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Drying Techniques – High Velocity Drying

Drying Techniques

There are five basic drying techniques that professionals use on pets. They are based on size, coat condition, coat type and personality of the pet. The coat type will often dictate which technique is used to produce the highest quality result. The different drying methods are:

Towel Drying
High-Velocity Drying
Stretch Drying
Kennel Drying
Blanket Drying

Today I’m going to focus on the most important drying method to master: high-velocity drying techniques. Becoming proficient at this drying method will increase the quality of your grooms while decreasing the amount of time it takes to groom each dog. Bottom line: that’s money in your pocket!

High-Velocity Drying

About the High-Velocity Dryer

This drying method produces the fastest results with the highest quality if used correctly on any given coat type.

The pros of high-velocity drying include:

Quick dry time
Very flexible procedure
Adaptability for many coat types
Removes loose coat on shedding pets
Ability to do a large percentage of de-matting on many coat types
Clear view of the skin
Safe procedure for all skin types

The negative points are:

Some pets object to the noise and force of air
It can tangle a long coat
It will produce a mess on heavily shedding pets

As you can see, the positive points far outweigh the negative. Almost all of the negative points can be overcome through proper pet/dryer handling and correct technique.

Groomers, stylists, and bathers who regularly use this drying method should protect themselves by wearing facemasks, goggles and earplugs. These simple items minimize the amount of pet fur and dander that reaches the eyes and lungs, and helps deaden the noise to protect ears from long-term exposure. Pets will appreciate some type of ear protection too!

Using the High-Velocity Dryer

This method should be introduced slowly with any new pet or a puppy. Have the pet listen to the sound before the air is introduced. Help build its confidence. Once the pet seems calm, slowly and from a distance bring the air up around its feet or rear. Do this on a single speed, with no condenser cone. Once the pet accepts that, slowly bring the air in closer and move it up the body. Try not to let the air pass over the pet’s face or in its ears. As the pet grows more accepting, try adding the condenser cone, or, boost the dryer up to a second speed and then add the cone.

Move as rapidly as possible and work forward over the entire pet, excluding the head, watching for spray coming off the coat (the moisture you missed with the towel). Once there isn’t any more visible spray coming off the pet, return to your starting point. Holding a towel behind the spot you are working on can be helpful to reduce the amount of spray getting back on the coat.

Next, focus on getting the pet dry and the coat straightened. Hold the dryer as close as possible to the skin without curling the coat onto itself, causing tangles. Rapidly move the air around in a small, confined space. Watch the area constantly. When you first start on a section, the coat will appear slightly clumped together. As the hair dries, it will separate and become very fine. This is your signal to move to another area.

Leave the head, tail and ears until last. If the pet objects to having air blown around its face, change the direction of the air so that it does not blow over the face and ears. If the pet shows only mild objection, then hold its head for more control. If the problem continues, remove the cone to handle the neck and chest area.

If the coat is slightly matted or the pet is shedding heavily, you will notice the matted hair form a kind of spidery web as the coat begins to dry. Guide the air just behind the webbed section to work it out. Use the condenser cone with as much air force as the pet will allow. You must watch this process constantly to be effective. If the pet will not allow a condenser cone, or if you have worked the loose coat or mat as far as it will go with the air, give the coat a “boost” with a brush and mild air flow. Normally, this will remove the rest of the loose coat with the least amount of wear and tear on you and the pet.

Now that the pet is dry primarily from the condenser cone work, remove the cone and hold the base of the hose right next to the skin. Most high-velocity dryers do not have a heating element, but once they have run for a few minutes, the air they produce will be warmer. Removing the condenser cone and placing the dryer hose right against the skin takes advantage of the optimum power of a high-velocity dryer to “set the coat.” Setting the coat means straightening each hair shaft. Plus, holding the warm air right next to the skin will remove any remaining dampness. Work over the entire dog using the same method as previously outlined, but now work very close to the skin.

