Adopting/buying a dog

OK, so this week has been stressful. Staying up late to de-clutter, clean, tie up wires... and getting emails from the puppies' owner. This post is a bit of a saga but worth reading if you're thinking of adopting from a breeder or just someone whose dog happen to have puppies.

When we visited last week, the owner told us she liked the black male puppy best but also that she can't keep a puppy because that would mean having 3 dogs and that's too many.

We started getting emails about the puppies. It seemed like the owner wasn't really sure we should be adopting the puppies. (Or should I say buying them. She asked for $375 each! She didn't mention this at all when we said we wanted to adopt 2 of them but we were thinking we'd offer $200 each anyway. We negotiated down to $325 each. They are mutts so this still seems steep to me but we went along with it because we thought we know what kind of home they are coming from and we know they are not inbred or sick.)

The owner's emails said various things about the black male puppy - he's deaf, he's anxious, scared of everything, doesn't like visitors, gets sick when nervous, cries a lot. She questioned us about our jobs and free time to take care of the puppies (I guess it's natural). She said the female puppy chews everything - no biggy, I mean she's a puppy, teething, right?

Another email said she couldn't bring the puppies on Saturday (when she was coming with Max and Izzy for their grooming) because Izzy, the mom dog, would get really upset if she left the puppies with us. I offered to pick them up Sunday morning but she said no. We wanted to get the puppies on Saturday or early Sunday so we could spend time with them before having to go to work on Monday.

By Thursday, we were concerned about the daily email. I called but only got voicemail and then another email. I spoke to her on the phone Friday night to see what was going on. She sounded fine and we were going to see her, Max, and Izzy for their grooming appointment on Saturday and she finally agreed to a Sunday morning pickup of the puppies. Saturday she seemed fine too and spent the grooming time talking to my girlfriend about everything.

Sunday morning we went to pick up the puppies. The owner looked awful, having been crying all night about giving up the black male puppy. She said we couldn't have him. We thought about it and decided not to take any puppies. We thought we'd adopt 2 dogs somewhere else, no bad feelings. We stayed about an hour and played with the parent dogs and the 3 puppies that were still there. When we got up to leave without any puppies the owner said she'd changed her mind and we could buy the 2 puppies!

We were so happy! We called the owner about an hour later to say the puppies were doing well. No problems at all. They were happy, eating, drinking, pooping and peeing. We had 6 different neighbors meet the puppies that day. Then around 4pm the owner's boyfriend called to say that the owner had been crying all day and that he had to come take the black male dog back. We didn't know what to make of this. We thought it was the nice thing to do to give the dog back to her but at the same time it wasn't fair to us. We'd paid for the dogs! If anyone reading this ever pays for a dog I recommend getting a receipt and a document that transfers ownership of the dog! Get all the veterinary records too!

We wanted 2 dogs. We thought about whether we wanted to return both dogs or just the one. Our instinct was that we didn't want to deal with these people anymore and wanted to look elsewhere for 2 dogs. But a neighbor told us the female puppy was just so great that we HAD to keep her and should ask for our money back too. This was tough. I mean we HAD spent $500 on supplies for 2 dogs and couldn't return half of it but I didn't know how to ask for my money back and keep the female puppy too. I tried to make the boyfriend understand our predicament and about the money we'd spent.

When he came for the boy puppy we had decided to return both but HE even wanted us to take the girl puppy. We told him we were concerned that they had other friends or relatives they wanted to give her to but he said no, that they had no one to give her to. He offered to sell her for only $200 this time saying we could put the other $125 towards getting another puppy. So that's what we did. We kept her. She is so cute and has such a great personality. We are really happy with her. We think we'll get another dog but maybe in 6 months or a year.

Looking at puppies

Well the puppies are ready to be adopted so we went to meet them. We weren't sure we were ready to do it but we decided to adopt the only girl puppy - a little beige beauty - and a mostly black little boy puppy.

The mix of Shih Tsu, Miniature Poodle, and American Eskimo Dog ensures small, hypo-allergenic dogs. The black male puppy has curly hair and the beige female puppy has straight but puffy hair.

The parents, Max and Izzy, are due for a grooming and are going to be coming to my home in a week for that appointment. We asked the owner to bring the puppies on the same day!

We have a week to clean the apartment, get rid of clutter, and tie up all wires and cables so that it's safe for puppies...

Bathing a dog

First, if your dog has many knots or mats and can't be brushed or combed easily, I recommend that you take your dog to a professional groomer instead of bathing it yourself. Baths tend to make knots tighter and mats worse.

