The difference between ...

... Bichons and Poodles is that I can do a Poodle. I can't quite seem to get a hang of the whole Bichon head, though :-p My boss hit the nail on the head, though, when she said that with a Poodle top knot, you start out by setting in the pattern, and then it's just a matter of rounding out the edges. With a Bichon, though, it's all about eyeing and cutting out the parts that aren't a Bichon (to badly quote Michaelangelo).

And what is it about hand strips that I like so much? I don't know. I just do. That and the Schnauzer patterns, those are nice too :-)

I had all good dogs yesterday! :-) I had some ... not so good dogs today. :-p Learning how to not get torn up :-)

My parents leant me their digital camera so I can start putting together a portfolio, so I thought I'd let you all see some of the work that I do at school!


This is Scamper. He is 14, and was a #4FC All, trim ears, short round head. I've done him twice in the past, and he can be bitey for feet, but today he was really good! :-)
Before:









After:







Next is Respert. Respert is also old, and was a handstrip St. Schnauzer with mattted matted furnishings! I blew them out before the bath, and scrubbed them good with shampoo and conditioner. Still took a bit to get them out, but I got them out!

Before:









After:

'ey, mon!

So I got the best surprise in the world when I got to school today; there were two pulik and I got to groom one! Yayness!!! I had way too much fun separating the cords, and they were complete angels standing (or in the other's case, sitting) on the table.

I'd only ever seen pictures of the pulik, and have never actually met one until today. The one I groomed was white. I knew they came in that color, but I had never even seen pictures of them in that color! Separated, washed in a hydrobath with oder-handler (although I didn't think she smelled that bad), and then a hydrobath with conditioner, rinse, squeegee as much water off as we can, and then kennel dryer.

The official website: http://www.puliclub.org/
I made a comment about liking the coat and wanting dredlocks. She said I should just get a dog with dredlocks. I think I would still really like dredlocks someday. :-) Altough I was very impressed by the Pulik that I met ... :-D

Yeah, it's been a while ...

So many things have changed. I've moved back to Michigan where I attend the Paragon School of Pet Groomer (started in August) in their 600 Hour Career Track program. I am now in my second level and have been getting the patterned cuts, which are very exciting! :-) It's a wonderful school, and we get such a wide range of dogs! A few weeks ago I got to do a Eurasian! No joke! I've done hand-stripping and shave downs and B&Bs on all sorts of breeds!

I think so far one of the most interesting clips was 
when I had to shave down 
a Golden Retriever and the instructor said 
'We're going to make her look 
like a Lab!' Danged if that weren't the case! 
That was a rather strange 
transformation!

I really enjoy the patterns, and the more I do them, 
the better I get (which
is to be expected). Anal glands don't really 
bother me now, what really gets
me are infected ears. Ew.

My profile picture is actually me with a Soft-Coated Wheaten that was
taught to give you hugs when you 
take him off the table. He's so sweet!

I've got school off this week for the holidays, but I will be back with a fuyry after the new year, and will be sure to keep you posted as to what I do! :-) Pictures to follow if I can figure out how.

~Gyda 

poof

Okay, so it's been a while. I've been busy.

The grooming shop does work with a local rescue, and the last time I was there I washed half a dozen big, hairy, slightly crazed canines. I had to go slow and be careful, as most of them were still wary around humans (I don't bath the biters, though, that's for the toughguy bather that's been there since it opened). Most of them hated their nether regions being touched in any way, and would back their butts against the corner of the tub and refuse to move come hell, highwater, or soap. I spent half the day trying to budge dogs and the other half on tiptoes to reach the parts they weren't easily showing me. Me feet/legs/ankles kill. I was also soaked by the end of the day, as big hairy double-coated dogs need a lot of water to get them wet down to their skin, and then they shake it all off and right onto me.

sigh ...

One of the drawbacks of such a job is that it's hit or miss. Wednesday we had one dog. I left early. Today the owner called to say they only had two dogs scheduled and didn't need me to come in. It was a sort of a relief, since I'm not feeling all that well and took the extra time to sleep another two hours. She said that the days I'm off (that I have to work at my other job) they've done like 10-20 dogs, and it's not normal busy days, either! It's so weird ... hopefully sometime things will click. Otherwise, they're a cool group to be around. Wednesday we shot some pool before I left to be productive.

oh, god!

I can't get those frikken anal glands out of my head! I knew they were gunna be gross, but damn, it's like a horror movie playing again and again in my mind! I just know I'm going to have nightmares tonight!

Besides that, though, the first day went well. I bathed three min. Schnauzers, one maltese, a schnauzer mix, a poodle mix, a pekignise, and a corgi. They were okay as far as behavoir. The older dogs kept sitting down on the wet groom table while I'm trying to blow-dry them, and the poodle mix insisted that the air was out to get his front paws.

Still learning tricks of the trade and be a little more 'agressive' as far as lathering goes. I need to be vigorous. Rar.

Anyway, it's been one long day, and despite the fear of nightmares, I must be getting to sleep.

Again on Wednesday.