the right answers, and you end up giving the wrong price without seeing the dog.

So give a ballpark price right?

Between 40 beans and 55 beans.

That usually backfires on you also, because the customer only hears, or remembers the lower price that you said of 40 beans.

They conveniently forget that you also said that the price could  also go as high as 55 beans.

I try very hard not give prices over the phone, but that is not always possible.

I understand that some people want to have an idea so that they will know what to expect, and if they can afford it.

We try to make it very clear that the price quoted over the phone is only a rough estimate, and that we need to actually see and feel the dog to give an exact price.

There will always be price surfers and hagglers out there that want to try to find or get the cheapest price they can.

I have learned that it is best to be very direct and firm.

Not rude and nasty.

Use a pleasant, but firm tone of voice that says this is the way we price, your welcome to take it or leave it.

Don't let anyone bully you about your prices.

I do not give discounts.

My Landlord does not give me a discount.

The Gas and Electric Company does not give me a discount.

The phone company does not give me a discount.

Dogs are not a necessity of life.

They are a luxury.

If you can not afford that luxury, you should not get one.

Or they should have gotten a dog that is low maintenance.

It is not your fault that a customer owns more than one dog.

No discount for multiple dogs.

You still have to do the same work on each dog.

You still have to spend the same amount of time on each dog.

You did not tell the owner to get more than one dog.

It is not your fault that the customer bought a high maintenance dog.

They could have gotten a short haired dog.

They could have gotten a small dog.

It is not your fault  that they can't afford to have the dog groomed on a regular bases.

Talk to them about keeping the dog short so that they don't have to have it's hair cut as often.

Charging extra.

My basic grooming and bathing prices includes everything that a dog needs for a good grooming.

I don't like to knit picking my customers with a lot of extras.

My basic prices include bathing the dog in whatever shampoo they need, even if they need a Medicated, Hypo, or a Hot Oil treatment.

It also includes clipping the nails, cleaning and plucking ears, and emptying anal glans, fluff drying, and body clip up to a 4F blade.

There are things that should be charged extra for the extra time and work involved.

It is not your fault that their dog is matted.

You work five days a week.

They could call you anytime.

It is their responsibility to make sure the dog does not get matted.

It is not your fault that the dog is difficult.

More than likely the dog was not born that way, they made it that way.

It will take you extra time and care.

Working on a difficult dog is a hazard to you.

Retail would be so much easier.

You but a product.

You set your prices.

The customer buys the product.

Done.

Pricing service work.

Ugh!

For me pricing is a pain in the a**.

I have tried pricing by the breed, but that does not work because so many dogs, of the same breed, come in so many different sizes and coat types.

Take a Golden for example.

I could set a Breed price at 50 beans. 

Two Goldens come in, one is on the smaller side, with a thin coat and no undercoat.

 Another could be almost 125 pounds, full of undercoat, and extremely long hair.

It would not be fair to charge both of these Goldens the same price.

I could line up 5 Goldens next each other and everyone of them would be a different size and, or coat type.

Not to mention that some of them only get a little trimming and others get a lot of trimming.

Some hardly any comb-out, some a ton of comb-out.

The same can be said about Labs, Bichons, Schnauzers, Cockers, just about any Pure Breed dog.

So setting prices by breeds just does not work.

I have tried pricing by the hour. ( actual hands on time)

That is not fair either, because everyone grooms at different speeds.

As of January I will be raising my prices for my regular customers.

Most will only be going up 1 to 2 beans, except for my large dogs that are grossly undercharged.

They will be going up 5 to 7 beans.

I know that some of my large dog owners will have something to say about this, but it can't be helped.

Actually, I would be very happy to see them call around and see that they are already getting their dog groomed for a great price.

My large dog prices are not low on purpose.

I stopped grooming large dogs for a while, and when I started taking them again...

Oh, I don't know what the heck I was thinking.

I have no excuse other than being temporarily insane.

