Kerry Blue Terrier and Other Pics

I don't know how I forgot to post pictures of the Kerry Blue Terrier I groomed a couple of weeks ago. They're pretty rare around here - I've only groomed one or two besides this one and seen two or three in all my years of grooming. Unfortunately, these people didn't want me to cut ANY of her hair - not even to blend the weird bump on the back of her head where her short head met her long body. You can see that in this first picture. It made her look a little monkish, honestly, with a "bald" spot on top of her head going into a bushy fall over her eyes and a bushy body on her neck.

They had been unhappy with her previous groom elsewhere, and I think this bath was sort of a trial for them to decide if they liked me well enough to let me do a haircut next time. I'm not sure whether the guy booked another appointment when he picked her up, so I guess I'll let you know if or when I get to do a haircut on the beautiful dog.

I did this Golden on Wednesday. He hadn't been groomed in six months. You can see how much hair came out of him with the velocity dryer - and that isn't even all of it! This is one of those dogs where she claimed to brush him regularly, but the evidence suggests otherwise. In her favor, the dog didn't have very many mats, so who knows, maybe she did brush him a little.

This next dog was a 13-year-old Wheaten, a new client. I wish I had taken a picture of him before the bath. The owner thought he was matted, but he was just extremely curly (and dirty). This is him after the bath and blow dry but before the haircut.

Here he is after the haircut. I think he was tired; he refused to pick up his head. She wanted a round head but with the shaved ears you typically see on the Wheaten-style head. To me, it looks really bizarre when you cross these two styles. She seemed thrilled when she picked him up, though, and that's what matter.

This last picture I call "I suck at mohawks." It took me, another person, and A LOT of product to get his mohawk to even look this good, and it's still not that great. Granted, Yorkies don't exactly have ideal hair for mohawks, but still. At least he was pretty patient for the whole ordeal.

We had some pretty bad thunderstorms the other night, and Dillin got scared and hid under the desk by my feet. I'm not sure whether Hailey was also scared or if she was trying to comfort Dillin. It looks like they're holding hands, how sweet!

As always, thanks for reading!

This Week's Pics

OK, as promised, I have dog pictures! These are all dogs I have groomed in the last eight days. 

This first dog was a Wheaten that hadn't been groomed in quite a while and was very matted. I had to thin her beard out A LOT but I didn't have to shave it, which made the owner very happy. This is the traditional Wheaten head. For more about Wheatens, read here. She was a really sweet dog, very well-behaved for a Wheaten.

The same day, I got to do this precious Yorkie puppy. He was 7 months old, and a little crazy, but very sweet. He was very shiny for a Yorkie - that's probably partly because of his youth and partly he must be on a great food.

A few days later, I did this cute Shih-Chon puppy. She belongs to the sister of one of my coworkers. I think she's about 8 months old. She was really good for a puppy, and very cute!

This next Labradoodle is one of my regulars; I did her yesterday. I was so glad they followed me to the new groom shop, because she is my favorite Doodle, such a good girl. Here she is clean and dry but before the haircut.

This is her all done. I forgot to take a picture of her while she was still on the table. The lighting is different, which is why her coat changed colors, but her hair is also lighter at the root than the tip, so she looks lighter after she gets groomed anyway.

This last dog is a Spanish Water Dog, which is a rare breed where I live. This is actually the first one I've ever even seen. Luckily the appointment was scheduled a couple of days ahead of time so I had a chance to research the breed. They are supposed to be corded (cords are like well-organized, evenly spaced and shaped mats) and then shaved down once or twice a year. The owner didn't want her shaved to the typical 1/4" length because we are heading into winter, so we decided to leave 1/2" all over. So here's her before picture. Her hair isn't  exactly corded yet because she is only 6 months old, so it doesn't have the correct texture. 

I don't know why, but I thought it would be neat to take a picture partway through. You can tell the difference between her and other matted dog partial shaves I've photographed because nothing is dangling off of her. Check out a great matted dog series here. That's the difference between cords and mats, cords should actually not go quite all the way down to the skin.

