Grooming Tips with Jay Scruggs!

I had the pleasure of attending a seminar in Tampa today with Jay Scruggs, hosted by Groomer's Choice Pet Products.

Jay is a renowned groomer, speaker and judge for the pet industry. Some of his grooming demos included an apricot standard poodle named Tailer (Before: notice the big hair! After, a neatly trimmed look), a black Pomeranian getting a 1/2" cut, then combed undercoat (also, Jay showed how to comb out ears matts, see below) and a cute "Shorkie" Yorkie - Shih Tzu cross with longer legs and skirt than the body (and how to blend them together).

Some of the tips he shared:

• Separate the head from the body with downward strokes
• With snap-on combs over a #30 blade, clip with the hair growth - such as, shoulder to tail; when shaving (such as muzzle of poodle) clip against the growth - such as ear to nose
• Clip the inside of a back leg by lifting the opposite leg
• Less track marks are made with snap-on stainless steel combs than a long blade.
• Thinning shears trim a more natural look than a straight scissors.
• Paws: just clip pad hair even, not in between unless matted; round paw with thinning scissors making sure nails don't show.
• For hair over eyes, trim like a visor with thinning shears instead of straight scissors
• For poodles, bichons etc,: trim topknot by combing to side and trim with curved scissors; for front, comb away from eyes. When shaving the face, don't shave all the way to breastbone; just below jaw. The poodle tail when standing upright, should be even with topknot. The legs should be longer than body hair, and blended in. For ears and tail, twist the end and snip off. Use thinning shears to shape.
  
• For ear matts: pinch finger between skin and matt and with thinning shears, clip off above your finger. Then with help of detangler spray, pry apart the rest of matt with fingers and comb.

Visit their sites at:
http://www.superstylingsessions.com/html/jay_scruggs.html
http://www.groomerschoice.com/