Long time no see...

I am happy to see names I still recognize! I haven't been on in a long while, but my back is out so I am forced to stay home
I thought you might all like to see what a little Kool-Aid can do to show ones St. Patricks Day spirit.

That is ..if I can remember how to post a picture.
This is Darby

 

Hi there stranger! Darbies a cutie, I miss your wonderful advice. how is the rest of your brood?

honeybear

 

Darby is going in next week to have many teeth removed, poor little man has horrible teeth. He is doing great on the raw diet, no more allergies, no more struvite crystals/stones..and as you can see, he has all of his hair. I am working at a grooming/pet supply shop now. The same one I used to talk about buying my food from. She hired me to handle her retail section and talk to people about food just as she did with me. I really like working there :mrgreen:
Dooley now has his FDX in flyball and after the next tournament in April he will probably have his FDCh. Shawn wanted to take a break from flyball, so I have been running Dooley.
Witt is doing well, we are still working on the stranger thing. He is now much more relaxed around strangers. I am finally going to take a group obedience class with him starting this month. I have come to terms with the fact that it's going to be a slow process and that there are some things I just won't be able to do with Witt. like flyball. He still gets to go to practices and play but I will not be competing with him. He goes to work with me twice a week, it's a great place for me to work with him in a controlled environment. He is now good about me doing his nails, I actually dremel them, he is the best out of all the dogs...which chaps Shawns hide(hehehe).
Annie has adjusted nicely, she has plenty of issues to work on so she keeps us busy. I am glad we kept her, but man oh man did we open a can of worms in doing so. She is the quirkiest dog I have ever met. Elise wants to do big air with her..thats dock diving. We have met a couple of people who do it and will help us get started, but I told Elise she couldn't start until Annie graduated from an obedience class and had a reliable recall on her. She also starts this month.
I cannot believe I have four dogs!

 

Great to see you again, Maisey! Sounds like you're keeping busy.

 

glad to hear things are going well. DId you put the rest of the dogs on raw? I just love watching the dock jumping, they have a club hre that started a few years ago and one dog can do like 27 feet, amazing. I really need to try the dremel thing, since I have one

honeybear

 

Hi Honeybears!

Darby and the cats get nothing but raw. The three bigger dogs get raw about 70% of the time and kibble the rest. I never feed kibble and raw together since the kibble takes so much longer to digest, and I rotate around alot amongst the brands so they get a wide variety of ingredients.

A new club is just now being set up for dock diving here and Elise has her name on the list of "I wanna join" peoples. But I really do want her to get a much better handle on Annie before she starts on the big air.

I have noticed that Witt does much better at having his nails trimmed when I am at the shop and I put him on a grooming table. When at home he is a bit more of a pill. It was at the shop on the table that I decided to try the dremel and was extremely surprised that he was better with the dremel than the clippers. I think the table means business to them...at home they feel more free to be naughty. I do it once a week so it's a routine now. He knows what to expect and he knows there is a reward at the end. He gets to pick a treat from the retail section. He picks the same one every week...a muscle chew.

 

I've found that a LOT of dogs do better with the dremel than the clippers. About 95% of the dogs I groom I use the dremel, with fewer problems than clippers. I use clippers on very small dogs, tiny puppies, and cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, etc.

One word of caution to anyone concidering using a dremel. Watch out for long hair; the dogs and yours! It'll rip hair out in a heartbeat.

 

Hi Shineillusion,

Are you a groomer? If so....have you ever used blades made by Klean Kut? I've just ordered some and the groomer I work for wanted me to order a brand that is well known. She was assuming that because it's a new brand..it isn't a good one. My thought is that you don't know until you try....

I also ordered ceramic cutters which she doesn't use because she said they break too easy. I will only be grooming one dog and I will be the only one using the clippers so I'm thinking it will be different for me than for her, plus I don't mind paying the $8 for a new one. Do you use them?

 

I bought a dremel as well and printed out the article I posted here a while back on how to accustom your dog to the noise and sensation and how to do the nails. The dremel and the article are both sitting on my kitchen countertop and have been for months. *sigh* Sometimes I am so lame! :?

 

Nice to hear from you Maisey! I'm glad to hear the dogs are doing well and I love the picture of green Darby.

 

Hey girl!!!! has been long time no see!! Glad to hear your ok, Other than the back..ouch! hope you get to feelin better.

Darby looks sick!! Green...LMFAO!!!! oh lordy, doesn't look like he's enjoying that at all!!!

 

Yep, I'm a groomer. Been grooming in one capacity or another for over 30 years.

To answer your question about blades; I have two Klean Kut blades, and wouldn't waste the money to buy another one. But then, I'm doing 8-12 clips a day. If you're only doing one dog, you may be able to get away with it. One thing you should probably do is never use them on a dirty dog. Always bathe first. Dirt will dull a blade faster than anything, and Klean Kuts don't hold their edge all that well to begin with. Keep them cleaned and oiled, and they'll last longer.

If your clippers are Oster or Wahl, the Wahl blades will probably work best. Wahl blades are just awesome. For Andis clippers, Andis blades work better because the socket is just a tiny bit wider than Oster or Wahl sockets. They can be adjusted either way, though.

I've never tried the ceramic cutters for exactly the reason you heard. They break easily. It's also harder to find a sharpener who knows how to sharpen them without breaking them. However, I do know many groomers who use them and love them. I think they're one of those things that fall into the personal preference catagorie. People either love 'em or hate 'em.

 

Thanks Shine... I was able to call her before she placed the order and asked her to just get me the Andis blades. I did order the Andis clippers, I have a Wahl and I don't like it. The only grooming I do is on my horse and on Darby, but I have wanted a nice pair of clippers for a long time. I don't like grooming Darby in the first place, having crappy clippers made it even more miserable. It's helpful to hear an opinion from someone whose actually tried a product. What surprises me is that the KleanKut blades were as much if not more than the Andis blades. I'm glad I asked, thank you for your reply.

 

=P~ Hi ya Maisey, how are you? It's been a while!! Good to hear from you. Hope your back is better soon!

Jas

 

Hi Jas, nern, Sams, Jimaya....I was happy to see you were all still here
It's taking my back longer to heal this time...probably because I am still going to work. No down time for me. It has to get better quick like though because I am running Dooley in a flyball tournament in April. Fun! Fun!

Jas I met a pb Ridgeback at work, they bring him in for self serve baths about once a month...he is very cool.

 

Oh My Goodness!

It's great to see you Maisy, and to hear you're still around.
Darby isn't looking too good there hehe.

 

Hi! I just wanted to tell a story after seeing your dogs pic. A few summers ago I was staying with some friends and they tie died Luther! Red green and purple he was so cute!! So anyway, I was walking him past the neighbor, when he said that is the exact same dog as my mom has, except different colors. I think he realized how puzzled I was and immediately said no no, her is black and tan, not white.

 

Tie Dyed ...like this?

Mackenzie is home for Spring break and decided Darby needed some Easter spirit too. I have to take him into the vets for dental work April 6th, I don't think this will come out by then so they are going to think I am horrible I suppose.

 

ahhh,, so Springlike. is htat kool aid too?

 

haha, that's great maisey!