Shave and a haircut - six bits...
Chatty may have told you that she and The Wiz decided that paying to groom little Miss Toot once a month would strain our budget, and that therefore professional dog clippers would be a good investment.
Yes.
About three weeks ago, Chatty bathed Toot, and she and The Wiz tried out the new clippers. However, Chatty was so reluctant to risk bald spots that she barely managed to get ¼ inch of hair off.
The Wiz was not pleased. He noted (correctly) that you couldn’t even tell she had been trimmed.
Next time, he warned, HE would do the clipping.
Huh.
So, a couple of days ago, as Toot needed a bath again (and since you are supposed to bathe dogs before you clip them), we decided to give her a "real" haircut.
Chatty had used the clippers going WITH the hair growth the first time. The video we watched said if you go AGAINST the hair growth, it results in much shorter hair.
This is what The Wiz decided was necessary.
Chatty was not so sure, but hey – Toot’s hair grows really fast, so what the heck? It isn’t as if Toot is a vain dog. (And let Chatty tell you from experience, vain dogs DO exist).
So, there’s Toot, up on the table, gazing at us trustingly. She has apparently decided that anything is better than being in “puppy prison” (because once she is bathed, Chatty chucks her out by the pool and closes the gate until she’s dry, because that way Toot can’t get out to the lawn to roll in poop and whatever else smells wonderful and immediately gets her dirty again).
Toot HATES “puppy prison” – unless, of course, we’re all out there fossicking around by the pool, in which case it is “puppy paradise”. Timing and circumstances are everything.
Back to our story.
The Wiz chose a cutting attachment, Chatty held Toot, and he started shaving her from tail to neck (i.e. BACKWARDS). The first few passes didn’t look too bad. They definitely took off the hair.
But Chatty insisted that SHE be the only one to shave Toot’s little bottom, and her little face - because that is delicate work!
As The Wiz was clipping her back, Toot slowly sank to the table. Moments later, we realized that her eyes were also closed. She had fallen asleep to the hum of the clippers and all of our loving encouragement, bless her little heart.
The Wiz took off a bit too much on her left back thigh, so Chatty took over trimming the hair on her other legs and once again, Toot sank to the table. If she had been any more relaxed, she might have lapsed into a coma. The Wiz had to lift up her nether portions so that Chatty could clip the other back leg, because Toot was still snoozing.
Then came time for the shaving of the little butt. Let’s just say that definitely woke her up…but it went well.
Finally…her face.
Little Miss Toot, being a shih-tzu, is supposed to have eyebrows and a moustache and a beard - even when she is clipped in the “utility” or “puppy” cut she needs out here in the Arizona heat. This gives her what is called a “chrysanthemum” or “teddy bear” face. In theory, anyway.
Chatty is doing fine with the beard – scissors it neatly, in fact.
But now, Chatty has to go in with the clippers RIGHT around the eyes and nose, which makes Chatty cringe – what if she BLINDS the poor little Toot? But if she doesn’t clip, hair gets in Toot’s eyes - and scissors are slow and scary. All professional groomers say you MUST use the clippers around the eyes.
Chatty takes a deep breath and does the right half of the face.
Not bad. Almost good, even.
Turning to the left side with more confidence, Chatty goes in to remove the hair from between the nose and the eye.
Toot moves her head, and the clippers slip a bit.
Well, more than a bit.
The upshot is that Toot looks swell - from one side.
From the other side, not so much – what with being minus an eyebrow and half a moustache, and all. The poor little thing is shaved all the way down to her tender pink skin on that side...
*Sigh*
Happily, as previously mentioned, Toot's hair grows fast. In a week or two, this will be a distant memory – at least Chatty hopes so - because she's going to have to get back on that horse and "groom" Toot again. Practice makes perfect, right? At this point, Chatty will settle for "practice makes OK"...
Luckily, Miss Toot has already forgotten - if she ever noticed in the first place.
She was just happy about the cheese she got for being such a very good girl.
Here are the pictures:
YIKES! It's WAY better from the front:
Of course, "way better" is a relative term...
Chatty has decided that Toot looks OK from a distance.
Say, about half a mile…
Yes.
About three weeks ago, Chatty bathed Toot, and she and The Wiz tried out the new clippers. However, Chatty was so reluctant to risk bald spots that she barely managed to get ¼ inch of hair off.
The Wiz was not pleased. He noted (correctly) that you couldn’t even tell she had been trimmed.
Next time, he warned, HE would do the clipping.
Huh.
So, a couple of days ago, as Toot needed a bath again (and since you are supposed to bathe dogs before you clip them), we decided to give her a "real" haircut.
Chatty had used the clippers going WITH the hair growth the first time. The video we watched said if you go AGAINST the hair growth, it results in much shorter hair.
This is what The Wiz decided was necessary.