Or being too chicken to ask for the price I should have.

So now, I find myself trying to play catch-up with my prices for large dogs.

And the large dog owners being upset with me.

I am starting with a new slate with my new customers.

I have decided to write down a list of  basic ballpark prices for the most common breeds of dogs that I see in my shop.

This price list would be for my husbands eyes only since he is the one who answers most of the calls.

The ballpark prices will be on the higher side, for customers who insist on getting a price over the phone.

This will also keep my husband from coming back to ask me a price, and I have to quickly come up with one off of the top of my head.

I usually end up regretting the price I quoted, once I have time to think about it.

I have done the math to find out what my lowest price for a dog should be.

Warning:

I am by no means a math expert.

It could get really confusing here for the next few minutes.

This is how I figure up the lowest basic price to meet my overhead.

First, add all of your overhead (bills) for the year, this includes your salary.

Divide that by 12 months.

Now take that new total and divide it by 4 weeks. (I know that there are 5 weeks in a few months, but we will pretend that they are vacations)

Take the weekly total and divide it by the number of days you are open a week.

Now you will have the total amount that you need to make a day.

If you only want to groom 7 dogs a day, divide 7 into the total that you need to make a day.

That is the basic, or lowest price that you should be charging a dog.

Yearly overhead  80,000

Months 12/80,000 = 6666.61 dollars a month needed.

Weeks  4/6666.61 = 1666.66 dollars needed a week.

Days    5/1666.66 = 333.33 dollars needed a day.

Dogs   8/333.33 =  41.66 dollars per dog.

So if you were running a shop, and the overhead was 80,000 a year, you would need to groom 8 dogs a day, 5 days a week, 48 weeks a year, at 41.66 beans a dog.

Round it up to 42 beans.

That would be the lowest groom price that you would charge, per dog, in your shop.

If you are a groomer, who's boss allows you to make your own prices, use the same math.

There is only one difference.

If you are paid by commission, figure out what you need to make a year to pay your bills.

Say 40,000.

If you are paid 50%, double the 40,000 = 80,000

Then do the math the same as above.

In this case if you wanted to make 40,000 a year, you would need to groom 8 dogs a day at 41.66 a day.

Remember this is the base price for your smallest dog grooming.

Your prices will be higher for larger dogs, difficult dogs and matted dogs.

The base price is a price that helps you make sure you are making at least enough money to cover your overhead for the year.

Are you still there?

Tap, Tap, Tap

Is your head spinning yet?

Just reading it again made my head spin, and I wrote it!  :)

I can not write exact prices on my blog, but this is how my price list will be broken down for new customers. 

All of the numbers shown are just examples.

Grooming prices will vary around the country, depending on the economy in your area.

Bathing & Brush: Short Hair  (no clipping or trimming)
Basic Price Includes: Bath, Brushout, nails, ear cleaning, anal glans
Small               Medium            Medium/Large            Large            Extra Large
30 beans          35 beans            40 - 45 beans            50 beans          60 beans
Chihuahua,  Jack Russel (smooth),  Dachshund (smooth),  Pug,  Pointer,  Doberman, Great Dane,  ect.

Bath & Brush: Short/Medium Hair Double Coated  (no clipping or trimming)
Basic Price Includes: Bath,  15 minute Brushout, nails, ear cleaning, anal glans 
Extra Charges: 5 beans for every 15 minutes after the first 15 minutes.
Small              Medium           Medium/Large             Large           Extra Large
Shepard,  Huskies,  Labs, Akita, any short hair mix with a double coat, ect

Bath & Brush: Long Hair (trimming feet, rear only)
Basic Price Includes: Bath, 15 minute brushout, nails, ear cleaning, anal glans, trimming of feet and rear.
Extra Charges:  Add 5 beans for every 15 minutes of brushing/dematting after the first 15 minutes.
                            Add 10 beans for extra trimming of outline
Small           Medium          Medium/Large             Large            Extra Large
Brittany Spaniel,  Cavalier, Daushund (wire, long hair),  Clumber Spaniel, English Setter,  ect