For all dogs who can be brushed and combed, here's Bathing a Dog 101...

To give a dog a bath there are a few things I do to make it a good clean bath and to control a dog who really doesn't want to be in the bath.

1. If the dog is big enough to get in the tub on its own, ask the dog to get in the tub.
If that doesn't work, lead him to the tub on a leash and ask him to get in the tub.
If that doesn't work, just help him into the tub.
If your dog wants to get out of the tub then you'll exhaust yourself trying to bathe him/her and also trying to prevent him/her from getting out of the tub or away from you within in the tub.
Here's a tip, buy a suction cup with a metal ring on it and attach a groomer's loop to it and put it around the dog's neck.
You can get the suction cup at petedge.com, if you can't find it anywhere else. It costs about $2. Attach a groomer's loop to the suction cup. You can get this at petedge.com too. I recommend a nylon web groomer's loop with a quick release but any will do.

2. Now that the dog is in the tub and either staying on his own or tethered to the tub, you can get him wet. I recommend a spray nozzle. If you have a hand held shower head you're set. A sprayer is important because it's important to rinse out the shampoo. Leftover shampoo on a dog can be itchy and that leads to scratching which can lead to unhappy dogs and worse, it could lead to infection.

If you don't have a hand held shower head, I recommend Rinse Ace sprayers. They are reasonably priced and work rather well. Another nice thing about the Rinse Ace sprayers is that they have a button that you press when you want the spray, otherwise the water doesn't come out. This is good when you want to put the hose down and just scrub your dog clean. You don't have to worry about getting water everywhere or about reaching the water controls and turning the water off after you've already got the temperature right. And Rinse Ace also makes custom sprayers with different length hose if you request it. There are 3 models.
- The Indoor/Outdoor Pet Sprayer attaches to the sink faucet and then I use it in the tub. This also works well if you want to bathe your dog in the kitchen sink and need a sprayer there. As described, it can also be attached to an outdoor hose spigot.
- The Pet Shower Deluxe comes with a piece that you install between your shower head and the pipe coming out of the wall. I can do it in 2 minutes in anyone's home, usually without any tools. This piece allows you to attach and detach the sprayer anytime you want.
- The Pet Shower Deluxe Plus offers 2 more features - you turn the sprayface to switch between gentle spray, pulsating spray, and concentrated spray. And there is also a lever for controlling the flow of water from less to more.

3. Shampoo. Use dog shampoo because their PH is different than ours. There is a huge selection out there. If your dog has any skin issues or allergies look for something that might help or ask a vet for special shampoo. If you're afraid of getting water in your dog's ears, put cotton balls in them.
Drizzle shampoo all over the dog to get some on all parts of the body, butt, belly, chest, legs, paws, ears, and tail. Lather up the whole dog and pay special attention to the feet, toes, butt, privates, inner thighs, armpits because these are the dirtiest parts. Lather the top of the dog's head and pull lather forward to face or use a wash clothe to wash face and keep shampoo out of eyes. (I use Nature's Specialties Coconut Clean for a really dirty dog. It cleans well, leaves a nice smelling dog, and it also conditions the coat.)
If you dog has folds be sure to wash, rinse, and dry in the folds.
If your dog has eye gook you can use either a flea comb, a small face comb, or a toothbrush to gently comb the gook out of the dog's hair. Be careful not to scratch an eye with a comb or brush.

4. Dry the dog with towel. Wrap dog tightly in a towel and let sit a bit to soak up water. Use a force air dryer or a blow dryer with a warm setting. If you don't have either one and your dryer just has hot air be careful not to burn the dog's skin. Petedge sells a dryer with a blow dryere for pets with cold, warm, and hot settings. Alternatively, the smallest force air dryer is the Metro Air Force Quick Draw and it sells for about $100.
Brush and comb your dog's coat while drying it. (Nature's Specialties Quicker Slicker is a great detangling spray, if you need it.) If you're not sure what kind of brush you should be using, see another blog entry about Brushing Your Dog.

5. If you put cotton balls in the ears, remove the cotton balls. If you have the type of dog that grows hair in the ear canals, lightly sprinkle on an ear powder like R-7 Step 1 Ear Powder to easily grip the hairs and pluck them out. Clean dog's ears with cotton balls and an ear cleaner like R-7 Step 2 Ear Cleaner. If your dog's ears are beautifully light pink in color and don't smell you don't have to clean them with ear cleaner at all. If dogs ears are filled with dark brown or blackish discharge, they need a vet's attention. If the skin is swollen or cracked, they need a vet's attention. If there is lots of yellowish discharge, they need a vet's attention. If the ears smell, they need a vet's attention.