Chatty was not so sure, but hey – Toot’s hair grows really fast, so what the heck? It isn’t as if Toot is a vain dog. (And let Chatty tell you from experience, vain dogs DO exist).
So, there’s Toot, up on the table, gazing at us trustingly. She has apparently decided that anything is better than being in “puppy prison” (because once she is bathed, Chatty chucks her out by the pool and closes the gate until she’s dry, because that way Toot can’t get out to the lawn to roll in poop and whatever else smells wonderful and immediately gets her dirty again).
Toot HATES “puppy prison” – unless, of course, we’re all out there fossicking around by the pool, in which case it is “puppy paradise”. Timing and circumstances are everything.
Back to our story.
The Wiz chose a cutting attachment, Chatty held Toot, and he started shaving her from tail to neck (i.e. BACKWARDS). The first few passes didn’t look too bad. They definitely took off the hair.
But Chatty insisted that SHE be the only one to shave Toot’s little bottom, and her little face - because that is delicate work!
As The Wiz was clipping her back, Toot slowly sank to the table. Moments later, we realized that her eyes were also closed. She had fallen asleep to the hum of the clippers and all of our loving encouragement, bless her little heart.
The Wiz took off a bit too much on her left back thigh, so Chatty took over trimming the hair on her other legs and once again, Toot sank to the table. If she had been any more relaxed, she might have lapsed into a coma. The Wiz had to lift up her nether portions so that Chatty could clip the other back leg, because Toot was still snoozing.
Then came time for the shaving of the little butt. Let’s just say that definitely woke her up…but it went well.
Finally…her face.
Little Miss Toot, being a shih-tzu, is supposed to have eyebrows and a moustache and a beard - even when she is clipped in the “utility” or “puppy” cut she needs out here in the Arizona heat. This gives her what is called a “chrysanthemum” or “teddy bear” face. In theory, anyway.
Chatty is doing fine with the beard – scissors it neatly, in fact.
But now, Chatty has to go in with the clippers RIGHT around the eyes and nose, which makes Chatty cringe – what if she BLINDS the poor little Toot? But if she doesn’t clip, hair gets in Toot’s eyes - and scissors are slow and scary. All professional groomers say you MUST use the clippers around the eyes.
Chatty takes a deep breath and does the right half of the face.
Not bad. Almost good, even.
Turning to the left side with more confidence, Chatty goes in to remove the hair from between the nose and the eye.
Toot moves her head, and the clippers slip a bit.
Well, more than a bit.
The upshot is that Toot looks swell - from one side.
From the other side, not so much – what with being minus an eyebrow and half a moustache, and all. The poor little thing is shaved all the way down to her tender pink skin on that side...
*Sigh*
Happily, as previously mentioned, Toot's hair grows fast. In a week or two, this will be a distant memory – at least Chatty hopes so - because she's going to have to get back on that horse and "groom" Toot again. Practice makes perfect, right? At this point, Chatty will settle for "practice makes OK"...
Luckily, Miss Toot has already forgotten - if she ever noticed in the first place.
She was just happy about the cheese she got for being such a very good girl.
Here are the pictures:
YIKES! It's WAY better from the front:
Of course, "way better" is a relative term...
Chatty has decided that Toot looks OK from a distance.
Say, about half a mile…
That is how I feel when I cut the boys' hair! One little slip and...
SuperDad just quotes this:
Q: "What's the difference between a good haircut and a bad haircut?"
A: "Three days."
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Toots looks cute no matter what her haircut looks like!
BTW, I just posted about my vacation! The mystery is revealed...
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Oh Toot you cutie!
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She looks cute to me!
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Many thanks to all of you for your kind
liesassurances that Toot the Cute is indeed still cute. She feels much better now. Actually, it's Chatty who feels much better - Miss Toot couldn't care less. She looks better today, btw. As SuperDad points out, the difference between a bad haircut and a good haircut is...three days.Reply to this
Toot looks fabulous! You should have seen Gypsy, rest her little soul, my childhood poodle when my mom decided she would do the same thing, and cut her hair at home. It takes a few tries, but you'll get the hang of it and be on Groomer Has It before you know it!
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Awwww, she's so cutie patootie you can't even tell (hardly). LOL!
I just can't believe she was so still and even fell asleep in fact!
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Chatty, don't feel too bad. The day I took my son to get his hair highlighted we had a similar experience. After applying the color, he had to sit and wait 20 minutes so the hairstylist decided to take another customer. She was relatively new, 3 months in the business, and the new customer wanted her to use clippers with no guard on them. She turned around, put a #2 guard on the clippers and proceeded to cut his hair. After the cut (I guess he wasn't paying attention), he looked in the mirror and then asked her, did you use a guard? She said yes, a #2 because I'm just not comfortable without a guard...Don't you think she might have said that before she cut his hair? He gave her this very weird look, got out of the chair, paid and left! I couldn't believe it!
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