Answers for Holly

A fellow groomer had left some questions for me the other day, and I promised her that I would finally answer them tonight.

No ranting in this post. :)

Here are her questions:

1. Blades: How are you liking your wahl blades you bought a while ago? I have been using buttercut and know you are not a huge fan of them why? I recently have been slowly purchasing Andis Ultra Edge and feel it is not as smooth but it may just take some time.
2. Shears: What lengths/brand of shears do you use? (I was only given a 7.5" curve shear and a 46 tooth blender in my beginner kit) and now I am finally revamping my tools.
3. Clipper Vac: Have you ever used one? I just began using one and love it for comb blades and reverse cuts except when I use them with my blades, cutting with the grain it seems to leave lines, it could be my blades but when I cut without the clipper vac it leaves no lines. Any thoughts?
4. How are you liking your "Chunkers"?
5. When pulling out undercoat on a double coated breed have you ever used the marrs coat king or anything similar?
6. Hand Stripping: Do you know how? you probably do so do you advertise it. I have heard so many controversial things about shaving breeds that should be hand stripped (skin irritation, coat color/texture changing, etc.) vs. hand stripping is mean. 

The answers that I will be giving to these questions are my opinion.

Other groomers may not agree, or may use, or like other tools.

Every groomer should use tools that are comfortable to them.

Another groomer may absolutely hate a brush, or blade, or clipper that I love.

That does not mean that either one of us is wrong in our thinking, we just like different things.

So, as you read my answers to these questions, keep an open mind.

Don't worry if I don't like something that you use, that's okay, if you like it, and it works for you, that is all that is important.

1. Blades: How are you liking your wahl blades you bought a while ago? 

I like them.... My daughter does not like them, and only uses them if she has to. I have noticed, that even though my daughter and I have the same exact make of clippers, that the blades do not cut the same on each clipper.

Sometimes when she borrows a blade from me, that is working just fine on my clipper, but it does not cut nice on her clipper. 

The same tends to happen when I borrow a blade from her.

I am sure that it has something to do with the way the blades were set after sharpening and the way the lever is wearing on the clipper.

I have to say, I bought those blades a few months ago and have not had to have them sharpened yet. (or course I only clip clean hair with them)

It's amazing, I have collected quite a number of blades over the years, Oster, Andis, and Wahl.

I have my favorites that cut just the way I want them....then I send them to the sharpener, and when they come back, one or two of those blades that I really liked to use regularly don't cut as nicely as they cut before, but others do.

I guess that it is all in the way they are sharpened.

Who knows, I may send these new Wahl blades out to be sharpened and not like them when they come back, and my daughter may love them.

It's crazy. 

  I have been using buttercut and know you are not a huge fan of them why?

I don't know.

Well, that 's not entirely true.  

For some reason my Buttercuts just don't cut right on either my clippers or my daughters.

They seem to glide over the top of the hair and not cut to the length they are supposed to.

I'll be honest, we just kind of tucked them away and haven't tried using them recently. 

Maybe I should send them out to be sharpened again (I changed sharpeners) and try them again when they come back. 

  I recently have been slowly purchasing Andis Ultra Edge and feel it is not as smooth but it may just take some time. 

You do tend to get used to the way certain blades cut.

There have been times when I have been using a blade and then I pick up another blade (the same brand and same number length) and the second blade seems to cut shorter and smoother than the first. 

The first blade was not dull, it just didn't cut as short as the second blade.

Of course that could be due to how far up the cutting blade was placed by the sharpener. 

Sometimes brand new blades need to be sharpened. 

I know....they are new, they should be sharp already, but they may cut smoother for you if you send them out to be sharpened.

Oh wait...try cleaning and oiling them first, if they still are not cutting right for you have them sharpened. 

 2. Shears: What lengths/brand of shears do you use? (I was only given a 7.5" curve shear and a 46 tooth blender in my beginner kit) and now I am finally revamping my tools.

I can tell you what I use, but shear are such a personal tool. 