Thinking of getting a dog

We are thinking of getting a puppy. Or maybe rescuing an adult dog.

One of my grooming clients has 2 dogs and one of them got pregnant by the other. They are still puppies themselves but these things happen. The female dog got pneumonia so the spaying was postponed and the neutering of the male was also postponed. The owner wanted the two dogs to be operated on at the same time so that they'd both have to recover with e-collars on at the same time. Izzy, the female, is a mix of Poodle and American Eskimo Dog. Max, the male, is a mix of Poodle and Shih Tsu. They had a litter of 5 puppies. We're thinking about it.

Meanwhile we look at petfinder.com and think of rescuing a French Bull Dog. They are so cute! Why do so many say "no cats" and "no children"? I am wondering about this. We love cats and may have to bring two cats home if an elderly relative needs to move to assisted living.

I am also looking at the applications for the rescuing a dog. Very detailed. Also, many times the website says we have to pick up the dog. Some of these dogs are 1000's of miles away. Even if we don't have to pick it up we'd have to pay transportation by plane to have it sent to us. I guess it will be expensive one way or another. Pure bred and even mix breeds can require a $300 or $400 fee. Along with French Bull Dogs I see Frenchtons - French Bull Dog/Boston Terrier mixes.

Slow Days

Owning your own business means being ready for slow days. I have been having slow weeks since I quit my part time job. I guess I've been doing the same number of dogs or more but it just doesn't seem like much since I don't have the other income anymore. I am expecting to grow the business at the same rate that it has been growing but maybe I need to try harder to find new clients. With some warm weather and sunny days there are more dogs out on the streets and in the parks. I guess I will have to approach people with business cards and a few words. It takes nerve and it's hard for me. I don't know how many people I'll have to talk to before I'll find someone who will actually make an appointment. Usually people will take the card, maybe they will be polite, but I never know if they'll call and make an appointment. I have a few clients whom I met on the street. I don't know how many people I've spoken to on the street. One hundred? more? less? I think I will go outside with 50 business cards and not let myself go home until I've given them all out. OK, maybe I'll try 25 first. I'll keep you posted.

Tips for New Groomers

I thought I write a little about what to do if you're a new groomer, whether you are self-taught or coming out of dog grooming school.

A great source of information is the forums on petgroomer.com. Groomers from all over the country and beyond are contributing to the threads on this website. You can ask a question or try to answer one or just put in your own two-cents. You can find other groomers in your area and actually meet them. It's always nice to have a friend who is interested in talking about dogs so you don't bore your other friends and family members.

Dog Grooming Books that are great to own:

• Notes from the Grooming Table by Melissa Verplank

Excellent detailed drawings and instructions on how to groom many, many breeds. Instructions for show trims as well as pet trims. And in the back there are some sections on how to groom mixed-breeds, broken down by hair type.
Melissa recently published a pocket size version that is a little abbreviated but still very nice to have if you need something small to carry around.
The original is still my personal favorite.

• The All Breed Dog Grooming Guide by Sam Kohl

A basic book on how to groom most breeds. Not as detailed as the Melissa Verplank book but a little smaller and less expensive and still very good.

Trade Shows
Trade shows are a great place to meet other groomers are looking to improve and keep up on the latest trends and products. Trade shows are always held in conjunction with grooming competitions, demonstrations, presentations, seminars, and classes. Search the internet for dog grooming trade shows near you. In the northeast U.S. there is Intergroom in NJ in April and GroomExpo in Hershey, PA in September.

Intergroom is the largest international conference of its kind in the world. Over 2,000 dog and cat groomers from over 20 different countries attend Intergroom yearly.At the conference held in the United States each year, Intergroom always begins with an international grooming competition that leads to the title of "Intergroom International Groomer of the Year" - one of the most prestigious awards in the the world of grooming. The quality of grooming is extremely high and the competition is keen as top groomers from the United States, Canada, England, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore, compete for over $20,000.00 in cash, trophies, rosettes and prizes.

