Sunday, July 11, 2004
Too Tight = More Fight, and Other Words Of Wisdom
Saturday was a pretty busy day, with a lot of new breeds. OK, new to me, anyway. We had a Miniature Schnauzer (I'm SURE this is the same dog that I didn't get his ears clean enough last time I did him either) and an Airedale, a Bichon, a Shih Tzu, a "Yorkie" (actually probably a Shih Tzu mix), a Papillon (adorable!) and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (I'm so in love!).
Bathing the Airedale was different. That coat just holds onto the suds!
Valerie let me comb out the Papillon, and I did a good job except I forgot a foreleg. Maybe I should have a wipe-off board so I can put a checklist for every dog. Portside foreleg? Check. Portside hindleg? Check. Starboard hindleg? Check. Starboard foreleg? ooops!!! *grin*
And then I did most all of the Cavalier, too. I'm very excited about that. I messed up her feet, but only had to be rescues a little bit on the insides of the legs. Valerie checked my work a few times and told me what needed to be done next, so I didn't have a chance to go too far afield. I did trim too much between the toes, though, so that the toenails were exposed. I started out OK, just brushing up the between-toes hairs and trimming them off. Then I saw more hairs, and more hairs, and more hairs, and before I knew it we were halfway to Poodle Feet. I know Cavaliers are supposed to have slipper feet, but Mrs. Jackson wants all of hers clean and comfortable, so the feet were done. What I should have done was first clean between the pads with my Peanut, then brushed up the toehairs and cleaned them up, and then gone around the foot to the toenails, and then trimmed the toenails so they wouldn't be exposed. Make a note, I.T.! It was while starting the Cavalier that I ran into trouble with the T-strap on the rear. I had it too high up, and the dog didn't like that, and climbed out. So I tried to make it higher, so the dog wouldn't climb out. Valerie told me it was too high, and once she lowered it my little Cav stood there like a trooper. Too tight = more fight.
Sunday we had a (HUGE GIGANTIC) Maine Coon cat in for bath and brush. Here's what I learned about grooming cats. Too tight = more fight goes about quadruple for cats. The less restraint you can manage with, the better. Best to do as much brushing, toenails, dematting as possible before the bath, while they may still like you a little bit. Bathtub noose goes around the neck and one foreleg. Dawn can be mixed with whitening shampoo if you want, but it sudses a LOT in the Bathing Beauty. A little Cowboy Magic is all it takes to make a real soft kitty. Towel-dry, don't use the HV. Put kitty in the crate with fans on to dry, and even then it'll take forever and kitty will probably go home with damp legs anyway. Cats get clippered with a 7 or a 10. Nothing longer, as their skin is so easy to cut. (I'm going to do Ferris with a 7 next time.) If you have a greasy-looking cat, rub some cornstarch into the fur - it'll absorb the oil and the mats will just slide out. The coat oil is what holds the mats together. Ummm, I think that's all. Valerie, I'm sure, will comment if I missed something important.
The dog we had on Sunday was a Long-Haired Dachshund. (Here's a pic of one, Jim!) He was a victim of what Valerie calles "Neuter Coat" and essentially, he was all undercoat. Floofy, fluffy, cottony undercoat, all over. What Valerie did was to shave his back down with a 7, leaving furnishings underneath. She then used the stone on him, to remove as much of the fluff as possible, and then shined him up with some Mink Oil. He still didn't look quite right, but he did look a LOT better. :-)
We changed the lever on Valerie's Litenings, so I got another lesson on clipper maintenance. It would have been great if my Laubes had ever come, but the fucktards at American Pet Pro and UPS are working in concert, it seems, to keep both my money *and* my clippers. The shipment containing my clippers seems to be going back and forth between IN and CA. Which is absurd, because they're supposed to have gone to Valerie's shop in WV. American Pet Pro will not refund my credit card because I haven't returned the order to them, I guess. And UPS has the nerve to call the shop on Saturday and ask Valerie "I hear you're having some problems with a shipment?" Uh, yeah. The shipment was supposed to be here in the beginning of FUCKING JUNE and at this rate it never will come. I'm out $200 and you'd think the idiots at UPS would notice SOMETHING amiss when they scan the package for the 200th time and it's still in transit!!!
