# Question for competitive groomers



## kcp1227 (Jan 25, 2013)

I am a pet groomer. There is nothing fancy about my grooming, my customers don't ask me for fancy. After 8 years of grooming this way, having 2 kids during that time and trying to support my family, there hasn't been much time for anything else. Now I want something else. I want to be able to offer a higher quality of grooming to my customers if they desire it. I want to be able to hang awards on my walls and say "hey look, I'm capable of doing more." The problem is I have nothing to practice my scissor work on. I have nothing to compete with. This is part if the reason I want a poodle. My question to you is, what color do you find most desirable to scissor? I'm not interested in getting into creative grooming right off, although I think that would be seriously fun, I think I need to stick to the basics to start with. I'm guessing breeding will better determine the texture of the coat better than color will. Anyway, any suggestions or anything that might help me get started with this journey would be appreciated 

Btw, I'm wanting a spoo.


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## Dawnsohma (Jan 24, 2013)

Well personally id pick the color you like best not the color you think is best to groom since you have to live with it! lol 

well unless you think you want to get into creative grooming id lean away from white mostly due to looking at white all day can make you "snow blind" but otherwise pick the one that speaks to you best that will inspire you to be creative! 

my personal favorite colors are red, chocolate brown shade, silver beige and creams


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## kcp1227 (Jan 25, 2013)

Problem is I like them all  lol!!


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## Mel (Apr 4, 2012)

If you get a light colored poodle you can play with dyes :0)


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## Dawnsohma (Jan 24, 2013)

well then what id do is look for breeders in the area that your willing to travel to because over all what your looking for is a dog that has good structure and hair if you want to compete with it. id look for the best breeder you can find/afford and see what they have as far as color. i actually found very few breeders in my area when i was looking for Esther since i wanted red i went with someone who not that great the funny thing is she isnt even red she is apricot/red but i love her anyways.


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## brownlikewoah (May 3, 2012)

Whites and blacks have the best coats. Silvers are pretty good too, but generally not quite as nice. I like apricots to look at, but for competing you would most likely have a difficult time unless you go to a really really good breeder because the coats tend to not be as nice generally speaking. Do you know what sort of other qualities you're looking for in a dog? Price you want to stay under? Where are you located?



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## kcp1227 (Jan 25, 2013)

I'm in southeast Tennessee. Having 2 small kids, I want a personality that is calm and solid (if that makes sense). Obviously healthy and all the proper testing of the parents. I want the breeder to help me pick the puppy with the personality best suited to my family. $1500 ideally, but I may be willing to spend a little more for the right fit. Mid to late 2014 is my time frame. There's a breeder about 30 mins from me, but she's not breeding right now due to family issues. 

Any advice on how to brush up on my skills without having to take classes? I'm not really close to any schools without having to drive a couple of hours and I can't do that with my schedule and kids right now. 


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## bookwormjane (Dec 18, 2011)

There seem to be lots of dvd's on grooming now. Even You Tube has a lot. Check out Super Styling Sessions || Instructional Dog Grooming DVD's || Home. Jay Scruggs and Sue Zecco have some nice looking poodle dvd's. Jay and Sue also have a critique of competition poodles on Groomertv.com. I'm not a groomer, but I've spent a lot of time on the internet looking at grooming videos and Jay and Sue's seem great. :angel:


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## brownlikewoah (May 3, 2012)

Look into pinafore poodles. Maybe you can find someone near by, another groomer, handler, breeder who can help show you things. 


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## kcp1227 (Jan 25, 2013)

I emailed Pinafore a month or so ago and never got a response. I guess I should try again or call her. She does have beautiful dogs. 


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## kcp1227 (Jan 25, 2013)

I was also thinking about contacting Stargazer near Atlanta. Looks like she has mostly whites and some blacks. I don't know. 


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

I am not a groomer but whites and blacks have a reputation for better coats. Whites you can dye and they are easier to photograph just made sure no tear stain. Black harder to photo but never look dirty. Silver is nice (I have one) but some had soft coats seem to have a little less hair.


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## 3dogs (Nov 3, 2010)

For Competition the White, Cream, Silver are good choices I only say this because lighting at some shows can be bad & blacks, browns, blues won't show up well. I would say a good coat & the right personality are must for the road you want to travel.

Now as far as practicing start doing research on local breeders they don't have to be great breeders to be able to work on their dogs. That is what I do. I have a T Poo breeder down the street & I can work on her 12 dogs anytime & put them in any style. You might also check to see if there is a decent "rescue" org that you can practice on their dogs. I did that with a local Lhasa Rescue.

Isn't Aery Poodles in Tennessee?


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## kcp1227 (Jan 25, 2013)

Aery moved to NC I think. 

Good advice about show lighting. I never would have thought about that. 


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## mom24doggies (Mar 28, 2011)

3dogs makes a good point about the lighting, however I favor blacks over the other colors mainly because I feel their coat quality is best. That doesn't mean you can't find great coats in the other colors, you can.....it's just harder. Creams, apricots, and reds especially tend towards having softer coats. Browns (including silver beige and cafe) too. Blue, black, white, and silver tend to have the best coats. 