Groom Expo, the biggest educational seminar and trade show for the petcare professional in the world, is held yearly in Hershey, Pennsylvania. It is Barkleigh's flagship show. Groom Expo drew 170 exhibitors and nearly 3800 attendees in 2007. Eight educational seminars are in progress at all times during the weekend. Included is an IJA sanctioned grooming contest, Barkleigh Creative Styling Contest and much more. Barkleigh is the producer of many shows for groomers as well as other shows for other pet industry professionals. Barkleigh Productions Calendar of Events

Zoomin Groomin and Anivac

OK, so this guy calls looking to hire a groomer. He just bought a franchise call Zoomin Groomin. It's a mobile dog grooming van. He has a pet shop but knows nothing about how to groom a dog except what the franchise people told him. He's called me a bunch of times now, and we've discussed how he might find a groomer to hire. He's also told me about a waterless bathing system for dogs called Anivac.

Today I saw his mobile dog grooming van and this waterless bath for dogs called Anivac. You can also use it to wash floors, cages, horses, cows, etc, I couldn't believe that the van doesn't have a tub for washing dogs! Nope, just a dog grooming table, a hi-velocity dryer, and this Anivac system. It's like the system people use to clean upholstery and carpets. You put some water and solution in a tank and this device sprays this mixture onto the animal and vacuums it off just as quickly with one nozzle that you move over the surface of the dog. As the solution circulates through the dog's hair and over the skin it supposedly washes and sanitizes. I don't know how you wash the dog's face, butt, and feet but this guy seems to be sold on the idea. Well, actually, today I met his girlfriend and she's the one who's totally sold on all of this.

I have to admit I am a skeptic. I'm curious as to how it will work with long haired dogs, matted dogs, and poodles and bichons that need a blowout. Someone is going to be visiting this guy and demonstrating how to use Anivac on some dogs. Perhaps I'll see the demo and my opinion will change. I'll keep you posted.

Finding new clients

My marketing efforts are no cost or low cost. What I mention here includes what I've done over the last 2 years.

To start with, I posted craigslist ads (free), printed flyers (paper and ink costs something but I already owned both so I considered it free), designed, printed and distributed business cards to pet supply stores, vet offices, and dog owners on the streets and in dog runs (graphics design - free from a friend, Avery business card stock - $20 for 250 cards, printed at home). Subsequently I have bought business cards using Vistaprint. I had to redesign them to include website URL and new email addresss and I thought it would be easier to order them than print them at home all the time. Vistaprint also offers lots of things for free. I recommend it.

Mostly I get new clients in response to my craigslist ads which also refer to my home dog grooming website. I have posted ads on other websites that offer free or low cost ads (under $10) but none of them have resulted in any clients, as far as I know. But it's good to post ads anywhere you can and have a link to your website so that your website ranks higher in the search engine indexes.

In addition I get new clients from referrals by my existing clients - the old "word of mouth". People seem very willing to help grow my business by telling others about my services whenever prompted by another dog owner. "Word of Mouth" is great but doesn't grow my business as fast as is needed.

With the search engine optimization (SEO) I have done for my website, people find me using Google and most other search engines easily. I am still trying to figure out how to come up in the search results of Bing. For some reason the Bing search engine eludes me.

Most recently one of my clients posted a note about me on "Building Link" - a website for her condo building and this resulted in 2 new clients within a month's time. I am now asking other clients if their residences have similar websites and if they would post a recommendation of my services.

One client mentioned a newsletter for her building and said she will put a recommendation of my services in the newsletter.

Getting new clients in buildings that I already work in is something I've been thinking about for months. I was looking into bulk mailings but everything to do with mailings always end up being expensive. I was also thinking of just standing in front of the building at key walking times and talking to the dog owners about my services. The down side of this is that some dogs don't go outside and others are walked by dog-walkers. Also, standing in front of buildings in time consuming. (I have put up flyers on bulletin boards in the past and have gotten no clients in response to that effort.)

I have put many business cards in vet offices and pet supply stores and from all that effort I've gotten 2 clients. If I owned a dog I'm sure I could have a better relationship with a vet and a pet supply store. I think I need to borrow a dog for the pet supply store at least.

And of course, I have spoken to many, many people on the streets and at dog runs. This has resulted in clients but I can't say how many people I spoke to and I can only recall 2 clients that resulted from this effort. The nerve it takes for me to bother people on the street is more than I'd like but I will talk to people on the street again when the weather is nice because it gives me the best odds of finding clients in my neighborhood.

