becks

So nice to hear I'm not the only one suffering with a bad back and not wanting to put in a full week - but as has been said the flexibility it gives you is very handy. The problem for those of us thinking of moving into another job is the lack of transferable skills or am I wrong in this?

Having read the thread about the downside of grooming and some of the nice bits I just wondered is this a job you will stay in for life or is there something else you would like to move on to?

Pet hates - all of the above. The dog hairs that stick into your skin and you spend ages searching for the tiny white hair causing the 'ouch' everytime something touches your hand. Dogs who yap all the time and are often the ones whose owners are late to collect them. For me the worst thing is dealing with dogs who thrash about when you pick them up - having the slipped disc/sciatica pain all the time this is one of the worst things to aggravate it. As for the matted dogs - I have a big sign on my door stating mats will be cut off and this may mean the entire dog is clipped to the skin, if you don't agree to this don't leave your dog here! And I will then show them the fleece I had to remove

My breeds traditionally have them removed, some breeds are meant to have them. If the claws lie flat to the leg and are regularly cut they don't normally cause a problem. Personally I have the claws taken off my pups when the tails get docked, though I have seen sewveral adults have it done and be fine. Pro - the dog can never injure the leg again by ripping off the claw or have it grow into the leg Con - it'll have stitches in the leg for a few weeks.

Possibly consider the old fashioned remedy for canker in cockers - thornit powder, not sure if you can get it in oz, but it's very good for drying out the ear. Biogroom ear powder also has the same active ingredient in it. If you can get it the genuine stuff is best, it's cured dogs who have had persistant ear problems.

Or how about a nice carrot for the dog to chew on, frozen ones are good for dogs who are teething I've been told.

I thought I would try them with my 6 week old litter. Their pen is covered in newspaper but I put a wee pad in one side, if anything they was less puddles on that then on the paper! The second one I tried was just shredded. When it comes time to really work on the house training the one I keep will be going staight outside. I'm sort of doing this now but it's not easy to get them all outside in time

If you are OK to handle your dog in every day life (and I presume you haven't got a dog you are that allergic to) why don't you have a go at grooming your dog out side, where a mask over your face and a pair of surgical gloves. These gloves will also be great for getting a grip on the dead coat that needs pulling. I have a grooming salon and I do groom show schnauzers for other people. only on the condition they keep the body coat rolling themselves between visits as well as keeping the undercoat raked out. This means I have the time to put the finishing touches to the trim rarther then getting exhausted with the 'grunt work'. As I show schnauzers I know how to groom dogs to the best advantage for they're shape and how to show off what is important for my breed. While I could strip a griffon, I do not have the necessary knowledge on how to show groom your breed (like most groomers!). You would be better getting as much info and pics as you can from your breeder on how to groom your dog and going to the shows to see how they look and talk to people there about how they groom their dogs, you might even find someone willing to start you off.

Worth mentioning that the 'hardness' of the water can also have an effect. I know of a dog washed regularly in human shampoo, one day the owners were stopping with friends in another part of the country thenight before a show - used the same shampoo and ended up with a very lank coat - only difference was the water type!

adding tomato ketchup to the dogs food can also help and tastes better then adding vinegar to the water.

isaviz, what are you doing with your thumb and pinky??? Can't work out how you tell the sex of a dog from those rules of yours.

If it's still sticking up a bit at the show, keep a damp towel on the area (make sure hair is brushed the way you want it to lie down) while you wait to go in.

Where do you buy these swimming pools? Are they a hard plastic or need blowing up?

Inmy salon dogs ears are plucked by puting in some ear powder which gives you a good grip on the waxy hairs and dries out the ear canal and then I use my fingers to pull out a few hairs at a time with a twisting motion. This is a safer option the forceps if your dog should jerk her head at the wrong moment as fingers don't slip into the ear canal and perforate the ear drum. I use Biogroom ear cleaner (bet you can't get that is aus) but it's very good at dissolving wax.

Mine have a wax jacket for getting into shows if it's raining and they also have a loweling coat which they wear wet in hot weather, great for keeping them cool