GROOMING COMPETITION: PART 1 - The Decision

The decision - Do I really want to put myself in a public ring and have my grooming judged? How can that possibly be fun? Do I dare think that my grooming is worthy of public display? Will I just be making a public fool of myself? Will I fall apart under pressure and screw up? What if the dog acts up and I CAN'T do a good job? Will I cry? Will my "bad side" be terrible? If given an hour and a half to scissor a dog, will it come out much better than what I am doing in 30-40 minutes in a day at the shop? What if I have extra time and don't do any better?

These are all questions that have been smacking me in the face since I "entertained" the thought of entering a Bichon Frise in the grooming competition at Groom Expo in February, 2006. Today was the Moment of Truth. Today I groomed the potential competition dog, Pierre, all alone in the shop. I took a whole hour for the bath and fluff dry, and then timed myself with an hour and a half of finish time. The idea was to take a serious look at whether or not I think I have the skills to complete a great groom in the time I would have in the competition ring. It was my test.

I PASSED!

I should at least win "Best Buns"!

Competition groomers have often testified that it is the best way to improve your work. I can already agree. In just wrestling with the decision of whether or not to enter, I have tweaked my grooming up another notch. From looking at my own work more critically and bringing home pictures instead of relying on my subjective impressions of my grooming, I have located some "trouble spots" in my bichon work.

This shot shows that I am going in nice and tightly at the adam's apple - the throat point. It also shows that I seem to know what I'm doing with how the arch of the neck flows from the top of the head. On a critical note, I don't like the straight looking line behind the ear. I will be looking more closely at this in future grooms. Hmmm. This is my "bad side", I'll look to see how I am doing with that line on my "good side." I also need to fluff dry better behind that ear. This is where Pierre had a major hot spot this summer. It may have grown back extra curly.

Although my front legs look good, I'm not exactly thrilled with the line of the front going into the underchest. The front looks a little droopy to me, although the leg does look nicely set in.
I know! Let's look at one of the pictures I took at the dog show:

This is a picture I took of what I considered to be a very good Bichon outline. Looking at how the front connects with the underchest, I think I can lose the little bulge I have on Pierre. On a good note, I also notice that my scissoring on the legs is better than this. Hey, maybe I AM ready!!

Looking at my tuck up (that area where the rear leg meets the side and undercarriage at the flank), I'm happy. At least for now.

The head. Needs work. I cut in too far at the corner of the eyes. Jeez, I know better than that, too. This is exactly the kind of screw up that can happen in the pressure of a competition! Well, now I know to not do THAT!

The one place where I would fault this dog is that he does not have great expression. Pierre really seems to need a huge head. Every time I try to tighten the head, I don't like the result. With eight weeks to grow to the competition, I think we will be alright. Here's a picture of the Bichon that went Best of Breed out of 28 at the recent Tucson show. Looking at this, I think I should let Pierre's head grow out and barely touch it in the ring.

Back to Pierre. This was a five-stage grooming. The bath itself was three steps: (1) Regular bath with "Bichon Bubbles"; (2) Whitening treatment with Chris Christensen White on White shampoo; (3) Condition 1.5 ounces of Chris Christensen After Bath plus 1 ounce of Show Sheen through the Bathing Beauty recirculating system. Stage Two was the fluff dry, first with the Kool Dry HV dryer, then finishing with my Edemco arm dryer. Bath and fluff dry took one hour. Stage Three was the block out scissoring, setting the shape and outline and the length. This was done with Talyn 9.5" 3-Fingered shears. Stage Four - detailing and finer scissoring, using Talyn 8.5" Titanium 3-Fingered shears, Arius-Eickert Fang II 8" curves, and Arius-Eickert Proline 5.5" curved scissors for feet, setting in tail, and eyes. Stage Five was fine finishing after a final comb up or "stacking" of the coat. For this I used an Alu-Coba 7" finishing shear. Although Pierre has a great coat for scissoring, I used some Chris Christensen Thick n' Thicker spray as I did the final work, just to set the hair and add a little crispness. This product is especially great for working Bichon heads.

So there you have it. The inner voices of doubt have been quieted for the time being, and the decision has been made. I'm good enough. My work is worthy of the ring. Burbank, here I come! This may be my only attempt at competition. It's something that I remember fantasizing while I was a "grasshopper" apprentice. That was 30-plus years ago, and now I am manifesting that little day dream. It's never too late, friends, to manifest a dream. I'll be 66 years young in that competition ring! YIKES. I will keep you posted as I continue this adventure....

Shears used in this grooming (except the Alu-Coba) can be purchased at the BBird.biz Shopping Cart.
If you have questions regarding purchasing shears, such as what might be right for you, please feel free to contact us at petpals@dakotacom.net for a consultation.