WonderPup

It isn't always good to have a groomer for a mommy... Jazz can attest to that. See, the thing is, sometimes said groomer gets ahead of herself at work and gets bored waiting on her next appointment. Jazz says, this is NEVER a good thing. A bored mommy/groomer may decide you would look better a different color, or maybe that she should try something she's never done before, or that you need a bath and a nail trim (jazz's least favorite option). OR said bored groomer may take a perfectly good english saddle trim that just needs to be scissored to neaten and shorten it up a bit and turn it into
this....



Yeah ok so that looks pretty bad.... perfect example of why you don't try and take an extra long gaurd comb through a coat like this. Especialy before a bath and blow out. This was a "C" Comb.

I was going for a more pet length version of the trim I already had. Since getting Saleen the playtime in the backyard and at the park is considerably more rough and tumble. Which translates into A LOT of dirt and grime and leaves, and sticks and grass getting trapped in that Four 1/2 inches of coat Jazz has. It's made of velcro I tell ya! Couple that with the fact that it is begining to get very warm here in fla and I wanted a shorter coat. I didn't have that up above in mind though, LoL, I will admit that I stood back and looked at my handy work and promptly burst into tears. Of course the client that I was waiting for picked that exact moment to walk through the door. How nice It's a wonder she left her Westie with me, (she looked fabulous when she was done though - promise!).
So I finished her dog and got back to Jazz to see what kind of damage control I could do. I tossed her in the bath first, if she was going to look bad she was darn sure going to be clean and smell good and be blown out straight!

I set to work with scissors and by mid groom I had this:



I still wasn't 100% sure where I was headed, I just let my scissors go and go and goooo. When it was all said and done we had this:



90% of her coat is still over an inch long. Just her rump area is shorter. I used a 2 gaurd on that before the bath when I was trying to keep the english saddle. After the bath I just sort of blended tha line in. In person it gives this nice little waistline effect like the T trim. Love it. She looks sooo thin now LoL
I've been planning to shave her ears off for summer to get rid of the red stripes so i figured now was as good a time as any and why not take the oppertunity to give tassled ears a shot.

The only thing I didn't touch at all was her braceletts on her front legs and the bottom ones in the rear. I haven't decided if I want them gone or if I want to morph into a miami or ponydoodle so I left them alone. I also didn't have the guts to cut her topknot down. I love the tied up look and now it is long enough to have two bands in it.... maybe I'll have the courage tomarrow to cut it... maybe I won't. I did trim the top once I had it tied up.

Hubby, surprise surprise, LOVES it.... I was shocked. I sort of skulked into the house tonight when I came home with her. I was trying to put off the "Oh my GAWD, WHAT did you do?!?!?!!!!!!!" for as long as possible. When he saw her his attitutue was OMG!!! I LOVE THAT!

LoL Super Groomer Strikes Again!!

WonderPup

Oh, and one for Spoofan

Aidan

What a lovely job (and a patient dog!!) I love the fluffy look but it does look better shortened. I personally love fluffy ears but I imagine the dogs are a lot more comfortable in the summer with them shaved.

How long does it take for the ears to grow back to a decent length?

In any case wonderful job! Can I send Vega to you in a few years for his english saddle trim?!

Mandycasey'smom

Good save girl good save. She looks sweet but please don't take of the bracelets I think she will look odd with skinny little legs and a big fluffy body.
I agree short is so much easier I was going to let Mandy grow back to a lamb but I think I will keep the bikini clip so much easier

WonderPup

LoL, I wasn't going to remove them completely ROFL, That would look odd indeed. I ment I wasn't sure if I wanted to let them blend back into the body or keep them longer. Hubby wants to keep them longer, I'm not sure. I cut the hair to keep her cleaner I notice when she came in this morning from the yard her bracelets front and back are almost black (lol i LOVE this face). He says he wants her to look like a little clydesdale when we do he pony thing.

Adian I don't know how long exactly the ears take to grow back, less time than you think though I bet. The hair on her ears was so damaged and chewed and just blah that I really wanted to just have it gone and start over. I can tell you that it took ummm almost 5 months to get her hair to the length it is now. She had been 10 stripped a month or so before I adopted her.
I think Secreto shaved her older boy's ears a few months back, maybe she will have a better idea of regrow time.
Hey where are you from Aidan? I know you got your spoo just a few hours from where we live because I rememvber looking at that litter with hubby.

spoofan

Wonderpup...I think you did a great job on sweet Jazz.
She looks nice and tidy.
I love shaved ears on a poodle...I don't know how Gunther would look in it tho.
He has very thick,large ears.
Now,about heat and hair....I would think the hair would insulate the dog from the heat...would it not?

