PUPPY MUTT GROOM

Not all my grooming is the foo foo stuff of grooming to the breed standard, although it is a mainstay. I love grooming mixed breeds, and making choices that accent their features.

I'm not sure what breeds make up this puppy's background. He is obviously a toy, with a coat somewhat maltese-ish, but black, with some white markings. His ears are a trip, sometimes dropping gently to the sides, but often sticking straight out. I am going to guess that he is a maltese/pomeranian cross.

Loco came in for his first ever groom in March 2005. He was four months old, starting to get shaggy and unruly. His owners just wanted a little length off and some shaping. He was a handful, but we got a cute result and they seem pleased. None of the pictures I took were very good, however. Black dogs are SO HARD to photograph. I may get an "A" for grooming, but I get a "C-" in photography. Here is the best one. Look at how that ear was standing straight up. This is one CUTE puppy!


Months went by and I didn't hear from these people again. I figured that they must have found a cheaper alternative. This is a young couple, and I am a somewhat higher priced than many other groomers here in Tucson. Then in August, I got a call from Loco's "Mom". Seems that her husband had pressed her to go to a cheaper place. They took Loco to another groomer and were extremely disappointed. He was clipped short all over, but the head was left almost like they left the collar on and did nothing from the collar forward. I managed to keep from chuckling or snerting out loud. What do you expect when you name a dog "LOCO". This puppy was a handful. That is part of what justified the price I charged. I kept this all to myself, however, and simply thanked them for returning and booked the appointment.

When the puppy arrived, it did indeed look like the previous groomer had done very little to the head and neck. There was an obvious demarkation at the collar line. Sorry, I neglected to get a "before" shot. Loco was simply wild about his grooming, and was especially difficult and resistent about the face and head. Probably not quite as difficult as the bichon puppy I just blogged, but in the same category, the "nearly impossible" category. I understood totally why another groomer might not have the patience nor the puppy handling skills to get a decent result. After all, I've been developing mine for 34 years. And this is why I charge more!

Here he is! His one ear is no longer sticking straight up, but they both want to go out. I groomed the head so that he would look cute when he did this, which is much of the time. For the body, I used a #3 3/4 blade all over, and scissored his darlin' paws. I love mutts!


Don't you dare say a WORD about that beard being uneven! You weren't there trying to hold this puppy's head still while he lived up to his name. Our goal for next time: get the beard even.

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