And here is the final result. I trimmed that scraggly piece on her ear after the picture was taken. You can see that her head and hears were shaved the same length as her body, which is typical for her breed. Most dogs have a bigger head than body.

OK, I hope you enjoyed these pics. As always, thanks for reading!

PS - If you are interested in following my weight-loss journey, I won't be posting any of that here anymore. You can follow that journey at thewritinggroomerwlb.blogspot.com.

Diet Crankiness

As I mentioned the other day, I have a weight problem. I love to eat and I hate to exercise.

I finally hit rock bottom two days ago. I've had chronic back problems for years, partly due to a car accident, partly due to my job, and partly due to my weight. I must have gained one pound too many, because my back has been REALLY bothering me lately. I barely got through work that day. And I just decided that I HAVE HAD ENOUGH. I am so tired of being tired all the time. I'm tired of being in pain all the time. At this point, I figure the effort of existing at this weight (251 pounds) is greater than the effort it will take to lose the weight. So I signed up for Weight Watchers.

I did Weight Watchers about a year ago for a couple of months, but then I hit a really bad depression (I'm bipolar) and fell off the wagon and gained back all the weight I had lost and then some. I finally got out of that depression but never made it back onto the diet...

Until I started feeling depressed again a few weeks ago, mostly due to my weight, although there were certainly other factors. I'm tired of living like a fat hermit in my cave with my dogs and only emerging to go to work and spend time with my parents.

So anyway, I signed up for Weight Watchers two days ago and actually started doing it yesterday.

Starting a diet sucks.

I'll feel better once I've been doing this for a while, but for now I'm a little bit hungry, a little bit deprived, and A LOT cranky.

Case in point: I only worked half a day today because I only had two dogs scheduled. I left work around lunch time and stopped at the grocery store on the way home because I was in desperate need of (healthy) groceries.

I was starving because I had cereal instead of McDonald's for breakfast and I hadn't eaten lunch yet. So I'm driving from work to the grocery store, and I wind up following...

A frickin' McDonald's truck. With 8 foot tall French fries on the back.

I got very pissed off, and it's a good thing I didn't have a passenger because I wanted to hurt somebody right then and there. It felt like the Universe was mocking me. "You just started a diet, let's mock you with fries."

So then I had to go to the store hungry. I usually try to avoid this at all costs because I spend too much money and get too much junk food.

But I had to suck it up and make my way through the store hunting down healthy things I might actually eat. There's an app for calculating how many points something is, so I was calculating EVERYTHING I put in my cart (except the produce). Which is healthier, light salad dressing or fat-free salad dressing? It should be simple, fat-free would be healthier, right? Not necessarily, it had more carbs and fiber or something, so I had to calculate it. The fat-free did turn out to be better (1 point vs 2).

Anyway, it took me FOREVER to get through the store. Got home seeing red because I was starving and dehydrated, and I saw that the neighbors haven't taken down the pizza flyer that was put on their door days ago, and then I got REALLY mad because I can't order pizza anymore. I can have A SLICE if it is in front of me, but no more ordering a medium pizza and breadsticks and eating all the breadsticks and 1/3 of the pizza, then tackling leftovers for a day or two.

Pizza.

Yum.

Gr.

I'm getting hungry again.

I know that eventually my stomach will shrink and I will learn what and how much I can eat and I will get used to preparing food, but in the meantime, it sucks and I'm cranky.

So as not to bore all my dog people, I will be starting a new blog dedicated entirely to my weight loss journey, and I will post a link to that here after it's done.

Anyway, thanks for listening to me whine (I usually try not to), I hope some of you will follow my progress on the other blog, and I will graciously accept any comments, suggestions, or whatever you may have for me.

And I'll do a dog post in the near future.

If you like this blog post, check out my other blog, Writing Groomer's Weight Loss Blog.

Porties

So I live and work in an area where there are a lot of Portuguese Water Dogs. I don't have as many pictures as I thought, but I still have enough to make an entire blog post out of this breed that has probably enjoyed a surge in popularity since the Obamas got Bo.