Despite the fact that lighting can affect grooming a black dog, there is nothing more stunning than a beautiful black poodle perfectly groomed IMO. But I might be partial, both my poodle kids are black lol! Maintenance wise they are easier too, I never have to worry about stains (urine, saliva, tear) or them showing dirt. The only thing I have to watch for is sunburned coat, and since they stay inside a lot it's not a huge issue.


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## hunny518 (Jun 5, 2012)

Yea definitely call the breeder, a lot of breeders won't answer you by email because they don't want to waste their time with people who aren't real serious about taking on the responsibility for their puppies. Calling shows a little more commitment and interest.


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## hunny518 (Jun 5, 2012)

My girl is a cream-white. Her hair has always been great for scissoring even though She is only now beginning to get her adult coat. A lot of puppy coats are too soft and hard to scissor, but Aria's still had enough thickness making it easier. Every day her hair is getting thicker and the texture is amazing. She is getting whiter and most likely will go full white and can be strenuous on my eyes at times, but she is so much fun to scissor and I always jus look at her in all different angles to make sure she is even all over


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## kcp1227 (Jan 25, 2013)

Thanks for all of your input. I'm trying to meet people who compete, it's just difficult to know where to start. 

As for contacting the breeder(s), there are the obvious things I'll want to know, but anything specific I should ask about? What were the main things y'all asked before making your decision? I get nervous on the phone and tend to ramble, so I need to write stuff down so I don't forget 


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## 3dogs (Nov 3, 2010)

I started using clients dogs. Realized I couldn't have as much control as I wanted so did my search. My 1st I got from Poodle Rescue & he is exactly what I wanted. As an adult I knew size, temper, conformation but did not know coat since his coat was shaved down. Lucky for me his coat is awesome. You might want to go with Rescue since there are knowns, while a puppy is full of unknowns.


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## kcp1227 (Jan 25, 2013)

My concern with rescue is that a lot of them don't want to adopt to a family with small children. That and I won't know the background as far as health goes. 


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## kcp1227 (Jan 25, 2013)

I know they have a smaller dog show near here. Maybe I should go this year and see what I can learn. 


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## 3dogs (Nov 3, 2010)

You should go to the Tennessee Show. It is small show but great to meet fellow groomers & breeders. This was the show that had horrible lighting. 

As far as Rescue you are right about small children & them not adopting out but I adopted from Carolina Poodle Rescue & we had a then 4 1/2 year old & they adopted to us because we had previous dog experience. We were vary specific in our application & we knew as soon as we saw him he was ours. Carolina Poodle Rescue really does great health screening & temperament testing. I suggest you look into them anyway. For $350.00 we got an awesome & so far healthy dog & we have had him for 2 1/2 years.


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## brownlikewoah (May 3, 2012)

You would not be disappointed with a pinafore dog! My girl has lots of pinafore in her lines, so I am partial  look for a breeding with low coi count, make sure all the necessary tests are done. Find out where the puppies are raised, what food they were brought up on etc


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## kcp1227 (Jan 25, 2013)

Is that the show in Knoxville? Someone told me about it the other day. I'm going to make plans to go. 

Good to know. I'll look into CPR. Even if my time frame is not to adopt for a year, would you suggest going ahead and putting in an application or talking to them?


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## kcp1227 (Jan 25, 2013)

brownlikewoah said:


> You would not be disappointed with a pinafore dog! My girl has lots of pinafore in her lines, so I am partial  look for a breeding with low coi count, make sure all the necessary tests are done. Find out where the puppies are raised, what food they were brought up on etc
> 
> 
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Your girl is gorgeous. I suspected she had Pinafore in her. I think I'll call her on Tuesday since that's my off day. How can you check coi?


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## supysmom (Oct 10, 2011)

keep in mind coat change can take up to 2 years and will hamper scissoring. I chose a white spoo because I want to compete in creative. Charlee is a year old and while her back, neck and TK are coarsing up nicely her legs are still really soft. I see mostly blacks and whites in the ring. someday I might do a conformation groom with charlee……. probably not though. I love bright pink ears


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## kcp1227 (Jan 25, 2013)

Yeah, I've thought about that, but I figure it will take me a while to get the confidence to compete anyway. What better way to build confidence than to work on super soft puppy hair lol!


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## 3dogs (Nov 3, 2010)

When I contacted CPR I actually wasn't running out to get a dog. The application was fast & so was the phone interview. To actually adopt a dog you have to go to the farm. It took me a whole month to get out there & We were not totally set in getting a dog. Leif was the 2nd dog brought to us & that was because I was open to a small Standard but was looking for a mini. I am not sure how close you are to them but you might be able to scissor some of their poodles for practice. They did have a litter of black spoo pups going to new homes & they as well as Leif never got on the adoption page.


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## kcp1227 (Jan 25, 2013)

3dogs said:


> When I contacted CPR I actually wasn't running out to get a dog. The application was fast & so was the phone interview. To actually adopt a dog you have to go to the farm. It took me a whole month to get out there & We were not totally set in getting a dog. Leif was the 2nd dog brought to us & that was because I was open to a small Standard but was looking for a mini. I am not sure how close you are to them but you might be able to scissor some of their poodles for practice. They did have a litter of black spoo pups going to new homes & they as well as Leif never got on the adoption page.


Where are they located?

Never mind, found it. They're a little over 4 hours from me.


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