# Oy!! First full groom on Lily; no pics just yet...



## lilypoo (Jul 25, 2011)

I'm pooped and I think I inhaled more dog hair than anyone ever should!! :ahhhhh:

I was supposed to go to my favorite pet wholesale place on Friday to get a grooming arm and loop, but my 6yo came down with pneumonia and after spending the early morning in the ER, I couldn't take her shopping and my dh was working from home so long story short, I did not get my grooming arm!

But the clippers, blades, combs, etc. arrived Friday and Lily was in desperate need, so I decided to groom her. :alberteinstein:

That was my first mistake! LOL I should have just done her face. Maybe then the feet a couple hours later. Then maybe the sanitary...then another day her body.

But no, I was determined to do a full groom. Well, the better part of four hours later...she's still not finished!! 

I started clipping her neck/back witih a 3 3/4 FC. My plan was to take her body and legs to 1/2" and leave bracelets. When she was spayed about 5 weeks ago they shaved HUGE patches (about 4" tall and around the entire front of BOTH front legs) to the skin and the hair is just now about 1/4" long there. I thought...I'll blend that into the legs and she'll have bracelets! Great idea and she already had the look of them on the front legs.

Her neck/back went great but I ran into problems on her legs and chest (and every other area basically LOL). The hair is finer and would just lay down and not cut well either with the blade or the metal comb of similar length. I took a break and shaved her throat area and tried to begin her face, but she wasn't having it. Tried feet, no go. Tried legs again...just not cutting well. I'm oiling and spraying my blades and getting sad because her body looked so good that I was bummed the legs weren't going well.

I decided to bathe her. That went as usual. I tried my new force dryer. She hated in but was dry (except for topknot) in mere minutes. Then I blended her topknot a bit without taking length off. It turned out awesome.

Then finally she was so worn out (she had major zoomies for about 30 minutes after the bath!) that I was able to do the face and finish her throat. Those turned out quite well.

Still not much luck with feet.

Then I had the brilliant idea to scissor the leg hair that wouldn't cut with the clippers. I have bracelets but the shaved hair from her IVs is still too short to blend in with the 1/2" clip (that I scissored mostly). She has bracelets. I even beveled the bottoms! Problem is she still has shaggy feet and only 2.5 legs are down to 1/2"! They are 2-3" in some places. Same goes for chest and where the legs meet the body!

But, the good news is that unless you look really closely, it doesn't look half bad!! 

Oy!


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

Can't wait to see the pictures. I have not done my first grooming yet but I plan on taking it in very slow stages. It may take me several days (and he is a toy). I am very impressed that you even beveled the bracelets. Sounds like she was very good for you. Swizzle always gets the zoomies after a bath too. What do you think the hardest part for you was? I am very happy that your 1st grooming went so well. You must feel so relieved and proud.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

What a lot of work! I can't wait to see pictures. I drop off, go home, do housework, go back and give them money.  You make me feel guilty. Pictures!


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

Don't worry at all about her legs! When I was starting out grooming, in training I did bodies for the first time and then I was onto the legs.. there are so many nooks and cranies and random hairs sticking up, where did that come from?! I bet you did great! It just takes some practice!


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## Pudel-Fan (Nov 1, 2011)

I think you did a great job and just putting clipper to dog is the hardest part. I think breaking it down into sections with breaks in between is the best idea. That's what I do since I'm so slow I don't want my boyz to hate the grooming so I do some then we take a break and then do some more, seems to work best for them and me. My hat is off to the pros who do many dogs in one day, but I'm sure they didn't do that when they were just starting out either.

Just one thing you might consider, in my reading about clippers and blade care, I found out it isn't a good idea to use blade coolant, oil is good, but the coolant is bad for the blades and hard on your and your dog's lungs. I think many of the pros use a small marble tile and rest the hot blade on it to cool (by having a second blade of the same size they just change out every so often). I haven't needed to do that yet as I just switch to another grooming job until the blade cools.

Here are a couple of sites that might explain this better than I can.
http://www.northerntails.com/images/CLIPPER_BLADE_CARE_BASICS.pdf http://www.northerntails.com/images/Coolant_contents.pdf 


Happy grooming!


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## Anntig (Jun 9, 2010)

congrats on your first groom looking forward to seeing it. As Pudel-Fan says blade coolant isn't a great idea (for your lungs or your blade) and too much oil can actually hinder a blades ability to clip properly.
just keep perservering with the areas she doesn't like, if she's afraid just go slowly and do a bit at a time, if she's being naughty and just doesn't want it done keep going and don't let her win, never let her decide when you're finished and pull her foot out of your hand, I've sometimes had to hold a foot for five minutes before a dog gives in then when they relax I give the foot a quick swipe with the blade and let go. At the start it's all about training rather than doing a great groom. 
And BTW I still prefer to HS the legs after I clip them, they just come out neater that way.


