Step One in Dog Grooming: Spend 30 minutes brushing her and/or cutting away any knots. As I brush her almost daily anyway, there is no need for this rolling into a ball under the desk in hopes I will go away. Pure drama.
Step Two: The shaving. This is done on a soft sheet, on a carpeted floor, with a well-guarded electric dog groomer, so again – the look of contempt I am getting is not called for in the slightest. I mean, it’s not as if she knows I accidently used a shorter blade on one leg than anywhere else, making her front right leg look withered and misshapen. After an hour of this, the bulk of the work was done. We both needed a break – I went and had a cup of tea, and she went and sulked in the bedroom.
Step Three: The extremities. Now we move on to everyone’s favourite part: the paws, private areas, ears, face, and tail (actually, I only remembered the tail as I was typing this – I don’t think either of us is ready for yet another re-visit, so it will have to wait until I’m mentally prepared. Maybe the weekend.). This involves shorter blades, closer work, and a great deal of patience on both our parts. Scout never fights me as we’re doing any of this – she just gently turns her face away, or draws her paw back, or sits down when I have the razor perilously close to her, well, you know, her bits. Blessedly, she sits completely still as I cut around her eyes – wise dog.
Step Four is actually a two-parter: Cleaning up the shaggy bits and uneven fur, and cleaning up the room. The former is a 2 or 3 day process – I leave the scissors out on the coffee table, and anytime she drifts by and I notice an unruly tuft of fur, we have a little snipping session. The latter is also a 2 to 3 day process, but that’s just because even after what seems like a thorough vacuuming, I keep seeing little bits and pieces of fluff. Everywhere.
Someone once complained to me about the cost of dog grooming – you know what? The professionals deserve every penny they charge. This is my final result – it’s been several hours over the last two days, I think the ears are uneven, I can see a couple more patchy spots, and I haven’t even tackled the tail. Robin & Maria at Pet Makeover in Milton: we miss you!
Love this post as I move into he weekend and once again (4 weekends in a row) gear myself up to groom you know who. Let’s see if it actually happens…..like you it is multi step and he who shall not be named does not like to be brushed/clipped or trimmed. He does like the shower though, albeit not for the length of time I require……that’s another story.
I commend you for doing the full power tool groom. I have done that on the underbelly, and have tried to attempt a longer guard for the upper body but the tool got stuck in the hair and I had to cut it out……so back to the comb and brush.
If this actually happens this weekend I will let you know.
In the meantime Scout don’t worry, it grows back.