Bath & Brush: Long Hair, Double Coated  (trimming feet & rear only) 
Basic Price Includes: Bath, 15 minute brushout, nails, ear cleaning, anal glans, trimming of feet and rear.
Extra Charges:  Add 5 beans for every 15 minutes of brushing after the first 15 minutes.
                            Add 5 for Small/Med. 10 beans for Large/XLarge for extra trimming of outline.
Small           Medium           Medium/Large            Large          Extra Large
American Eskimo,  Collie,  Golden, Samoyed,  Keeshond,  Pomeranian, ect

Full Body Clipping/Scissoring:

Basic Groom Price Includes: Bath, 15 minute Brushout, nails, ears cleaned & plucked, anal glans, full body clip with a blade.
Small             Medium         Medium/Large          Large           Extra Large
42 beans        45 beans          50- 60 beans          80 beans         95 beans

Extra Charges:
Clip Comb& Hand scissor / Style Clip: Add 5 beans for Small/ Med size. Add 10 beans for Large. Add 15 beans for X-Large.
Full Hand Scissor Cut: Add 10 beans for Small/Medium dogs. Add 20 beans for Large dogs. Add 30 beans for X-Large dog.
De-Matting: Add 5 beans for every 15 minutes for Small/ Med. dogs. Add 10 beans for every 15 minutes for Large dogs. Add 20 beans for every 15 minutes for X-Large dogs.  De-Matting not to exceed 30 minutes.
Excessive matting/Overgrown:  Add 10 beans for Small/Medium dogs. Add 20 beans for Large dogs. Add 30 beans for X-Large dogs. (these are your once or twice a year dogs)
Difficulty:  Add 5 - 10 beans depending on time spent and difficulty.

So lets use my chart for a minute.

A small short hair comes in for a bath... 30 beans.

That bath also includes high quality shampoos specifically for that dogs hair and skin, even Medicated and Hypo shampoos.

Next, a Shih- Tzu comes in for a Lamb clip, legs and ears are a little matted.

Basic Price Small/ Medium dog...42 beans

Lamb Style cut for Small/ Medium dog... + 5 beans

De-Mat ears and legs, 10 minutes...+5 beans

Total groom price:  52 beans

Standard Poodle comes in for a Kennel Cut with a Clip Comb& scissor all over.

Basic Price for Large Clip...80 beans

Clip Comb & Scissor...10 beans

Total Groom price: 90 beans

I will admit that I do not charge very often for de-matting because most of my de-matting is done with the creme rinse and the HV dryer, so there is not much left to brush out.

I also believe that customers, who only bring in their overgrown, matted mess to be clipped once a year, should pay more than the customer who faithfully brings in their dog every 4, 6, or 8 weeks.

Well, there it is.

Don't under charge for your skill.

Good, caring groomers can be hard to find.

You are worth your weight in gold if you are good at what you do.

You should not be afraid to charge for all of the work you do on a dog.

At the same time be fair about it.

Charge high where it is deserved.

Remember that your grooming is a skill and an art.

Customers that really care about their dog will pay your prices if they know that you also care about their dog.

Now, I just have to keep reminding myself of this also.

TAP, TAP, TAP

You can wake up now.

I am done.  :)

Happy Grooming, MFF

                              

Very Frustrating Day

It isn't even the Holidays yet, and work has been crazy.

If it is going to be like this until after Christmas, I don't think I am going to survive.

Warning!

I am about to blow off some steam.

My day started with this guy.

According to his owners, he does not like people, but he likes me and I like him a lot.

He is a sweetheart with me. 

He was not my problem, just a very big job. 

While I was roughing in his face and feet, my other 8am appointment came in.

This was my other 8 am appointment, and he was loaded with undercoat.

I am still pulling his hair out of places I don't want to talk about.