Merchant Circle is a website that a client told me about. She has her own hair extensions business called VIP Lifestyle Hair. I created a page on Merchant Circle for free and am now creating a network of neighboring businesses. I don't know how much this website is used by New Yorkers to find services in Manhattan but it can only help to have more presence on the internet. I will try to take more advantage of Merchant Circle in the near future.

Rotator Cuff Injury

Pain in my shoulders. Rotator cuff injury. Loss of strength, inability to raise arm. Maybe from repetitive motion maybe from carrying the backpack. Maybe from using the PC. I had this problem a couple of years ago. I thought it was from holding my arm at shoulder height while grooming. While brushing , combing, dematting, clipping. I tried to keep my arm lower and use my left arm as much as my right arm. I also went to a doctor and went to physical therapy for weeks.
My shoulders were OK when I was going to Long Island twice a week to do mobile grooming. I stopped doing that 4 weeks ago. I guess I need to go back to doctor and get Rx for PT. Or maybe try acupuncture. It's both shoulders this time, the left is worse than the right.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Snow and Slush

Snow and slush. Not a great day for going from client to client. The sidewalks are a mess. The buses are slower. I wish my appointments were closer together in time. One at 9, one at 2, one at 6. Not enough time or close enough to go home in between. Oh, I should've gone to a movie. I ate lunch and went to a book store to have a cup of tea and read my book on my Kindle. I plan to kill time again after the second appointment in the neighborhood of my last appointment.

iGoogle blogging

Well, here's a new way to blog...from my iGoogle page - who even knew I HAD an iGoogle page. It seems good so far. I will write about tonight.

I went to see The Temperamentals - an off-broadway play about a gay activist group in the 1950's. Temperamental was a word used to mean gay back then - code language used by gays. The play was actually very good, albeit long. I was moved and educated at the same time. I'd recommend it.

Mobile Blogging

Well, I guess this makes it so easy to blog that I have no excuse to skip a day or exclude you from any of my a-ha moments!

Traveling all over Manhattan has its ups and downs. Probably more downs than ups but it depends on the person. I look at stairs and street walking as exercise which I wouldn't do when I had a desk job and was supposed to go to the gym. Carrying 12 to 15 lbs on my back and another 5 or so in a bag, just makes it a drag. I've tried rolling a bag but then I have to concentrate on avoiding pot holes and sidewalk cracks and have to carry it up and down stairs, on and off buses, and I can't run for a bus with it. I try to read a lot- the Kindle is great! I try to avoid rush hours and the time school gets out.

Currently, I am carrying a light backpack because the client has rat terriers so I left the clippers, shears, and blades at home! That's the heavy stuff.

Now that I can see what ended up on the blog... it wasn't good. I got like 5 blogs, each with a sentence or part of a sentence in it. I guess Mobile Blogging is just for photos I take with my phone and a description of it. Or just a thought for the day. There's some limit on the number of characters obviously. I used SMS Text, maybe I should try the email method next time! I don't know all the specific details, obviously!

Slow Days

Sometimes grooming can have it's slow days. This is a problem for any small business owner. January and February can be like that. One reason is that every single dog gets groomed for the holidays so by January 1st all the dogs are in the same great condition! Another reason is that Winter in NY is cold. Pet owners are thinking it's too cold for a hair cut, we'll wait for Spring. Then there's the snow and rain. Rain and snow can make pets dirty so this may cause a pet owner to get the dog groomed BUT the opposite happens too: a person decides to reschedule because of rain or snow. No one wants to pay for a clean dog just to end up with a dirty dog tomorrow! Rescheduling at the last minute is a another problem. Until you have such a great business that you have a waiting list, you can't really fill that appointment with another dog. To charge a cancellation fee is a tricky thing. When biz is slow I think I should just take a vacation.

Instead of taking a vacation I end up thinking of ways to improve my website, my search engine optimization, and my presence on the web. I'm thinking of new ways to get the word out to dog owners that I'm a house call dog groomer! Recently I found that one of my clients put a posting about my service on her apartment building's "Building Links" system. And I ended getting two new clients in just a month's time. So now I've started asking all my clients if their apartment building has such a system and if they can post a note about my service. One of my clients is going to put something in her building's newsletter.

The hardest thing for me is following up when someone offers to put up a flyer. I don't carry flyers and to print one and make a special trip to drop it off is not so easy. I should probably mail it but then I don't want to fold it and I'd have to mail it in a big envelope. It's probably worth it though. At least blogging about this has made me remember to bring one on Monday to a client who said they'd help me by posting it. In the past, flyers have not resulted in any clients. I posted flyers in many hi-rise buildings when I was just starting this business. It's a lot of work walking around, talking to the doorman, finding out if a flyer can be put on a bulletin board somewhere. I have a bulletin board in my own apartment building and I rarely call about anything on there although I read all the flyers and business cards that are posted.