Finish the entire drying process at the head and ears. On coats where you want a full head shape, work from the base of the skull – the occiput – forward. If you want the coat to lay tight to the skull, blow the air back towards the rear of the dog.

If the pet is fidgety, grasp the ear at the base. This firm grip offers the most control and covers the ear canal. In most cases, a fidgety pet is objecting to the air going down into the ear cannel. Don’t use a condenser cone for the head and face, but do keep the base of the hose right next to the skin for optimum speed and coat straightening.

Pets pre-clipped shorter than a #7 blade length before the bath will not need a high-velocity drying in the short areas. These areas will dry naturally as other coated areas are dried. Normally, a #7 blade length or shorter does not need straightening to yield the best results in the finish work.

Conclusion

It is important to master all drying skills. There are several drying methods and combinations to choose from, based on coat type, trim and pet tolerance. Incorrect techniques or careless attention to drying will waste more of a professional groomer’s time than almost anything else.

An active form of drying always will yield the best results. Having a beautifully clean and dried coat also will lessen the amount of time it takes to execute the final grooming procedures on a pet.

If at any point the pet objects or becomes difficult to handle, back down to the previous step that produced a positive result. If the pet severely objects to having its face dried, try placing cotton balls in the ears to reduce the air flow into the ears as well as the sound. Just don’t forget to remove the cotton balls.

Always remember, the pet takes its cue from you. Your confidence will communicate to the pet. Work gently, but firmly, using a minimal amount of verbal positive or negative reinforcement. Let your hands and eyes do the speaking for you.

The process outlined above may take just a few minutes or several, based upon the individual pet and your handling techniques. On occasion, a pet just will not accept high-velocity drying and another method will be necessary.

Once you have the pet’s cooperation, you can focus on the most effective way of using the high-velocity dryer on that pet’s individual coat type.

In trims that require a fluffy, smooth finish, you would begin at the base of the tail and blow the air forward, using a condenser cone. On many Terriers and sporting dogs, you want the coat to lay tight to the skin. With these breeds, start at the withers and work with the growth of the coat.

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Speed & Efficiency: Clocks are Your Score Keepers

My husband Marc and I just did a private salon lesson on one of our recent road trips. We asked the salon owner what she wanted us to focus on during our time there so we could be better prepared. The request was simple. Speed.

Most of her staff struggled to get even the simplest trims done in under an hour. Bath. Blow dry. Haircut. Even a basic #7F all trim on a smaller drop coated breed was daunting to some of them.

We walked in and saw a well-organized salon. It was bright. It was clean. The layout allowed for efficiency. The equipment was all top-notch. Hmmm, we wondered. Why was turning a small to mid-sized dog such a challenge for them?

Then it hit us. There were hardly any clocks visible. We only spotted one clock in the main room. A smaller digital wall clock set on military time. The owner of the salon was career military gal who is now retired. I understand why she opted for that style of time keeper. (And thank you Lori for your service to your country!) I’m just not so sure that style of time keeping is the right for a staff of non-military groomers. Plus, when I was across the room, I could barely read it clearly. The clock was just too small!

If you want to be a successful groomer that can pay their bills while bringing customers back again and again – you need to embrace time. Watch the time. Track the time. Race against the time. Everything we do with professional pet grooming involves time. You need to be highly aware of every hour, minute and second. Ideally, a professional groomer should be able to turn a small to medium size simple trim in an hour or less. That includes the bath, the dry, and the trim.

The first thing we suggested to this team was; GET CLOCKS! Nothing fancy, they just needed to be large enough to be easily seen across the room. The simpler, the better. Every room in the salon needed one hung on the wall. By having a clock in every room, it makes it easy for the groomers to track their own time with just a quick glance. But clocks aren’t enough. Every person working on the pets needs to have a watch on too.

For those individuals that are really looking to increase their speed, having a timer at their stations can be really beneficial. Before you can start timing yourself, it’s helpful to know what your starting point is.

