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Nine Seconds to Make a First Impression

Dog-Computer-Wallpaper-1024x768rrYou meet someone for the first time – it could be a new client walking through your doors, someone at a grooming trade show or a new team member.

The moment that stranger sees you, their brain makes a thousand assumptions.  It might be a new client or someone you meet anywhere else.  You are giving off clues about yourself before you ever begin to speak.  They are gathering a wealth of nonverbal clues about you.

What are nonverbal clues?

Nonverbal clues include all the ways you present and express yourself, apart from the actual words you speak.  Things like eye contact, gestures, posture, body movements, and tone of voice.  All of these signals can convey important information that isn’t put into words.  They are extremely important at work and in business.  Perception is reality. Read the rest of this entry »


Thinning Shears are the Pet Stylist’s Eraser

Blog ImagerIt doesn’t matter how long you’ve been grooming or how talented you are as a pet stylist – sometimes you just need a little help. An “oops” can occur at any time. Mistakes happen.

Maybe there is a spot on the coat that you just can’t get smooth. Maybe there is tracking in the coat from the clippers or guard comb. You may have left scissor marks in the coat – or a hole in the coat you accidentally made with clippers or scissors. You might even be working with a dog that will not hold still long enough to work safely with clippers or scissors – leaving the coat rough and jagged.

Thinning shears can be your savior. They erase rough spots. They blend out jagged edges. They smooth out transition areas. They fix mistakes.

The difference between a good stylist and a great stylist can be determined by how much value they place on their blending shears.

Read the rest of this entry »


How to Get Velvet Scissor Finish

Is scissoring becoming a lost art? I’m all for speed and efficiency but if you are proficient with your shears, you can trim a dog almost as fast without the shortcut aids of clippers and guard combs .

If you are serious about creating a quality in your finished trims, you need to master the art of scissoring.

How do you do it? How to you get a coat that is plush like velvet?
When you comb through it, no stray hairs stick out. There are no rough spots in the coat. The dog looks great when it leaves the shop. Not only that, the trim holds together for 2 days, 2 weeks or even up to 6 weeks after the grooming.

Here are the 3 Elements of Great Scissoring.

# 1. Core Skills
No matter how capable you are as a scissorer, if the foundation of a groom isn’t sound, you never get that velvet finish. The dog needs to be clean, really clean – squeaky clean. The coat blown is blown dry so EVERY hair is straight. No waves.  No curls. When you sink a comb deep into the coat, it pulls through smoothly. There cannot be a mat or tangle in the coat. Every hair shaft is separated, light and airy.

These items are ‘core skills’ – skills that need to be mastered to perfection in order to accomplish gorgeous scissor work.  Your core skills of the grooming process must be solid.

If the foundation of a building were not sound, would you feel comfortable spending time there?

#2. Tools
You’ll need a variety of tools and products to get a beautiful result. You’ll need few pairs of straight, curved, and blending shears in a combination of lengths, curvatures and tooth configurations. The higher the quality of the shear, the better of a cut you will get.

This doesn’t mean you need a hundred pairs of scissors in your collection – but you do need more than two.

Generally, the quality of a shear is directly related to cost – like everything else, you get what you pay for.  Don’t be afraid to spend a few hundred dollars on a good pair of shears. If you take care of them, they will last for most of your career.

Build your collection over time. You don’t need to do it in one swoop. Before you invest, try them. Talk to leading stylists and find out what shears they like. Don’t forget, one of the most important items when buying scissors, make sure they fit YOUR hand and feel comfortable as you run them. Trade shows are one of the best places to shop for shears. You’ll find hundreds of choices.

#3. Running the Shears
You must hold and run the shears correctly. Holding them correctly will balance the shear in your hand minimizing stress. You will have the most control over your shears if you run them with your thumb and ring finger. TO get that velvet finish, you’ll need to scissor with your body, not just your hand or arm.

You need to move – following over the dog’s body in a fluid motion. Depending on the shear, sometimes you need to keep you hand dead steady as you run the shears. Many times with thinners and blenders, you’ll need to give the shear a slight bounce. If you look, there are books, videos, exercises and seminars on this topic alone.

There is nothing more gratifying than seeing an exquisitely scissored dog. It could be in the contest ring, at a certification test site or simply walking out of your salon on a daily basis. It represents top quality work. Consistently producing top quality grooms represents success to any pet groomer or stylist. Mastering the art of a velvet scissor finish on a dog is a testament to a true artist.

There are many scissoring lessons from champion groomers in the training library at learn2groomdogs.com. One of my favorites is from Colin Taylor. According to Colin, “Scissors are like shoes.” Start your collection and you’ll see what he means!

Click here to watch a sneak peek of
Colin Taylor: Basic Shear Control for a Velvet Finish

Click here to watch a sneak peek of
Kendra Otto: Confessions of a Shears Junkie

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