I remember the very first time I saw a Portie in person. I had only been a bather for maybe a week, and I had to watch a wet one while the groomer washing it had to step away for a minute. When that groomer returned, I said, "What is that, a really ugly (Old English) Sheepdog mix?"

He looked at me oddly and said, "Uh, no, it's a Portuguese Water Dog." I had seen brown Porties in dog breed books and in shows, but I had never seen a black and white one - which is funny, because I've only seen one or two brown ones in all my years as a groomer.

So let's start with today and work backwards. This dog came in today.

He hadn't been groomed since March and was completely matted. Luckily his owner was aware of this and knew he would have to be shaved. Here you can see the matted hair hanging off his body partway through the shave.

And here's the end result. I left 3/4" on his tail and on top of his head. I had to shave his ears. I left just under 1/2" on his face. The shaved ears are unconventional, but I actually think they look cute.

I groomed this guy a couple of days ago. They were really unhappy with the last groom he had, so they decided to try some place different. He had been shaved - according to the owner, it was unwarranted. I'm guessing the dog was probably matted, that's how it usually goes. Anyway, he just wanted a light trim all over. This is the before picture.

And this is after. You can tell I took a lot off of his head and face. You can also tell that this was taken at the new groom shop because the tables are different.

I don't remember if I did this next Portie the day before or the day after that last one. It's been a busy few days. Anyway, This Portie was also matted and probably hadn't been groomed for six months.

I groomed this next Portie a week or two ago. I think I left 3/4" all over. You can see all the hair stuck to the table from drool - yuck!

And finally, a lion cut on a Portie, which I don't get to do very often. Most people do the retriever clip, so I've only done a handful of lion clips on Porties in my career. This dog actually belongs to one of my co-workers at the new groom shop. Her head and ears were a little longer and poofier than I usually like, but pet grooming is always about what the owner wants, not what the groomer wants. 

Well, that's all the Portie pictures I have right now. I'd like your input - did you enjoy this in-depth look at one specific breed? Or do you prefer posts with a whole bunch of dog breeds?

Old Pics 2

Sorry, I have no brain cells left today, but I promised a dog blog, so you guys are stuck with pictures again.

;-)

Again, these pictures are 2-3 years old, so I don't remember a lot of the details (and sometimes I wish I could go back in time and do some more polishing).

OK, first up, we have a Shih Tzu. I think he was about a year old in this picture, in almost full coat. Some time after this picture was taken, we started taking him down to about an inch and a half - it was just too hard for his mom to keep up with the brushing.

I don't remember anything about this dog, but he sure is cute!!!

Yep, that's a mohawk on a depressed Cocker Spaniel.

Here's a front view of the same dog.

Here is another matted-dog before and after series. 

See how the hair on his neck is matted into pancakes? That can't possibly feel good for the poor guy. He probably also had a limited range of motion in his legs from being this matted.

This has to feel MUCH better!

I think this next dog was a Tibetan Terrier (mix?).

Here's a pretty Miniature Poodle.

And here's a Bichon Frise to finish us off. His head looks strange to me, but maybe they wanted the squarish look? Or maybe that's the best Bichon head I could do 3 years ago. I have no idea.

I'm planning a post on Portuguese Water Dogs soon, so keep a look out for that!

Writing Difficulties

I always forget how much I like to write. Granted, I have been writing blog posts at least 2-3 times a week for the last few months. But I'm talking about fiction writing. I had been working on a fictionalized memoir about Dexter (if you don't know about Dexter, read here) around the time I got serious about this blog. Eventually, that project got shoved to the side, as so many other writing projects I had started before it had been shoved aside. I pulled it back up again today, read what I had already written, and said to myself, Wow, this is really good, I need to keep going with this.

So I started it again and added 6 pages to the 10 I had previously written. It was enjoyable - except killing off a child. That sucked. That's partly why I stopped writing a couple of months ago, it was too difficult to kill the kid. It needed to happen, though, to further my plot, so I sucked it up and got through it. In the meantime, I had to take a lot of breaks to shore up my fortitude and I got some house cleaning done while I procrastinated.

