The groomers were all great, fun people who I will always remember, in a good way. I've said this before but I will say it again, unless you are in front of the camera, no one will ever believe how difficult it was for the groomers and when I read the blogs and see what people are saying, I laugh because you just don't know. I would probably say the same things if I did not know, but trust me it was as heartfelt as all the emotions that you see in the groomers and then some ... only the contestants will ever know.

Now, I will talk about Lisa and Huber. When we judged the finale it was so close ... so close, that it would not make me feel bad if the person I picked didn't win because they both were champions that day. I also have to say to my fellow judges, Jai and Nemo it was a pleasure to work with you guys again and hope to see you all again on season 3. I love this show and everyone I met working on it. If you have not had enough of me come visit me at www.joeyvillani.com or www.nashacademy.com.

THAT IS IT!

Now, on to the point of this blog: Doc Halligan ... just kidding! But did you see her fun side in the highlights episode at 8PM? If you didn't, you better have DVR or Tivo! She sure was "animalisitic." Gotta love her. And those crazy groomers sure do know how to have fun. Bill does have a bit of wit about him. Seeing those moments, well, as Joey would put it, "...it even made the tinman smile."

So with Huber and Lisa, we probably have two of the strongest competitors left. At this stage, the cards could have fallen in any direction. Yet, who would have thought that they would have to directly deal with me? Now, I have worked with handling classes and I'm usually not this strict and impatient, but this was a "handling bootcamp." There are some "old school" judges who will not express it verbally, but their body language says it all when you don't have the dog under control and presented well. If you think that groomers are dramatic, wait until you see a dog show and the behind the scenes.

So, unfortunately we couldn't show you all of the different types of dogs the groomers dealt with in the quick sniff, but they had to handle some little dachshunds and they were cuties ... the dachshunds, not the groomers! It was really tough for me and I wanted to call a tie breaker with two spare dogs but we ran out of time thanks to the news helicopters of Los Angeles. Still, it was close enough to give Huber the win, but by the skin of his teeth. Both groomers have handling experience and sometimes you get a dog that will make a fool of you ... I know I did at a show last fall.

On to the grooming ... even though Huber had the leg up, he did have his own problems with the dogs he chose. Now, I just want to say in defense of Lisa, that the Irish Wolfhound was a bitch that just had a litter so her coat was going to be a difficult mess. Personally, I took that into consideration. As it was a blind judging, I knew that whomever got that dog would have a difficult time. I didn't care much for the work on the corded poodle, but any corded breed can be a challenge too. It was truly difficult for me and to be candid, I was dead down the middle with each dog, but like diving contests, it's a total calculation of the points of all judges. And, it was Huber who won.

Congratualtions, Huber. I'm jealous of you ... that Subaru Forester looks nice. Yet, let me be the first to say that Lisa is someone I would trust at any given moment with my dogs or the dogs I handle. I hold her with the utmost respect for the perfectionist she is. So, thank you for watching everyone! Don't forget to give your four-legged friends scratchies behind the ears ... and hopefully we will see you again for a season 3!

Huber had a major advantage in getting to pick which dogs to groom and that most likely helped determine the outcome. The finale was a lot of fun to shoot with a live audience and having Artist there was a real joy too! It was also fun to have the blind judging because it allowed us to focus on the grooming itself.

Charles the Cesky Terrier was, in my opinion, the best groomed dog of the night and because of Huber’s passion, commitment to excellence and integrity plus his grooming of both Glenda and Tyler, I ultimately chose him for Groomer of the Year.

Lisa is an amazing groomer, but I had a hard time with the fact that she didn’t try harder to trim Clancy’s nails even if she had to use a muzzle. If Clancy had reacted negatively to the muzzle, then that may have swayed my opinion because nail trimming is an absolute necessity when grooming a dog. That said it really was a hard decision because both groomers have what it takes to be Groomer of the Year but that particular night, Huber out-performed Lisa.

I may be biased but my favorite episode was still the shelter episode and hopefully we will be back to the spcaLA to groom another group of shelter dogs. It really does help those dogs get adopted and at the same time brings awareness to the thousands of dogs and cats in shelters that need loving homes.

Thanks for allowing me to share my thoughts with you all and remember “Rescue a pet, save a life!”

Doc Halligan
www.dochalligan.com

Now for the grooming challenge. I was disappointed that Daniele didn't get a leg-up for beating out Lisa and Huber but what can you do? Anyway, all three dogs looked great so it just came down to splitting hairs and personal preference with regard to AKC standard. I got emotional because after filming the shelter episode, I realized that all the groomers had a huge heart and really gave everything they had to groom those dogs, especially Huber, Lisa and Danielle. Therefore, it was really hard for me to have to send someone home because I think they are all WONDERFUL people and groomers.

We get a lot of matted, unkempt dogs at the shelter and while I can give them a bath and trim them down I cannot make them look as fabulous as a groomer can and my hat goes off to all groomers because you guys can make the difference between a pet getting a second chance at life or not! Bravo Groomers!

With that said, you will probably see the kooky side of Doc next week because we really have a lot of fun shooting this show! Watch next Saturday night beginning at 8PM e/p for a recap featuring highlights and never-before-seen footage from the season. Then, the final competition begins at 9PM e/p! Who will be Groomer of the Year? Tune-in to find out!

Doc Halligan
Rescue a pet, save a life!
www.dochalligan.com

The Bichon challenge, now that was different, they all did great. Lisa's dog was by far the best, I don't care what that guest judge said, I've judged too many dogs in my life to give in. Between Huber and Danielle it was very close, but I felt that Huber had a better scissor and better profile on what was the most difficult coat in the challenge.

