Grooming Smarter

Deck the Halls part 2

The tree! It is a fixture at my shop and clients ask every year if I am going to put it up again. I have ALWAYS had toys or treats hanging from the tree, not ornaments. Safety first right?

I give a toy or a treat to every dog in December that gets groomed. I buy them all year, as I go through about 400-500 every year. Buying them as I find them helps eliminate the "OMG I just spent HOW MUCH?" feeling I would get if I bought them all at once. I try to spend $1 or less ON AVERAGE per toy, so its really not that bad. If I pay $2-3 for toys then the treat bags will "dilute it" to the $1 per pet I strive for. I also have some T-Shirts this year in small and medium sizes for dogs that don't like toys.

Treat bags contain a rawhide candy cane (I buy them in bulk) and pupcorn or bisquits that are corn and gluten free. My clients love them. Be careful buying rawhide treats that are NOT made in the USA. I might skip them if I could not find them made here with all the issues regarding Chinese treats in the recent news reports. The place I bought mine is showing "out of stock" so I cannot refer you to that site. I-pets.com has them available and they say they are: Made from 1st grade quality rawhide, no preservatives added, no harmful chemicals used in the manufacturing process, FDA approved, high in protein, digestible. Imported from reputable manufacturers we have personally visited and approved! I know I have never had an issue with items purchased from them and many of their items, including ears, are Made in the USA. 

We redecorate the tree as needed, the closer to Christmas we get the more toys we have to rehang. I always eep back some toys for the weekly clients or bi-weekly on es that come the week of CHristmas for their holiday "do". 

I use LED lights and as we get low on toys I add treat bags and bows. NOTHING that can be damaged by a dog.

I decorate under the tree as well and use packaged boxes or plastic decorations in case a dog has an "accident". WOuld not want my Santas to get christened, so we keep them to the back. 

My gift tree is a gesture of thanks for their my clients continuing patronage that I feel more than pays me back every year in tips and gratitude. 

I love doing it and my clients love that we do it! 

Next up the Bow Board!

 

Recycle, Re-use, Re-purpose

I found this story on FaceBook where a friend had posted it. Easy Organized Tote It is a terrific idea and with a few tweaks it can e used in a grooming shop or dressed up quite a bit for any location.

What I would do for a grooming tote made like this, so you can carry shears and tall combs as well as other tools you may need, is to use 4 tall cans, like asparagus comes in, and use them on all four corners of the carrier, using smaller or shorter cans in the middle. Put some shelf and drawer liner in the bottom of the cans with some foam underneath it to protect the tips of the shears, and there you have a neat way to carry your tools if you are house-call, mobile or doing an in-home visit at your own home! By using the taller cans on the outside four you create stability. Many of the craft stores have decorative handles you can buy for purses and they would also be something you can add to make the carrier yours. You can decorate the cans after painting them with many things. textured paints, stickers that you then varnish over to protect them, buttons glued on, fabric wrapped and glued and anything else you can think of. Make them sparkle and make them yours.

These types of carriers can be used to hold many things but we are always looking for something to hold, organize and carry our grooming tools and this is a way to do that with creativity and personalization.

There are may other things we use daily that have been re-purposed. I use gum packages to put rubber bands in, and little gift boxes to store things at my station. The box pictured was a gift from a client and it had small samples of soap and lotions in it. Needless to say the box is here long after the other th ings went bye bye. 

This container that holds my fanciest bows one time had Chocolate truffle candy in it. 

This seasonal decorative basket works great as a tip "jar". It is also non-breakable unlike my last jar. 

People have been very creative in the ways they use household furniture in the their grooming salons. I use this antique dresser to hod my extra blades, tools I only use sometimes, shear cases and anything else that needs to be within arms reach but not out in the open.

I have seen people use this type of old chest of drawers to make a table to groom on. Its really simple to do. You place a yoga mat on the top of the table (you can secure it with adhesive or double sided tape) and use the lip of the top to attach an arm to. If the lip is not quite deep enough you can attach a piece of wood to it and make it work. The advantages to this are numerous but include the ability to store equipment in the drawers. Usually at Yard Sales and Flea Markets this type of dresser is available or under $50. I you like to work with a mirror this is perfect as most dressers come with mirrors or at least the ability to attach one. They can also be painted easily to match the decor of the shop. In shops where space is limited this is a fantastic way to save space and money.

  

Medicine cabinets make for great work station storage solutions as well and come in many styles, sizes and colors. I put acrylic shear holdersm on the front f my abinet and hoos on the sides to hang cclippers and combs on when not in use. I have been using these cabinets for over 7 years now. The doors keep the things inside clean and out of sight.

Tubs can be Re-purppoosed as well and a sink cabinet makes the perfect base to hold it. Oftentimes you can approach a contractor that oes renovations and get a tub or shower stall that was b eing thrown away for nothing or very little money. Cabinets too.

