Techniques

Prepping the Border Terrier for Hand Stripping

Hand stripping is something that every wire coated dog should have done to maintain proper coat texture and color. Wire coated dogs have guard wires and undercoat so they require both hand stripping and carding.
Cute & Sweet: Personality Trim on a Mixed Breed

A staple in every shop is the cute little mixed breed that doesn’t really resemble either of the breeds they are derived from—a perfect mixture of the two (or three or four….) breeds they represent.
Fusion Style: Double Stacked Ear

This is Toby, a cute mini Poodle I introduced you to in a previous article. I thought you might like to see how this style will transition into the next trim style.
Blueberry Bichon

Cold weather blues can sure get you down, but not if you live with a Bichon clown to make you laugh and bring you a smile. Harry has decided to become the rare Blue Parti Bichon for this particular demo.

The Theodore: An Updated Teddy Trim

Our pet clients are often looking for something that is easy to maintain and also captures the unique expression of their dog. This trim focuses on a semi-short body trim and full scissored legs.

Double Coated Dogs: Which Comes First the Brush or the Bath?

Over the weekend a groomer friend in another state sent me a message, “I am grooming a huge Shetland Sheepdog that has not seen a brush in years. My hands hurt. Are there any tricks to get this dog groomed faster?”

Rally Squirrel

On October 5, 2011 an American gray squirrel appeared on the field and ran across home plate at Busch Stadium during a National League Division Series Major League Baseball game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Spiced up Short Personality Trim

One of our most common problems in the salon every day is finding a trim that suits our client’s maintenance schedule needs but also still allows us, as groomers, to express ourselves creatively. I often hear, “I don’t want to be just a shave down groomer”, but recognizing that we can still give style and flair to our short pet trims is a great way to build a client base.

Best-Dressed Brook

My standard poodle, Brook and I were invited to attend a special ribbon–cutting event so I decided to color Brook with fun pink and blue accents for the occasion.

Step-By-Step Yorkie Fusion Trim

The Yorkshire Terrier is one of the most popular breeds that we see in the salon every day. We often experience difficulty in styling the Yorkie to suit the owner’s maintenance needs with giving them an eye-appealing trim.

Experimenting with New Techniques

Hi Michell. I went to Groom Expo West this year. I attended several classes on various grooming techniques. I was so pumped! I got back to my salon and tried many of the things that I learned. Some of the techniques …

Special Techniques for Special Needs Pets

Little Louie the Yorkie came to see me today. He is a special needs baby with neurological issues, he can’t stand for very long and lays down for practically the entire process.

Understanding Your Airbrush with Style

Temporary coloring is one of the most popular color mediums among our clients, as many of them do not want long term color, and with airbrushing it’s pretty easy to do detailed designs as well. You can get in lots of practice and if you mess up your design— no worries — it’s temporary so you can wash it off and start over.

Pit Bull Rockin’ a Rainbow

This is Bambi who is a re–homed sweetheart of a pit bull. On this day in the salon, our mild–mannered girl began her color transformation.

To Scruff or Not to Scruff

There is a lot to say on the topic of scruffing. As a house call groomer who caters to clients who love their cats more than life itself, if I scruffed in my daily work I would not have any clients. My clients made me find alternate ways to control cats.

Creative Coloring: Make It Safe, Fun & Fabulous

Everyone’s pet is special to them. And to prove it, some pet parents like to dress their fur kids up in designer outfits with flashy jewelry, or have unique creative styles, colors, and designs put on them.

Wavy Doodle Short Trim

As the Doodle population explodes, the diversity of their body type, shape and size, as well as coat type and texture is also expanding. There is no “cookie cutter” trim for the Doodle so we must adapt to the dog presented to us.

Nailed It: a Groomer’s Guide to Preparing Dogs for Nail Trims

Cutting the nails on some dogs is as easy as picking up a paw and trimming or Dremeling each nail, but there are too many dogs that do not take to nail care that easily.

X Marks the Spot

Over the years I have always done modified grooming. It conforms to the dog and comes from my heart, head and hands.
There is no right or wrong way to these styles as it is the job of the groomer to bring out the best in every pet and make the owner smile with delight when they see what we have been able to create with their beloved pet.

Grooming for Greatness

In my decade of experience behind the grooming table, I have come across hundreds of “difficult” dogs. You know the ones I’m talking about; the tap dancers, the shut down, flat pancake of a dog that can’t bring itself to stand up, and my personal favorite—the snarling, lunging dog trying to bite the scissors out of your hand.

Samoyed Maintenance Trim

The Samoyed is a double–coated breed that requires extensive coat care to keep them in good shape. This can prove to be a challenge for the average pet owner who may desire a tidier, cleaner appearing dog adorned by coat furnishings that are less likely to attract every sticker, twig and leaf in the yard. This heavy-duty maintenance places them on our Bread & Butter list.

When Is A Good Groom Good Enough?

As groomers, as much as we would like to finish a pet to our standards, it isn’t always possible. I have three such dogs as clients.
Cher is a 15 year–old Yorkie, whose limitations are due to her age. The aptly named Iffy is both geriatric and cantankerous. And then there is Pica. Pica is a 6 year–old Rottweiler.

Razor Pens

Razor Pens are the newest creative carving tool hitting the grooming scene. Like many tools in our industry, they are a cross over from the beauty industry. The small pen–shaped tool holds a very thin, very sharp razor blade that is folded and inserted into the shaft of the pen that holds it.