I think grooming is more stressful for the groomer than the dog!!

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

So I was all excited to try my hand at doodle grooming

Les poochs brush – check

Shampoo and lemon water conditioner spray – check

Pet dryer – check

Grooming table – check

Andis 2 speed clippers (multiple blades) – check

2 hairy doodles in need of a groom – check

Determination – CHECK!!

 

So where did it go wrong?

 

Cubbie is my fleece ALD who HATES to be groomed.  We have spent the last 2 years working with him to get him over his grooming issues but haven’t had any luck.  Maybe the planets were properly aligned but he stood patiently for a complete brush out (maybe he likes the new les poochs brush as much as I do!!).  He enjoys a bath so no problem there.  Didn’t mind the dryer until I tried to dry his head and then forget about it, he decided that he was done!!  But at least I had a dry fluffy doodle (accept for the head which was like 85% dry) who was ready for a trim.

 

The next morning I set him up on my grooming table and went to work.  He didn’t mind the clippers and I couldn’t believe how quiet they were.  I was pretty impressed.  I tried using the combs on him, but they just kept pushing is hair down flat.  I ended up using the #3 blade, which was shorter than I wanted to go but my only option at that point.  He turned out well…except for his legs.  Whenever we took him to our groomer for his summer cut, he always ended up with stick legs.  I was determined not to let that happen this time.  So much for determination.  I didn’t use the clippers on his legs and tried to leave them as long as I could but they just looked so out of proportion with his newly clipped body that I had to trim them shorter.  It doesn’t help that I like my doodles long and fluffy and only trim them short in the summer when they start to look miserable just going out for a potty break.  I know it will grow out, but I don’t like looking at Cubbie’s little stick legs!!

 

Ollie was scheduled to be my second grooming client (well, I only have 2 doodles so I guess he was the next logical choice!!)  He is my little angel when it comes to grooming.  He has only been with us for about 2 months now, but he will actually fall asleep on the grooming table when I brush him out.  He gets annoyed when I make him stand so that I can get his legs because it interrupts his nap!!  He is fluffy wool that is very curly on his head, slightly curly on his back, and like cotton candy on his legs.  He did fine for his bath, although he is definitely NOT a water loving doodle.  So needless to say I was not expecting my grooming angel to be completely and utterly terrified of the dryer.  I couldn’t keep him from jumping off the grooming table (he didn’t care that he had the grooming noose on) and dry/brush him at the same time so I had to have my husband come and hold him.  Ollie just stood there trembling while nuzzled against my husband and Cubbie looked at him like “what is your problem?!?!”

 

 

After letting Ollie calm down overnight I started clipping him down (I had my fingers crossed that my grooming angel had returned).  He did great.  He stood like a statue the whole time.  I couldn’t use the combs on him either and didn’t want him as short as the #3 blade would make him so I tried to keep the blade up away from his skin to keep the length a little longer.  My blade started getting warm so I went to switch over to the #10 and I was going to try a comb on his fluffy legs.  Then my grooming mission had a glitch.  I couldn’t get the blade off.  It wouldn’t budge.  The blade release button was getting stuck in the pushed in position and the blade wouldn’t slide off.  My husband was trying to pry it up but then I was freaking out that he was going to break the stupid thing.  So here I am with a dog with a half clipped body and 4 super bushy legs.  My clipper wouldn’t work and I was on the verge of tears.  I did not want to have to go crawling back to my groomer (even though she is great) because it would be admitting defeat and I certainly didn’t want to take in a dog with a choppy coat (I would’ve had to put a shirt on him just to take him out into public).  I decided that nothing was going to stop me from finishing this dog and grabbed my scissors.  A lot of people on DK scissor cut their own dogs, so how hard could it be, right?!?  Geeeze!!!  I felt like Mr. Miyagi (from Karate Kid) cutting a bonsai tree!!  A little off here…a little of there…  The first front leg and first back leg went fine, but trying to get the other 2 legs to match up was just ridiculous.  I started to get all OCD about it.  My DH would pop in to check on my progress which did NOT help and would tell me that Ollie looked the same as the last time he came in (I couldn’t calmly tell him that I had carefully removed a centimeter of fur from each paw in order to make them look even so I just kept my mouth shut!!)  I am actually much happier with the look of Ollie’s legs than with Cubbie’s legs but I think that the type of fur made the difference.  (ohh...please ignore all the junk just tossed on the shelf that can be seen in the background of the picture below...ooops!!)

 

Oh and the best part of the story…I called Pet Edge today to tell them that my clippers were defective and she calmly went through the process with me (which was frustrating because I was convinced that my clippers were defective!!).  Yeah, so I think that I was forgetting to pull back/up on the blade to make the little hinge part pop up.  Even though I had changed the blade a few times the day before, I think I missed a step in the process when I was working on Ollie.  Then I would look at my half groomed dog and start to freak out more which made the whole situation worse and caused me to forget how to properly remove the blade.  The woman from Pet Edge was very friendly but probably hung up with me and said “WTD…another amateur couldn’t figure out the clippers!!”

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

thanks for the comments.  Every time I grab my scissors to snip off a random hair that I realized I missed my DH just looks at me, rolls his eyes, and says "they look fine".  He doesn't understand that "fine" was not the look I was going for. 

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

They look fabulous! I haven't taken the plunge to do the grooming my self, but there is a course available that I'm thinking of signing up for. Oh, and I have a very similar looking shelf in my place, you are welcome to view it in the background of my most recent blog about my new camera. :o)

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

I think you did a great job and they don't look like stick legs in the picture.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

You did a brilliant job.  I am gathering everything together at the moment so I am watching everyone else in the hopes of not freaking out when it come to my turn!  I especially like that you said NOT to look at your shelf and of course then I did!!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

You did a fabulous job on both dogs. Amazing!!

[F, Calla & Luca]

I think you did a really great job on both dogs. You did an awful lot in a short time. I don't bathe them and groom them even remotely around the same time. I never even finish one doodle in 2 days. Give yourself a pat on the back.

[Bonnie and Kona]

I hesitate to say how incredibly similar this story is to my own. The freaking and crying part, I mean. I am so impressed by the way your dogs look after their grooming sessions. Really amazing job!