I love using 10" shears.

I use them more than any other shears.

I like using 7.5", or 8.5" shear on faces and small dogs.

I also use both straight and curved shears.

I have so many scissors, I tend to buy one or two new ones a year.

I used to buy Monks, because they were so light.

A heavy shear would make my wrist hurt.

For a while they stopped making Monks and I started to buy Heritage shears.

They are a nice light weight shear without being overly expensive.  

It is just me, but I just can not bring myself to drop $200 or $300 on a pair of shears.

I am sure that they are wonderful to cut with, but I would brake down and cry if a dog knocked them out of my hand and they hit the floor. 

I bought a $100 pair of shears once because a fellow groomer raved about them.

I have used them twice...I don't like them. 

I like the Heritage Stiletto and the Sure Grip "88".

I have them in the 8.5" and 10" curved and straight.

Here is a link to where I buy mine if anyone is interested in checking them out:

The Groomers Mall 

 3. Clipper Vac: Have you ever used one? I just began using one and love it for comb blades and reverse cuts except when I use them with my blades, cutting with the grain it seems to leave lines, it could be my blades but when I cut without the clipper vac it leaves no lines. Any thoughts?

Funny you should ask about the Clipper Vac.

I used a Clipper Vac for 20 years.

I first bought one when my daughter was born to keep hair down in the shop.

I didn't want my baby around all of that hair.

I really liked the Clipper Vac.

So, why did I stop using it?

I stopped when I started using my cordless clipper.

At the time Clipper Vac did not have a attachment for the Moser, and I loved the way the 5in1 blades cut faces and feet.

I also started using a Andis clipper, and back then, you used to have to glue the Clipper Vac attachment to the clipper...I didn't like that at all.

So I slowly got away from using the Clipper Vac. 

I found out that they now have an attachment for the Bravura cordless clipper.

You also no longer have to glue the attachment to my Andis clippers.

So I have been planning on replacing some parts and using it again.

As for clipping dogs with the Clipper Vac, I found that when using the #4f, #5f, or #7f with the grain, the best way to get a nice smooth clip was to keep the regulator hole wide open while clipping.

Also, do not clip in long strokes.

Clip in short overlapping strokes.

I hope that that makes sense.

I have also read that a lot of groomers use the Clipper Vac against the grain.

They will use a #4f against the grain to get a #5f clip.

I have to admit that I have never tried that. 

 4. How are you liking your "Chunkers"?

Mmmmmmm.

I have only used them twice.

Does that answer your question? lol

I don't know, the ones that I bought just seem way too aggressive. 

I think that they leave a too choppy finish.

I like a crisp, sharp finish on my dogs.

As I said before, it  is all in the preference of the groomer.

I will probably use them again, just not as often as I thought that I would.

 5. When pulling out undercoat on a double coated breed have you ever used the marrs coat king or anything similar?

I use my Mars Coat King quite a lot.

I used it twice today.

I use it more for thinning a coat out than for removing undercoat.

As I said I used it today on a Pom and a CollieX.

But, I didn't use it until I already had all of the undercoat that I could get out out. 

Because the Mars Coat Kings are a number of  small curved blades, I don't like using it to remove undercoat, or mats.  

I want to remove the entire undercoat not cut it.

As for mats, I worry that the skin could be pulled into the blades, along with the mats, and cut the skin.

 

I like to remove most of the undercoat with the HV dryer.

Whatever undercoat is left after bathing and drying I get with my slicker brush, mat brush, or comb.

 

 Once all of the undercoat has been removed, I use the Mars Coat King to thin out areas where my comb is not gliding smoothly through the hair, like the main, the hips, or the rear feathering.

It also helps to thin out these areas. 

 

This is what the Poms coat looked like after using the Coat King.

 6. Hand Stripping: Do you know how? you probably do so do you advertise it. I have heard so many controversial things about shaving breeds that should be hand stripped (skin irritation, coat color/texture changing, etc.) vs. hand stripping is mean.

Yes, I know how.

