A Groomer's World

2009-01-27T21:19:32-06:00

My favorite handyman (Joe! Love that husband!) installed some shelves for me by my desk. I've amassed quite a collection of lotions and potions in the shop and I needed a place to put them all! I feel much better having them where I can see and reach them. Remember that you can always click on my pictures to view them in a larger size, new window. Enjoy!

Isn't this the best shelf installation job you've ever seen?

Here is one of my favorite 'Tzus. His name is Roscoe, and in this picture he is washed, fluffed, and ready for his haircut!

This is my "cousin" Snoopy the Schnoodle. You've seen him before, and you'll see him many more times! Definitely click to enlarge this picture. I'm proud of this groom job ;)

This handsome feller is Schnitzie. I always love those floppy ears. He's a nervous drooler, so he never gets to go home with a pretty beard.

This is Baby. I had to groomer her in a hurry because her Daddy doesn't like her to be away. Spoiled! She's a very good girl, so I told them, "No problem!"

And one of MY baby, of course!

Cameron is "riding" one of his new best friends :) This toy often gets in "trouble!" and put in the corner. "Ba' boy!"

Overgrown Dog Nails - With Pictures

2008-11-23T11:58:12-06:00

This is a pretty good example of what can happen when you let your poor dog's toenails grow too long. Luckily this little pooch's nails only grew outward and not back around into the paw pad. That's right: They will often grow all the way around until they are actually piercing the paw pad. Can you imagine walking on that? *shudder* I've pulled many toenails out of the paw pads. If they're lucky there's just a huge indention that will heal with time. If they're unlucky there will be an actual hole pierced through and into the pad with a rip-roaring infection to boot...

Back to this dog: Basically this poor dog can't afford to put too much weight on the front part of his paws because it will feel like he's trying to lift his nails off of their beds. I imagine that he had to walk with a strange "back on the heels" effect. Here are the pictures:

I'm sure you can guess that if his nails were neglected, so was the rest of him! Here are his whole-body before and after grooming pictures:

He was one matted poodle! Luckily I was able to de-mat his ears and pom to save him a little dignity :) He was quite appreciative! I hope I see him again before he gets into that shape again...

A Note to Dog Owners: Overgrown toenails are very easy to prevent! Simply take your pet into your groomer or veterinarian every few weeks (8 at the longest, between 3-6 would be ideal) to have them trimmed, or do them yourself at home!

Here are the two products I recommend that you keep on hand for trimming your pets' nails at home: A simple pair of scissor style nail clippers, and some styptic powder in case you get too close!

Shaved Cat - The Smooth Version :)

2008-11-12T22:09:24-06:00

Isn't it awesome when a shaved cat turns out so smooth ? They often look like a hacked-up mess - full of bumps and ridges (cornrows, anyone?), but this one had a great coat for shaving. Oh, and I've had enough practice that I'm getting pretty darned good ;) Here is the picture of that shaved cat for your viewing pleasure:

How did I do it? I used a few of my lovely Buttercut #10F blades on him. I find that the Buttercut blades have the perfect "dig" to them to get the smooth effect on cat coats with the most efficiency. I typically use #15F on the armpits and other loose areas to avoid skin nicks and nipple nicks. Those poor kitty nipples!

I may have to come back and edit this post later. Forgive me if it sounds crazy - I really need to go to bed!

A Note to My GroomerBlog Readers

2008-11-02T15:09:52-06:00

Hey guys. Sorry about the recent lack of posts. I have been exploring different channels in which I can put my writing, and let me tell you there are many! Plus there has been a lot going on in our home lately with creating a new family budget, hunting season, Halloween, etc.

Anyway, my point is this: I'm going to keep GroomerBlogging, but you may not see daily posts. I may only post a few times per week, as most of my "blogging" energy will now be going into SIFrugalShopper. I love to blog about grooming, but I feel the "article" pieces will serve readers better through different venues. As far as the grooming pictures are concerned, they'll still be posted but I will not take pictures of every dog, as that became very boring. I'll just highlight a few dogs per week, featuring the most memorable and the before/after crew.

For those who enjoy keeping up with "the family life," I still can't decide if I should feature those posts here or at SIFS... I guess I'll keep experimenting with that one. Thanks for reading!

