SmartStyling

2020 Pet Stylist Invitational!!

This year our trade show has gone fully virtual!

This learning summit offers 2 full days, 16 hours total, of educational classes on Friday, October 17, and Saturday, October 18th, and a full day of livestream grooming competitions  Monday, October 19th, judged by our industry great: Michell Evans!!

There’ll be shopping discount opportunities all weekend long to stock up on supplies before our holiday rush!

Enjoy this final opportunity of the year to invest in yourself and your business all three days for only $99!!

You can register here:https://finer-details-pet-spa.square.site/product/pet-stylist-invitational-registration/64?cs=true

 

The Society of Holistic Pet Stylists

A long time ago I began to feel that I was different.

Be nice! LOL

But seriously, I have always been a little different in my thinking, my outlook on most things, and especially I felt different in that I could never force myself to stay at a job for very long if I wasn't happy doing it. I struggled with leaving things at the door, with doing tasks that I felt didn't have lasting result, with feeling lost in a sea of faces, and most of all with just taking my paycheck and writing the rest off.

But luckily, I eventually found grooming.

Gratefully, I have been able to do a job that I love, and for that it rarely feels like work.

When I began grooming, I noticed right away that everyone worked just a bit differently, and that was rooted deeply in their general personality traits.

I groomed over the years with many, MANY different types of people, but I learned most of all about MYSELF.

I learned what I liked, what I couldn't tolerate, my strengths and weaknesses, to challenge myself to always think outside the box, and to never fear trying something different. I learned more about myself from the dogs I groomed each day than any other aspect of my grooming experiences. How I groomed began to define a very large part of who I was as a person. And to this day, it still does.

It is in honor of the time I've spent just pondering and watching the pets I groom, of the previously unimaginable awe of a pet's unconditional love I have come to know, and of all the wonders an animal can bring to your life, that I still find myself so passionate and overflowing with joy that I find in grooming.

In honor of the lessons I have learned, of how "different" I am so happy to be, that I have worked so hard to try to encourage other groomers and animal lovers to NEVER ignore that little voice inside themselves, and to ALWAYS follow your curiousities... that I have worked to form a new and wonderful association for groomers that may have also always felt "a little different".

Of these honors, I am very grateful and happy to announce,

The Society Of Holistic Pet Stylists.

Our new society promises to be like nothing our industry has ever seen, a breath of fresh air, and a place for all stylists to come together to learn and share and forever change our industry through doing great things.

Together with Mary Oquendo, Barbara Bird, Daryl Connor, Lori Gulling, Sue Palmer and Melissa Jepson, we are creating an entirely new learning format and an entirely new opportunity in skill sets for the grooming industry.

Please visit our website for more information, or contact me directly with your interest!

www.HolisticPetStylists.com or www.HolisticDogGroomers.com

 

 

 

Don't Stop Believin'

This is Siouxsie.
Since a very young age, she has been dealing with a myriad of genetic defects. I got her from a breeder at 8 weeks and after just a few days with her, I could tell something was very wrong.
My original vet for her optimistically gave her 6 months at most to live.
Siouxsie has been diagnosed with SM (syringomyelia), scoliosis, a severe heart murmur, minor dysplasia, and all of the related symptoms because of these health issues- have been very hard on her. A lot of expense went into just figuring out what was wrong with her before we could even get to the business of trying to help her.
The breeder I got her from wanted her euthanized when I had her vetted and the results came back. She wouldn't give me a refund or a replacement puppy unless she received a death certificate for Siouxsie. I can see now how she might feel that way...
The attending vet gave her no more than 6 months to live without having to consider humane euthanization because of how quickly she was developing issues. I, for quite possibly selfish reasons at that point, decided that I was NOT going to just give up on this puppy.
I had 6 Cavaliers of my own then, and had raised 3 litters, so I thought for sure I could figure this out and fix this dog.
By 3 months of age, Siouxsie was nearly horseshoe shaped and could not bend her spine. I left her attending vet and took her to 2 specialists who also discovered that her juvenile heart murmur had not lessened and she was exhibiting CM/SM symptoms as well.
(http://www.cavalierhealth.org/syringomyelia.htm)
I thankfully found a good canine chiropractor and confided in a friend who taught me massage regimens to share with her to help her spinal fluid blockages and the scoliosis pain and well as to help her range of motion. This friend later taught me acupressure and recommended that I look into acupuncture as well. I will never be able to express enough gratitude to her for her knowledge, support & guidance, and for not judging me or expressing opinion when she may well have felt I should just let Siouxsie go.
By 6 months of age, her syringomyelia had already began to show aggressive signs which is very early for that disease to be that symptomatic. After her second MRI, the attending vet stated again that I ought to not consider prolonging euthanization for fear that her condition would only worsen. But I was gambling on the hopes that since the SM disease was then quite shadowy and often misunderstood, that I could still utilize the curve and get her well.
I spent a lot of my time educating myself on practicing massage, acupressure and eventually sharing Reiki with her several times a week. She was always my practice dog for new things I would learn about; flopping over on her side as soon as I walked up to her- asking for help- and I owe my initial interest in learning more methods of medical and supportive animal care solely to having her in my life.
I cannot imagine the pain she dealt with on her bad days, but when she had good days, she greeted those with great exuberance, a swooshy butt and a never-ending affinity for FOOD. On the bad days, she was quiet, symptomatic and tired. On those days she got extra massage, heat packs/cold packs, and added herbals.
Within a year's time and with regular care, her spine straightened until she had only minimal muscular tension and curvature across her left shoulder. As her growth slowed & her adult structure came together, her neck and ear scratching, fly biting, and star gazing lessened considerably. Her SM symptoms subsided and she had far more good days and far less bad days. Her range of motion was remarkably better and I could see her personality start to really come out from under the veil that her pain had been hiding.
Over the years she remained my massage partner, my Reiki and meditation partner and my reminder that as a breeder, I had a responsibility to never give up on a dog or to not remember for even a second that every pup I bred never really stopped being a member of my extended family. She never gave up on me and I never gave up on her.
Today Siouxsie turned 8 years old.
She still has bad days, but when she does, she flops on her side and asked for me to help her. And I do, and she helps me, too.
In honor of her pain, her healing, her journey, and for all she taught me, Siouxsie will be my hands on dog for all of the instructional photos in my Canine Massage Therapy book and its accompanying videos. I thought it was only fair that in honor of her memory, whenever SHE decides to take her light to another place, she help others here to better care for their pets and maybe to show them that just about anything is possible if you try hard enough.

Session with Chris Sertzel on GroomerTALK LIVE!

Hello everyone!

Be sure to listen and call in for my LIVE session for PetGroomer.com's GroomerTALK!

This session will be on August 12th, 7PM EST.

Please call in with any questions you can come up with about things like skin and coat issues, offering supportive and spa type services, questions about competition grooming, or anything you can think of that might help you out! Its sure to be a fun and interesting broadcast!