Cabinets ca also be used as drying stations or tables to groom as, just like a dresser can. the counter top can be left long enough to use the overhang for the arm and you have an easy fast table that will be useful in other ways as well.

What do YOU have in your salon that you use for something other than what it was designed for?

Art on a Budget

We are all trying to save money these days, and yet we still want to be able to keep the shop looking professional, friendly and bright. There is no reason to sweat it! It is easy!

I have used calendars for years to make the shop look brighter and more professional, and or those of you who do not yet have photos of clients that you can use this is a terrific way to decorate wall space inexpensively.

I can usually find calendars for under $10 each (sometimes $1 each) and they will have 12 photos or more in them. I buy frames from all over, including the dollar stores, Wal-mart and even Salvation Army or Good Will. I try to find several of the same shape and size, and really prefer them to have a mat so that the photo can be cropped to fit easier. As you can see, the frame below had a mat that comes out and that makes it super easy to work with. If the frame does not have a mat, you can buy them at Michael's or Hobby Lobby or even sometimes at Wal-mart.

_{You can see the photos inculded on the back of most calenders so you are not guessing you will like them.}

All you need are a Paper cutter or a sharp pair of shears, a frame with a mat, a calendar photo you like, a pen or pencil and clear tape. If you have a ruler or straightedge it can be handy in this venture but it is not critical.

Choose your photo from the calendar and remove it from the rest of the pages. You can cut it out with shears or tear it carefully from the bottom. Open the frame and remove the mat, centering it on the image where you want it positioned, mark the photo and cut. Tape it to the back of the mat and reinsert the photo and mat into the frame. DONE! Easy and professional looking plus you can change it out when the mood strikes you. You can buy multiple sizes of calendars to fit multiple frame sizes and because you can choose the frame ad mat size you can adjust it to fit your space.

I sometimes buy a few general calendars that have seasonal photos in them and swap out photos for the seasonal shots to suit my decoration needs for the different holidays. I even frame cards! Find a great card that you like, or in the holiday them, Christmas cards that you thought were too nice to throw out. This allows you to recycle, reuse and beautify your shop all at one time easily and affordably.

Easy and fast as well as affordable! Enjoy your new art!

Neat Feet

There are a couple of tricks to getting feet to look neat no matter how short the dog is taken on the body. I am going to show you how to get the feet tight, round and neat in appearance easily and quickly.

No matter whether you are doing a long scissored trim or a short, 7F blade all over this technique works wonderfully.

Start with the pads, and clipper the hair as short as you can go with a trimmer or a tight blade. I also take the hair that is hanging down between the toe pads off with the same blade to ensure the foot is neat. Then trim your nails and remember, the shorter they are the easier the foot is to trim.

Then you clipper the body and the legs. When using a blade or snap on comb on the legs make sure that the blade or comb goes down the entire length of the leg on all sides, coming completely off the foot. It is important to hold the leg as straight as you can to prevent a "dip" below the knee or at the ankle. The video clips show you how to do that on both front and back legs. If the videos appear to be cropped, double click on them and they will open in the full size window at YouTube.

 

 

 

After you have the leg hair trimmed to the length you want, pick up the foot and comb the hair down, holding it tight in your hand and forcing the hair down past the foot. I then hold curved shears at a slight angle and trim off any hair that is falling outside the line my hand creates. If the hair falls past the toes, the pads or beyond my hand it comes off.

Then, I sit the foot down on the table and comb the hair to one side, then the other, trimming any hair that falls outside the line of my foot. I continue this up into the leg as well to ensure the leg and foot are neat and tidy.

   

With the foot still on the table, I then round off the foot again, using a small curved shear at a slight angle. When you are trimming it helps to start in the front and make sure the foot is round not pointed. Starting at the back can lead to a point in the front.

By beveling the foot slightly and raising the hair off the floor you will get a foot that is tight in appearance and will nt drag in as much "trash" from the yard. Once you realize the technique is the same for any length of leg it is easy to get a nice, neat foot. Sometimes, on harsh hair, it may be neccesary to use thinners to blend and soften the hair but it is just not something that I do a lot. 

On a ten shave down, which we do see some of this time of year, I will sometimes take my clipper and skim out the hair in between the toes, not doing poodle feet per say but simply removing the hair that otherwise would stick up and is usually matted. 

I need to add something here. My left hand is fused and does not bend fully. As a result it sometimes looks like I have a leg or foot at a weird angle but usually it is just the realtionship bewteen my hand and the foot that is "off". I assure you no dogs are put into weird positions, only my hand is. 

Terriers in a SNAP!

 

We all get terrier type dogs that come in the shop that “should” get stripped, but either they have never been stripped, or the owner doesn’t want to pay for stripping, or the groomer doesn’t know HOW to strip or doesn’t have TIME to strip.

There is a technique using snapon combs, that will mimic a handstripped look, keeping the pets looking natural and saving you time and energy.