Yeah, I'm a little upset. I'm going to be busting some serious ass at American Pet "Pro" this week. I am absolutely fed up with their refusal to do anything. And I'm getting a tracking number, and busting some ass at UPS, too. I'm fed up with them as well. grrrrrrrr.
Bathing the Airedale was different. That coat just holds onto the suds!
Valerie let me comb out the Papillon, and I did a good job except I forgot a foreleg. Maybe I should have a wipe-off board so I can put a checklist for every dog. Portside foreleg? Check. Portside hindleg? Check. Starboard hindleg? Check. Starboard foreleg? ooops!!! *grin*
And then I did most all of the Cavalier, too. I'm very excited about that. I messed up her feet, but only had to be rescues a little bit on the insides of the legs. Valerie checked my work a few times and told me what needed to be done next, so I didn't have a chance to go too far afield. I did trim too much between the toes, though, so that the toenails were exposed. I started out OK, just brushing up the between-toes hairs and trimming them off. Then I saw more hairs, and more hairs, and more hairs, and before I knew it we were halfway to Poodle Feet. I know Cavaliers are supposed to have slipper feet, but Mrs. Jackson wants all of hers clean and comfortable, so the feet were done. What I should have done was first clean between the pads with my Peanut, then brushed up the toehairs and cleaned them up, and then gone around the foot to the toenails, and then trimmed the toenails so they wouldn't be exposed. Make a note, I.T.! It was while starting the Cavalier that I ran into trouble with the T-strap on the rear. I had it too high up, and the dog didn't like that, and climbed out. So I tried to make it higher, so the dog wouldn't climb out. Valerie told me it was too high, and once she lowered it my little Cav stood there like a trooper. Too tight = more fight.
Sunday we had a (HUGE GIGANTIC) Maine Coon cat in for bath and brush. Here's what I learned about grooming cats. Too tight = more fight goes about quadruple for cats. The less restraint you can manage with, the better. Best to do as much brushing, toenails, dematting as possible before the bath, while they may still like you a little bit. Bathtub noose goes around the neck and one foreleg. Dawn can be mixed with whitening shampoo if you want, but it sudses a LOT in the Bathing Beauty. A little Cowboy Magic is all it takes to make a real soft kitty. Towel-dry, don't use the HV. Put kitty in the crate with fans on to dry, and even then it'll take forever and kitty will probably go home with damp legs anyway. Cats get clippered with a 7 or a 10. Nothing longer, as their skin is so easy to cut. (I'm going to do Ferris with a 7 next time.) If you have a greasy-looking cat, rub some cornstarch into the fur - it'll absorb the oil and the mats will just slide out. The coat oil is what holds the mats together. Ummm, I think that's all. Valerie, I'm sure, will comment if I missed something important.
The dog we had on Sunday was a Long-Haired Dachshund. (Here's a pic of one, Jim!) He was a victim of what Valerie calles "Neuter Coat" and essentially, he was all undercoat. Floofy, fluffy, cottony undercoat, all over. What Valerie did was to shave his back down with a 7, leaving furnishings underneath. She then used the stone on him, to remove as much of the fluff as possible, and then shined him up with some Mink Oil. He still didn't look quite right, but he did look a LOT better. :-)
We changed the lever on Valerie's Litenings, so I got another lesson on clipper maintenance. It would have been great if my Laubes had ever come, but the fucktards at American Pet Pro and UPS are working in concert, it seems, to keep both my money *and* my clippers. The shipment containing my clippers seems to be going back and forth between IN and CA. Which is absurd, because they're supposed to have gone to Valerie's shop in WV. American Pet Pro will not refund my credit card because I haven't returned the order to them, I guess. And UPS has the nerve to call the shop on Saturday and ask Valerie "I hear you're having some problems with a shipment?" Uh, yeah. The shipment was supposed to be here in the beginning of FUCKING JUNE and at this rate it never will come. I'm out $200 and you'd think the idiots at UPS would notice SOMETHING amiss when they scan the package for the 200th time and it's still in transit!!!
Yeah, I'm a little upset. I'm going to be busting some serious ass at American Pet "Pro" this week. I am absolutely fed up with their refusal to do anything. And I'm getting a tracking number, and busting some ass at UPS, too. I'm fed up with them as well. grrrrrrrr.