Blogging is another thing to do when I'm not grooming but I don't know if it helps business. Only time will tell.

Grooming pains

Grooming is one of those physical jobs that requires you to be conscious of ergonomics.

The table should be at the right height so you're not leaning over to groom or reaching up higher than your shoulder to groom. If you can't adjust the table height try to sit or even kneel. When a table is too high the dog should be moved to a lower table top. But don't even offer to groom a dog on the floor - what a nightmare for your back!

Speaking of backs - lifting big dogs is another thing to be careful of. Even two little dogs can be too much if you have to ring the door bell or open a door or step up into a grooming van! Another thing that can bother your back is simply standing for hours on end. Putting one foot on a stool for some time here and there helps. Also sitting a bit helps too. Too often I hear someone say that their old groomer is not working for at least a few months because of a back injury. So take care of your back.

The way you hold your brush, comb, shears, and electric clipper can wreak havoc on your hands, wrists, and elbows. Carpal tunnel, tennis elbow, painful fingers and thumbs are common. Be sure to stretch all these parts of the body, more than once a day. Try not keep your wrist straight and your upper arm relaxed at your side. I ended up with a lot of shoulder pain because I was holding my arm up at shoulder height all day long while combing, brushing, clipping and scissoring. Eventually I couldn't lift my arm at all and had to have physical therapy for 6 weeks! Now I stretch in the shower every day and am conscious of what I'm doing with my arms while I work so that I don't over do any one position. Search the internet for physical therapy exercises to see what kind of stretching you should be doing.

Your feet can be in pain if you stand on a hard floor all day. If you groom in a shop or a van be sure to get those thick rubber mats made to comfort feet and legs. If you are on the streets like me, good shoes are a must and sit down when you can.

Carrying around grooming tools in a backpack can also be a source of injury. I weighed my backpack today and it was 11.8 pounds. I'd like it to be lighter. I just started using a new backpack - well an old one that belongs to my girlfriend. It's a good quality backpack with nice padding and nice straps but the straps seem to sit a little too far apart for me - on the front of my shoulders rather than on my chest. I think I have to shop around for something that fits me better. I feel like the weight is causing pain in my shoulders by the end of the day. Rolling a bag behind me has it's own disadvantages but maybe I should consider it again.

Cat grooming

I don't usually groom cats, but I make exceptions. I have to say I have nothing against cats. In fact, I love cats. Grooming cats is another story. Cat grooming at a client's home has its special challenges. First, there's the cat. If the cat is against it, then it can be just an awful experience for everyone involved. One big problem is that once you start shaving a cat into a lion cut you are pretty much committed to finishing it. Second, there's the mess.

Trim the nails first. This will minimize injuries if the cat happens to scratch you.

If the cat hates water then you might skip the bath and just trim the cat.
If the cat hates the electric clipper or just being handled, forget it!
If you need the owner's help, forget it!
An angry or frightened cat may spray - and oh, you don't what to know what that smells like! (and YOU don't want to smell like that for even a minute! Odds are, you'll smell like that all day if the cat sprays and you're really close by!)

The best case scenario is that the cat is really easy going about all of it: the water, the dryer, the clippers, being handled. Even with a great cat, the amount of hair involved can be extreme. Be prepared to have it in your eyes, nose, and mouth. It'll be in the air. Try to contain it. A bathroom is ideal for drying, brushing, and combing. The hair will get everywhere so remove all items from bathroom before starting so cat hair doesn't get into all the owner's toiletries, decorations, towels, rugs, robes, etc. Cleanup will be easier if you remove all these things first.

How to do a lion cut trim:
1. If you've never done a lion cut don't try it without someone who has done it before.
2. Use a 10 blade or higher. Using lower numbered blades creates a higher risk for cutting the cat's skin which is thinner than a dog's. Older cats have even thinner, looser, skin and can be cut more easily than younger cats.
3. Decide how much fur you'll keep around the neck and/or on the chest as a mane.
4. Don't shave legs below the hock.
5. Hold skin taught while shaving with electric clipper and shave in the direction the fur grows.
6. Don't shave directly on spin, pull skin to left or right side of spin to shave.
7. Be careful not to cut nipples, flank skin, skin on back of rear legs, or privates.
8. Decide how much fur you'll keep at end of tail and shave the rest of it.
9. Use shears or thinning shears to neaten up where longer fur meets shaved body.

