questions

Question
hey my name is lauren and im learnin to become a groomer. i have alot of questions to ask you.    first question is do you kno who came up with all the breed cuts      what do you like best about dog grooming   i read in a book that it says to hold the shears at right angles to scissor the feet. why cant groomers scissor the feet straight across the shears are pointin a different way instead of up. hope you understand what im askin    this is all i have for now.  

Answer
Congratulations on choosing grooming as a career.  It's a fun profession.

I suggest you purchase the AKC dog breed book.  It tells you a little bit about each breed's history and gives you the standards that purebred dogs should meet.  The more you know about dogs the better groomer you can be.  I have been able to answer a lot of customer questions about their breed based on my reading research.  This makes my customers feel more confident working with me.

Most breed cuts started out with a utilitarian purpose.  Poodles were originally water retrievers and so hair was left around the chest and joints to help keep them warm.  Terriers went into burrow's after vermin and so hair was left on their face to protect them from being bitten. These useful purposes have evolved into the breed looks we see today.  AKC recognized breed clubs have developed the "look" of the breed based on what the purpose of the breed is.  Unfortunately many breeds have evolved far away from the purposeful look and now sport a very stylized look.  When your customer asks that their dog look like it's breed they have usually seen a dog show and desire a cut that may be impossible to maintain.  Your job is to come up with a look that is similar to the breed standard but is more customer friendly.  I also find myself letting customers know that many show dog enhanced with sprays, powders and texturizing products to get the show dog look.  These are impractical for day to day use.

I hold the scissors in many different ways to get the look I'm going for.  Some of my customers want full and floppy feet.  these I comb out and scissor with the shears horizontal to get a blunt edge.  Some want beveled feet.  These I work with my shears at an angle to the foot to create a curve from the top of the foot to the pad.  Some want very tight feet and on those I do use a 90 degree angle right up next to the foot.  Your best bet is to experiment with different angles to get the look that you want.  A lot of grooming becomes your personal style and it may vary somewhat from somebody else's work.  This is something that evolves with experience.  So try to play with things a bit to create a pleasing look.

I love many aspects of grooming but my personal favorite is how close I've become to so many of my human and dog customers.  I love hearing positive compliments about my work and I am terribly flattered when customers move further away and still pass grooming shops to continue bringing their pet's to me.  I now am on my second and third generation in some families of customers.  I love having a history with people and consider most of my customers my good friends.

I hope this answers your questions.  Feel free to ask more.  You won't learn if you don't ask.  Good luck!