Break the groom down into sections. Bathing. Drying. Clipping the body. Trimming the feet. Rounding the feet. Scissoring the legs. Styling the head. If you don’t know how long it takes you to do each one of these items, you’ll never be able to improve upon your ‘best time.’

And it’s far easier to break it down into segments than to look at the dog as a whole. After all, who doesn’t want the opportunity to win at even one or two smaller segments than to get frustrated when they don’t hit the time goal with the overall trim?

Once you know how long it takes you to do each segment — now you can set goals and objectives to beat your ‘best time.’ Push yourself. Make a game out of it. The clock will be your score-keeper. Each time you gain even a few seconds, you’ve won a mini victory! But you’ll never be able to do that unless you can easily watch the clock. Even with all the clock watching, always remember, speed and efficiency can never come at the sacrifice of quality or safety.

Your most valuable asset is YOU

Look in the mirror and say “I am my most valuable asset.” Tell yourself this every day! You are the most important thing about your life and your business. Despite the fact that you may think it is your car, or your favorite thinners, or even your bank account, it is YOU that is the most important part of the success equation. Without you driving the car, or using the thinners or using the money, those things are worthless.

And the part that makes you unique is your mind. Your ability to think and reason before taking action is a precious gift. And throughout life, we need to improve our thinking. The ability to improve our quality of thinking makes it easier to solve problems. Our ability to think positively lets us see opportunity around us. Negative thinking shuts doors to success.

I recently saw a report on ABC News about how our new dependency on using search engines even GPS makes us dumber? WOW! In the ‘good old days’ you used a map and directions you wrote down to get from Point A to Point B. You may have stopped when you were lost to ask for directions. Then you had to remember those directions. But now you just program a device that tells you to turn left or right. You actually lose problem solving skills as a result.

Just think of how many people struggle to figure out math problems when they don’t have a calculator.

People used to memorize phones numbers, addresses, and birthdays. Now they are stored away as reminders in our cell phones. Sure it makes things easier, but it turns our mind to mush in the process. I have read that the brain has an unlimited ability to memorize facts. So why turn that ability off?

You need to invest regularly in self-improvement and professional development. You can open your mind to knowledge by attending a seminar at a tradeshow. Or you can exchange information in online forums and places like Facebook. You can open up a copy of the AKC Complete Dog Book and memorize facts about your favorite breed. You have to exercise your brain the same as any other part of your body.

Dedicate yourself to lifelong learning. Why stop now? I continue to learn from the top professionals around me. There are always new products and new standards to talk about. Many groomers are inventing their own products. And almost all of them are happy to share their knowledge with you.

With positive thinking and lifelong learning, you can continue to find new ways to be a value to your customers. You can jump years ahead of your competition by developing new skills that are in demand. By valuing yourself as your biggest asset, you can catapult your career and life to higher levels.

Maintain a Steady Pace

Speed is the key to being a successful pet groomer. Have you watched a highly proficient pet stylist at work? They don’t race around with their heads cut off. They don’t whip from one task to the next with lightning speed. They are not frazzled. They are not stressed. They blow through 10, 12, even 14 dogs with ease.

They are home to meet their kids coming off the bus from school. They are headed to the gym after work. They enjoy their own dogs when not grooming client’s pets. They have the time AND energy to have a life when they step away from the grooming table. Do you?

When I observe these successful groomers, I’ve noticed important traits they all share. They work with a steady pace. They have a rhythm to their tasks. Their tempo doesn’t change. They follow the same order as they work on each pet. Their tools are laid out in an orderly fashion, sharp and within arm’s reach. They are not distracted by ringing phones, tales from their fellow team members, nor the personality of the pet they are working on. They are focused and efficient as they work around the pet. There is no wasted effort. No wasted motion.

There are methods to each grooming job. Following a particular order with each type of groom will assistance you with getting through the tasks the quickest. There will be five main types of jobs you do every day – day in – day out at any grooming shop.