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## lilypoo (Jul 25, 2011)

Good to know on the blade coolant! I have asthma so I certainly don't like the thought of breathing that! I will be ordering duplicates of my favorite blades as they DO get hot FAST! I really like the 3 3/4 FC--it's the perfect length for me for Lily's body. The 10 is perfect for the FFT for me as well. I've just got to figure out how to clip her boney little legs properly. I don't mind the idea of scissoring to finish them off but I've got to get all that excess hair off!

I'm wondering if I should take her upper legs and body shorter, just to blend with her IV sites better...I'll have to post a pic so I can get targeted advice. LOL She appears to be wearing pegged pants right now, since the hair gets longer closer to her body. Poor Lily!  I need some advice on the face...hard to explain but I'll get a pic soon.


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## Rowan (May 27, 2011)

Congrats on taking the plunge. You know what they say: practice, practice, practice. I can't wait to see pictures. 

And I hope your 6-year-old is okay! A trip to the ER at that age is scary.


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## lilypoo (Jul 25, 2011)

Rowan said:


> Congrats on taking the plunge. You know what they say: practice, practice, practice. I can't wait to see pictures.
> 
> And I hope your 6-year-old is okay! A trip to the ER at that age is scary.


Thanks!

She's a trooper...she survived a massive stroke at 2 years old and has had Crohn's disease and asthma since birth...so for us this is almost routine. (She's had 40 days inpatient and over a dozen ER visits in her lifetime, for Crohn's, asthma and her stroke.) It actually was our first ER visit under non-catastrophic circumstances, so it was almost refreshing to be there knowing it was a relatively minor thing and we'd be taking her home in a few hours!  When we first got there I got a vibe that they didn't think she needed to be there, but when I fully explained her history, they understood. They think the pneumonia is viral, which thankfully is less serious than I'd feared!


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

Boy, your daughter is a trooper indeed. I think your attitude helps her take everything in strike. Hope she feels better soon.


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## minipoodlelover (Jul 25, 2011)

Way to go! I'm sure Lily looks great and you feel like you're free, being able to groom for yourself. And you achieved an awesome top knot! That sounds like a very big accomplishment to me! I hope you post pictures. Thanks for describing your experience and helping this fledgling groomer


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## judyf (Aug 20, 2011)

I need pics, too! I've had standard poodles, and groomed them myself, for almost 20 years, and I am still dreading (almost 6 month old) Lucy's first full groom. I've done FFT on her several times, of course, but I am putting off the body groom as long as I can ---- I love her puppy hair.

I'd like to say thanks to all you on this board for the excellent grooming tips, videos and instructions, and to all who share grooming experiences with novices like me. I have learned so much, and I am even considering something other than a kennel clip for my girls.....


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## PhaedraAllen (Feb 22, 2011)

Yeah! You took the plunge and that's half the battle. I wouldn't worry too much about how she looks...I'm sure she is grateful to have spent the bonding time with you.

And you couldn’t be any worst than me. I fretted about being a bad poodle parent when a couple weekends ago I gave Jasper a bath, dried him, scissored one leg, took a break and then before I knew it, life got crazy and we didn’t get back to the grooming table for a week. He ran around with one skinny leg that whole week.

Then, to make matters worse, I went to finish him last weekend and got so far as feet and half of his face before dad got home. Jasper was allowed off the table to go greet dad and then play ensued. And whaddya know, life got busy again and we never got back to our grooming. So now, my poor boy is walking around with one skinny leg (and I’m talking 1” vs. 3”…VERY noticeable) and half a muzzle shaved.

LOL…I told my DH not to DARE take him out of the house looking like that…I would be so embarrassed. So, I have to get back into the trenches and finish his grooming so that he can go on his outings this weekend. Bad poodle mom….but hey…he still loves me just the same. I’m just glad that I don’t have a mirror at his level. I don’t think he would cuddle with me for a solid week. ;o)

Good luck! I can’t wait to see pics…but you will excuse me if I refuse to post pics of my job. ;o)


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## Jessie's Mom (Mar 23, 2010)

M2F i'm very excited for you!! being new to grooming myself, i know the excitement you feel!! i groomed jessie once with help from a friend who use to be a groomer, then yesterday i did a touchup on fft, then a bath and dried her with my hair dryer (waiting for my hv dryer to come from the CC order). it really gives you a feeling of independence.

you attempted more than i did for your first groom. i'm still nervous about doing her body, but in time, i'm sure i will!! you may've been exhausted, but you felt great, didnt you???