Killing a human on paper is hard enough. I can't even fathom how people can kill each other in the real world.

Maybe I'm just too compassionate. I hate to see people suffer - even if they are fictional people of my own creation, apparently.

One of these days, I do intend to actually finish a writing project. I currently have 3 books started; I would like to finish at least one. I think this one about Dexter is my favorite of the 3, so hopefully I can suck it up and keep going. I don't think I need to kill anybody else (except Dexter himself, which will be dreadful), so hopefully the rest of the novel will go a little smoother.

I've thought about putting excerpts of my writing here on my blog, but as my readership increases, I am a little more worried about plagiarism, so I think maybe I won't.

As brutal as writing can be, at least it is only mentally brutal and not physically demanding like my day job. I do eventually want to be able to make a living by writing, so I guess I'll have to get used to killing people - or just write things where nobody dies.

I had let myself get distracted from my true dream of becoming a writer, and I need to put that dream into focus again.

Focus. One small word that can have enormous implications.

I could probably write an entire blog post on Focus - if I haven't already. It's possible I have and just forgot. My memory isn't what it once was.

Speaking of focus, mine is being pulled by the season finale of America's Got Talent, so I think I'll end here. As always, thanks for reading!

OK, you win, here's a cute picture of Hailey to reward you for reading this whole thing.

Killing Me Softly...With Chocolate

Some people drown their sorrows (and other emotions) with alcohol. I prefer to drown mine with chocolate.

For as long as I can remember, I've used chocolate, sugar, and junk food as a sort of emotional anesthetic. Depressed? Eat. Stressed? Eat. Angry? Eat. Happy? Celebrate with food! Depressed about eating so much? Eat some more.

This is how I've come to weigh 246 pounds.

I know I lead an unhealthy lifestyle. I'm perfectly aware that I am killing myself one bite at a time. Yet I can't seem to stop.

Occasionally I manage to stick to a diet for a while, but I always fall off the wagon, so to speak. I think this is due in part to my bipolar disorder, which hasn't really been under control until recently...and even then, I'm always worried that another manic or depressive episode is right around the corner.

I need to figure out how to manage my emotions better. I've been in therapy for years, and once in a while we try to come up with alternatives, but if we've ever come up with anything, I've never been able to stick with it.

I'm turning 30 in a few weeks. At the rate I'm going, I don't think I'll make 40. I already have slightly high cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure. I'm eating my way to a heart attack or stroke. Naturally, all this information makes me depressed and causes me to eat even more and contribute to the problem.

I'm tired of being tired all the time. I'm tired of my back hurting all the time. I'm tired of my feet hurting after work and I'm tired of wheezing after climbing a flight of stairs.

And I'm tired of feeling like a fat, ugly whale.

I worry I'll be alone the rest of my life. Sometimes I'm okay with that, but other times...I sure would like to have somebody to love who loves me in return. Somebody human.

Now I'm not intending to whine. I know there is no magic wand to "fix" me. I'm just trying to figure out how to fix my brain in order to fix my body.

When I'm upset (or angry, or PMSing, or stressed...), what do I do instead of eat? Until I answer this fundamental question, my life will never change.

Maybe this blog is the answer. Or part of the answer. Or maybe I need to start a separate blog for this issue? I guess I don't want to bore all my dog people, but I have spent several months building an audience here, and I'm willing to bet I'm not the only one here who has this issue.

What do you all do to fight negative emotions? I know exercise is good. It's just so hard when I hurt so much and I'm so tired from work. It's a heck of a Catch-22 - I'm too sore and tired to exercise, but exercise would help me feel less tired and sore.

Sigh.

I need to figure this out. I'm looking at starting Weight Watchers again, but until I really get to the core of these issues, I will never have a healthy relationship with food, and it won't take much of anything for me to fall off the wagon again.

So, Faithful Readers, I need your help. Any advice on how to change my relationship with food? How do you relieve stress? What do you do if you've had a bad day? I'm open to anything. I can't promise to try everything (I couldn't manage a run, for example), but I do promise to seriously consider every piece of advice and every tip I receive.