I am in no way an expert on the subject.

No, I don't advertize it, or offer it.

It is very time consuming and hard on my hands.

I don't seem to be able to use the hand stripping tools right. (maybe it is because I am left handed)

I also prefer stripping with my fingers and not tools.

I hand stripped my TerrierX until she was about 16 then it was too much for her.

When you hand strip a coat it does leave a beautiful finish and the coat is different.

I have found, over the years, most pet owners don't want to pay the price for hand stripping, (the cost of hand stripping should be considerably higher than clipping) or have the patience to wait for the right time for the coat to be stripped.

I very rarely ever have anyone ask me about hand stripping.

I will admit, I have a long time customer that have just gotten a Welsh puppy.

He has a gorgeous coat, and I have already done a little stripping on him. :/

I have to say, that I have clipped a lot of dogs whose coats could have been hand stripped if the owners had wanted, and have never seen any skin problems because of clipping.

Yes, clipping does change the texture and sometimes the color of the coat on some dogs.

I hope my answers helped. :)

✂ Happy Grooming, MFF ✂

I Feel a Burnout Coming On

I usually can't wait to get back to grooming after a vacation, and I felt that way after I got back from vacation a couple of weeks ago.

The first week back was very busy, but went fairly smooth.

This week....I have had it already, and it has nothing to do with the dogs or grooming them.

It is the pet owners.

They make me want to rip my hair out.

I am always telling my daughter and my husband to not let the two legged customers get to them.

To try to just ignore stupid ignorant comments.

To try to  just ignore the rudeness and whining when a customer can't get the appointment times they want.

To try to ignore the complaining about the cost of grooming their dogs.

To try not to let the customers get under their skin.

But, how can I expect my husband and my daughter to do that when I find it hard to practice what I preach myself.

We go out of our way to give excellent customer service.

We try very hard to work with our customer schedules to give them appointment times that they want.

We always shift things around to help out a customer that must have their dog back by a certain time.

We almost always have dogs finished when we say we are going to have them finished, and if we are running behind, we call the owner to let them know.

We wait on our customers right away, as soon as they walk in the door.

My husband usually answers the phone by the second ring.

We take the time to listen to our customers.

We do our best to give their dogs the exact cut they want.

We don't talk down to our customers, or give them a hard time for the bad condition of their dogs coat.

We educate our customers on how to take care of their pets coat.

We also take the time to answer any other questions that they may have about their pets, or steer them towards someone who can answer their questions.

We take care of every dog as if they were our own.

Does it sound like I am tooting my own horn?

Well, I guess maybe I am, but I believe in good customer service, because I'll tell you one thing, I don't see much good customer service anymore these days.

No matter how bad a day I might be having, I  always greet every customer with a smile.

Is it wrong of me to expect some of the same respect that I give my customers given back to us?

I don't think so.

I am getting tiered of dealing with all of the disrespect.

~Customers showing up anywhere from half and hour to and hour late for appointments with not even so much as a "I am so sorry I am late, can you still groom my dog."
Nothing!
Just drop the dog off and want to know when it will be done.

~Customers showing up with a pre-written check for the groom....and the amount being wrong. (short)

~Customers that ask you to move their appointment time, because it is too early for them.
You move the appointment back by two hours, even though you don't have an opening, THEN that same customer shows up half an hour late for the new appointment time. 

~Customers waiting to call and cancel an appointment for two dogs half an hour before they were supposed to be there.

~Customers that do not bother to return your call when you left them a message to see if they want to fill an appointment in a couple of days.
It leaves you hanging because you are not sure if they are planning on taking it, meanwhile you could be calling someone else on your waiting list.

