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I am unable to upload any photos anymore as my computer considers this to be a malicious add-on. Therefore I will not use this blog any more because without photos it is useless to me and my family/friends. ByeBye Too Bad So Sad.

Rufus is here to stay for a week. He is an 8 month old Airedale and a whole lot of fun to have around. Our boys have met him before so the meet and greet went smoothly...even uncle Rexy settled in well with his presence. These photos are of quiet time in the shop after a good long romp and play.

Later today Ziggy, the Jack Russel Terrier, will be by for his #10 shave off. He does not get a bath due to skin problems so there'll be one more dulled blade for the sharpening box. He is a bit of a touchy boy about his legs and from time to time the muzzle comes into use. Otherwise it is a quick and easy job.

Heidi came in for her end of summer tidy before heading home for the winter months. She was in only 4 weeks prior so it was basically a bath and brush with customer requested 'pixie feet' and tidied face. She is a 14 year old shihtzu cross...kind of tall and terrier like ... her owner likes the schnauser type fringe of 1 1/2 inches along the tummy line to diguise her lanky legs. She is pretty close to blind judging by the way she picks up her feet when she walks.

Well now here's Rocky, Newfie Cross, with a seriously matted coat after all of his summer swimming at the lake. The matting went all down his back and sides. I was able to squeak a #5 blade under the felt so he at least had some fuzz left this year. Last year I could only manage a #10. His owner and had hoped it would not come to this again as I did a thorough groom on him in the spring before any mats could form then. But alas here we are again. The final outcome was not as drastic as last fall. As before though his mane, legs and tail were dematable but the body all came down to a #5 length this year. Better luck next year Rocky as we may shave in the early summer so by fall he might be fine.

Well I've had the regulars come and go over the summer scattered inbetween with the some boarding and daycare dogs. But, the cat room remains unused to date. I've sent an application into the SPCA to foster cats in hopes to make use of this part of the facility. I've added a hiding/perching type cardboard box to each cat kennel now after seeing them in use at the SPCA. I simply went to UHaul and bought new small size boxes for this purpose. They are 12x12x16. I cut about an inch and a half off and inverted it on top to hold the bed and cut an entry arch in the side of the box. These are not in the photo as I took this shot some time ago. There have been a few more finisihing touches to the kennel walls as well. I sure hope the SPCA needs me otherwise I'll just have to go out and get me some cats on my own to care for. I miss having cats about the place.

Texas was with for us daily doggie daycare for two weeks while his owners vacationed at the resort 5 km up the road. He is a Lab/Newfoundland cross and really looks like an oversized Lab. He is 1 year old and full of exuberant energy...his folks were thrilled that he had so much fun and exercise here. At the resort he had to be on leash all the times and tended to bark in his loudest and most fierce voice at all who passed by their site. While here his barking was quite minimal as he was much too busy having fun chasing squirrels and romping along with our 2 Standard Poodles...even cranky old uncle Rexy our Pom/Poodle cross enjoyed his company. This photo is of him all bathed and brushed and ready to head off home to Seattle.

Yuki is a cute little Chihuahua cross and is a regular grooming dog here at the shop. She is staying with us for 3 days as a boarder. She will be groomed later today to get her all ready to go home early tomorrow morning. She's very shy and being the only boarder just now she has lucked out and gets to come in the house to watch TV with us in the evening. Ah yes we do spoil her!

The grooming table has not been very busy this summer but today WOW...not by volume but by size!! Today Clifford came to my grooming table. He is a 9 year old Newfoundland...so cool, so calm and so gentle!! This was a 4 hour groom and only so because his owner had cut out a bunch of mats already. He got bathed and dematted and tidied. What an excellant dog but thank goodness that my hubby is big and strong. We lifted him in and out of the tub directly to the table. I was able to dry and groom his hind end before he got to tired to stand. I finished his front end while he sat. Then when he finally had to lie down on the table I worked out his throat and ear mats. We lifted him down from the table in his lying position. We took him out for a walk about so I could see him in a larger perspective and so he could relieve himself. Then I was able to run a 1 inch combe down his front legs to even them out better. He still had some choppiness to his looks from the 'home' scizzoring but he looked 100% better. Every one felt great about the groom!!