 Thank you in advance, and I will bring you more dog posts soon!

New Groom Shop!

Whew, it has been a crazy few days! I finally started at the new groom shop on Wednesday. And I Christened it in style!

The very first dog at the new groom shop was one of my regulars, an Alaskan Malamute that followed me from the other location. I love her so much; she hops willingly into the tub and onto the table and is perfect for the whole groom. She also usually stands up and gives me a hug, but this time she was a little nervous because she was in a different place.

Anyway, it was nice to start things off with such a great dog.

Next I had two more regulars, a couple of small dogs. This meant I got to use my favorite feature of the new tub (favorite so far, I haven't needed the ramp yet) - the grate is in two halves, and there is a ledge around the tub so that you can lift half of the grate up for smaller dogs and save yourself a lot of leaning and hunching.

I don't know how well this picture helps explain the tub. Maybe I'll take a picture with a dog on the higher grate to demonstrate the awesomeness of the tub.

Then I got to do my first new dog in the new groom shop. He's a cute little Havanese puppy, not quite 4 months old. He had been going to puppy play group (more on that later) and was due for his first groom. He was pretty good for a puppy. And man was he cute!

Four dogs was pretty good for a first day, especially since they only had 3 days to book me from scratch.

That night, I made the mistake of posting a political meme on Facebook, and spent the entire evening trying to defend myself against crazy girls who were so determined to "win" that they went so far as to use my (nonexistent) sex life against me. Exactly what does that have to do with politics? Anyway, I only mention this because I had wanted to do a blog post that night, but got tied up.

The next day, Thursday, all I had scheduled were two new Golden Retrievers. She had them shaved at previous groom shops, but we refuse to shave double-coated dogs because it messes up their coat, so I just did a really good brushing and trimmed the few feathers that had grown in since their last shave. One of them had a thyroid problem, and if you've never had (or groomed) a dog with a thyroid problem - they're GROSS! Not only do they have a lot of regular white dander, they also have this really gross black, sticky dander that you can never completely get rid of. And when you blow dry the dog? Yep, black sticky pieces of skin fly through the air and get plastered on everything - including you. Gag.

Since I was done grooming by lunch, I decided to go home and grab Hailey and Dillin and bring them in. They were overdue for baths and haircuts, so it was the perfect time to get them done - one last short cut before fall.

Here's Dillin before:

You can't really tell how long his beard had gotten in these pics, but it was getting to be a little excessive. In any case, he was dirty, shaggy, and the hair poking towards his eyes was making me nuts!

Here's a before picture of cran - er, Hailey. I started typing cranky, haha. She HATES baths. She's fine for the haircut, but water and the blow dryer are her mortal enemies.

Now for the after pictures. Dillin didn't want to look at the camera, which is unusual; he's usually a ham for the camera. I took about an inch off of his beard.

I liked the long beard, but I like this look, too. We'll see what I decide to do in the future!

Here's Hailey's after picture. I didn't take a ton of length off her body, but I did trim up her ears a fair amount.

I noticed that the expression on her face hasn't changed much. I think she was just ready to go home at this point.

I took the dogs back home, sat down for 15 minutes, and got a text from my mom inviting me to dinner. So I took a shower and we went out so I could tell her all about the new shop. By the time I got back home, it was late, and I was tired, so no blog post.

Yesterday, I did four dogs at work. The first three were regulars of mine - and all three are naughty to some degree. The fourth dog was a new client, but it was a Scottie, so I wasn't optimistic. Scotties might make amazing family pets, I don't know, but I have groomed far more naughty Scotties than good ones. Percentage-wise, they're probably one of the worst breeds I've had the pleasure of grooming.

Anyway.

My first dog of the day was a Westie. The ONLY way I can get her nails cut is to have somebody hold her TIGHT, BEFORE the bath! This really requires another groomer - even if one of the women who works up front had been there yet, I would not have trusted them to hold her tight enough. And we don't have muzzles in the new shop yet, so I didn't even attempt her nails. Mom knows how much she hates having her nails cut, so she knows I may or may not be able to cut any or all of them any given day.