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## Anntig (Jun 9, 2010)

Jessie's Mom said:


> M2F i'm very excited for you!! being new to grooming myself, i know the excitement you feel!! i groomed jessie once with help from a friend who use to be a groomer, then yesterday i did a touchup on fft, then a bath and dried her with my hair dryer (waiting for my hv dryer to come from the CC order). it really gives you a feeling of independence.
> 
> you attempted more than i did for your first groom. i'm still nervous about doing her body, but in time, i'm sure i will!! you may've been exhausted, but you felt great, didnt you???


The body is actually much easier than the face, a longer blade means less risk of razorburn and it's just straight line and long smooth curves, in an apprenticeship you master the bodyclip long before you're allowed to touch a poodles face


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## Jessie's Mom (Mar 23, 2010)

Anntig said:


> The body is actually much easier than the face, a longer blade means less risk of razorburn and it's just straight line and long smooth curves, in an apprenticeship you master the bodyclip long before you're allowed to touch a poodles face


well, don't tell jessie that i wasn't suppose to practice on her face first - lol. i guess it's like anything else, i need to get the feel for the body part. 

and then scissoring - what about scissoring?? that's another whole story...


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## Anntig (Jun 9, 2010)

Scissoring just takes practise, one thing I was taught at the beginning is to practice by scissoring down the side of the wall to get used to scissoring straight lines and round door jams(sp) to get used to curves


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## mulligan (Jun 4, 2009)

Good for you! A tip, bathe and dry first. The difference is night and day. Cuts like butter. 

I understand about life getting in the way. Mulligan is sporting half a moustache right now '-D


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## Jessie's Mom (Mar 23, 2010)

mulligan said:


> Good for you! A tip, bathe and dry first. The difference is night and day. Cuts like butter.
> 
> I understand about life getting in the way. Mulligan is sporting half a moustache right now '-D


mulligan, that is interesting. i was always under the impression that you did fft, brush, bath, then body. so are you saying bath, dry, then fft & body?


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## mulligan (Jun 4, 2009)

I checked my Kalstone book and here is her suggested sequence

1. brush and comb to remove all tangles. This is a good time to assess hair and skin condition and check for lumps and bumps and such.

2. trim and file nails

3, check ears, reove excess hair and clean ears

4. shampoo and rinse, if necessary apply creme rinse, skin conditioner or moisturizer. 

5. fluff dfy

6. when dry, comb again to fluff out the coat

7. clip feet face and tail

8. do all body clipping (neck, stomach and pattern)

8. do body scissoring, starting at back legs, then hindquarters, back, over rib cage under chest, shoulders and front legs 

9. scissor topknot and finish ears.

She says that pro groomers may clip FFT and rough in the body pattern first. This is to save time and dry faster, but after the bath and dry the poodle has to be reclipped. They would use old blades and scissors for the rough in and sharp blades and shears for the finish.

I hope that helps. I'm looking forward to seeing some pix! It gets easier the more you do it and your results will improve quickly. But I bet she looks wonderful!


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## Charlottte (Jun 17, 2011)

I'm with Mulligan on the sequence. I'm not sure whether grooming is different in America, but I'm from north east England and training to be a Groomer.
I work for 2 professional Groomers and I've been taught to wash and fluff dry before proper cutting.
Cutting unwashed fur makes it so much more difficult.
I always thoroughly brush out to make sure matts/tatts are removed, wash/fluff then move on to clipping, cutting, thinning/blending.
If you intend on cutting your Poodle short you could preclip to remove excess hair. Also, comb guards can also be used on legs (I use these on Jasper if I don't have enough time to scissor his legs in at work as we're always mega busy), but I much prefer the satisfaction scissoring gives me.

Hope your grooming goes well!


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## lilypoo (Jul 25, 2011)

I'm thinking Lily may need to be put into a continental or something similar The vet's office shaved one leg, a 4" section and all the way around! When she was spayed they only shaved the front (but did both front legs). I'm looking at that leg that's shaved up to her elbow (from above the bracelet) and it looks like the front of a continental. I'm not sure Lily has the build for that clip. Plus it's winter. But it'd be the only way to blend in that bald leg now!


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## katbrat (May 8, 2011)

When Lexi was spayed, the vet tech that works with my vet also works part time at the groomers I use. She told me later on that she was very careful to shave a tiny spot on her leg and make sure it was above where her braclets would be.


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