1.Short haircuts, six weeks or more
2.Short haircuts, six weeks or less
3.Guard comb trims
4.Bladed body with fuller legs and/or furnishings/pattern trims
5.Bath and brush type pets

Generally speaking, the faster you can get a dog to the tub, the faster the trim will go. Dogs with six weeks or less coat growth can normally go straight to the tub. With today’s products, shampoos, conditioners, and high velocity dryers, much of the pre-work can be eliminated. Dematting or pre- trimming is a waste of time with six weeks or less trims.

When it comes to haircuts or finishing a bath and brush dog – pay attention to the order you work. Develop an order – the same order every time for each of the five grooming jobs. If you struggle with remembering the order, write it down and post it at your grooming station. Time yourself on each task. Work on improving your speed with small components within each job. Don’t jump around. Always follow the order.

Watch top stylists at work. Watch their videos. Sit ringside at grooming competitions and watch the leading stylist compete. With consistent repetition, you’ll increase your speed in no time. You’ll have more time to spend enjoying your free time doing what you want to do. The stress and frustration will be highly minimized. And the best part – you’ll make more money, in less time, in the process!

Don’t hurry or rush around frantically to get the job done. Maintaining easy pace and work steadily. Remember the fable of the tortoise and the hare? Highly productive people work a certain rhythm that allows them to flow through enormous amounts of work without becoming stressed or anxious.

Focus on Key Areas to Excel in Your Job

Focus on Key Areas to Excel in Your Job As a professional pet groomer, our job is to know how to groom all breeds of dogs (and cats for some). What needs to be done to make a purebred look like it’s supposed to look. How can we make mixed breeds (designer dogs) cute. What’s the best way to remove shedding coat from a full coated dog. Being versatile is our job.

Guess what? Every groomer has a few types of jobs and coat types they really like to work with. What’s your favorite?

For me, I loved grooming the drop coated breeds in adorable fluffy trims. I loved to hand scissor. And there was nothing more gratifying than turning a big, furry, shedding mass of dirty hair into a snug-able, huggable pet.

Most of my co-workers happily let me tackle these jobs when they appeared on the books. These grooming jobs were not their favorites. They were hard for them. They took a long time to do. They never felt like they were ‘done’ with them. They never looked smooth and finished. Or they just cringed at the amount of work required.

For me, I knew I was going to have a great day when I saw multiple drop coated breeds on my roster along with a little mixed breed groomed like a Bichon. The icing on the cake would be tossing a Sheltie into the grooming mix along with something where tufts of coat were falling out. I was highly proficient with these dogs. I could make them look stunning in no time. I knew how to work with my equipment to get the best results in the shortest amount of time. I simply loved working with these types of coats because they were easy for me.

Where they always easy? Heck no! I’m a self-taught groomer. Learning is a lot of work. Mastering skills takes dedication and focus. There were hundreds of breeds to learn. There are hundreds of techniques to figure out. There are hundreds of products to try. I opted to focus on mastering a few techniques that would allow me to soar through my days.

Mastering a cute, fluffy trim on a drop coated breed was more out of necessity than anything else. We simply had a lot of those types on dogs in our client files. Plus, my first contest dog was a little black and white Shih Tzu. In order to do well in the ring, I needed to figure out how to get a plush finish on a drop coat. Not a small feat to conquer. I got good at this trim – really good – and fast.

With every drop coated dog in my client file, I was able to perfect my skills. What shampoo got the fur the cleanest? Which pair of shears worked the best on each coat type? How should I hold the shear to minimize marking the coat? When was it time to pull out the blenders? And which pair of blenders should I use? I analyzed every step. Dissected every move. Stood back and reviewed the overall appeal. Was it balanced? Was it even? Would hair fall out of place when combed or if the dog shook?

I was super critical of my work. As I learned more – discovered new things – I become even more critical. I was brutally honest with myself. I didn’t let up on myself until I was winning consistently with my little Shih Tzu.