Why do the nails need to be cut before the bath? I'm glad you asked. It's because having her nails cut stresses her out SO much that she pees and poops and expresses her anal glands. Yeah, that's not good if she's already clean. Well, it's not good EVER, but it is certainly better if the person holding her wears an apron and then throws the dog and the apron in the tub after I have cut her toenails.

I think I left out that I have been the only groomer all week, which is fine - I have certainly enjoyed the quiet - but sometimes you just need that extra pair of hands.

Anyway, I managed to finish the rest of her grooming without getting bitten, so that was a pretty good start to the day.

Next I had a pair of rescue dogs. One bit the last groomer they tried before me. He's never tried to bite me, but I know he is capable. Mostly, he is DEAD SET on me cutting his tongue off. Instead of biting me, he licks when I do something he doesn't like, namely shaving and trimming his front legs. I somehow avoided catching his tongue in my clippers or shears and finished him without incident.

By the way, sometimes people ask why having their dog groomed is more expensive than having their own hair cut. There are MANY reasons why, but licking and wiggling are a couple of valid ones. Your hairdresser probably doesn't have to worry about cutting your tongue off.

Incidentally, your hairdresser also doesn't have to clean up pee, poop, and anal gland juice on a daily basis.

But I digress.

The licker's sister bites me EVERY time I groom her. Usually it's when I am picking her up. So yesterday, I actually managed to pick her up without being bitten! That was very exciting. Not only that, I managed to do her entire haircut without being bitten. I had to have one of the girls who works up front hold her head while I trimmed her nails, but other than that, she only tried to bite me once and I was quick enough to dodge it. I think we've finally reached the sweet spot where she trusts me enough to bite me less, and I have learned what makes her bite and how to work around it.

So, three dogs down, one to go.

The Scottie.

He was a year old, and cute, except that a) he hadn't been brushed for a while and b) the last groomer SERIOUSLY messed up his face. They clearly did not know what they were doing.

He was actually pretty good for a Scottie. Except, typical Scottie, he HATED to be brushed. So that sucked. I should have taken a picture of him before the bath, when he was still packed with undercoat. Here he is after the bath but before brushing and haircut.

Hm, looking at that picture, maybe I did grab it before the bath. In any case, here it is.

Scotties are supposed to have two eyebrows. This looks closer to a Westie head than a Scottie head. Except they shaved the back of the head. It looks like they shaved to a point right in front of his ears and then just stopped. It was very bizarre.

By the way, all of this undercoat came out of him with the blow dryer.

It's hard to get a sense of scale in this picture, but it was quite a lot of hair from a small dog that people might not expect would shed so much.

So he was a little nasty for the brushing, but we got through it. And I was able to fix his head. Here's the final result. He wouldn't hold still, and I had already taken too long on his haircut, so these pictures aren't perfect, I apologize.

Of course, I'm sure you've already realized photography is not my strong suit!

On top of the pictures being blurry from him moving, black dogs just don't turn out well in pictures - especially now that they have to sit on a black table, too.

So, that was yesterday at work. Last night? More political arguments and personal attacks on Facebook.

Which I have now put an end to.

Anyway.

Finally up to today.

My first dog of the day wound up being rescheduled, which was a bummer. The good thing was, I got to watch puppy play time. It has always happened at this location every Saturday morning, but I worked at the other location until now, so I had never seen it.

It was very very cute to watch all the puppies running around. There were seven or eight of them, ranging in age from 3 months to almost a year, and none of them weighed more than 10 pounds.

The best part about puppy play time? Recruiting new customers! I had just groomed the Havanese on Wednesday. Another puppy there, a Yorkie/Bichon mix, is already one of my regulars. I booked two appointments for myself and talked to another person who will probably book with me soon. One or two of the others see a groomer at the other location. And the one person I didn't have much chance to talk to just got her baby Yorkie on Tuesday.

Yeah, I'm opportunistic. But my job is to get grooming business and build up that side of it. I get paid on commission, so you'd better believe I used that chance to get new clients.