Because I am the only one who can bath him, I put him in the tub first and let the standard wait to be bathed by my son while I was drying this one.

Did that make sense?

I can't tell anymore.

I think I need some sleep.

So anyway, while I was bathing this guy, my 9am appointment showed up.

Let me give some background on my 9am dog.

If I didn't like this dog so much, I may have fired his owners by now.

His owner is one of my failures.

I can not crack that mans shell.

He would make the Grinch look like Mickey Mouse.

I have come close to making him crack a smile, but you can almost see him fighting it.

There is absolutely no doubt that he feels I am here to provide a service for his dog and that is it.

He also has no problem letting you know if he did not think that you did a good enough job the last time his dog was groomed.

He also gave us a hard time once when we pulled up to our shop 4 minutes late to open.

We have a 40 minute ride everyday, and most of the time we pull up between 7:55 and 8 on the nose.

I know it is not right, but occasionally we are a few minutes late do to a back up, but never more than 5 minutes.

We are working on doing better.

Anyway, when we pulled up that day, 4 minutes late, the owner of the above dog was pissed.

He did not mind telling us so.

The thing was...his appointment was for 9am, like always.

Ever since then, he is almost always late for his appointment, as much as 20 minutes.

No, I don't say anything to him.

I am not playing that game.

The last time the dog was in, the wife picked up the dog.

She is nicer, and I can get her to smile, but she has no problem making her comments also.

My daughter waited on her when she came in and told her how much the dog was.

"That will be $46," my daughter told her.

"Oh, you all went up again," the owner said.

"No," my daughter said firmly, "it is the same price that it has been for the last two years."

My daughter put her file card down in front of her.

"Well, if you guys keep going up we will have to find another groomer," the owner said.

If you knew my daughter, you would understand the restraint it took for her to walk away without saying anymore, especially when she thinks I should not be grooming their dog anymore.

So, on to today, the owner came in right on time today.

Nine o'clock on the nose.

"I need him back as soon as possible," the owner informed my husband, "I am leaving town as soon as I pick him up."

I have no problem helping my customers out when I can.

I get requests like this all of the time.

In this particular case, I had to finish the dog I was already working on.

I could not stop him, quickly groom the other dog, and then go back to him.

I always do him straight through.

If I put him away, he would think that he was done, and be impossible to finish.

So I made a decision.

I would finish my difficult 8 o'clock appointment, hold off the finish on the Standard to work on the 9 am appointment straight through.

My 8 am appointment decided to act up a little on the table, and took me a little longer then I planed.

By now I was starting to feel rushed. 

I did not want the owner of the 9am appointment to walk in asking if his dog was done yet.

About half way through the grooming I got a 'feeling' (ESP?).

My family hates when I get a 'feeling'.

My 'feelings' almost always come true.

My husband always asks me why I don't get 'feelings' about the Lottery.

Anyway, I got an overwhelming 'feeling' that I was rushing for nothing, and that this owner was not going to pick this dog up when I was done.

It has happened to me so many times.

A customer will ask for their dog out right away, or by a certain time, like say, a 1:00 doctors appointment.

I put the dog in front of other dogs,  I get the dog done,  I call the owner, "I'll be right over", and what do they do?

Show up at 1:20.

Twenty minutes into their so called doctors appointment.

It is SO frustrating.

So, what time did the owner of the 9 am appointment show up for his dog?

Was my 'feeling' right?

I finished him by 11:45.

The owner picked him up at 3pm. :p

Meanwhile, I stayed behind the rest of the day, and had 3 other owners walk in for their dogs without calling first.

It's not a full moon.

I checked. 

I really don't mind doing favors for my customers.

I just wish that when I bend over backwards for them, that they would respect me by doing what they say they would do.

Is that so much to ask?

Tomorrow better be better.

Please.  :)

Happy Grooming, MFF

Answers to Tuesday's Test

As I have said before, my answers are based on my 27 years of Professional Pet Grooming.