~Customers who you call at 9:15 because they haven't shown yet, only to have them say; "I thought my appointment was for 9:30." No, our appointments have always been booked on the hour, and it is now 9:20 and you haven't even left your house yet to get here for the supposed 9:30 appointment!! AND we told you 9 when we gave you the reminder call yesterday.
(No, we didn't say that to the customer...that is what we wanted to say. We just told her, 'no, your appointment was for 9)

~Customers that come in with a new dog, wanting a simple short cut on their dogs, and telling you all of the wrong things that the last groomer did.
That same customer telling you that you will be their regular groomer if you do a good enough job.
Then when they pick the dog up, they grab the dog and go....you have no idea whether they liked the groom or not.
(I know after grooming for so many years, this should not bother me anymore, but it does. I would just like to know one way or another whether the groom was okay.)

~Customers that you tell them about something that you found on their dog, that you think should be seen by the Vet right away, and they just brush off your concerns.

~Customers that you do them a favor....and the check has still not shown up in the mail.....AND they will not answer their phone.

Everyone of the things that I listed above happened today!

Well, I guess that I should at least be grateful that all of the dogs were good today.

Sorry about the rants two days in a row.

I love my job.

I love grooming.

I love the dogs.

I resent pet owners making me feel burnt out.

I try really hard not to let some of the pet owners ruin it for me.

It is when the pet owners all seem to be at their worst at the same time that I have a hard time dealing with it.

I think that the grooming industry loses good groomers every year, not because of the dogs, but because of having to deal with pet owners who don't respect our profession, or how hard we work everyday to make their pets feel good.

So to every pet groomer out there that reads my blog, you are doing a great job!

Hang in there and concentrate on your furry customers.

Try hard not to let disrespectful people bring you down.

Even when they all seem to come in on the same day or week. :/

I am trying....

I think that I will go read some happy grooming stories now. ;)

✂ Happy Grooming, MFF ✂

Tuesdays Tip # 54....Runny Eyes

Oh, and I may just add a small rant to the end of this post.

First the tip for today.

You know how you get those dogs with the really runny eyes?

Most of them tend to be Shih-Tzus or Shih-Tzu mixes.

The eyes and face tend to stink from the constantly moist hair and skin under the eyes.

So, you spend a little extra time shampooing and cleaning up really nice around the eyes.

You get the face all nice and clean and smelling good again.

You get the face all nice and dry and ready to scissor.

Then, you go to scissor up around the eyes and the face and the hair is wet again.

Sometimes it is really soaking wet.

That can sometimes make it hard to scissor.

So I keep a roll of Ultra Soft Toilet Paper next to my table.

The toilet paper is nice and soft to rub a round the eyes, and it is also nice and absorbent.

It does a really nice job of removing excess moisture and drying the hair a little.

Wrap a small sheet around your finger and rub the hair under the eye to help dry before you scissor.

It does not get the hair totally dry, but it does help to clean up under the eye and lift the hair for scissoring.

The roll of toilet paper also comes in handy for wiping off blades, cleaning out ears, cleaning slobber off of a mouth, picking up accidents on your table, wiping cut hair off of your face, and wiping off your scissors.

Now for the rant.

Sometimes you just get those customers that you seem to always go out of your way for and then you just feel like they step on you.

This particular customer has two dogs.

He is very picky about the grooms.

We go out and get his dogs out of the car when he brings the dogs, and we take them back out and put them in the car when he picks up.

That is not a big deal for us, because we do that for a lot of our older, or disabled customers, but this customer tends to tie up my husband and one of my kids for quite a long time, as if they have nothing else to do.

The main thing that bothered me this time with this customer was the fact that he came to pick up the dogs and forgot his checkbook.

He had credit cards with him, but did not want to use them.

Don't ask....it didn't make any sense when my husband explained it to me.

He asked for the shop mailing address and said that he would mail the payment as soon as he got home.

This customer has been coming to us for awhile, so my husband told the customer that that would be no problem as long as the check arrived by Saturday so that we could close out the books for the week.

By Thursday we had not received the check, so my husband called.....he forgot.....would send it out that day. (the dogs were groomed on Tuesday)

No problem, it would still get to us by Saturday.

Saturday mail...no check.

Fast forward to today's mail....no check!

Phone call today....no answer.

Has now been 8 days since the dogs were groomed.