Toward the end of puppy play time, my first two dogs came in. They are also two of my regulars, a pair of Havanese. I have to say, I feel so special that so many of my clients followed me! It's only about 10 minutes away, but for people to go out of their way for me, it still makes me feel special.

Anyway, the two Havanese girls were good as they always are. I forgot to take pictures.

I wound up with a long lunch because I finished them in less time than they were scheduled, so that was nice.

After lunch, I had another regular, a Bichon/Poodle mix. He has hip dysplasia, so he has a hard time standing for very long (or he's just lazy with an excuse, I'm not sure which), but otherwise he is a very good boy.

He's such a cutie!

OK, last dog of the day - I'm almost done rambling, I promise!

It was a Maltese, another of my regulars. She brings him every five weeks or so, but he always has some mats, and she likes to keep him fluffy. He usually has just enough matting that I can cut the mats out with my thinning shears and the holes are covered by his longish coat. She agreed to let me go one length shorter on his body, from 7/8" to 3/4". Will he be too short? I still want him to be fluffy! I'm only going 1/8" shorter, he is not suddenly going to go home bald.

Yeesh.

Anyway, at least he is really well-behaved. I would have loved to take pictures of him, but his mom showed up just before I was done grooming, so I didn't have a chance.

Whew. That was a long blog post. If you have read this far, thank you very much for sticking with me!

Anxiety and Pics

OK, I'm a little too anxious about starting at the new groom shop tomorrow to write much of anything serious, so today is going to be heavy on the pictures. I don't think you'll mind!

I did this dog a few days ago. A Shih-chon, I think. Anyway, he had been bitten by a dog a few weeks ago and had a massive bald spot that the vet had shaved to take care of his wounds.

He usually gets about 1/2" left all over. His mom sort of gave me leeway to be flexible, so I did one length shorter than usual in order to blend that bald spot a little better. I think it turned out pretty good, what do you think?

I love blending things like this. It makes me happy that I can make bald spots less noticeable, whether it's from a vet or if I had to go shorter in some spots due to matting.

Then there's this crazy fur ball. I think standing for an hour to be groomed is the most exercise she ever gets. She HATES to stand, which gets frustrating. Anyway, here's the before.

And after. I can see, I can see!

Don't get me wrong, she's very sweet, she's just terribly terribly lazy, and in healthy dogs, that makes me insane!

Now we have Kanga...

...And Roo.

I usually never use dogs' names here, for various reasons, but a) I love their names, b) I have nothing bad to say about them, and c) They are rather unique and would be recognized even without their names.

Kanga and Roo were both rescues - I think from a puppy mill, but I don't exactly remember. Kanga has a collapsing trachea, which is why the loop is around is leg and not his neck. He's a really good boy.

Roo is also really sweet. She was born without eyes, which is why they like the visor so long. She doesn't need it cut short to see, so we may as well keep her tiny vestigial-type eyes covered.

And then there was this puppy. I don't know exactly how old he is, but I'm guessing he's about a year old and had never been groomed before. Oh, and his entire butt and back legs were matted.

The lady who brought this poor guy in said it was her daughter's dog. I have no idea how old her daughter is. Anyway, I told her he would need to be shaved because the matting was too severe to brush out. She said, "You can't shave him. My daughter will kill me and it won't grow back, I know it won't." Actually, it - "It won't grow back! Can't you just shave the part that's matted and keep the rest?" Well, I could but it will look ridiculous. "Well you can't shave him. My daughter will kill me." Okey dokey...

It turned out better than I expected, but still...By the way, I noticed that long piece on his chin and trimmed it before he went home.

So I take him out to his owner, and she says, "Well I sure hope he grows back, otherwise he's going to look ridiculous!" It will grow back, it grows about half an inch a month. "Half an inch a month! We'll just see what my daughters have to say about this."

Sheesh.

Did it never occur to her that maybe they shouldn't have waited so long to get him groomed in the first place?

Anyway, I have to run. I have appointments to keep and miles to go before I sleep. ;-)