Day 3 (March 3rd)

Today I started off bathing a Schnauzer which decided to poop in the tub - that was gross, bleh! 

When I finished with the "Schnauz" I had a big hairy waiting for me outside in the play yard....a big freakin' Newfoundland!!! I had to have someone help me get him into the tub and apon lifting him...I am pretty sure he weight 200lbs, LOL! When you bathe this type of dog you have to blow him out with the HV dryer to loosen hair, then wet him down (super hard to do due to all of his fur), shampoo him, slicker brush him, blow him out again (to get the shampoo down to his skin), rinse very well, shampoo, slicker, blow with HV, rinse well, use conditioner, slicker, blow with HV, rinse well! The whole bathing process took about 2 hours - the poor Newfie was so tired he had to keep sitting down to rest. It took about another hour to blow his coat almost dry with the HV....then he went into the drying kennel to dry out some more.

After the Newf was done with his bath & blow out I had a massive mess to clean up in the bathing room - hair on all the tubs, hair all over the floor, hair on all of the shampoo bottles, plastered all over my tub walls, etc. I probably spent 10 minutes cleaning up all of the hair in the little bathing room. I had about 2 inches of Newfie hair piles onto my head and probably plastered all over my face...it was in my eyes and stuck to my eye lashes like no tomorrow.

I took a break (after the Newfie I was ready to pass out) and then bathed a Giant Schnauzer - he sure was cute and very well behaved! I can't believe how big and stocky-solid they are...they really don't look like they weigh a ton once they are shaved down, but trying lifting one's back end up into a tub! I needed someone to help me again, LOL!

There was then a little tiny Schnauzer (lots of Schnauzes today!) who needed a bath & blow out - he was so sweet and just wanted to rest his wet body against my apron, LOL.

At the end of (my) day I had to brush out the Newfie, who was still a little bit wet in some spots so I had to use the stand dryer. He was sooooo pooped that he just wanted to lay down and didn't care that the noose was choking him...poor big guy! I still couldn't believe the amount of hair coming out of him. Whoever wants a Newfie....be very prepared for such a high maintence dog!!

Okay, well that was about it. I'm off to school again here in about an hour. Is it Friday yet? because I am exhausted and really want to sleep in, LOL. I have to get up at 6am, shower & get ready, then bring Ryan to work (we only have 1 car), then come back home and feed/water animals, make breakfast...which means I am up and waiting around for another hour and a half before school. If we had 2 cars, then I could sleep in 2 hours later then I do now!! Gosh I just wish we had a 2nd car, but we can't afford it until I get a grooming job and we see what kind of money it brings in.

Day 2 (March 2nd)

Today I got to cut nails and dremel them on a Std. Poodle. He fought with me a lot, but I'm guessing he knew I was nervous! I then got to wash him and blow him out - after that I slickered his afro (hehe) and his ears under the stand dryer. I also cut nails/dremeled 2 other dogs today.

I also got to help brush out and bathe 2 kitties from the Humane Society today! I just love kitties and these two were adorable. One cat was a screamer in the tub and then the other one was such a little doll...she was insanely fluffy and had a manx tail...the ladies were calling him a "bunny cat", LOL!

My last dog was a huge "Goldendoodle" - which was uhhhh.....fun. I didn't like the texture of his hair at all. The dog was a total sweetie, though, which was a good thing! I brushed him out, then washed and dried him. My goodness drying that dog was ridiculous! His hair was long & wirey-like and just took forever to get dry.

Out of all of the dogs I have seen so far my absolute favorite has got to be the purebred Dachshunds. I am trying to make myself want a Poodle so that I can practice on him/her and also use for seminars/competitions (if I ever get that far!).....but I can't get past the adorable looks & personalities of the Doxies! Maybe I'm a sucker for them because my dog is part Doxie...but I don't know, I just love them!!

Day 1

I certainly think I deserved the delicious Black Butte Porter (beer) that I drank during dinner and then the amazing dinner of cheese hot pocket, popper's flavored doritos, and a twix bar...LOL!!! My goodness was I starving!!

PHEW! Man am I POOPED. My back hurts, my feet hurt, my ears hurt (loud noises), etc.


All in all it was a good day. I got to bathe a few dogs, blow them out with the HV (high velocity) dryer, and then brush out one of the dogs on my own grooming table. Yep - I've got my own table and area for all of my stuff! Yeeeee!!

I really like both of the ladies that are teaching me, as they both have different personalities and ways to do things - so I am hoping that by having both of them teach me, I will hear things twice and each time I will hear different ways of doing things. I'm sort of the person who needs things explained twice so that my brain catches on, lol.

Both "K" and "V" (instructors) are at the shop teaching me on Mondays, but Tuesdays & Thursdays only V and some other lady is there, then on Wednesdays & Fridays it's K and some other lady (or the same lady as Tues & Thurs?...I don't know).

I'm a bit nervous meeting the other 2 ladies (or 1 lady....I can't remember if there is 3 or 4 of them there).....but hopefully they are cool and helpful as well.

Tomorrow I get to watch (and maybe help) groom 2 kitties that are coming in from the Humane Society! I'm really excited to learn how to groom cats as I hope that I can mainly be a cat groomer in the future. I love dogs, but I really love kitties. I just don't know if there is the same money in grooming cats and if I need to be in a certain area - like around a larger city perhaps?

I'm also a bit uncomfortable with big dogs right now. I helped with a Labradoodle (the "Lab" part was questionable...the dog was massive) today and he was insanely large and hard to turn around in the tub. I guess I feel more in control over a small dog then a big one. I have never ever owned a large dog....just my little Min Pin/Doxie that I have right now and then 2 Beagles and a few other small dogs growing up.

I just can't wait until I pick up speed and can move onto using my tools. Right now I have to master bathing, drying, and controlling dogs. I'm slow at it right now, but with time I will get faster. I used to be a bather/brusher at PetSmart, so I remember how to do things...I just need to learn this shop's way of doing it and gain some confidence back - mostly being positive that the dog is really clean and well rinsed!

testing!

posting to see if my blog is working!