My husband is kicking himself for not making him use the credit card.

I hate chasing people.

My husband will call him again tomorrow.

I am giving him the benefit of the doubt that he was not home today and is not just avoiding our phone call....we will see.

You try to trust people and do something nice for someone, and then they do something like this.

It ruins it for trusting other customers.

It is also like a slap in the face after you let someone do something that you don't normally let customers do.

Okay, rant over.  

✂ Happy Grooming, MFF ✂

My Own Dog...MATTED!!

I can't believe it.

I just can't.

I have never had one of my dogs become so matted that I had to take him down short.

I mean, my dogs do tend to get over grown, because lets face it, grooming my own dogs at the end of a long grooming day, or week just isn't very appealing sometimes, so I do tend to let them become pretty long before I finally stay after work and groom them.

BUT, I must say, that most of them do get brushed and bathed every week, or every other week.

The longer the coat, the more often I brush them out, either before I start my day, or before I go home.

I tend to brush my red Standard Poodle the most.

Out of all of my dogs, his hair tends to knot up the fastest, so he needs to be brushed out at least every other day. 

I brush my white Standard  3 or 4 times a week.

Even though her hair is pretty long right now, she does not tend to mat much.

My black Standard has the best hair, and I can actually go a couple of weeks without brushing her and she doesn't mat.

So anyway, I did not get a chance to groom, all of my dogs before going on vacation, but they were all brushed out.

I wanted to brush my red Standard the night before we left, but I was too busy and never got around to it, but I was sure that he would be okay.

I knew that he would have some matting when I got home, but I could easily brush, or HV that out when I got home.

Or so I thought.

I was shocked by how matted he was when I got home.

Seven days of no brushing couldn't possibly cause him to become that matted.

If a customer had come in and told me that their dog became matted while they were away on vacation (and they have) I wouldn't believe them for a minute....until now.

I really think that I have to give a little more benefit of the doubt when a customer tells me that their dog matted up so quickly.

Of course I know that a dog that hasn't been groomed in 4 to 6 months is not going to just suddenly became a pelted mat over night. (have had plenty of pet owners try to tell me that one)

But, I would have never have believed that a dog could get as matted as my dog did in just 7 days.

Seven days!

His hair is long, but not that long.

When I say he was matted, I mean MATTED.

All over...to the skin matted.

The only thing that was not matted were his ears.

There was no way I was going to be brushing all of that mat out.

He had not been swimming.

He had not been left out in the rain.

He is a totally indoor, spoiled dog.

I just could not believe that he had matted this badly in such a short amount of time.

 So I bathed him and HV dried him in hopes that most of the matting would blow out of his coat.

No such luck.

The mats moved father away from the skin, but they did not blow out of the coat like I was hoping. (even though I knew it wouldn't)

Even though he looks nice and brushed out in this picture, he is still pretty matted closer to the skin.

So, Friday after work I stayed and groomed two of my Standards.

My black Standard had also not been brushed in 7 days, but she only had a few knots in her coat, and they brushed out very easily.

I did not have to take my red Standard as short as I thought that I would have to, but it is still a lot shorter than I like to keep him.

He is such a skinny, boney Poodle that he looks much better with more coat on him.

My black Standard is very solid in the body and looks good with the shorter clip, although the shaggy look really fits her personality.

What I learned from this experience?

That maybe...just maybe.....sometimes a customer is actually telling the truth, and their dog did really mat up in a very short amount of time.

Oh, and I also learned to give my dog a haircut before I go on vacation!!!

✂  Happy Grooming, MFF ✂

Answering An E-Mail

I am back from a great vacation and ready to groom again!

We got lucky and the weather was great.

We enjoyed our one week off of the year.

I have about a dozen comments to answer, and I will get to them over the week.

I also had an e-mail from a new groomer.

She had some good questions that I thought other new groomers might like to know the answers to also, so I asked her if she minded me answering her e-mail on my blog.

She very nicely agreed.

