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Barbara Bird, Author

  • Barbara Bird, aka BBird, has been grooming since 1971 and opened Transformation Pet Center in Tucson, Arizona in 1977. In the salon, BBird specializes in Bichons and scissored trims, hand stripping of Terriers, and cat grooming. She has been writing and speaking to groomers for over a decade, and received the Cardinal Crystal Achievement Award as Grooming Journalist of the Year for 2006 and 2007. A regular contributor to Pet Age magazine, Barbara also writes for The Bichon Frise Reporter. She has authored and self-published three books, including Beyond Suds and Scent - Understanding Pet Shampoos and Conditioners. She has also developed a line of aromatherapy products, The Scented Groomer, and conducts online extended education classes at GroomClassroom.org.

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June 14, 2011

I LOVE GROOMING MAKEOVERS!

     At Transformation Pet Center in Tucson, AZ, pet styling 'makeovers' are a specialty. Here is a Miniature Schnauzer we recently transformed. "Sassy" is a very attractive, show quality pet that came to us after a very unflattering grooming. Her owners recently moved to our area and were having difficulty finding a groomer who would do justice to her genes. That's a nice way of saying that previous groomers did not accomplish a nice breed profile.


Sassy(1) 
    

     Looking at the remnants of the previous grooming, we can see that the pattern line was high and not in relationship to the anatomy, way too much "skirt" was left, and there was no blending of the clipped area to the furnishings. The head was over-worked, the top of the muzzle was shaved and the whiskers were chopped off, leaving a very small head on the overly full body. This made Sassy look out of proportion, fat, and dumpy. We couldn't wait to fix this!

     Here she is after our finished groom. The lines were corrected, the skirt removed and blended into a proper undercarriage. The head was corrected as best we could, although it will get bushy from having been shaved on top of the muzzle. Groomers, please don't do that! Blending shears (aka "thinners") will clean off the muzzle of any wispy hair and will not ruin the expression.

Sassy(2) 
 

     Sassy's owners were thrilled with our work. "I have my show dog back!" was one comment. "Thank you, thank you," was another. As the groomer, I was also appreciative. The dog was a delight to work on, and Sassy makes my work look good. To make it more perfect, the owners are terrific people. It was a win-win. This is the kind of moment that makes my years of studying and working on breed profiles totally worthwhile. Bring on the makeovers, it is food for my soul!

Barbara Bird is a Certified Master Groomer with International Professional Groomers (IPG), Inc. She owns and operates Transformation Pet Center in Tucson, Arizona. Call 520-795-5743 to book an appointment for your pet. Private instruction is also available. To see more of our Miniature Schnauzer work, click HERE.

Posted by on June 14, 2011 |

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