Some groomers may disagree with some of my answers, but that is okay, I am open to comments from groomers who have found other, or easier ways of grooming.

The answers below are what I have learned over the years.

Some, unfortunately, from trial and error.

They work for me.

I hope that some of the answers can work for other groomers also.

Okay, lets go...

True or False Answers:

~ 1) Every dog can be clipped. 
 
False: I should have clarified this question more...Every dog can have a clipper used on them.
 Well, if you want to get technical, every dog could have a clipper used on them, if you sedated some of them, or held some of them down. I don't care for doing either of those things. I have groomed on sedated dogs, at a Vets office. I understand that in some cases that sedation is the only way to clip a dangerous dog, but for me, that is a very last resort.
I also don't agree with pinning a dog down to clip it. If the dog is that afraid of the clippers, I scissor them.

This little Maltese utterly hates the vibration of the clipper going down his legs, front and back.

He will fight to the point of hurting himself. In the summer he gets a clip down #5F, and in the winter he gets a 3/4 blade cut.

He will let me clip his body, but wants nothing to do with the clipper on his legs. 

Why fight it, and make him and myself miserable?

So what do I do?

I scissor the legs to match the body even with the #5F length. It really does not take any longer to do this. Actually, it takes less time, because the dog does not fight for the scissoring. Anytime a dog does not care for the clipper, to the point of hurting itself, see if they will except the scissors instead. If that still does not work, then it is time to send that dog on to a Vet Groomer where the dog can be sedated and monitored by the Vet during the grooming.

Don't be afraid to educate an owner if their dog does not except the clippers.

Unfortunately, I have owners actually tell me to tied their dog down or do whatever I have to to get the dog clipped. Just remember, that owner may tell you to get their dog groomed anyway you can because they don't want to pay the extra money the Vet will charge them, but if you injure that dog while trying to force it to let you clip it, that same owner will conveniently forget what they told you and sue you faster than you can blink.


Some dogs can be worked with over time. Each time they come in and build up a trust with you, you can use the clipper a little more each time till they are no longer scared of that noisy, vibrating object that keeps trying to run all over their body.



It is not fair to the dog or to you to force clipping on a dog that becomes dangerous when a clipper come near it.

~2) Clipping a dog with a clipper is the safest way to clip a dogs hair.

False: This question goes along with question #1. Clipping is only a safe way to cut a dogs hair when you have a dog that does not mind having a clipper used on it. A clipper blade can do some serious damage to a dog that is fighting to get away from a clipper. A clipper and blade can also cause damage when used by a person that is being careless or does not know what they are doing.

~3) You should only use clean, sharp blades to cut a dogs hair.

True: This one is a no brainer. The only way to get a nice cut on a dog is to use clean, sharp blades. A blade that is dirty and or going dual will drag and pull the hair, slowing you down and causing discomfort to the dog.

~4) It is best to start clipping a dog on the back of the neck, 2 to 3 inches below the occiput.

True: When clipping, it would be best to start clipping at the same place every time you clip the dog. The top of the neck behind the head is a good place to start each time you clip a dog. This gives the dog a routine so that they know what to expect each time you start grooming them.
Clipper on.
Place the clipper on the neck below the occiput.
Clip down the back.


It is also a good habit to make your first clip a few inches below the occiput so that you leave enough hair to blend the head into the back of the neck.


I heard that!
What the heck is an occiput?
Occiput: the back part of the head or skull.


Sorry about that. I was taught the term 'occiput' in Grooming School, and it always stuck in my head.

~5) Fine tooth blades are safer to use then skip-tooth blades.

True: I truly believe this. Speaking from experience, it is one of the worst feelings in the world to be clipping along and have one of those skip tooth teeth crab onto a dogs skin and cut it before you can pull the blade away.

Once I got my first fine tooth blade (F blade), I rarely ever touch a skip tooth blade anymore. As a matter of fact, the only time I ever use the skip tooth blade now is for skimming.