Grooming Shedding Dogs

Most people want non-shedding dogs groomed. These are Yorkies, Shih-tsus, Malteses, Havaneses, Poodles, Bichons, Wheaten terriers, Lhasa Apsos, and others. But some people ask for shedding dogs to be groomed. These are King Charles Cavaliers, English Toy Spaniels, Pomeranians, Rat Terriers, Chihuahuas, Miniature Pinschers, Dachshunds.

The problem with grooming shedding dogs at home is that a lot of lose hair comes off the dog while bathing, drying, brushing, and combing. There isn't much that can be done about this except to limit it to a small room. Also, remove as many things as possible from the room so the hair can be cleaned up easily. I do it in the bathroom with the door closed, keeping the dog in the tub as much as possible. The easiest cleanup is rinsing the tub with water and removing a clump of wet hair from the drain trap. The hair that flies around, gets on walls and floors and in between things is the tricky part of the cleanup. Vacuum, sweep, and wipe down but hair floating in the air will take a day to settle. Most of these clients seem to prefer to bring their dogs to my home.

A rubber curry is used in a circular motion on dry short haired shedding dogs to remove lose hair. This is good for the skin too and it seems like dogs like the way it feels.

Longer haired shedding dogs, like a pomeranian, need a good brushing and combing, down to the skin, to remove all lose undercoat which can cause mats. Brushing in the opposite direction of the way it grows works best. I brush a small area at a time working methodically over the entire dog. Before brushing a new area, I comb the area with a greyhound comb. If someone asks for a haircut on one of these longer haired shedding dogs it can be messy due to the dense coat. Also not that the coat of a Pomeranian or Chow Chow may not grow back 100 percent if it is shaved short.

Day 2 Westminster Dog Show

How exciting to watch day 2 of the Westminster dog show! Watching on TV to see who wins Best in Show!

The toy poodle is best in group for Toy breeds. This happens so often, it's hard to compete in that group!

I think I'm rooting for the French Bulldog for Best in Show.

Isn't it ironic that Fashion Week is the same week as the dog show? If you don't know what I'm talking about just take a look at the dresses, gowns, and suits worn by women at handlers and judges at the dog shows. Then handlers and judges! oh my! I just picture them finding these things on clearance racks in bridal shops. The junior handlers are just as bad. I picture them passing these awful outfits between them to save money! I actually saw two women wearing the same black jacquard suit, intentionally! But I shouldn't be cat-ty!

Oh Sadie, the Scottish Terrier, won Best in Show!

Bath and Grooming in a Home Environment

Each home is different and the bathing may be done in the kitchen sink, the bath tub or even a shower stall. What I like best is bathing in the kitchen sink and trimming on the counter next to the sink with a rear wall and side wall. In this situation, the dog is between 2 walls and the sink and has nowhere to roam. Also, the hair trimmings can be swept into the sink while grooming, to keep things neat.

Bathing:
A spray nozzle is optimal and many kitchen sinks have them. Sometimes I bring one that can be attached to the sink's faucet or the shower head and offer that the client buy the item. When advising a client on spray attachments remind them that if they replace the shower head the new spray head should reach the floor so the underside of the dog can be sprayed. When a dog doesn't want to stay in the bath, I use a suction cup and grooming loop to restrain the dog. Trimming nails and cleaning ears is best done during or immediately following the bath. Putting the front paws on the edge of the tub is a great way to see the nails and trim them. If the dog doesn't easily let you trim the rear paws using the restraint can help. I ask the client to supply a towel for the dog and, if I'm kneeling, my knees. Drying the dog can be done in the sink or tub too, it's up to you. Be careful in someone's home with the high velocity dryer as it can easily blow decorative items around.

Grooming:
Since carrying a table is out of the question when you are not traveling by car, the brushing and trimming is done on a counter top or table top. Counter tops are optimal because the dog can't go too far. It's best if the counter has a rear wall and side wall. An island or table top is less than ideal because the dog has too far to roam. When necessary I use the suction cup and grooming loop to restrain a dog so he/she won't stray, jump, or fall from the counter or table. The suction cup works on clean, smooth services such as tile, stone, glass, some wood.

Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show

134th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show kicks off at Madison Square Garden today. The dog show is a little overwhelming if you've never been. I decided sort of last minute that I'd be going and just bought a day ticket at the MSG this morning. It costs $40. I'll watch the night judging for best in group on television tonight.

Madison Square Garden is divided into 6 rings for judging of different breeds belonging to different groups. These groups and breeds are defined on the Westminster Kennel Club website, if you want to know more about that. A partial list of the dogs to be judged in each ring is posted above the judging table of each ring. You can also view or print a schedule of the judging from the Westminster Kennel Club website or purchase a program at the show.

During the daytime, there are basically 3 ways to enjoy the dog show:

1. Visit the benching area. This is where the dogs and the humans that own, handle, and groom them, hang out when they aren't in the show ring.

2. Walk around floor of Madison Square Garden and watch the judging that is going on in one of the 6 rings.

3. Sit in a seat and view more than one ring from a bit of a distance.
It starts at 8am and gets more and more crowded as the day progresses. Today was President's Day and I think this made it a little more crowded than usual. The crowd is what makes me move from the benching area to the floor to the seats.

The benching area can be a great place to see the different breeds up close and personal. And also talk to the owners, breeders, handlers, and groomers. Of course, as usual, people vary in their friendliness. It's best to be as polite as possible when taking photos or petting the dogs. There is an area in the back of the bench where dogs are groomed, primped before going to the judging rings. You can watch these groomers and see that any dog with more than a short coat gets fluffed or teased and hair products are used. As the day wears on you may even see dogs prepping for the next day's judging. It's a long day for a dog. Arriving early in the morning they have to stay until 8pm. There are also vendor booths in the benching area selling dog related products such as grooming products, dog jewelry, dental products, pedigree gives samples of dog food, dog magazines, pedigree brand apparel, etc. The benching area is only a daytime option.

You can also watch judging from the floor. There are chairs around the rings and if you're lucky you can sit in one. But most people end up standing around. It's as close as you can get but not necessarily a great view and it could be crowded and uncomfortable at times. On the other hand, you can walk around between the 6 rings as much as you want and look at all the different breeds. This is only a daytime option, the night judging is only viewable from your seat.

When you get tired of being in a crowd and/or standing you can find a seat. During the day the seat designation on your ticket doesn't really matter, just take an empty seat. If the person with the ticket for that seat asks you to move just move - but I've been going for years and it's never happened to me. People sit in their actual seats at night but the daytime is much more lax.

House Call Dog Groomer - What to Bring

Carrying all my tools in a backpack and my high velocity dryer in a totebag, I travel from apartment to apartment in New York City. Mainly servicing Manhattan, I occasionally travel to Queens and Brooklyn. I am walking, taking buses and subways. I meet lots of interesting people and great dogs, and I see all sorts of homes.

My backpack weighs about 14 lbs. The high velocity dryer weights another 5 lbs but it's worth carrying because it makes a dog's coat look so great. It lifts the hair from the roots and it even removes a lot of knots and tangles without any stress to the dog or any brushing or combing.

The tools in my backpack include 2 types of brushes (2 different slicker brushes and pin brush), 4 combs (greyhound, a shorter, wider greyhound, a flea comb, a small face comb), ear powder, liquid ear cleaner, cotton balls, 2 nail clippers (small and large), styptic powder, hemostat, 3 types of shampoo (oatmeal, bright white, coconut clean), detangling/conditioning spray, matt breaker, an electric clipper, clipper blades, snap-on combs, 2 straight shears, 1 curved shear, 2 thinners, a suction cup with metal ring, a short grooming loop, and bows. The suction cup with metal ring and the grooming loop are used to restrain a dog in the bath or during grooming. Sometimes I carry a rubber curry or hand stripping tools if the situation calls for it.

Private Pet Grooming Intro

Hi, my name is Maria Daddio and I am a dog groomer specializing in private pet grooming. That is, grooming in either the pet's home or my home. Grooming your dog at home can be much better than in a salon for many reasons.

1. Undivided attention. There are no other animals around, no ringing phones, no clients coming in, no interruptions. This means your dog gets undivided attention. There is no reason that your dog would be left unattended or put in a cage while the groomer attends to another dog.

2. Stressfree. There are no other dogs that might adversely affect your dog by just being there, barking, whining, or fighting. This means your dog is as relaxed as possible. Salon environments can be stressful on a dog.

3. Clean. Your home is clean and so is mine. We live there. A grooming salon is suspect. Many, many dogs come and go. Are any of them sick? You just don't know.