Can you groom?
- Thread starter SpringerLover
- Start date
If I had a breed that needed a lot of grooming, I'd learn to... but as of yet I've not had a reason!
I can groom my two hairy dogs, but I don't think that counts quite the same lol. All they need is blow drying and feet and ear tidying. Although many people can't do that, so maybe it counts a little bit. And I just groom them how I like them. Almost a show groom, except I skip any extra fluffing. I like my dogs sleek. But I did learn how to properly show groom Journ this past summer. Not perfectly, but well enough. Just need more practice for any future shows.
I can groom my two hairy dogs, but I don't think that counts quite the same lol. All they need is blow drying and feet and ear tidying. Although many people can't do that, so maybe it counts a little bit. And I just groom them how I like them. Almost a show groom, except I skip any extra fluffing. I like my dogs sleek. But I did learn how to properly show groom Journ this past summer. Not perfectly, but well enough. Just need more practice for any future shows.
I'm learning to groom. First and foremost I am the washer/dryer but whenever she has time she's teaching me. It's just pet grooming, mostly oodles with some breed trims.
It's bloody hard. And whereas a year ago I couldn't care less how a dog was groomed, now every time I see a freshly groomed dog I have to critique it in my head.
It's bloody hard. And whereas a year ago I couldn't care less how a dog was groomed, now every time I see a freshly groomed dog I have to critique it in my head.
Trimming ears, feet, nub and hawk hair on Aussies. (Which is an art in and of itself too much off no good, too much left no good. Feet get shaped, how you trim the ears can be dictated by ear set etc) Then there's the line brushing and trying to train the hair to lay flat and straight, etc. Aussies are pretty wash and wear compared to some. A good drier is a must. LOL
Snitch should be interesting, I'm going to have to train myself to love line brushing.
Thanks! That doesn't sound too bad. I've always been curious because Aussies usually look pretty natural (though floofed for the ring) and I wondered how much actually went into it vs how much is wash and wear. With show grooming it seems that more work goes into it than you would expect for many breeds. Aussies sound like they're a similar amount of work to Welshies, except that there is a small amount of clippering I do on the neck which you wouldn't do on an Aussie.
I don't know if I'd have the patience for the line brushing and the blowing out. I last about 5min with the forced air drier on Watson before I just let him air dry. Doesn't help that he hates it.
I don't know if I'd have the patience for the line brushing and the blowing out. I last about 5min with the forced air drier on Watson before I just let him air dry. Doesn't help that he hates it.
I worked in a grooming salon for a few years, but I can only do clean up scissoring, clip around eyes and blow outs. I used to own a rough coat border collie who I would do feet, ear and minimal body scissoring on.
I can also groom a dane for the show ring! Woohoo! Clipping those ears, whiskers and cowlicks is pretty darn difficult.
I can also groom a dane for the show ring! Woohoo! Clipping those ears, whiskers and cowlicks is pretty darn difficult.
I used to be sad that Gabby didn't have any hair. Now, that girl has got way too much hair! I worked on ONE side of her neck/shoulder area this morning. 15 minutes on one side! Between my thinning shears and coat king, it looks almost tamed. SO MUCH HAIR!
I decided that if I break it into sections and do one section a day, we'll probably both feel better about the whole thing, haha.
I know for a fact that the only grooming she'd had before coming to me was just a full shave down. We're easing her into the whole coat care routine, haha.
I decided that if I break it into sections and do one section a day, we'll probably both feel better about the whole thing, haha.
I know for a fact that the only grooming she'd had before coming to me was just a full shave down. We're easing her into the whole coat care routine, haha.
There's an art form to a lot of breeds - careful work to make it look like nothing has been done.
On the shelties start with paws, then on the front legs, the feathering from the paw up to the carpal pad. On the sport dogs I just trim it pretty straight and then blend at the carpal pad with thinning shears, but for a show groom you typically cut back at an angle to blend the feathering in with the rest of the leg (when brushed straight, the hair from the lower leg and the top will almost form a triangle at the carpal.)