Here is a portion of her e-mail:

I have been practicing on my dogs as well as did a practice on my hairdressers Yorkie over the weekend.
Very difficult as she would not sit still the whole time and always lent with her back towards me!
I have a grooming table with a loop which helped a lot but her constant moving made it hard and she kept wanting to back off the table.
Besides that she kept trying to nip me! I work in animal welfare so am used to it. Eventually she calmed down. But how would you deal with such a situation in a mobile environment?
Do you have a handler to help hold difficult dogs?
I attempted to trim her, the ears came out ok but the rest of the body not too good. Had no real idea what I was doing, but guess that's all with practice.

I had a hair dryer with me but she is terrified so had to towel dry her in the sun. Luckily she is small.

How many times during grooming would you say you oil your clippers? And do you use coolube?

What about a situation where the dog won't allow you to touch its paws? Even my own dogs get agitated when I try clip their paws on top, the pads are a whole different story. I'm terrified I nick them? 

Let me start by saying that every new groomer should try to sit back a relax.

Take a breath and remember that you're new at this.

You are going to be nervous, worrying about the dog, and if you are going to groom it right.

These feeling are going to be transferred to the dog, causing some dogs to act up, because they can feel your worry.

Not every groomer may agree with my advice, but this is what I do with every dog I groom before I do anything else.

I hold them, and pet them, and talk to them.

I get a feel for them and they get a feel for me.

My goal is to help them relax.

It is also so that I remember that they are a living, breathing thing that has feelings.

I talk baby talk if I need to.

I play a little with them if I need to.

Or, I just talk softly to them if they are really nervous.

This not only helps the dog to relax, but it helps me too.

I feel that you can't always be business when dealing with dogs.

You need to take a few minutes to help ease them into the grooming.

Over the years I have seen many groomers get so involved with how many dogs they are going to groom a day, or are so over worked, stressed and rushed that they become robots and forget that those dogs they are grooming everyday are furry children that have feelings and sometimes just need some reassurance that the grooming process is not going to hurt them.

Even with my regulars, I take a few minutes just to hug and pet them before I start to groom.

Now, pet owners will not always tell you the truth, especially if they know that their dog is not good for grooming, but I always ask an owner how their dog is for grooming.

Have they been professionally groomed before?

How often does the dog get groomed?

Does any part of the grooming upset or scare them?

The Yorkie mentioned in this e-mail may have not been good, or liked being groomed....or, the Yorkie may have felt how nervous this new groomer was and was acting up because of it.

It is hard to say exactly.

**Tip: Try sucking on a mint while grooming. The smell of the mint will help relax the dog and you.

To be honest, when a dog is nippy with me,(not meanly, or to brake skin) I usually ignore it.

This tends to confuse the dogs and they stop nipping because it is not working for them, because I am not stopping what I am doing.

If the nipping gets harder and mean, I firmly tell them 'NO', but I still do not stop what I am doing.

Stopping to reprimand them only gives them what they want...me to stop.

As for the dog turning its back on me while I groom....I just gently pick them up and set them on the table the way I want them to face.

I will hold them in place until they stay still saying 'stay'.

If they move when I let go, I repeat the same step.

It normally only takes a few times until the dog realizes what I want it to do.

Of course, there will always be those dogs that refuse to be still.

I have a small, very friendly Yorkie that I groom that is like working on a Mexican jumping bean. 

He is a very sweet, friendly dog that is extremely dangerous to groom, because of the way he moves and jerks all over the table.

I am lucky to have extra people at work to help hold dogs like this.

For a groomers working along the Groomers Helper would come in very handy.

If anyone would like to learn more about the Groomers Helper, there is a great instructional video made by Chuck Simons, the inverter of the Groomers Helper on youtube.

Becoming upset, or jerking the dog back around to you will only make the dog fear you and make matters worse.

Be firm, but gentle.

Pet and praise a little when the dog does what you want it to do.

Groomers have to also be trainers.

It is better to approach a grooming on a new dog expecting the dog not to behave the way you want it to.