Great job, Danielle and I meant what I said about making me proud that you are part of my industry. Well next week is grooming bowl Saturday starting at 8PM with a special highlights episode before the main event at 9PM e/p.

May the best groomer win!

Joey Villani
www.joeyvillani.com

Now, I love it when we throw pure bred dogs at the groomers! There are exact standards and everyone must do their best. What better dog to scissor than a Bichon Frise ... maybe a Black Russian Terrier? Regardless, the nice part of this challenge was that all of these dogs were retired champions. That translates into no excuses. So the groomers had to use their shears only, that is tough for some people. Wash, blow out, brush, comb, shear, comb out, brush and shear again.

Doing the walk-through on this episode was a bit of fun for me. I really love confidence and attention to detail. If you are confident, but not over-confident then you will pave your own way to success. Each groomer had their own set of challenges, but when they got to the judging room, we had to tear them apart. My fellow Bichon Frise Handler and friend, Joe Waterman was there to find those extra little details and I love just how much he knows about this breed.

When the hair settled, it was Lisa who won and her work was above and beyond the other two competitors! Her work was almost untouchable but we found a few items that could be adjusted. Unfortunately, we couldn't keep Danielle. It was a tough decision for all of us, but because Huber had the most difficult dog of the three and they both did an excellent job, we had to make a call. I hated to see Danielle go. You are an excellent groomer!

Now, on to the Final Two!

Now the challenge: the groomers had to visit clients in the new "green" Wag'n Tails mobile grooming van. They each had to deal with cats and dogs, too bad it wasn't raining. For me, working with your clients, and not the four-legged kind, is part of the job. I've had some real show parents ... back seat handlers. What can you do? It's about managing expectations and mitigating the risks. You have to make judgment calls and determine what the opportunity costs are for each situation. For me, the goal is to finish the championship on the dog. But for the groomers, it's to deliver good service.

Beyond being late, with Bill and Danielle it came down to "who" did "what" portion of the dog. Bill is a talented groomer! But if Joey can't drop a comb through it, then there is a problem. If I screw up in the ring, then the onus is on me and in my case, the consequences are financial -- politics aside, of course.

So, it's down to Danielle, Lisa and Huber. This is getting tough! I have to say it wasn't easy for me to see Bill go. At this stage, it's all about respect and trying to pick out the slightest mistake.

Xavier
www.xavierasantiago.com

On the grooming van challenge, both sides did a good job ... a really good job. It comes down to splitting hairs at this point of the competition.  All of the groomers that are left are real good groomers, so it comes down to even the slightest mistake. That is what happened tonight. Bill was responsible for the rear and that was where I had the biggest issues. I do think that Bill is a more rounded groomer than Danielle, but just not in this challenge. Sorry Bill.

The final three. Next week.

Check me out at www.joeyvillani.com or nashacademy.com.

Joey

We were judging the groomers on time management, customer service and teamwork. Lisa was in her element with the mobile grooming and it showed how she really took charge and it was wise of Huber to take a back seat and not be competitive with her. Likewise, Danielle took charge of Ozzie the cat and did a great job considering that she had never groomed a cat before.

Last season, grooming cats really separated the pros from the pack and this season all four groomers took it in stride. I personally feel that the Groomer of the Year should be able to groom cats as well especially since there are 90 million cats in the United States compared with 88 million dogs!  I love both cats and dogs and I am an expert on Animal Planet's hit series Cats 101 and Dogs 101. The big myth that you can’t bathe a cat is completely false. I know because I have to groom or bathe cats all the time at the shelter so I’m glad the groomers had to bathe at least one cat this season!

Both teams had a lot of tension navigating the streets of Los Angeles and both were late, but Elizabeth seemed to be a very difficult client to please with Valentino. I was really impressed with Danielle’s ability to remember Valentino’s entire name. Unfortunately, Bill let Elizabeth’s constant worrying get to him when he should have just focused on the grooming. Because of that, he left significant undercoat in Valentino and was ultimately sent home.

I can promise you that next week’s episode gets very emotional and I was quite sad to have to send one of the top three home. Tune in to see all the drama and be sure to have a Kleenex! Talk to you next week!

P.S. Visit me at Virtual Vet!

Doc Halligan
“Rescue a pet, save a life!”
www.dochalligan.com

I also liked the grooming challenge to make the dog look like the owner. It’s funny because sometimes owners do start to look like their pets and visa versa. I remember, a few years back, wanting to dye my hair Auburn to match my beloved chocolate lab Duke’s color but the hair stylist talked me out of it. It's crazy how much you can love an animal!

Overall, I thought the groomers did a good job but Bill really stood out because, in addition to having fun, he used his grooming skills combined with his creativity to really knock us over with his sexy poodle Riva who looked like owner Vanessa from head to tail including the tummy and derriere! 

Again, I felt bad for Cassandra because she didn’t have a good rapport with Mike and didn’t seem to enjoy this challenge at all. And then, when Lisa swapped out Danielle for Huber it really stacked against her. Both Joey and I did feel bad sending her home because she has a lot of potential and I know she will go on to be a fantastic groomer!

I also want to take a moment to give a big THANK YOU to all of you folks who undeniably support rescuing from a shelter and showed so much interest in the shelter dogs from the last episode. We have had an outpouring of support and interest in general so it’s nice to see that people love to help the underdog!

Talk with you all next week and be sure to visit me at the Virtual Vet on Animal Planet -- and send me an e-mail or join my free email newsletter at www.dochalligan.com to stay in touch!

Doc Halligan
“Rescue a pet, save a life!”
www.dochalligan.com