WonderPup

Thats the story, I'm not convinced it matters either way personaly. I caution clients with labs and goldens and such that want them shaved for summer that they need to use sunscreen. Dog's get sunburned here all the time :( I have noticed that quite a few dogs just seem more comfortable with shorter hair during the summer??

Really here in Florida it's the super high humidity that you worry about. I don't know how to describe what I am talking about but when it gets hot and humid long haired dogs... just... stink! For that matter shorter hair gets stinky too but it seems to take longer.
I didn't cut her hair down to keep her cool, though she certainly seems like she is cooler, not nearly so much panting today which isn't the norm. I clipped her down to keep her clean and make it easier to deal with the humidity that is already on the rise.

The comment I made about shaving her ears for summer refers more to the fact that we have discovered she likes to play in the water and it's about time to set up the puppy pools in the backyard. Taking the hair off is an attempt to head off any possible ear infections down the line, I'm trying to keep her ears dry with good airflow.

I think Gunther looks nice will his full ears! They don't look all "nappy" like Jazz's did. Even when I blow died her's straight they looked kind of bad LoL. Poor baby.

Aidan

Wonderpup: I'm in Shreveport, Louisiana and I picked up Vega in Spearsville, Louisiana which might mean nothing to you but it's about 45 minutes from Ruston, a little college town in the area. It was about a 2 hour drive to get him!

I was just talking to his breeder and she has two pups left and I think she has reduced the price but I was afraid to ask! It would be too tempting but I cannot raise two puppies at the same time!

She has a creme-parti left and another blue, both males. I loved meeting the parents and she was so nice/friendly. Vega came with his shots (except rabies), microchipped, parents are health tested.

I think I do want another standard one day but maybe several years from now! I'd really like a phantom standard and she does have "Paris" on her females page. If she ever breeds Paris in the future I might consider one of her babies. I am just IN LOVE with that dog! She is stunning! www.jenlanepoodles.com if you want to look for yourself.

I also adored her phantom miniture poodles, they were pretty adorable. I put on Vega's collar and leash and he started to run around and the two little ones were chasing his leash. It was pretty funny!

I think for Vega i'm going to let his coat grow out as a puppy and once his adult coat starts coming in I might do a #3 lamb on him (or find out what Gunther's mom has done to him! He's always stunning)

I really like long fluffy hair but the lamb seems easier to manage.

WonderPup

LoL, I had to look that up on mapquest to see how far it was. I've been to Shreveport, but it was a long time ago and if I'm not mistaken it was on the way to somewhere else? We go all over the south east for dog shows and such so I would bet money that is why we were there, or where we were going. Google says it's about 8 hours, spearsville was about the same but a very different route LoL. Still within the area we were willing to drive to get a baby but probably at the edge of it. I think hubby went 7-ish hours to pick up Saleen.

Thats smart about not trying to do two puppies at one time. That frequently spells trouble. I don't want to think about trying to maintain two long poodle coats through "the change" LoL. I guess if maybe a phantom fell into my lap right this second *glances up* would go for it, but Saleen will probably be our last puppy for a long while. LoL, my family keeps saying that the next addition to our household better be a two legged one!! LoL, so I suggested getting a bird.

I really had every intention of letting Saleen get long as a puppy but now I am eyeballing her with that board groomer look Jazz has become to fear LoL. She is just such a dirty puppy. There is always junk in her coat and it just feels dirty all the time lol. I caught myself last week bathing her twice in one week without realizing it. I just thought "Hey you're dirty you need a bath before puppy class". Then halfway through the bath I realized that she had a bath just three days prior. That was Friday, now on Wednesday she looks like a junkyard dog all dirty and grubby. LoL, At least she has FUN and plays hard when she's outside Life to the fullest and all...

Aidan

My entire backyard is mud! I haven't let Vega out there just yet. I need to fix a few places where our house is raised and he could wander out. The other two are just too big to fit!

In fact, this is what I came home to just the other night!



I didn't want to wait to bring her to work the next morning but I have the "rapid bath" thing I bought from petsmart awhile ago and I LOVE it for baths at home!

It got the job done!