Don't take for granite that the dog knows it is supposed to stand still on your table.

You, as the groomer, will have to train most of the dogs you groom to except the grooming.

There are times when nothing I do will make the dog stand the way I want, so I just work with what I have.

If I have to groom the dog laying down, then that is what I do.

Most of the time, the dog will eventually get comfortable and stand on its own.

I have written a post on this subject if you would like to check it out.

Grooming a dog that will not stand.

As for the dog moving and trying to back off the table...

I don't use a grooming loop.

That is my own personal preference.

They get in my way when I groom.

I do not knock groomers that do use grooming loops, they come in very handy for groomers who work alone.

As I stated above, The Groomers Helper is also a great tool for groomers who work alone.

I also like to groom with my table up against a wall so that dogs can not back off.

Some groomers do not like to have their table against a wall, because they like walking all around the table.

I train all of my groom dogs to turn on the table for me, even the large ones.

I tap the top of the table and say 'turn', it works for me.

I have also made a backboard for my table that closes in three of the sides of my grooming table to help the dogs feel secure and to keep them from backing off the back or sides of my table.

It also keeps the dogs up close to me and saves my back.

Click on the 'backboard' link above to see step by step instructions on how I made my backboard.

(I attempted to trim her, the ears came out ok but the rest of the body not too good. Had no real idea what I was doing, but guess that's all with practice.)

 Here is a post that I wrote about 'Scissoring a Yorkie'.

 (I had a hair dryer with me but she is terrified so had to towel dry her in the sun. Luckily she is small.)

When I have a new dog, that I have not groomed before, that is scared of the dryer, I treat them like they are a puppy being dried for the very first time.

First, I turn the dryer on low, pointing it away from the dog.

I hold and pet the dog, talking to it to reassure the dog as he/she is getting used to the sound of the dryer. 

Next, I let the dog stay close up against me as I slowly start to use the dryer on them (still on a low setting)

As the dog slowly realizes that the dryer is not hurting them, I slowly push the dog away from me back onto the drying table and continue to dry.

I am constantly reassuring the dog as I dry.

As the dog gets desensitized to the noise of the dryer, I turn up the speed of the air flow.

I follow these steps whether I am using the High Velocity dryer or a small hand held dryer. 

I tend to use the hand held dryer for  really small breeds. 

( How many times during grooming would you say you oil your clippers? And do you use coolube?)

I have never oiled the clippers that I use. (Andis® UltraEdge 2 speed)

As for my blades....yes, I do use KoolLube on my blades.

You must make sure that you wipe all of the KoolLube off of your blade, and blow it out from between the teeth of the blade before you clip the dogs coat.

I also hold my clipper, with the blade on it, below waist level and away from the dog when I spray my blades.

This way I keep the fumes away from the dog and myself.

( What about a situation where the dog won't allow you to touch its paws? Even my own dogs get agitated when I try clip their paws on top, the pads are a whole different story. I'm terrified I nick them?)

 The only way that I can answer this is..Gentle grooming. 

Develop a light touch. 

Don't grab the feet, or hold them too tight.

Don't pull the foot towards you, just slowly lift it up. 

Make sure you keep the foot in a natural position.

Try letting the dog rest its foot on your arm.

Be careful and make sure that you are not holding the leg or foot in such a way that it is uncomfortable for the dog.  

Try different holds, further up on the leg, or at the elbow. 

I also did a post on scissoring feet. 

Maybe you could look at the pictures and see how I hold the legs and feet to scissor.

As for the pads of the feet, you are safer using a #15 blade (you can use a #30 blade once you build confidence in what you are doing) to clean out between the pads.

Be careful of the webbing between the toes.

I feel that using a blade is safer than using scissors on the pads of the feet.

I hope that this answered your questions and has helped.

If you have anymore questions, just ask and I will do my best to answer them. :)

If any of the groomers reading my blog have any tips, I am sure that this new groomer would like to read your comments.

✂ Happy Grooming, MFF ✂