~6) Skip-tooth blades work well for skimming off excess coat.

True: It is about the only thing that I feel the skip tooth blade is good for. Why? Skimming is to lightly run a blade over the top part of the coat without touching the skin. The skip tooth is good for this because the teeth are widely spaced and will lightly comb through the hair easier than a fine tooth blade.
As I have stated many times, I bathe all of my dogs before clipping, but there have been a few times when I have had a very overgrown, matted dog come in and I have used the #7 skip tooth blade to skim the top part of the coat off, down to the mat, so that I can get the shampoo down into the matting so that I can loosen that matting up and away from the skin for a safer clip.

~7) It is okay to clip a dog with a warm blade.

False: A slightly warm blade will not hurt a dog, but you should get into the habit of switching out a blade when it starts to become slightly warm. If possible invest in at least 3 of each blade length. (3-#15, 3-#7F, 3#5F, ect.) Ideally, you would like to have two blades to work with, and one spare for when you have to send one out for sharpening.  When a blade starts to get warm, lay it on a piece of ceramic tile, sheet metal, or in a medium size stainless steal dog bowl so that it can cool quickly while you are using the second blade.

Can't afford that many blades right now? No problem. Keep a blade coolant on hand. Find one that you like. I personally use Cool Lube.
There is a trick to using coolant. To cool your blade, follow these steps:
~Turn the clipper off.
~Spray the front of the blade liberally for about 15 seconds.
~Shake the excess coolant off of the blade.
~Now, very carefully, hold the blade, pointing away from you, so that you don't blow it in your eyes, blow the coolant out from between the teeth.
~Wipe the blade clean.
~Repeat the last couple of steps if needed.
You want all of the coolant off of the blade so that it does not get on the dogs hair or cause hair to get caught up in the teeth because there is still wet coolant between the teeth.
I know, it sounds like a lot of work to cool down a blade, but after you get used to doing it, you get pretty fast at it.
Another way to try to keep your blades cool, is to clip one side of the dog, stop clipping and do the finish work on that side while your blade cools, then clip the other side of the dog. Of course this only works if you are fairly quick at clipping.

~8) It is okay to clip a belly or armpits with a #7F, #5F, #4F blade.

False: Yes, technically you could clip the belly and the armpits with the blades in the above question, but I do not recommend using them. You could skim with the #7F, 5F, and even the #4F blades if you did not want to take the belly and armpit too short, but it would be much safer to use a #10, or #15 blade instead. There is less chance of getting a nipple or flap of skin from the armpit caught in the blades teeth. If you use a very light touch when clipping with the #10 and#15 blades, you can also get that fuzzy skim affect on the belly and armpit.

~9) Clipping the pads of a dogs feet with a #15 or #30 is safer than scissoring the pads.

True: For the first few years that I groomed, I scissored the pads of all of the feet I groomed except Poodle feet. I got really good and fast at it, but I also had my share of close calls, and nicked a pad or two. Thankfully nothing bad. Then one day I had a light bulb moment. You know, those moments when you not only wonder why in the world you hadn't thought of it before, but you also feel like a complete idiot because you didn't think of it earlier. After all I had been shaving the pads of Poodle feet for three years. Why in the world didn't I do it with all of my feet? My only excuse?
That is how I was taught in Grooming School, scissor the pads of the feet.
I rarely ever scissor pads anymore. I use a #30 blade to clip out the pads of all of the dogs. Even though I use a #30 blade, I am careful of the pressure that I use. Each dog is different. If it is a white dog with pink skin, I skim over the pads just enough to clean them up, leaving a little hair between the pads to protect the sensitive skin. If the dogs skin is tough and can handle it, I use full pressure and make the pads nice and clean.
Whether using scissors or a blade, there is always the danger of nicking a pad or toe webbing. I feel that there is less of a chance with the blade.

~10) A #7F blade can be safely used to clip a face.

