[Pai]

Beautiful Parti-Poo! I love Partis! =D

(I love too many different kinds of dog, I think, lol!)

[PappyMom]

Alright, who wants to call dibs on grooming Gizmo? or is he just going to have to wait till I join the proffessional club?

[js2jc]

Oh my! I just went through every single post. I am actually stiff! All of you have done amazing jobs! It has been very inspiring looking at all of your before and after pics as well as reading your advice, concerns, etc. I too can't understand the neglect so many dogs get. I love brushing my dogs because it's a communal thing to do, and helps bond us. Mine get the works, ears, teeth, nails, coat, - I'm like a monkey I guess - I like making sure they don't have fleas or tics too, and baths can be such fun with water loving dogs. My labs have always loved the reward of playing with the hose afterwards.

Now that I'm getting my Schnoodle tomorrow, I had to get some info and advice on grooming, styles, tips etc. (There's been minimal grooming on my blk lab and golden) You've all helped me tremendously and I hope this thread stays active. Some of the pictures made me howl and some made me angry (w/ owner), and some made me sad. But they all taught me something and I enjoyed it very much. So, thank you all.

[chul3l3ies1126]

Originally Posted by Graco22

And here are some dogs from the salon.
A poor little dog from the shelter, who was found looking just like this as a stray..no after pics, but he was pretty bald after shaving the cocoons of hair off. A once a year husky that was blowing "just a tad" of her coat..lol and a neat little Chihuahua mix whose dad likes some style on his girl! LOL

Oh wow! If those ears were down on that last pup pictured I swear it would be Guera!!! LOL!
Great shots!
Nessa

[susieihavenolife]

I have also gleaned lots of information from this site. Especially from this thread.

Today (technically yesterday) I decided to go for it even though I did not have all the correct equipment. I attempted my first haircut on Beau. He was soooooooo good on the table I used. He got the blow dry on the table after 30 minutes of play with the rest of the pack. It took forever because I didn't want to burn him since I was using my personal blow dryer. Then I had to figure out which comb attachment I wanted on the blade because I didn't want to go to short. We both survived that with no injuries and then it was on to the wallpaper scissors for the clip. They worked well enough for me to get the feel of why you work with long scissors on a dog like this. Now I will invest in better scissors and clippers. Although if I could get some advice on what to buy and where to get it reasonably priced it would be much appreciated. I have some cheap Andis clippers I picked up at a garage sale. They had never been used but still had the K-Mart clearance tag on them for $25 so I know they are not the best. The blade does not even have the size on it.

So here is Beau before the cut:


And here is Beau after the WALLPAPER scissors:


And here is Daisy before her big haircut today:


She is filthy. She is almost all white. She, Beau, and Gracey love to roll in the dirt. But Daisy always gets the dirtest!

Please send me any tips you think I can use and also what type of scissors & clippers I should buy.

Thanks for all your help!

[Tangles_42]

A very matted bichon

[Patt]

OMG you did an awesome job. ((applause))

[poodleholic]

For: susieihavenolife

I learned to do my Standard Poodles, mainly from online grooming forums, so I can appreciate where you're coming from!

I shop for my professional grooming tools, equipment, shears, clippers, and other supplies at various places online, depending on who has the best price. PetEdge has pretty much everything you need, and good prices. I also use KvVet Supply, Cherrybrook, Chris Christensen, and Les Poochs. I've learned the hard way to forego retail pet shops, because the pet clippers they sell, well, SUCK! LOL Professional equipment makes a huge difference, and well worth it.

I have Standard Poodles, so I use the cordless Wahl Arco SE to shave FFT (face, feet, base of tail). For the body, I use the Andis UltraEdge 2 speed clipper. For body work, and sometimes even for legs, I use the Wahl Stainless Steel Combs (you use a #30 F blade on the clipper when using these attachment combs).

Brushes are important, and you can't get a decent pin brush retail, either, because their pin brushes have little balls on the end which damages the coat, which causes mats to form, and you get a nightmare going! I prefer Chris Christensen pin brushes, and love the T brush! From looking at your dog in the photo, this brush would work well. A slicker brush is also important, as is a stainless steel comb - I use a SS Greyhound.

Shears/scissors - best tried first before buying! But, I bought my 10" straight Gators (PetEdge) before I knew anything about grooming tools, and they were fine for me. The ultimate, for me, is Kenchii.

Probably the most important factor in the end grooming result is in the brushing out of the coat, and using a HV dryer to get the coat completely dry. You can have all the right tools - clippers, shears, etc., but without a good brushout and total dry at the skin, you're not going to get the results you will with the blow dry. I bought the K9 II, and even use it for fluff drying. It cuts down the time like you wouldn't believe (I couldn't believe I had waited so long)!

I have a Beau, too! And then there's Maddy, Lucia, and Luc.

Bummer, Tangles, the pics are a red x for me. Can't see.

[Tangles_42]

Thank you very much Patt

susieihavenolife, your dogs are gorgeous.

poodleholic, sorry about the pics

[susieihavenolife]

Poodleholic ~ Thank you for all the great information and the advice on tools.

I love to look at all the pictures. If I could have more than 4 dogs I would. They are all so cute.

[Mama2BellaGrace]

Aww those look GREAT!

[Vira_Lata]

Done by groomers...

pepe

before (bichon frise mix):



after (panda dog):



valentino

before (shih tzu x cavalier king charles spaniel x pekingese):



after (rockstar):



I plan getting Valentino's hair corded.

[sassykzt]

Wow-- just looked at the whole thread in one sitting-- great looking dogs & cats. Bravo everyone!!!!! I don't know where I (& my 3 Westies)be w/o our groomer. You guys ROCK!!!!

[Johnson]

These are so funny! I will have to post something like this on my website.

Thanks for the laughs!

Johnson

[jinnyretr0]

Just sat down and read through this whole thread! LOVE it! Can't wait to see more pics!

[Foyerhawk]

I don't have any befores, because I don't let my dogs go more than a week without a tidy up, but here's my Golden after weekly grooming.

Ears:



Whole body:



Here's another Golden of mine, freshly groomed:



And here is how I keep Golden feet and nails:

[Foyerhawk]

Long haired GSD puppy before first ear tidy-up:



And After: