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Amateur grooming #4

6K views 74 replies 11 participants last post by  EvaE1izabeth 
#1 ·
Kodi was very patient with another marathon grooming session, but I think I’m getting better at it!
 

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#2 ·
This is what I carved off... another dog’s worth! LOL!
 

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#8 ·
You might inspire me to try grooming, which I need to do in summers because we are in the mountains where there are no luxury type dog groomers. I think, the hardest part is scissor cutting the legs. I've got everything to do the job .... except it would be very! helpful to have a professional tub to bath her in.

Kodie looks great!!
 
#9 ·
You might inspire me to try grooming, which I need to do in summers because we are in the mountains where there are no luxury type dog groomers. I think, the hardest part is scissor cutting the legs. I've got everything to do the job .... except it would be very! helpful to have a professional tub to bath her in.

Kodie looks great!!
I wash them in the kitchen sink. No professional tub! LOL! I started out scissoring his legs, and that's how I did his disasterous second cut that I didn't even SHOW here because it was so bad. He looked like the moths ate him! LOL! (A little uneven? I'll cut a little more here...) I'm actually using clippers with the LONGEST comb now, which is longer than groomers usually use (most people want their clip-jobs to "last" longer! LOL!) and I've found that I have to go down 2 comb lengths to do his legs. The longest comb takes nothing off at all.

I would, ideally, like him a TINY bit fluffier than this, but he will be again in 2 weeks or so, and he'll be EVEN. If I scissored him, he'd be longer, but uneven. I'm not a professional, so I have to compromise. LOL!
 
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#10 ·
Not too bad! After Brisket finished his championship, I took him down to about 4" all over his body and blended the rest...apparently hand scissoring for my first ever groom was ambitious, and he didn't get to go on any outings for the first week, but now that it's had time to grow...cuuuute! Not a permanent thing for him, though, unlike Kodi ;)
 
#12 ·
You never told us Brisket finished!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!! :cheer2:

I actually did a reasonably decent job scissoring Kodi the first time. It was AFTER that that I failed miserably! Why did you decide to cut Brisket down if you are going to griw him out again?

BTW, Panda stands at 10 points including a 5 pt major, so we are getting very close!!!
 
#16 ·
And yes, the maturity thing definitely has helped a lot. She gaits perfectly, stacks herself. She’s really so easy to show now.
 
#17 ·
We bathe in this sink we have in the laundry room. Which brings me to two questions. Do you fully soak them when bathing? Now that Oliver's hair is much thicker it takes like an hour to blow dry if I thoroughly saturate him. Secondly, what is your favorite shampoo and conditioner? I'm currently using a two in one, but I think I want a separate conditioner in hopes of easier combing and not breaking the hairs because we are combing so frequently.
 
#18 · (Edited)
I bath mine in a large sink in the utility room where I have a grooming table set up. (I have a larger deeper sink the kitchen, I may switch to) I don't know how you can get them clean without soaking and getting the soap down to the skin. Karen has recommendations for a CC two in one Shampoo, I haven't tried yet. I've used CC White on White and conditioner but have yet figured out how the groomer gets Patti's hair soooooo soft and smooth - she a loose wave in her hair.

I'm eager to try the CC Two in One Shampoo with Conditioner, because after bathing I hate putting conditioner on, letting it sit on the hair for a few minutes and then rinsing it out. In a small sink it's hard to keep Patti still because she wants out and doesn't like standing still.

My tricks for easy combing and getting the dog dry faster after bathing:

  • First before bathing, I comb her hair until it's slick with no tangles or mats.
  • When I shampoo her I don't tangle the hair by rubbing it in circles, rather I message/rub the hair in the direction it grows.
  • I towel her off
  • then turn her loose in a confined area and let her Shake-Shake-Shake Like Crazy. They can shake themselves to a damp wet or almost dry in warm weather. The shorter the hair the faster it drys.
  • I have a hairdryer stand, so I can use both hands and use a spray conditioner as I comb the hair out while drying.
 
#25 ·
I use a large, deep sink in my laundry room for Willow's bath. I don't fill it up more than 6 inches or so. I can get her saturated by using the hand held spray attachment. Also, because Willow is small, I can actually stand her under the faucet and let it run over her. I'm probably doing it all wrong. However, once she is shampooed, rinsed and conditioned, I drain the sink, rinse her by having her stand under the faucet, then finish up using the hand held attachment so I can get her tummy, butt and legs. Her coat is not real heavy so I think I'm getting her rinsed.

Somewhere on the forum there's a thread that discusses not combing out before bathing. So I've stopped doing that on bath day. I do towel dry her by just rubbing the towel down the length of her body so the hair doesn't tangle. I should let her do the zoomies and shake like others have mentioned but I don't. Then I blow dry her. She hates the force dryer so I mostly use my own hair dryer. Wish I had a grooming table. I really don't have the room for one though.
 
#26 ·

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#33 ·
I don't understand the reasons behind NOT combing a dog out first before bathing. Ideally, one is combing a Havanese on a frequent basis but still ....?

Mikki...I have had this discussion many times with our groomer who has been grooming for 30 years. She said dogs should always be completely brushed and combed to the skin before bathing. Any stubborn mats she scissors out. After the bath it takes about 40 minutes blow dry. It's a long process.
 
#38 ·
#40 · (Edited)
Another photo of Kodi now that he's grown out a bit and I've had a few days to even out some rough spots. With his de-stuffed monkey that he plays with every morning! LOL!

The other thing that helps him look more even is that right after he is blow dried, his hair is SO straight that it doesn't disguise ANY faults in cutting the way hair with a little more "floof" does. A couple of days of going back to its natural wave and it is a bit more forgiving. ;)
 

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#41 ·
IMPRESSIVE. Kodi looks GREAT!! I love his short Mustache, Beard and Ears. I need to get my Mind Wrapped Around bathing and grooming Patti and put myself on a schedule. Bathing every week and grooming is expensive, but more than that I'm not very happy with the groomer. There's not enough GOOD groomers in this area, so I can't be real picky.

Did you trim Kodi's TAIL???? I like the way Kodi's tail stands up. Patti's tail hangs pass her knee.
 
#53 · (Edited)
:xI'm in Love with this Honey Girl:x

I have a new Sony Lens I'm testing and figuring out how to use. This was a quick unplanned shot. The Boken and the Detail is just WOW!! You may not be able to see it in this low resolution file, but my reflection is in her eyes.
 

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#61 · (Edited)
I always groom dogs right before dinner when they are hungry and have lots of treats cut up in itty bitty pieces. They get treats throughout the grooming session and especially after I do something that aren't crazy about. I do this every day and now when it gets near grooming time Mia stands by the grooming table and demands to be groomed!!! I keep the grooming sessions short and positive and can sense when they are ready for it to end. There is always tomorrow to finish what I did not do today. As far as safety, when using scissors which is my main tool, I try to keep my fingers between scissors and dog whenever possible. I have been knicked a few times but the dogs have remain unscathed! I also have a scissors with rounded tips.

You can do it Mikki. Just take it slow.
 
#65 ·
At age 65, having a gorgeous haircut is probably the least of my beauty "challenges". Here is a picture of my homemade haircut. I am petting a giant beetle in this picture that I just rescued from my two little beasts!
 

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