The hocks you trim up straight to the joint. For show the current trend is to leave quite a bit of fur, it looks very fuzzy, and they blend it down and around into the paw. On the sport dogs, I start at the paw and angle up rather than the more rounded look, and I like a clean, smoother look instead of the more "fuzzy" show look. The hock is supposed to look straight and strong... IMO the smoother look I prefer appears stronger, while the fuzzy makes the leg look fat. Ring trends. Meh.
The ears are the biggest task, the most time consuming IME... you trim out the hair in front of the ear and around the ear. You trim the top of the ear where the break is. The shape of the ear should be rounded in appearance, not a triangle. On the back the ears should round neatly into the rest of the head. LOTS of trimming, shaping, thinning, brush again, thin some more, trim some more, brush again.
This is a big PITA, and to be honest I prefer the more rock star look on my boys... it suits them. So since nobody is going in the ring, they really get minimal shaping on the ears and head. Georgie gets major wild hair on top of her ears, so I trim down the break on her. I do Payton's break as well but only as part of a full groom - Georgie gets it as needed because it looks ridiculous on her. I don't really bother with the break on Pepper or Auggie.
For the face, the muzzle should be clean and smooth, so most just cut the whiskers off. I don't remove all the whiskers on mine; I DO trim off the whiskers on top of the muzzle that curve backward, I trim any whiskers that are really REALLY long, and I clean up their lips. No mustaches or beards allowed on any of mine and ESPECIALLY not on my bitches. I also take off the whiskers above the eyes, the cheeks, and the chin/throat area.
That's it of the normal stuff, and doesn't address any additional shaping people might want to do (some people will shape the hind end, the ruff - V.E.R.Y. carefully - or the underbelly) or anything that might be done to disguise flaws in the dog's structure.
It's actually a pretty time-consuming process to do a full show groom and the key is to make it look like you didn't groom at all. Everything is supposed to flow and blend together seamlessly. Just say NO to scissor marks!
That's one of the big reasons I won't let anybody else scissor my dogs. It shouldn't look like they got scissored. And clippers really shouldn't get anywhere near a sheltie IMO. Scissors will do everything you need so long as you know what you're doing... and are careful.
ETA: I should add that a bath, blow-out, and full groom on all of mine (including Georgie) takes about four hours. P usually takes the longest, although sometimes Auggie doesn't drop his coat easily and requires more line-brushing. The girls are the fastest, especially Georgie who is mercifully tiny. If I started doing ears/heads, I would probably add another hour at least... UGH.
On the shelties start with paws, then on the front legs, the feathering from the paw up to the carpal pad. On the sport dogs I just trim it pretty straight and then blend at the carpal pad with thinning shears, but for a show groom you typically cut back at an angle to blend the feathering in with the rest of the leg (when brushed straight, the hair from the lower leg and the top will almost form a triangle at the carpal.)
The hocks you trim up straight to the joint. For show the current trend is to leave quite a bit of fur, it looks very fuzzy, and they blend it down and around into the paw. On the sport dogs, I start at the paw and angle up rather than the more rounded look, and I like a clean, smoother look instead of the more "fuzzy" show look. The hock is supposed to look straight and strong... IMO the smoother look I prefer appears stronger, while the fuzzy makes the leg look fat. Ring trends. Meh.
The ears are the biggest task, the most time consuming IME... you trim out the hair in front of the ear and around the ear. You trim the top of the ear where the break is. The shape of the ear should be rounded in appearance, not a triangle. On the back the ears should round neatly into the rest of the head. LOTS of trimming, shaping, thinning, brush again, thin some more, trim some more, brush again.
This is a big PITA, and to be honest I prefer the more rock star look on my boys... it suits them. So since nobody is going in the ring, they really get minimal shaping on the ears and head. Georgie gets major wild hair on top of her ears, so I trim down the break on her. I do Payton's break as well but only as part of a full groom - Georgie gets it as needed because it looks ridiculous on her. I don't really bother with the break on Pepper or Auggie.