Once I mastered one coat type, I moved to the next. As a bonus, through the process, I became an accomplished all breed stylist. There isn’t a breed I would not tackle. However, I focused on just a few techniques I could really master. Breeds or techniques I used a lot. Those are the breeds or types of trims that I loved to see hit my roster. I simply adored grooming them because they become so easy for me.

To improve your workday, concentrate on a few key areas in your job to really excel at. It may take some focused work at first but once you master the technique, haircut, breed, or personality type, you’ll automatically draw that type of client to your daily roster. You’ll enjoy your work day. The time will fly by with ease. At end of the day, you’ll be rewarded with a gratifying and highly productive workday.

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Why Am I On The Payroll?

Why am I on the payroll?

Have you ever thought about it? Come on – really thought about it?
When we hire someone in one of my companies, we want to see results in exchange for a paycheck. Every job will be different. If you are a groomer, how many dogs can you groom with quality and safety foremost in your mind?

If you are a receptionist, how many appointments can you book error free? How are you helping the salon grow the client list or maintain a steady pace? If you are a groomer’s assistant, how many dogs can you help your team produce?

And with all of these tasks, are you doing it with a positive attitude?

The roll of a business is not to give you a ‘job’. The role of any business is to provide a product or service to a customer. If they do it well – you’ll get a paycheck .Enterprising owners don’t go into business to break even or worst yet – lose money. They open businesses for many reasons. One of the biggest reasons — to chase the American dream. To make a profit doing what they love doing. Working with pets.

So what is your role in the pet care service business? Think about the results you need to accomplish in your job. How many pets do you need to groom to be deemed productive – and profitable – in order to be valued by your supervisor? When a prospective client calls, are you able to book the appointment? Are pets going out the door injury free? Are the trims done correctly and with quality? Are clients smiling when they pick up their pets? Are they rebooking their next appointment in six weeks or less?

Most businesses have goals and quotas. This is the way performance is measured in the work place. Are you reaching your quotas easily? Are you doing the tasks you have been assigned without being reminded? Are you meeting and/or exceeding your goals/ quotas? Everyone that gathers a paycheck at the end of the week has responsibility to help the company in a productive and positive way.

Are you living up to the expectations of your employer? Are you truly earning the paycheck you want every week by being the most productive you can be? Stop and think about it. What can you do to improve the results that drop down to the bottom line, ensuring you HAVE a job every week? That you stay on the payroll.

Happy Trimming!
Melissa Verplank

How to Hold & Run Shears Correctly

Does your scissor work look like crushed velvet? Do you enjoy the process of hand scissoring the coat of a pet? Can you get plush finish in a short amount of time? Or do you whittle away the coat way S-L-O-W-L-Y? Flawless hand-scissoring is almost becoming a lost art.

If your hand-scissoring skills could use some help – here are a few tips.

Simply improving how you HOLD the shears can have a huge impact on your end product. Master these few tips, and you are on your way to a velvet finish on the Poodle coat!

As you work your shears, only your thumb should move. Open and close the shear blade while the rest of your hand remains motionless. The scissor should stay balanced in your hand, at right angles to your index finger. Keep it steady and flush with the plane on which you are working; there is no bouncing with smooth-bladed shears. With thinning shears, you will have a small bounce to clear the trimmed coat before you close the blades for another cut.

Once you gain full control and balance of the shears, it’s time to consider how this motion works with the rest of your body. The fluidity of proper scissoring stems from your body – the placement of your feet, the bend in your knees, the flexibility of your waist and the position of your arm and shoulder. Your entire body becomes a machine that effortlessly runs the shears.

There are methods you can learn to produce a smooth, satin finish – a perfect scissor finish. However, one of the keys to mastering the art of hand-scissoring is perfect practice. And I mean hours of PERFECT practice!

