This cracking wee chap is my wee pal Gryff the Parsons Russell and he was back in for a tidy up. I think he was a bit fed up having to leave his family outing to the sports day and come and be groomed so he was a bit grumpy but he's still as good as gold throughout. I thought I would try and cheer him up a bit with a bit of a wrestle with a squeaky toy after I was finished and in true terrier style, he got straight to work trying to kill the squeak. He was out of puff by the time he got picked up so hopefully he's forgiven me โค๐๐ถ๐โค
This little munchkin is biewer terrier Stanley. . He's only 8 months old and this was his first big boy haircut. His owner wanted him short for summer so I set to work rough shaving him before the bath to get rid of some of that hair first. He was a little bit worried about the clippers to begin with but with lots of praise and positive reinforcement, he soon got the hang of it. There's not a lot of these wee dogs around so it's a real treat to see Stanley and he looks like a completely different dog with his haircut. Given he's not been fully groomed before he was a wee superstar and did really well โค๐๐ถ๐โค
Lovely lady Lexi back in today for a summer cut. She's the best wee girl but her undercoat has become very dense and I was struggling a bit to make her look her fabulous best. Luckily for me there was an experienced hand around who parachuted in and saved the day โค. I also learned a few new techniques for dealing with this kind thing and got to spend the morning with this wee sweetheart so, a morning very well spent I'd say โค๐๐ถ๐โค
Cute little Benji the corgi, in for a good deshed. He's a sparky, happy wee dog with a phenomenal amount of hair so the beekeeping hat was on while I went to work with my force dryer to remove it. He's quite happy to be groomed until it comes to nail clipping time when he dials up the drama and starts screaming , I'm sure my neighbour's must have wondered what I was up to ๐
โโ๏ธSpending some time with this cracking wee guy was a lovely way to end the week, despite the extensive clean up afterwards โค๐๐ถ๐โค
Paddi all bathed and fluff dried, ready for trimming โค๏ธ๐๐ถ๐โค๏ธ
My wee pal Magnus the westie . He's an elderly wee gentleman and starting to feel his age so he doesn't care much for faffing about with grooming anymore and gets a bit grumpy. With this and the warmer weather in mind, his owner decided to take him short this time. This meant I could shave him down with minimal brushing, which he hates and kept the whole groom as stress free as possible for him. While he was still a bit cheesed off with the whole thing , I think he definitely appreciated his fresh new look and we were still friends afterwards โค๐๐ถ๐โค
This little lady is Oonagh, the border terrier. This rather fiesty but cute as a button little dog was being hand stripped today. This retains the beautiful colour and texture of their wiry coats and leaves them looking very smart. She gave me the usual terrier runaround but with plenty of patience, cuddle breaks and some playing with a toy, we got all that excess hair off. I actually hand stripped this dog for one of my exams so she has a special place in my heart and it was lovely to see her again โค๐๐ถ๐โค
Gorgeous Rollo in for his regular tidy up. He's a really lovely boy and he always looks stunning when he's finished. While being groomed isn't his favourite thing in the world, he's learned to trust me over time and it's always a pleasure to spend some time with him. He thoroughly enjoys watching the workmen across the road throughout his groom so likes to be facing the window so he can see all the comings and goings. Before he knows it, he's all ready to go home โค๐๐ถ๐โค
My garden is getting wrecked but these two nutters are having a blast โค๏ธ๐๐ถ๐โค๏ธ
Funny little Frieda back in for a wee pamper. She's a wee character, prone to a spot of reverse sneezing and a lot of capering about, she always cheers up my day. I'm not entirely sure what breed she is but I think she might be Lhasa Apso x shih Tzu. She finds it difficult standing for long periods so I use a nice wide padded belly band to support her throughout the groom to make her more comfortable and give her lots of little breaks for cuddles. โค๐๐ถ๐โค
This stunning boy is Carter, a Newfoundland and the poor thing has been having a bit of a tough time with his skin. His vet has advised that he would benefit from a complete shave down so his owner and I took on the mammoth task. Newfies have massively thick, waterproof double coats and under normal circumstances, shouldn't be shaved, however, skin problems are common in this breed the dog's welfare is paramount. This way, the vet can see exactly what's going on and treat him accordingly. He was a lovely boy, so patient and well behaved and I was thrilled to be able to help make him more comfortable โค๐๐ถ๐โค
