[Jen D]

Originally Posted by Love's_Sophie

So, I know there are a few groomers on the forum...so I thought it might be fun to share some of our 'before and after shots'...just for fun, and so others can see what we do, and how much work it can entail to make a pet look great...

Most of my 'befores' are after being bathed; I personally prefer to work with a clean dog, so if it's not a matted mess, most of my clients hit the tub first...

Lhasa mix...

Before



After

What a difference she looks wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dane&cockermom]

this isn't a great picture. and i don't have a before. but this little guy...boy was he difficult! no one has been able to complete this little guy's head from the way he behaves. i held the clippers vibrating on him for an hour before he let me do anything. so, it's not great...but it's WAY better than he came in. and the parents were so happy someone did it and they could have cared less about the little fluffies still on his ears since i wasn't going to push him too far and make him let me get it. i'm just happy they were so happy with him!

and yes, his tounge always sticks out like that. :P

[Puppy_love_122]

I'm not a groomer, but here's my boy.

BEFORE



AFTER

[Patt]

Originally Posted by Puppy_love_122

I'm not a groomer, but here's my boy.

BEFORE



AFTER

Not being a groomer, I think you did a fabulous job! ((applause))

He's a love!

[Love's_Sophie]

Originally Posted by Graco22

They get a #2 Stainless Wahl attachment on the legs,(which is about a 1/4-1/2 inch of hair at best) in normal airedale pattern. Reverse 7F head and throat in "breed standard" faces. Its so ugly...they look like worms on stick legs...

Awww...poor dogs! Lol! And Dales normally brush out so easy too, I wonder why they insist on such a short pattern? People are strange for sure...well, I suppose, though, we have to give them what they want...and sometimes it's not exactly 'pretty' when we are done!!! You wonder where they get these ideas in the first place...some botched groom somewhere up the line, perhaps? And they decided they liked it?

[Puppy_love_122]

Originally Posted by Patt

Not being a groomer, I think you did a fabulous job! ((applause))

He's a love!

Oh, no, I didn't groom him. What I meant by I'm not a groomer was that I didn't do him, that I had him groomed somewhere, lol.

[Graco22]

Now that the holiday rushes are over, I can post some more pics. These are a family of 4 dogs, all just cute as can be.

[Graco22]

And here's one more shot of Thai's face, cause he is so DARN cute! LOL

[Love's_Sophie]

Thai is a cutie...

A couple of Poms...

[Love's_Sophie]

And a Sheltie




and my puppy...Sirius...I'm leaving his paws and face for the winter...that's why they weren't reshaved this time.

[Graco22]

Aw, the poms look SO much better...that first one was a mess! LOL And your little pup looks darling! Here is the latest groom on my standard...still trying to tweak this trim out to perfection..The German is the hardest-easiest looking-trim ever! LOL I tweaked some of him the next day, like blending the neckline better, and taking more off the chest and rear end...he is a square dog, but I can't make him look like it in this trim..LOL And don't mind the smarty pants in the background...everyone's a jokester around here, and its the only good pic I have of him from that cut.

[Love's_Sophie]

He looks great from my perspective, but hey, I can't feel him or see him from all sides...I'd probably drop the hock slightly...so it's not 'quite' so sharp, or looking 'strung out from behind', and next time leave more back behind his shoulder, so you can level his wither\back tie in; If I were there I'd crituque ya more...Lol!

[Graco22]

Thanks Sophie. I did fix his hock angle the next day, as well as the neckline, and took more off under his shelf on the rear. I will try to find that pic..it looks bad cause its the next day and it was raining, but you can see what I attempted to fix. He needs more coat at the back of his head to give a better swoop..and I did mess up the elbows..lol I scissored his front end without using snap ons, and darn thats hard.. I will have time to tweak things before leaving him alone for Atlanta Pet Fair in March. Then I am growing him back into the continental..that was easier! LOL Here's the pic.

Oh, and I took too much off the tuckup too..thats helping to make him look long...

[Love's_Sophie]

Looks fine...and yeah, sometimes scissoring w\out snap ons is a pain...although I still prefer it...Lol! And most of the workers I have worked with (with the exception of my original teacher) prefer snap ons... Same with handstripping...most of my 'last crew' have no clue how to properly hand strip a dog. I remember one dog that was a part of a trio; I started hand stripping him right away and stripped him according to the length the owner seemed to want, and then the shop owner called and said he gets such and such snap on comb; I had already prepped the dog, but I ran the snap on over him anyway, and he was exactly the length they had wanted in the first place...Lol! The other two dogs, the other groomer did, didn't get nearly as much stripping as they should have, and didn't look as good either when they were done...in my humble opinion anyway.

