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.

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.

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.