I have had a parade of regulars through the shop since last posting. There have also been several new dogs but I only managed to photograph these two. The Cairn Terrier is Tess...she is a newly adopted 7 year old spayed female...sweet girl but a little skittish on the table. And...they told her that Cairns don't shed....hahh! The black cross is a 14 year old female...terrified of the dryer...had to towel dry with the fan blowing. Her trim is a kind of schnauser body with a short round face...customer requested custom grooming!! We have added a boarding kennel set-up to the shop so once in a while things are hopping around here.

I had a visit from Max and McKenna for a bath, brush and tidy. What a big job for all of the day! Max is the larger of the two and with a much heavier coat. It took me 4 hours to complete his groom. He is a big strong boy and somewhat resistant. Luckily McKenna is way smaller with a less thick coat. Her groom only took 3 hours to complete. They are hugely high maintenance dogs but turned out beautifully in the end.

Today I had a visit from Kali...she is a Finnish Bear Dog. Never heard of that before. It is actually a Karelian Bear Dog. She is black and white...about the size of a border collie...with a long curled up tail and lush beautiful hair of a medium length. Very lovely dog...but alas my camera was not in the shop.

Amos and Andy... black toy poodles came in for their usual #5 allover trim. They are delightful little guys...always cooperative and quite easy to do. I also had my 2 daycare Cavaliers in my company for the day. I claimed the gate as mine and the result was a more enjoyable time. They for the most part stayed away from it and had time to enjoy the rest of the yard. What fun!

Today I had a visit from Reagan...a 3 year old Rough Coat Collie. It took 4 1/2 hours to complete her bath and tidy. She had scads of undercoat to come out and lots of mats to demat. She look great once done so very satisfying to work on.

It has been a busy few days. These two are Butch and Maddy...first time here. Maddy is a ShihTzu with a very pretty face. Her groom was a 5/8 all with a light tidy on her ears and tail. Butch is a Shih Tzu X that was also a 5/8 all with a light tidy on ears and tail. His visor should have been a tad longer but I trimmed it while it was damp and it sproinged up to much...oh well.

Also in this week was Pebbles, Black Jack and Angel, Bella and Rufus but no photos this time round.

I've had a busy few days. Simba a black and white, one eyed, ShihTzu male with lots of mats came in for a grooming. I used a #5 blade all over to trim him to a comfortable summer length. He was a good little guy to work with.

Missy came for a repeat groom. She is a Yorkie and I give her a modified Schnauser trim using a #10 body and #5 leg and fringe. Her owner was very pleased with that last time and wanted to continue with it. No time for a photo this time...mom was waiting in the driveway already when I finished the groom!

Two Cavaliers, Julia and Olivia, came to visit for daycare and a bath and tidy. I did not remember to take after photos but did get the befores. They both had an over all light tidy to get rid of their bunny feet and wild fringes. They will be back again for daycare so maybe I'll remember the after shots them. They are our first daycare dogs and a great deal of the time was spent getting them used to the yard and our own dogs. It was really cool to have both of our standard poodles stretched out and relaxed on the floor of the shop along with the little Cavys...every one just getting used to each other.

Today 2 Shelties, Molly and Zoey came to visit my grooming table for the first time. Their coats were quite matted and heavy with undercoat. They each took 3 hours to bathe, dry, demat and tidy. Very time intensive job but very satisfying to see them look so good one completed. They were awesome good and patient considering how long it took and the amount of dematting required. Good challenge for the old grooming skills!!! I only had a chance to get a photo of one of them this time...Zoey.