Holding your shears and moving your shears over the dog properly is just a start to perfecting your scissoring skills. Notes From the Grooming Table and Learn2GroomDogs.com both have some great lessons on how to scissor correctly. (Colin Taylor and yours truely both have video lessons on correct scirroring) Plus, at both of these locations, you’ll find exercises to improve your scissor technique too.

Happy Trimming!

How to Improve Clipper Technique

For maximum freedom of movement and improved efficiency, hold the clipper like a large pencil, between the thumb and fingers. “Palming” the clipper makes for clumsy, awkward clipper handling. It also puts the pet at risk for cuts, nicks and irritation. Concentrate on positioning yourself so that the clipper is pulled toward you for the majority of your work. There are rare times when holding the clippers in your palm will improve dexterity, but this applies to very few moves.

To create the least amount of stress on your fingers and wrist, grasp the clipper at the “balance point” so the weight is equally distributed between each end. Hold the clipper in the correct position, and then rotate it between your thumb and fingers. This positioning keeps your wrist firm but flexible, yet allows for almost unlimited wrist movement. This hold offers access to the most difficult corners of the pet with minimum effort. Concentrate on minimizing your wrist action.

Allow the weight of the clippers to do the work. Your hand and wrist are simply its guide. As you move from the top of the pet to make downward strokes, simulate the same amount of pressure that gravity provided on the top.

Your hand and wrist will act as a shock absorber while clipping. As you clip, you’ll be leveling out the bumps and dents. This will allow you to obtain a satin-smooth finish.

No matter what blade you use, it is important to maintain a consistent degree of “tip” to the blade. This is also known as “keeping the blade up on its cutting edge.” Imagine a pencil being held right under the blade as you guide it over the body. The closer the pencil is to the teeth, the higher the tip angle; the farther back you keep the imaginary pencil towards the heel of the blade, the lesser the degree of tip. Generally speaking, the closer the blade cuts, the higher you need to tip the blade for it to be effective.

Getting into the Grooming Groove

Are you highly productive at your grooming table? Are you whizzing though 6-8 pets with ease – or more? Are you able to work smoothly? Are you able to work without interruptions? Are you confident with your trimming skills? Do you have a constant working method you apply to most of your grooming jobs – every time?

In our business – time transfers to money and/or time to spend perusing other actives besides grooming pets. Ideally, most small to medium sized pets should take 45-60 minutes to complete – from start to finish – bath, dry and finish trim. If you are not hitting these numbers, you probably are not ‘in the grooming groove.’

If you are not hitting these targets, it’s time to analyze the problem areas. Over 50% of the time, the time wasted is in the bathing and drying process. On a simple trim, like a one length all-over style that you do every 6 weeks, the breakdown looks something like this:

Pre bath prep: 5 minutes or less (overall observation, trim nails, clean ears)
Bath: 5-10 minutes (double shampoo plus skin conditioning treatment)
Towel Dry: 1-3 minutes
High Velocity Dry: 5-10 minutes
Finish Trim: 20-30 minutes

Grab that timer. Watch that clock – a BIG clock that is easy to see at ALL times. Time yourself. Identify areas where you could improve your productivity. No one can improve anything unless they know a starting point.

Make a game out of it. Use the provided time line as a basic guide. This guide will help you set up your time targets in each area. Break it down. Time yourself. With each procedure – try to consistently improve your best time while maintaining safety and quality. Build in a sense of urgency in what you do with every pet.

Don’t stop. Try as hard as you can to minimize interruptions. Interruptions are energy busters. Sometimes it’s difficult to get back into the flow of things. There is no better feeling than getting into the ‘grooming groove.’ Your days will fly by effortlessly.

Groomers and stylists that in the grooming groove, get great satisfaction out of their work days. Even the simplest trims look great. Groomers and pets are injury free. Clients are thrilled with the work. Happy clients translate into repeat customers. Repeat appointments equal a full grooming book for upcoming months and a successful salon, regardless of its size.

Happy Trimming!

Melissa