The candidates for this technique are not always purebreds. However, they can be. Cairns, Westies, Scotties, Border Terriers, and of course, Norwich, Norfolk, and any mix that has a hard coat texture is a perfect candidate for this technique, and if the owner is wanting a more natural look they will appreciate your efforts.

 

I begin by bathing the pet and making sure I use a texturing shampoo, like EZ Groom’s Structure. On terrier type coat I use a spray on conditioner while drying the coat, rather than a rinse out, and I like Ruff Coat by Show Seasons the best of any I have tried on this type of coat. It is important on this harsh coat that drying be done properly as well. It MUST be dried flat against the body rather than fluffed out from the body.

 

Once the pup is prepped, you have to decide what length comb is going to work the best on the dog you are working on. That length will be long enough to lay flat, but short enough to look as if there was a hair cut given to the dog. I decide which comb I am going to use by running the comb through the coat without turning the clipper on. That way I can gauge how much hair is coming off and adjust before actually cutting any hair.

I tend to gravitate toward my Laube Speed Feed for this type of coat more often than anything else, but you can use a Wahl Stainless steel snap on or a plastic com by any of the other manufacturers, depending on your preference and your equipment availability.

 

The biggest thing to remember is to always follow the direction the hair is growing on the dog’s body. Even if you find that the hair is changing direction, you have to adjust your clipper to follow the new line. If you cross the direction of the hair’s natural growth you will get gaps and lines that are hard to erase and it will diminish the natural appearance of the groom.

 

Under the neck, I switch to a shorter snap on length, and trim the area from under the jawline to the breastbone, shorter, following the lay of the coat, and only trimming the area that is between the cowlicks. You will see the area to be clipped when you tip the head back slightly. Generally it is a U shaped area similar to that on a poodle.

 

The ears on the puppies featured were plucked slightly on the outside to keep color and only scissored along the edges to make the shape more defined. If the ears are to be tipped, I only trim the inside of the ears short, using a longer blade on the outside or plucking them when possible. This makes the ear appear more natural.

By using thinning shears to shape the legs, underline and head, blending the neckline into the body, you will keep a natural appearance and reduce lines.

 

 

These techniques work tremendously well on schnauzers that have a harsh coat are are sensitive to clipping as well. You can virtually eliminate clipper irritation by using snap on combs, as the blade never touches the dog’s skin.

Follow up with a light  hand carding the coat and you will have a halthy coat that appears as if you hand stripped it in a short time and you will have a happy dog and owner. 

My apprenctice Ashley did most of the grooming on this page. Thanks to the owners of the pups for allowing us to use their pets photos.

Making a photo area in the shop

 

 
It doesn't take much to create a photo area in a shop that is not in the way yet allows you to have a place to take photos easily whenever you want (or need) to take them. I have found that before we set this up, my photo backgrounds were always cluttered, or the dog got lost, or there were people in the background. As a result I didn't take many photos. I have decided that I am giving calendars with pet photos on them to clients this Christmas, and since that is right around the corner, I felt like I should get started NOW with photos. I was going to need a permanent set up to do that, not a makeshift area or a grooming table photo. I wanted the photos to look professional.

My grooming room is about 12 feet square and has two doorways, one of which has a door that goes into the kitchen. I wanted to have the photo area set up in that room, so that if I NEED to take a photo I can ad if I WANT to take one I have an area ready with a backdrop so that it looks neater and more professional.

I happened to mention it to a professional photographer who has my favorite standard poodle in the whole entire world, and he said "Debi, I cannot believe you are not smart enough to figure this out". And he proceeded to show me how I could install a Double Curtain Rod on the doorframe and then using Curtain hooks, attach a piece of fabric of any type to the rod and it slides out of the way of the door. As long as you put the rods above the top of the door you will be able to move the "curtain" backdrops out of the way and open the door as usual. I have to admit I felt pretty silly at that moment because my father and grandfather were both professional photographers and won many awards. I should have been able to figure this out. When I thought about it I remember my dad having something similar in a bedroom when I was small to take photos in front of.

I bought crushed velvet with a slight stretch to it, 2 yards in each color. It is generally 60 inches wide and as a result will cover the entire door with enough on the sides to work for a backdrop. It drapes across the table really well and is very affordable. I paid $4.99 a yard for it. I wanted this fabric because it is slightly shiny but is also matte enough to not be an issue when shooting photos. I folded the edge over twice, about a half inch total, and attached the clip on curtain hooks to it, slid them on the rods and there you have it!

I happen to have a smallish, round grooming table that we rarely use, so it is now in place to be used for photos, and one of our portable tables can be slid over in its place if the dog is too large or there is more than two dogs in a family. It doesn't get in the way and can be left in place or moved out of the way if we need to.

If you have a small place in your shop that you don't utilize this can be a great way to add income. You can offer photos, calenders and other items with your clients pets as the models, or build your own portfolio using photos that look great and like a professional did them.

Have fun experimenting!