Buddy visited my grooming table today. He is a diabetic ShihTsu. He has front leg issues and hates ear plucking. For the most part though I consider him to be a good boy. He grumbles throughout the whole process but is only troublesome for nails and ears plucking. He is quite a frail fellow and tips over easily. I find that taking my time, talking calmly and giving him time to cooperate with what I need him to do...we get along just fine. For his summer do I used a #5 blade on his body and on as much of his legs as he could cope with...then I scizzored the rest of his legs. This photo is an oldy...looks like a 5/8 inch trim.

I have had 2 new visitors to my grooming table. First Pepper a Border Collie came in for a groom. She was a bit nervous at the beginning but was so smart. It took no time at all for her to figure what I wanted her to do. I used a 5/8 inch blade to shorten her lovely coat for a summertime of fishing on the lake. There was a lot of snaggled undercoat to work at getting under but I managed.

Next Ceasar came for a grooming. He is a Yorkie and his family is up at the lake for the summer too. I used a #10 blade on his body and a #15 blade to deal with the wispy leg hairs. His face and ears were shortened using blending shears. He was kind of pully with his legs but over all a good little guy. He will enjoy his sand and water beach time with this summer trim.

I had a visit from Sunny and Emmy yesterday. They are poodleX sisters and so cute and full of mischief. The groom was as last time...#4 allover with scizzored legs. They arrived right in the middle of our renovation work but the lino was down so I got the grooming done without difficulty. The walls were all gone on the inside so they had lots of room to roam around. This reno work is going to turn the grooming shop into a boarding kennel for cats and dogs as well and add a washroom and a coffee/snack room.

Today I met a new little friend in my grooming shop. Sammy is a Silkie/Yorkie X with only one eye. He is quite a nervous little guy but he settled down nicely as the groom progressed. I used a #10 blade on his body, #15 on his legs and scizzored and blended to give him a short face to go along with his summer do. I'm not sure is this was what was wanted...the instructions were for short...which as we all know means different things to different folks. He has very sensitive skin so I was careful not to back brush too vigorously...I used the reversed brush technique so the pins of my slicker would have a softer feel against his skin. I hope to see him again but...alas...they are seasonal folks here for the summer at the cabin.

Today Tinkerbell came to visit my grooming table. She is a very timid Poodle X and was very matted this time. I used a #10 blade all over with a #7 on top of her head and #5 for the muzzle. She started out a bit scrambly but was quite good for the groom once she figured out that all I wanted was for her to stand in a certain position for a certain amount of time. A very smart little girl! She will enjoy this tidy clean coat for her fun days in the barn with her buddies.

Today Coquette came to visit my grooming table. She is a cute little Pomeranian/Poodle X with a luxurious brindle coat and a very winning and cooperative attitude toward being groomed. I used a 5/8 inch blade for her body and blended down to a #4 blade length on her legs. The top of her head is also done with a 5/8 in blade and her muzzle is a #5 blade length. I used blending shears to bring her ears down somewhat to maintain the wispy look on them. I lightly tidied her tail. She was a delight to groom. Today is her birthday...one year old!!!

Two new little friends came to visit my grooming table today. Bugsy is a 14 year old intact male miniature poodle. His buddy is a young intact male Chihuahua. What fun they were to groom. Lots of excitement, barking and jumping about by Bugsy...until he got on the table...then he was a solid steady delight to groom. I used a #4 blade on his body, gave him a #10 clean poodle face with a 5/8 top not, poodle feet and a flag tail.

Chico was in for a bath and brush and nail trim. Both excellant dogs on the table.

Today I had 3 visitors to my grooming table. Annie is a young mostly white ShihTsu female. Bianaca is a 4 month old Pomeranian/Yorkie X female with a unique color. Chevy is a 7 month old black ShihTsu X male.

I had to shave Annie using a #15 blade to get under the tightly felted matting on her body and legs. She looks quite naked now...but...it will grow. She had quite heavy hair growth in he ears for plucking out as well.

Chevy got a #7 all over trim to deal with the matting on his legs and belly. This was his very first trip to the groomer and he needed it. His ears were gummy and needed plucking overmuch. I was very pleased with the way he accepted the grooming process.