True:  My grooming teachers would be having a fit if they could see me now. Use a #7F blade on a face!? They would think that I was out of my mind.
I use the #7F blade on faces all of the time.

 This Poodle's skin can not handle having the face shaved with a #10 or #15 blade. Her skin is too sensitive, but the owner still wants a short face. So, I use the #7F blade against the grain. I am very careful around the lip line and eyes. I would never try this with a skip tooth #7, I only use a #7 fine tooth blade. It still looks like a clean face, but it does not irritate the dogs skin.

I use a #7F against the grain on Cocker faces also. On some Cockers I use a combination of the #7F and the #15 blade. On other Cockers I only use the #7F. Once again it depends on the type of hair they have. I think that the #7F leaves a very nice, velvety finish on some Cockers.
I hate seeing blade tracks on a Cockers face.
When using the #7F blade on a face, always work carefully around the mouth and eyes.

~11) Armpits are to only danger spot that you have to be careful of while clipping.

False: Technically clipping a dog is like working on an unpredictable, moving target. You could easily cut a dog almost anywhere, but there are at least 10 danger spots that are more susceptible to being nicked if you are not careful.

1~ The Nipples on the belly can be nicked even with a #10 or #15 blade.
2~ The Tuck-up can be sliced open with a blade or scissors. To help try and avoid this, clip downward off of the tuck-up, do not run the blade parallel with the tuck-up.
3~The Hamstring, above the hock. My teachers petrified me about this area. They had me convinced that if I cut this area with a blade, I would paralyze the dog. To this day I never take a blade straight down the back of the hamstring in fear that the dog will jerk its leg upward into the teeth of the blade. I gently pull the skin around to the side of the leg to clip the hair. When clipping down the leg I also put my fingers on the hamstring so that if the dog does jerk upward, the blade will slam into my fingers, and not the skin.
4~ The Dewlap. The loose skin on the neck. Always take care when running a blade down the neck. Some dogs have very loose skin in this area that can get caught between the teeth of even a fine tooth blade. I also use a very light pressure or skim this area, and follow up with scissors.
5~ The Lip/Gum Line. Be sure to pull the lip line taught before you clip. Also watch for the gum line on the bottom jaw that sometimes flops over out of the mouth on some dogs.

6~ The Tongue. This has to be the part of the dog that scares me the most. That tongue! How many times have you had a dog that insisted on trying to lick your blade will you clip, or your nail clippers while you are trying to clip the nails, or my all time favorite...flick their tongue up into your scissors while trying to scissor around the eyes.
7~ The skin under the arm. See question #8.

8~ The Rectum. This is another area that can be easily nicked because the dog moves or sits at the wrong time. Try to up one arm under the dog, holding the tail to the side, while scissoring or clipping to keep the dog from sitting suddenly. Do not use full pressure when using the clipper around the anus, lightly skim with the # 10 or #15 blade.
9~ The Toe Webbing. There is really no trick, that I know of, to keep from nicking the toe webbing other than being careful.

10~The Tri-fold inside of the ear. When clipping the inside of the ear, take a second to find this little fold in the ear and make sure that you clip straight down, off of the fold. Do not clip parallel with the folds.


Of course a dog could be cut on any part of it's body for any number of reasons. After all,  you are working on a moving target that has a mind of it's own, and does whatever they want, whenever they want. You must always be on guard when clipping and scissoring. When you are not paying attention, or you start to rush...that is when an accident is most likely to happen.

~12) Each number blade will leave the same length of coat on every dog.

False: Any blade will take a thick, plushy type coat a lot shorter than it will take a thin, fine, silky coat. A #4F blade, for example, may make some white, thin coated dogs look shaved, while the same #4F blade will leave some thick coated Cock-a-Poo's looking thick and plushy. Even though blade makers may tell you what length their blades will leave, the length the blade really leaves depends on the texture and condition of a dogs coat.

~13) You should not use a blade against the grain on a dogs coat.

