Rua's First Grooming - Updated

[Dori & Rua]

I have mixed emotions...she looked so stinkin' cute with her shaggy hair look and she looks so stinkin' cute with her velvet soft hair.  It really is weird...depending on which way the light hits her, she is either REALLY dark or REALLy light.

 

Take a look at her! 

 

http://www.doodlekisses.com/photo/albums/ruas-first-grooming

 

UPDATE:  More on Rua's first grooming.  The groomer that I took her to is where she goes for daycare twice a week.  Before I even made the appointment, the groomer told me that the first time they like to have the puppy for 1/2 a day to get them used to the whole process of grooming...taking it slow, making sure they are OK with things.  She also gave me some tips on grooming at home.  She gave me a short lead to use and told me to put her up on a table or washer (on a non-skid mat) so Rua got used to that.  I told her that Rua kept wanting to chew the brush, so I gave Rua a brush different brush to chew with while I was brushing her and she told me to stop doing that which made sense (it's like giving her an old shoe to chew on and then having her chew on good shoes).  So, I worked on regular brushing, ear cleaning, tooth brushing (OK, mostly me trying to rub toothpaste somewhere in her mouth), bathing and drying.

 

Before we went to California, I asked the groomer to trim her nails and trim around her eyes.  They also trimmed the hair between her toes.  They charged me $15.00 for this (I had paid $10.00 a couple of times to PetCo to get her nails trimmed so I thought $15.00 was reasonable).  She called me the next day and told me it was time for Rua to get groomed...her adult coat was coming in and she really needed to get used to the whole grooming process.

 

After reading all of the horror stories about grooming, I was really nervous, but, it grows back, right?  The owner did the grooming and didn't remove more than an 1" or so.  She gave her a cute little sani-cut (I had a black labradoodle that a large pet place shaved down to the skin once and it looked awful)!  She told me Rua did really well up on the table, but she kept trying to bit the blow dryer.  Oh - Oh.  Remember the "give her a brush to chew on" issue, well, I am guilty of making blow-drying a game.  I would sit on the floor in the bathroom, turn on the dryer and let her "zoom" around the room.  Rua would run to and fro, going past the dryer and would stop and "bite" at the air.  So, the groomer gave me some advice on how to hold Rua and get her used to the blow dryer.  Another training lesson for ME!!!

 

So, I paid $44.00 for Rua's first experience (which I am assuming would have been more if her nails, pads and eyes hadn't just been trimmed, but less if it wouldn't have been her first time since it took longer, if that makes any sense).  Since Rua is fairly small, perhaps one day I night attempt to groom her myself, but until then for $50.00 (with tip), I think that is pretty reasonable.

 

When my DH came home and saw her last night, he just thought she looked really cute!

[Amy & Bernie]

Definitely a cute cut! I'd call it a success!

[Pat and Traveler]

She is adorable!!!!

[Candy & Hudson]

I just looked at the whole album and I think she looks GORGEOUS!!! I cried when Hudson got his first haircut, there are pics on my page, but I think it was because his head was shaved also. Her face looks so adorable and her body seriously does look like velvet but if you miss the scuffiness, it will be back in NO time anyways. :)

[Kyoko]

She looks so cute with her big girl hair cut!!

[Lynda Kamrath]

Photo please!  I have been thinking about doing some trimming on Harpo also.