PetEdge Groomer's Showcase: Wonders from Down Under Edition

Porcha writes: "Hi i am Porcha from Australia. I have been grooming professionally for over 20 years. I specialize in poodles, as this is a breed I have had all my life, but I groom, clip and style all dog breeds.

I am also a graphic and web designer and I have five websites. You can view more on me and Indulgent Poochy and see our galleries by visiting the websites; www.indulgentpoochy.net and www.indulgentpoochy.blogspot.com.au

I own three dogs. I have a seven month old standard poodle puppy, Gucci, and two other dogs I recently adopted--a matipoo Sootie and a miniature schnauzer Buddie. I recently had two of my other poodles pass away, one of them was 18 years old.

About My Business

My pet grooming business is located in the country in Bordertown, South Australia. I service the whole of the South West of South Australia and into Victoria, which is hundreds of miles.

I recently became a PetEdge customer.

I am also involved in charity events for animals and the local show judging and running dog events.

Unfortunately as a groomer I see some terrible neglect from pet owners. I also see some terrible harm from other people trying to groom dogs, leaving the dogs terribly scarred mentally and physically.

 

Equipment

I use Andis and Wahl clippers and have five sets of clippers and numerous different size blades. I use both cordless and plug-in clippers.

I find the Andis blades get hotter quicker than the Wahl blades do on my Wahl handset. I can clip a whole dog with the Wahl and the blades are only just warm.

With the Andis blades I might have to change the blades out 3-5 times because they get so hot. I use a cooling pad to cool the blades down in-between changes and this works perfectly.

The dogs that come to me live in the country and live in the town or on farms. They include poodles, Shih Tzus, Maltese Terriers, Lhasa Apsos, Cocker Spaniels, West Highland Terriers, long haired border collies, Pyrenees Mountain Dogs and a few other breeds.

As you can imagine, these dogs have lots of prickles, mats and tangling; which can sometimes be quite challenging.

We have prickles here in Australia which bur themselves into the dogs skin if the dog is left unbrushed; the dog then needs a vet to remove the prickles.

Gucci

This is my beautiful poodle puppy, Gucci. He is now 7 months old and has just gone over the official max height for a miniature and is now classed as a standard. I just love him to death and he is one pampered poochy. He even has his own website which I am still adding to. All my dogs are pampered poochies and are bathed and clipped on a weekly basis.  

I use Andis and Wahl clippers also on Gucci a 30 or 40 on his face feet and different size blades on his body depending on the style he is in. I also do a lot of hand styling with a 7 1/2 curved shears. Gucci is so relaxed when I clip him that he goes to sleep.

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International Groomers: We Want Your Photos!

Are you a groomer who works outside of the United States? We'd love to hear your stories and share your before and after pictures with our facebook friends. Please send your photos and a brief description of your work to blog@petedge.com. Thanks and happy grooming :)

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