Today Ziggy visited my grooming table. He is a rough coated Jack Russel of undetermined age. He has a skin condition and therefore gets shaved without a bath. I groom him with a #10 all, leaving the face au natural to maintain his 'character'. I shave his legs with a #15. He has front leg issues which he grumbles about and then finally lunges to bite. Then I simply muzzle him and continue. It is the feet that seem to trigger him mostly but once he has taken a shot at me I prefer to opt for safety. When his coat is long there is no evidence of spots...when shaved he is very spotted. He is a typical Russel when it comes to nail trims...doesn't like it! I leave that little chore for the last. He actually does quite well...it's just the front nails that tenses up for but not a really big struggle. He came with a warning about being tough for nail trims...apparently the word around here is that I 'hypnotize' them for nail trims. It's funny how the word gets around when you do a few 'tough ones' without trouble. Once the groom is complete he is very loving and friendly on the floor. Pretty good guy to spend an hour and a half with.

Today Otis came to my grooming table for a simple puppy trim...face, feet, bum and groin. Tomorrow he gets neutered.

No photos today of my little doggie visitors. The owner were both in a rush and came for pick up almost exactly as the grooming sessions were complete.

The first was Tinkerbell...a golden ShihTsu Pomeranian cross about 6 years old. This was her first on my grooming table. She was very nervous at the start but came around very nicely. The dryer made her anxious...pooping anxious...so I cut that somewhat short and let the fan blow her face dry instead while I worked on her body and legs. She had a lot of large mats on her lower legs and feet. The ones on her body were easy to comb out. Anyway I took her lower legs down with a #5, skimmed her body with a 1inch comb and blended her upper legs down to the #5 length. She ended up with a Pom looking body but her face and ears are all ShihTsu in look so I just tidied them to blend down to the comb length. Once her legs grow back she'll look fuller coated all the way down to her feet but for now that's all I could do to deal with the heavy matting. Her folks were happy with the look.

The next dog was Diesel the ShihTsu. This was his second visit to my grooming table so I knew what to expect. After his first visit I made a note on his file that he bites for the ear plucking, has front leg issues and does not tolerate the clipper on his face. He was true to form today. He's a very steady fellow otherwise but kind of heavy and close to the ground. All in all his grooming went without any problems. With him I have basically one shot at his face before he gets snappy. I used blending shears on the top of his nose and under the eyes as well as to shorten his short round face look. He is too quick to lunge and snap to safely use anything other than that blunt type of shears near his face. And, there is no going back to redo something that looks missed I with him...gotta do in right the first time. I manage the ear plucking by using 3 loops...one up from the neck as usual, one up from the rear (no sit type) and one straight forward from the neck. This way I can limit the bite zone and can approach his ears from above. He's not he kind of guy that settles if held by the chin hairs. The groom was relaxed and pleasant inspite of his snappish ways.

My only disappointment was...no photos.

Today Ratboy and Molly came to visit the shop. Ratboy is a 3 year old ShihTzu and is the survivor of a ATV accident. His pelvis was broken and he underwent long surgery and convalescence. His hind legs are as a result quite weak and wonky. To help him stand for the grooming I double loop him so that when his hind legs give out the loop holds him up. I have handle him very carefully so as not to cause him pain and discomfort. Today's grooming session when very smoothly. In fact I did not have to muzzle him for his nails or ear plucking. Other times just picking up a leg set him to snapping. What a pleasant time for him and me both! His groom was more of a tidy as his owner wants him long for the winter. It is a real trick to scizzor his wonky legs but he looked good.

Molly is a cute little Maltese ShihTzu cross. She has a lovely coat to work with. She is Ratboy's neighbour so they arrived together for their grooming. She is awesome to work on...crispy coat, straight legs and soooo willing to please. She is quite afraid of the drying process. I manage to blow dry most of her except from the next up. I simply use a fan blowing on her face while I groom the rest to complete the drying. She also got a basic tidy so she'll be long for the winter months. A 1 inch comb will maintain this length for her.

It was a pleasant way to spend a few hours and their owners are always so appreciative.

I guess the lull is over. Yesterday Buddy came to visit my shop. He is a diabetic ShihTzu...about 5 years old with the skin and bones type body of a senior dog. He is a grumbler throughout the entire groom but as long as I move along a a slow and quiet pace nothing comes of his grouchiness. If for some reason he has not had his insulin in the morning he is really crabby though. Yesterday he was just fine. I groom him in a #3 all and scizzor his legs. He came to me with the warning that "no body" could trim his nails unless his owner held him and even then it was a big struggle. Well, he does just fine with me. I leave the nail trim and ear plucking to the very end. By then he is very used to my touch...and I muzzle the little love. He bites for his front nails and for the ear plucking....no ifs, ands, or buts. I determined that on the first visit. He didn't nail me but he was uber fast and could have if I hadn't been aware of his 'difficult' reputation. Our time together was comfortable...he's a good boy...just needs to be carefully and gently handled.