Buddy showing the new arrival a traditional terrier welcome โค๏ธ๐๐ถ๐โค๏ธ
Gorgeous girl Tilly the golden retriever in for a quick deshed and trim. I removed most of her dead undercoat with my undercoat rake and had quite an impressive pile of hair afterwards. Removing it helps her regulate her own body temperature effectively, allows her to cool down in warmer weather and is essential for her wellbeing. She's a very sweet girl and after a quick nap, a very light trim of her feathering and a nail clip and she was good to go โค๐๐ถ๐โค
Back to the rogues gallery with this wee bundle of trouble Biscuit the poodle. He's come such a long way but had definitely decided he didn't want to play at grooming , much preferring high jinks and nonsense. An expert contortionist and fly as a bag of monkeys it was, at times, like a carry on film but we got there in the end. He's a very affectionate, charming wee character and still a very young dog and I can't help but be really fond of him โค๐๐ถ๐โค
Another little sweetheart, today we have Edna the maltipoo, who came in with her sister Evie. Just as sweet and well behaved but not very keen to stand so I used a belly strap for most of the groom to support her and make her more comfortable . She's a wee character and I thoroughly enjoyed spending some time with both of them. Looking forward to seeing them again โค๐๐ถ๐โค
Lovely little Evie the cavachon. She's an elderly little lady but she was an absolute sweetheart to groom and was no trouble whatsoever. The staining around her eyes and mouth is common in these breeds and is caused by porphyrin, which breaks down iron in the body and secretes it through tears and saliva. All dogs have this in their tears but it's much more noticeable on the white coated breeds. Evie's owner keeps her nice and short which helps but other than that there's not much you can do to prevent it. She's still cute as a button at the end though and promptly went straight to sleep after her groom while I worked on her little sister โค๐๐ถ๐โค
Lovely Tam the bedlington terrier. I see him regularly but he's not as tolerant of being brushed as he used to be which is vital to keeping these coats in good condition. Luckily, his owner wanted him short for the summer so I was able to shave him down completely which is much more comfortable for him . Welfare always comes first and if he's decided he doesn't like being brushed anymore we'll find a way to work round it. His wee tail was still wagging afterwards so I think he approved โค๐๐ถ๐โค
This lovely boy is Berki the sheltie. He came in with his older brother Dougie for a bath and deshed just in time for some warmer weather. His owner warned me he could be a bit grumpy but he was the perfect gentleman, although very nervous and we got along just fine. These dogs have profuse coats that aren't shaved down so it's important that they are free of dust, dander, matting and felting so the dog is able to regulate it's own temperature. I decided afterwards that the bandana didn't really suit him and loved little Dougie's cameo at the end of the video โค๐๐ถ๐โค
This handsome, dapper chap is Thor the curly coated retreiver. At 8 months, he's a very large, unruly puppy and quite the handful. Unlike other breeds, they are hand scissored while wet to maintain the curls in their coat but he hasn't reached the stage where he can sit still for long yet, so he's not as neat as I would like. He's extremely affectionate but very clumsy and very mouthy so I was fairly exhausted afterwards ๐ it's a real treat to see one of these as they are fairly uncommon nowadays and I'm looking forward to the day he can stay still long enough for me to safely be able to scissor him โค๐๐ถ๐โค
Adorable Arlo the cute cockapoo, just emerging from puppyhood into his teenage phase. This involves the tippy tappy dance so no one can touch your feet, trying to check out scissors and clippers with your mouth , wriggling that any contortionist would be proud off and general messing about for good measure ๐ needless to say it was slower going than usual as I alternated between little play breaks and gentle corrections but we got there in the end. He's a very smart boy and was responding really well by the end but I'm sure he must have been exhausted afterwards. This is entirely normal behaviour for young dogs, testing boundaries to find out what's acceptable and patience is everything in moving past this phase successfully . Of course, being this handsome doesn't do him any harm either ๐คฉโค๐๐ถ๐โค