For the face, the muzzle should be clean and smooth, so most just cut the whiskers off. I don't remove all the whiskers on mine; I DO trim off the whiskers on top of the muzzle that curve backward, I trim any whiskers that are really REALLY long, and I clean up their lips. No mustaches or beards allowed on any of mine and ESPECIALLY not on my bitches. I also take off the whiskers above the eyes, the cheeks, and the chin/throat area.
That's it of the normal stuff, and doesn't address any additional shaping people might want to do (some people will shape the hind end, the ruff - V.E.R.Y. carefully - or the underbelly) or anything that might be done to disguise flaws in the dog's structure.
It's actually a pretty time-consuming process to do a full show groom and the key is to make it look like you didn't groom at all. Everything is supposed to flow and blend together seamlessly. Just say NO to scissor marks!
That's one of the big reasons I won't let anybody else scissor my dogs. It shouldn't look like they got scissored. And clippers really shouldn't get anywhere near a sheltie IMO. Scissors will do everything you need so long as you know what you're doing... and are careful.
ETA: I should add that a bath, blow-out, and full groom on all of mine (including Georgie) takes about four hours. P usually takes the longest, although sometimes Auggie doesn't drop his coat easily and requires more line-brushing. The girls are the fastest, especially Georgie who is mercifully tiny. If I started doing ears/heads, I would probably add another hour at least... UGH.
I have been grooming my Samoyeds for nearly 30 years. Since my first dog was accidentally a show dog, I've been show grooming them for that long too. Show grooming a Sam is surprisingly easy. Time consuming, but actually not as bad as you would think.
If they haven't been groomed in a long time or are shedding at all, a thorough comb out is needed before the bath. Wait, let me qualify that. MOST Samoyeds require a comb out before a bath. I have always been picky about getting dogs with a good coat texture so mine don't really matt. I have intact females, so most of the time they shed very little, then they blow coat all at once. I also pick dogs with a shorter working coat. So the truth is I never comb my dogs out unless they are shedding or there is a show. About every 4-6 weeks they start looking too grey around the edges. Then they go straight into the tub and the blower does all the coat separation that we need.
Show grooming involves a bath the day before and a blow dry until the coat is bone dry. That is the most time consuming part. Then at the show they will get line combed, feet and back of hocks trimmed, misted lightly with water and blown out, and then I chalk the legs. I do that because you can never get the hocks as white as the rest of the dogs, and since I choose a shorter coated dog they look like they are lacking substance standing next to a big coated dog. The day of show grooming can be done in half an hour if rushed, an hour if done leisurely.
You would be surprised how many breeds take more work for a show groom than my Samoyeds. I watched a handler friend groom a Golden and she had way more work to do on that dog.
I am also going to grooming school right now.
There is so much to learn, I'm finding it all very interesting. Lucky to have found an excellent school.
If they haven't been groomed in a long time or are shedding at all, a thorough comb out is needed before the bath. Wait, let me qualify that. MOST Samoyeds require a comb out before a bath. I have always been picky about getting dogs with a good coat texture so mine don't really matt. I have intact females, so most of the time they shed very little, then they blow coat all at once. I also pick dogs with a shorter working coat. So the truth is I never comb my dogs out unless they are shedding or there is a show. About every 4-6 weeks they start looking too grey around the edges. Then they go straight into the tub and the blower does all the coat separation that we need.
Show grooming involves a bath the day before and a blow dry until the coat is bone dry. That is the most time consuming part. Then at the show they will get line combed, feet and back of hocks trimmed, misted lightly with water and blown out, and then I chalk the legs. I do that because you can never get the hocks as white as the rest of the dogs, and since I choose a shorter coated dog they look like they are lacking substance standing next to a big coated dog. The day of show grooming can be done in half an hour if rushed, an hour if done leisurely.
You would be surprised how many breeds take more work for a show groom than my Samoyeds. I watched a handler friend groom a Golden and she had way more work to do on that dog.
I am also going to grooming school right now.
There is so much to learn, I'm finding it all very interesting. Lucky to have found an excellent school.