About Me:

I am a professional Pet Groomer. I have been grooming for 28 years. This Blog is a kind of diary of my work. I wish I had started years ago, writing some of the experiences I have had while grooming. Most days are fun, some can be sad, some can be just down right crazy. If you are a pet owner and come across this blog, I hope it helps you understand how your pet is groomed. If you are a Pet Groomer, I hope you can relate to some of the stories. Maybe even learn a grooming tip or can leave a friendly grooming tip for me. There is always something to learn, no matter how long you have been grooming.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Puppy Surprise

Just about every groomer cringes when an owner waits until their puppy is 6 months to a year old before they get it's very first grooming.

I like to start getting puppies used to grooming as early as possible.
The sooner that they get used to being handled, brushed, combed, and bathed the better.

Yesterday I had a customer come in with a dog that I have groomed several times before and their new puppy.
An 8 month old Miniature Poodle. (Well, mostly Poodle. Long back, short legs...I didn't say anything)

Let me say that I was very pleasantly surprised when I saw this puppy. 




 I was pleasantly surprised, because I could tell right away that his owners had been brushing him.

From what I could tell, while the owner was still holding him, he looked to be in very good shape.








I was right.

For as long as his hair was, and his hair was long, they had been doing a really great job of keeping him brushed out.










They had even been trimming around his eyes.

And, they didn't put a hole in his head that I would have to repair!








He was so good for the bath.

He was a little scared of the big dryer at first, but quickly got used to it.

Look at all that fluffy, mat free hair!








Okay, he wasn't totally mat free.

He had one small mat behind each ear, and a couple small mats around his private parts.

As far as I am concerned....that is mat free. :)





 Because it is mid February, and pretty cold right now, his owner only wanted a little less than half taken off.

So, while I was bathing and blow drying him, I was trying to decide whether to totally hand scissor him, or use a clip comb to set the length.



 
Even after so many years of grooming, it can still be a little intimidating when cutting into such a long coat for the first time.








I decided that I would run my longest clip comb over his top line.








I started with a very light touch to see how much the clip comb would take off.











I ended up using almost full pressure.








 This is how much the comb attachment took off.







This is the length that it left.

Just right.





I mainly used the comb attachment on the body and just skimmed the legs with it.

I scissored up the rest.








Half way there.

He was being so good.








I am only showing this picture because I thought that it was so cute, and showed the kind of personality that this little guy has.




 Every groomer out there can understand what a pleasure it is to give a puppy its first grooming without having any heart attacks, or feeling like that puppy drained every bit of energy out of you after you struggled to get a nice cut on a wiggly, moving object (puppy).

What you see in this picture is how this puppy stood for his whole grooming.


Oh well, he did turn his head once in awhile to watch what I was doing. (like in the picture above) :)










Don't you just want to hug this little guy?









✂ Happy Grooming, MFF ✂

10 comments:

  1. He is so dear! YAY for those owners for doing what they could to prepare him! He looks great and adorable!

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  2. Hello, I just found your blog and like what I see. My Westie just had the most awful cut the other day and I'm desperately looking for a new groomer. I'm located in Maryland, are you taking new clients??? He's a good boy and doesn't bite!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Jan,
      My shop is located in the Towson/Parkville area, off of Loch Raven Blvd.
      You can visit my website:

      http://furryfriendspetgroominganddogwash.com/

      We do book up 3 to 4 weeks ahead at this time of year. In the summer there are very few open appointments and the wait can be 2 to 3 months. The Holidays are already booked for 2013.

      You can give us a call Tues. - Sat. 8am to 4pm (we are closed one Tues. a month)

      I hope this helps.
      Lisa, MFF

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  3. Malti-Poo? Either way he's such a little cutie! :D I love scissoring, and I love the way you do your heads. I used to do all of mine that way for years, but after a while I heard more and more gripes about how after a week or two the bangs are too long again already, everyone wants the forehead as short as possible without looking too chopped up... it comes out cute enough but I just wish that they would let me leave a bit more. I love that they can ask me though, and be fully honest about what they want, I dislike the customers that refuse to communicate and just decide to 'groomer hop' until they see what they wanted. I'm getting together my book of photos for the ones with communication issues, that way they can just grunt and point. Seems almost fool proof... almost. ;)
    ~Serena

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    Replies
    1. Hi Serena,
      I would not be surprised if they ask me to take over the eyes shorter next time. It almost never fails. The owner starts out wanting all of that hair on the head...then it grows out...too soon....take it shorter next time.
      Oh well, hopefully they will prove me wrong. :)
      Lisa, MFF

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  4. What a cutie! I had a new costumer yesterday with an 8 month old shih tzu. He had only been groomed once several months ago. He wasn't matted but he was a beast to work on and wasn't comfortable being handled. I begged the owner to bring him back in 5 weeks even of it was just for a bath and tidy so he could get more comfortable with the process. I hope he does.

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    Replies
    1. I hope they do too MammaPie,
      It will help him so much to get used to being groomed.
      Lisa,MFF

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