[jesirose]

I am not a groomer but I love my groomer I take Sadie to, Sadie is always happy going in and coming out! She just gets a bath and brush but she always looks SO gorgeous after, white and fluffy! Then she immediately runs into the garden and pulls up a plant.

Here is what she usually looks like when I take her in:


And after:


And now that she's gotten bigger she gets a bandana!

[poodleholic]

Originally Posted by Graco22

Here is the latest groom on my standard...still trying to tweak this trim out to perfection..The German is the hardest-easiest looking-trim ever! LOL I tweaked some of him the next day, like blending the neckline better, and taking more off the chest and rear end...he is a square dog, but I can't make him look like it in this trim..LOL And don't mind the smarty pants in the background...everyone's a jokester around here, and its the only good pic I have of him from that cut.

He's GORGEOUS! I'm still perfecting the German on my Beau - not being a professional, and self-taught, I learn by trial and error! (Some doozies!) My Maddy had to have emergency surgery after a fight with two raccoons the end of November, so, I've given her a sweater and trousers clip, the sweater has a pretty deep V-neck, since it was shaved to the skin there! Poor darling. She's so feminine, but that girl can kick you-know-what! (The raccoons are both dead.)

[Graco22]

Thanks Poodle. Its a hard trim, thats for sure. Let me know if I can help you out at all with perfecting your Beau's trim. I am glad that Maddie is ok after her raccon escapade. You know, I have a standard client, that I also use in grooming competitions, and they live on a horse/cattle/goat farm...they specifically have a standard as they say they are the best coon dogs..LOL I remember last year when they were SO proud that Baron had killed his first raccoon..Sissy poodles...I think NOT! LOL

[Love's_Sophie]

Originally Posted by Graco22

Sissy poodles...I think NOT! LOL

Ditto to that! Even my mini is definitely NOT a sissy... a little on the 'snooty' side, I would say...

He is ALL dog, even though he is a 'primpy, prissy' dog...He gets dirtier, plays harder, and lasts longer outdoors than our terrier mix; although she has very little hair coat in the winter, so I don't blame her; but earlier in the fall, Siri still out lasted her outside! And he is constantly thinking...you can see it in his expression...Our terrier is just in constant motion, but you can tell there's not 'a ton' going on upstairs (no offense Lizzy!).

And cause we're on a 'poodle craze'...here's one that I do fairly frequently...He's a pain in the butt, though; doesn't stand still, and constantly pulls his head away at the wrong time when I am trying to do his topknot...

[poodleholic]

Thanks, Graco, I just may take you up on that! It took awhile for me to figure out that rear angulation. It's better now, but any tips on that would really really be great!

[JRT_Rattie_Mom]

Haven't checked in for awhile... and enjoyed seeing all of the new pictures! Just love the Standard Poodles! I do volunteer grooming at our local shelter every Monday, and had a black SP on Monday to groom. He was such a jewel.. and I had the hardest time not taking him home with me! He did need a cut, but wasn't matted or thin... can't believe his family didn't bother to look for him. He was such a sweet boy.. and I know he'll be adopted in no time (especially after his groom!)

Okay... I just thought I'd ask a question to all you groomers that have your own place (or do something special for your own clients) for the holidays. This was my first holiday season after opening my shop, so I wanted to do "something" for my regular clients, but couldn't spend a lot of money. I had taken before/after pictures of all the dogs when they came the first time (for their file)... and decided I wanted to do something with the pictures. Since the "after" shots were usually taken on the grooming table (and sometimes with brushes and hair still on the table!) the surroundings/background of pictures themselves were not that great. I'd seen a web site where you could make "fake" magazine covers, so I just added the pictures to a "fake" Pet Fancy Magazine.. and they looked so cute! I found holiday cards that held a 4 x 6 print and mailed them as Christmas cards, and my clients all really loved them... and not very expensive to do!
Here is the link to the covers if anyone wants to see how they came out: http://linkbee.com/H5U

I'm already trying to plan something for next year... anyone else have ideas for some fun (cheap) gifts? I was thinking about doing paw print oranaments (would be easy to do before the bath and then clean the paw) but not sure if I would do paint prints, clay prints etc.? Any thoughts?