-Kendra Ann-

Pictures of a Yorkshire Terrier - Pomeranian Mix

2008-10-23T05:27:13-05:00

Here are some before and after grooming pictures of a... Yo-Pom? Porkie? I don't know what the "designer" name for a Pomeranian-Yorkie mix would be! What I do know is this might be the most interesting mixed breed that I have ever seen! Sam has a Yorkie-shaped body and face (even with the uncut Yorkie tail), but with Pomeranian coat and facial expressions! It's the craziest thing - but in the cutest way :) He is a brother to Harry. They both have that gorgeous thick, soft, silky Pom coat that I could just comb and comb all day. I'll definitely need to see these boys again! Here are the pictures of Sam:

Before: Look at that shag. I love it!
Do you see how thick he is?! Of course a ton of that came out, but he's still a thick one.

After: Is he photogenic or what? A full-body pose, then a smile :)

Halloween Cuteness!

2008-10-23T04:52:47-05:00

To my readers who follow both blogs: Sorry for the cross-post! I just can't get enough of this picture. I got these pumpkins free from CVS on Monday and I'm glad because Camo just loves hauling them around and he's so darn cute while doing it! :)

One Handsome Pomeranian!

2008-10-22T06:24:04-05:00

This little man was one of my favorites yesterday! His name is Harry and he is a very handsome little boy :) He has that thick and silky Pomeranian coat that I could just comb all day. His owner told me he is very sensitive to irritants so I used Soothing Suds hypoallergenic shampoo (gets them very clean and fresh with no scent or color!) as well as Davis Hypoallergenic Cream Rinse to enhance his silky smoothness. You can see the end result below in his "after" grooming pictures! His owner requested only a light trim on the body, with a thorough scissoring of his sanitary areas. This guy sure had a lot of spunk - look at that smile! (click on the image for the full-sized picture)

The Crabbiest Pekingese

2008-10-21T21:09:41-05:00

This is the face of eeeeeviiiiiiiillllllllllll.......

Oh ok... You know I love my Crabby Abby!

Does she look familiar? You've read about her here!

2008-10-21T19:17:27-05:00

SitStay has a 40% off on clearance doggy goggles! . These "sunglasses for dogs" are the coolest :)

They have quite a few different colors, too! Below are just a few of my favorites: Pink, Neon, Skull, and Flames! If your dog spends a lot of time in the sun (100% UV protection) and/or riding in the back of the truck, in the car with his head hanging out of the window, on the boat, or, on the 4-wheeler then these are a great idea because they'll protect his peepers while looking awesome!

Anyone needing a Christmas idea for their furry one??? Get 'em a pair of Doggles!

Grooming Product Review: Espree Cucumber Melon Shampoo

2008-10-21T06:37:00-05:00

Dog Shampoo Review:

My opinion about Espree's Cucumber Melon Shampoo can be summed up in just one word: Disappointing.

Smell: I was expecting this dog shampoo to have that familiar Cucumber Melon smell that I'm accustomed to getting from Bath and Body Works products, I suppose. On the contrary, this shampoo only smells "sweet." It does smell good from the bottle, but not like cucumber or melon.

Performance: This product dilutes well, and creates a nice lather - not too much, not too little. However, I have to give it a "dewclaw down" for its cleaning abilities. I tried bathing twice, and even thrice. I tried half dilution. I tried almost everything to give this shampoo the chance to get the dogs clean. It just doesn't do it for me! The dirtiest dogs never really got acceptably clean, and even the dogs who came in clean still had a slight "doggy" smell after the bath.

Client Opinion: Honestly, I didn't even ask. I had to follow up with a different shampoo on the dirty dogs anyway, and the clean dogs still smelled doggy (and not at all like cucumbers or melons) after drying so I had to use cologne on them.

Other Uses: Unfortunately I bought a whole gallon of the stuff, so I had to find some way to get use out of it. However, I am getting some use out of it: I use it to extend the life my other shampoos! I add a bit to my other general-purpose shampoo concentrates before adding the water. It actually enhances the scent of the other shampoos quite nicely by adding a certain sweetness to them. That's only an aromatic benefit for myself, of course, as the sweet smell fades by the time the dog is dry, but I do enjoy it.

Pros: It acts as a bulking agent for my other shampoos and adds a sweet element to them that's nice while I'm bathing the dogs. Cons: This shampoo just does not perform well. It leaves behind a hint of the dirty and doggie scents that the dogs come in with, and we know our clients are not paying us the big bucks just to bring home a dog that smells like a dog! Also, the smell is not what most people will expect from a Cucumber Melon Shampoo.

You can see more about this product here at Espree's website.

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