Bianca was here for an introductory puppy trim...face, feet, bum and groin. She is a little cutie and behaved very well for her first time!

I only had time for after photos as the owner needed them all done before heading to work. I got them done in about 3 1/2 hours with the help of my handy dandy bather/hubby. Thanks hon!

Very interesting day in the grooming shop! Milo came to my grooming table...it's been almost a year. He is a toy poodle...very matted indeed. Last time he visited he was also very matted as well. This time I used a #15 all over to manage the condition of his coat. His ears were not as badly matted as last time and his owner wanted to save the length so I dematted them. The right ear got zinged by the dematter or the brush...not sure which. Any way there was some bleeding involved there. I got that settled and cleaned up...almost done infact and another cut! I am not sure again whether it was his tongue which got into the clipper as I took the last off his chin or whether the blade zinged one of the little pimply bumps...anyway...more bleeding. He is a very scrunching, evasive and flingy kind of guy...just random all over the place sudden flingueenying. A moving target! It was truly a challenge... I shall have to call his folks tomorrow to see how he's doing.

The next to visit today was Amos and Andy.... 2 toy poodles...very calm and cooperative little fellows. Thank goodness. They both got a #5 all over with #15 poodle feet and clean face. It was a very enjoyable grooming experience for all of us. Yippee, Yahooee!

No photos this time around.

Black Jack and Angel came to visit my grooming table yesterday. They are two Standard Poodles with lots of energy and both have beautiful coats to work with. I used a #5 on their bodies and a #4 on their legs. This time, at their owner's request, I made their topnots shorter and also their tail poofs smaller to match. I'm pleased with how they turned out. It took 4 hours to do the black one...he is larger and has the thicker coat...and is more "resistant" to procedure. The creamy girl only took 2 1/2 hours. It was a good long day and challenging enough for sure. They are both good dogs to work with though for sure the male has more attitude-translate-not neutered.

Today tory, an Australian Shepherd visited my grooming table. She is 12 years old and in excellant condition. She also has an excellant disposition...very calm and sensible. The grooming process did not faze her in the least. I basically did a tidy on her and thinned her coat a bit too. She has a very soft coat but not one of those really thick and long ones that are a nightmare to do. I was able to blow a lot of undercoat out and her mats were limited to her butt and lower leg fringes. Her folks were delight with how she looked...so glad for that.

Today it was Buster who came to visit my grooming table. He is one of those Shih Tsus that require a helper to accomplish certain parts of the grooming process. The 'football' hold is what works with him to get his ears plucked. He tries every trick in the book to get out of getting his ears plucked...screaming, clawing, writhing, flipping, and straight up the side of my head!!! Sooooo, I only book him when I know I'll have help. I get my helper to tuck him under his arm and hold his front legs. That way I have two hands to deal with the waggling and bobbing head and get the job done. He does okay for nail trimming...hates to be bathed and drying is a three ring circus. Then he simply settles down and is a little angel for the haircut. His groom this time was a 5/8" blade for his body, scissored his legs with a short round face and round feet. He is a challenge but cute as a button by the end.

Ratboy was my first visitor of the day. He is a regular and the groom went smoothly as usual. I used a 5/8 " blade and scizzored his legs. He is a shih tsu with a previously broken pelvis so he requires a certain amount of very careful handling. His hind legs don't seem to hold him up all that well during the groom but he sure looks just fine after and he is scampering off to get into the car!

Lola came to see me today also. She is a Golden Retriever that has had a piece of her lower jaw removed. The result of that is her ever lolling tongue and a bit of drool. Her groom is a #3 all with scizzored legs. This gives her a nice short coat for the summer at the lake. She is a very good dog to groom...just one of those high pitched whiners once in a while. Her coat is not the easiest to work with...so very soft that is wants to lie down as the blade goes along. I think she looks somewhat choppy as a result even with lots of scizzor blending shears work. Oh well...that's the way it goes when giving a double coated dog a haircut I think.