My grooming table has been empty for a while now. Just a lull. I have found an excellant site on the internet for information on most conditions and symptoms for all types of pets. The info is not highly technical, is very readable and understandable. It is written by veterinarians and I think quite a valuable tool for maintaining the health of one's pets.

http://www.peteducation.com/index.cfm?c=2

I've looked at a few other sites...this is my favourite.

Today my visitor was a one year old Chocolate Lab named Rooster. It was his first time on my grooming table and what a good boy! He wasn't too sure about getting the bath at first but did not fret about. By the time I had finished shampooing and thoroughly rinsing him he had quite relaxed. Ofcourse toweling his face pleased him immensely. I like to towel off the body as well just to get the really drippiness off. This is because I prefer to move the dog to the grooming table for the blow dry. I find that a dog will relax faster and I have better control of their actions with them double looped on the table. It is a real plus ofcourse to have the hydraulic height adjustment. The force dryer was a new experience for him but he handled it very calmly. During the bathing and drying process I lift and put down the feet over and over so that by the time I get to trimming the nails it is not a shock to have any of the feet handled. Many groomers prefer to trim the nails at the start...in the tub even. Not me. My thoughts on this are that by the time I lift and hold a foot firmly to trim nails, the dog knows me, my touch and that nothing bad has happen til then so no tension or struggle.....at least less anyway. This little guy was very good about nails. He did swing around to look at the first front paw. I let him watch closely as he showed no signs of aggression. He showed no interest in the other front. Rooster has a beautiful full coat...lots of shedding...so I used the rubber curry to loosen and get rid of more hair after he was thoroughly dry. It was an awesomely pleasant and rewarding way to spend some time.

Today was Rexy's turn on the table. He is an 11 year old Pomeranian/Poodle cross. And, I might add part snarly tasmanian devil! The whole idea of a groom is offensive to him. He growls through almost the entire process and certain aspects send him off into 'bite at everything' mode. I'm quite used to him by now. I groomed him for 3 years before I took him under my wing to live at my house when he was 8. His owner passed away and nobody in the family wanted to take him on. He came with some peculiar behaviours that have improved over time. Watching Ceasar Milan on TV gave us a lot of insight on how to deal with most of his social type problems.The dislike of being groomed has not changed a whole lot...nails, and front legs especially as well as the blow drying and oh yeah the washing of the face. His summer groom is a #5 all over (Cariboo Chihuahua) and 5/8 on the tail. In the winter I let him grow into his Pom self with just a tidy around the feet and legs, maintaining the #5 on the face and ears. Right now he is in transition...a tidy up with 5/8 on his body and tail, scizzored legs.

These photos show him full summer trim and full winter trim.

He was true to form for his groom today...growling throughout and snapping at the dryer. He was surprisingly good and quiet while I shaved his pads and believe it or not plucked his ears. I trimmed his nails without using a muzzle. The fronts often require a muzzle to be used...but not today. I sometimes think that he realizes that he is the only one getting wired up over things and calms down inspite of himself. Mike popped in briefly from his adjacent workshop to comment that he was amazed at my patience with the little crank as he could hear the snarly performance over there. I find there is more success to be had by remaining calm and proceeding carefully and methodically with no rushing when it comes to the 'difficult' dogs. Most of the dogs who display this type of 'don't touch my feet or legs' behaviour during the groom are easier to handle if I gently lift and allow the foot or leg to lie loosely on my hand or arm while I work on it rather than holding on for a tug of war as I have witnessed other groomers do. It does help to also remember where the bite zone is!

Anyway, today was a successful groom...about 3/4 of the way through Rexy was feeling calm and giving me soft little kisses on the cheek while I worked on him. Sigh...what a great feeling.

I am going through a lull just now in terms of actual work. Today I made up a basket of goodies to give away to clients for their dogs to enjoy at home. I never give treats to dogs during the grooming session but with Christmas coming a gift seems appropriate to thank people for choosing me as their dog's groomer. Yesterday Pebbles spent a couple of hours with me on the table. She is an adorable King Charles Cavelier and such good company. She is quiet and timid but very friendly. Her groom is a #7 all including the tail. Such a beautiful thick coat! I don't have a photo of her but this is almost exactly her. I drew this picture before I met Pebbles. It is one of a series of dog portaits that I drew to adorn the walls of the shop.