The Disaster

[Camilla and Darwin]

I take pride in staying on top of Darwin's grooming. Every single night, without fail, I do a complete line brushing. This has allowed him to be mostly matt free as he is going through his coat change. Whether or not we had hit the "bad stage" I don't know. I just know that I made a goal to not have to shave him because of grooming negligence.

Well, I kept that promise to myself. He WAS matt free...But I shaved him anyways. Two reasons.

1: He was super hot. Especially in our car, drooling, panting, lethargy, etc. (no air conditioning)

2: I really wanted to donate his fur to help with the oil spill.

Anyways, having shaved Darwin twice before, I went into this with a good amount of confidence. Both times that I have shaved him myself, he turned out cute.... so what happened? Well, I thought it would be a good idea to hand scissor, since my clippers weren't going through his thick fur very well. Without ever practicing. With a pair of dull scissors. <hand hitting forehead>

I give you, Darwin's hideous, uneven, ugly-butt haircut. I could not be more ashamed. It's so awful that I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry. The only thing I am sure of? As soon as the memorial day rush is over, we are going to a real groomer. To get his choppy little chicken legs fixed.

I was always under the impression that Darwin was more Golden-shaped. Not! He looks all poodle. I actually like the way he looks at this length, if his haircut wasn't so bad. Luckily Darwin loves his new cooler hairdo. He obviously hasn't looked in a mirror... :-)

Lesson learned! Being a groomer is just not in the cards for me. :-) Thank goodness his hair grows quickly!

[Camilla and Darwin]

I know I should probably just upgrade. The hard part is convincing DH to spend 100 bucks on a new clipper set. "What is wrong with the first one?" Is the first thing he'll say. :-)

[Azure & Muppet]

His head and face look good, and I love seeing Darwin's eyes! His body may be a little choppy, but that will look better as his coat grows out a little. I agree with Frannie - I completely applaud you for being brave enough to groom him yourself and for at least trying!

[Nina, Phil, Harlow &amp; Lacey]

I share your pain... I too tried to hand scissor Harlow. She looked awful and I ended up taking her to the groomer for her summer shave. She is much cooler now. She about 1/2 inch all over. I can't get over how svelte she looks and her coat feels like velvet.

[Camilla and Darwin]

Yes, it was a 1/4" attachment. I don't know what the blade number is... it doesn't say on it? I have no idea why it doesn't cut him short enough. The last time I shaved him, I also used a 1/4", only because every other attachment left him too long Which is weird, because when I first got the kit, I was worried 1" wasn't long enough! This is the "kit" I bought

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Andis-Company-13-Piece-High-Torque-Ergono...

As you can see, it's a pretty cheapy one, but I only planned on shaving him twice a year or so... I think I may have to upgrade.

[Paul & Michele]

I think he looks pretty cute still!! It's not that bad I always think this after I cut Molly too and then a couple of days later she looks good!

[Adina P]

Might be the clippers. I think you should consider either the nice Oster or Andis brands recommended in the grooming group. I don't have a thick coated doodle to trim so perhaps Rosco would have done just fine with a cheaper clipper...but I use the Andis ACG 2 speed pro and it has worked great. His coat is thinner than what it seems Darwin's is, though, and I always use plastic guards with the #10 blade. I even used this on his ears to layer them shorter.

[Camilla and Darwin]

although I used the 1/4", his fur didn't end up at 1/4", it is more like 1/2". That is what I don't understand. I shave from all directions, yet he still turns out longer than the attachment I have. I have the Andis beginners clipper set. It was like 50 dollars, and I bought it online at Walmart. It came with the clipper, scissors, and clipper attachments. I have only used it twice before... so it doesn't seem as though I would need the blade sharpened yet... right?

[Carol and Banjo]

I think he looks PERFECT!!!! He's so cute!!

[Beth Lord]

Awww, Darwin looks happy! And I think he's CUTE. :-) As to the clipper problems...wonder if the blades need to be sharpened? Not sure how often that has to be done.

[Camilla and Darwin]

Thanks everyone, that made me feel so much better! I actually did run a 1/4" clipper attachment over him after cutting him. I think maybe my clippers are just cheap, or maybe it wasn't a short enough attachment to even him out? I did help the body area a little bit... but his legs don't respond well to clippers. They didn't for the first two cuts either.... it's like they are too bony and skinny, instead of a nice soft surface for the clippers. I don't know? I tried to run the 1/4" over his face area as well, but it just wasn't cutting hair. I might have to get a pair of thinning shears, or maybe wait until he grows out a little. Another question... he hadn't been bathed for about a week before I did this. He hadn't gotten dirty at all so I didn't think I needed to bathe him again. Could this be why my clippers didn't work?

Sue, Georgia and Sammie look adorable... I wish I was as good as you! Deborah, that story is hilarious. My biggest fear about taking him into the groomer... is having to admit that I'm the one who cut him like that. :-)