False: It is perfectly fine to use blades against the grain on a dogs coat. Example: Most faces, feet, bellies, ears, ect.  I use a #7F against the grain on Schnauzer heads. I love the finish it leaves. I think that using a blade against the grain really depends on the dogs coat, and the finish that you are looking for. The Schnauzer head on the right was clipped with a #7F against the grain. I have heard a lot of groomers talk about using blades and clip combs against the grain on bodies also. I personally don't go against the grain on the body, I just use the next blade down, but that's me.  :)

 ~14) A Poodles feet can only be clipped with a #10, #15 or #30 blade.

False: Over the years I have had a number of customers ask for the poodle type feet, but they did not want them shaved. I have also been asked to clip the feet on a couple of Cockers and a Shih-Tzu like a Poodle, only don't shave them. This is again where skimming comes in handy. First take a #4F or #5F blade (depending on thickness and color of the coat) and run it against the grain on the top of the foot. (be careful of the area where the toenail and toe connect) Once that is done, use a #15 or #30 blade to skim and scoop out lightly between the toes. I wrote about doing this on a Poodle in another post.
http://petgroomingthegoodthebadthefurry.blogspot.com/2010/08/i-want-poodle-feet-facebut-dont-shave.html

~15) You need to use a lot of pressure when clipping the body to get a smooth cut.

False: Once again it comes down to the type, and thickness of the coat that you are working on. When leaving a coat on the longer side, the pressure is up to the length you want to leave. If you are taking a thick coat fairly short, you may need to use a fair amount of pressure just to get a nice smooth look.

 Wow, that was fun.

Now I have to proof read to make sure that my answers make sense.

If an answer does not make sense to you, or you have a better answer, let me know by commenting.

I love to hear how other groomers groom.

More questions next Tuesday.  :)

Happy Grooming, MFF

Tuesday Test...Clipping

Here we are back to the test questions again.

I have so many true and false questions for clipping that it may take 2 or 3 Tuesday's to cover all of the questions.  :)

On to the test.

True or False:

~1) Every dog can be clipped.

~2) Clipping a dog with a clipper is the safest way to clip a dogs hair.

~3) You should only use clean, sharp blades to cut a dogs hair.

~4) It is best to start clipping a dog on the back of the neck, 2 to 3 inches below the occiput.

~5) Fine tooth blades are safer to use then skip-tooth blades.

~6) Skip-tooth blades work well for skimming off excess coat.

~7) It is okay to clip a dog with a warm blade.

~8) It is okay to clip a belly or armpits with a #7F, #5F, #4F blade.

~9) Clipping the pads of a dogs feet with a #15 or #30 is safer than scissoring the pads.

~10) A #7F blade can be safely used to clip a face.

~11) Armpits are to only danger spot that you have to be careful of while clipping.

~12) Each number blade will leave the same length of coat on every dog.

~13) You should not use a blade against the grain on a dogs coat.

~14) A Poodles feet can only be clipped with a #10, #15 or #30 blade.

~15) You need to use a lot of pressure when clipping the body to get a smooth cut.

I think that I better stop at 15 questions.

Some of the answers may be a little long winded.

I will have the answers posted by Wednesday or Thursday at the latest.

I got home late from work everyday last week, and it makes it hard to blog.  :/

Happy Grooming, MFF

A Fun Picture

I was going through some pictures tonight that I had taken back in 2009 at Groom Expo.

I found this fantastic picture of a Standard Poodle from one of the competitions.

It was a competition for mix breeds and full breeds groomed as a different breed.

I am sorry that I don't remember the name of the groomer who groomed this dog.

She did place with the dog, and she should have, it was a great groom.

So the next time a customer comes in with their Poodle, toy, miniature, or standard, and they tell you "Don't make him look like a poodle!"....

....make him look like a Bedlington Terrier!

I think this cut looks so cool on a Poodle.

Happy Grooming, MFF