While we wait in hope for the world to open up again and our professional groomers to open their doors again, your dog and mine will need to be groomed. And it looks like you and I will be doing it! Below follow the start of my grooming adventure. I hope you will be inspired to spiff up your own dog!
Here’s what Roxy looked like during week 7
I typically take Roxy to the groomer every 4 weeks. You can see here she is starting to look unkept. And I haven’t groomed my dog myself in over 10 years! I always left it up to the professionals to make her look salon gorgeous. But these are unusual times.
I dug out the clippers that I haven’t used in over 10 years and charged up the batteries. I also bathed Roxy so she would be all fresh and clean, ready for me to spruce up. It was important that I tested my equipment before attempting to fully groom my dog.
Then I gave the clippers a trial run, and snipped a minimal amount around her face. I took this gradual approach to groom my dog because one, I would avoid a mistake that could take a while to grow out. And two, I didn’t know if the batteries would last. Sure enough, the first battery lasted barely one minute. And the other one made it to only ten minutes. So Roxy looked a bit better with the minor face trim and then I used scissors to carefully cut the top of her hair. Next I brushed out the fine hair in her ears. After I recharged the good battery, I trimmed her behind to clean it up, since we all know how long hair there can create a problem when our dogs relieve themselves. I figured I would get the important parts done since this battery may not last much longer.
See Roxy in the photo below after this first grooming session:
Battery replacement or new clippers?
Since the clippers’ mechanism seemed fine, I tried to find new batteries. I had purchased these Wahl Arco SE clippers from Rens Pet Depot and I still buy some of my general pet supplies from them. Unfortunately, only batteries for a newer model were available. The age of my clippers and model changes made a good fit unlikely. I wanted to be properly equipped before I began grooming my dog.
So I emailed my groomer at Pawla’s Grooming, and detailed the issue. I hoped that she would answer during this time while her business is closed due to COVID-19. And to my delight, she immediately responded and said that I couldn’t go wrong to purchase any Wahl clippers. Not only that, but she provided me a link to Rens Pet Depot! I was glad I was on the right track and so grateful that she replied during this closure! She also suggested the shampoo and conditioner that they use. Now I knew what I needed to groom my dog!
So I ordered the new Wahl clippers, plus the salon shampoo and conditioner and can’t wait for them to arrive! Stay tuned for a future blog when I will explore the full process to groom my dog at home. There may be a blog or three between this first at-home grooming blog and my final at-home grooming blog, due to unpredictable shipping times for those supplies!
In the meantime, enjoy exploring these other topics I have written about!
Yours in better dog care, Judy.
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