Grooming Day

Yesterday was grooming day for me. Even though my hair wasn't that long, mom decided to trim me so I wouldn't get over heated in the type of weather we have been getting (low 30s). I have a lot more hair and a much thicker coat than most Airedales because of my coat texture. My hair also grows at an amazingly fast rate, so I need my hair cut every 4-6 weeks or I turn into a woolly mammoth. The picture below was taken back in April, 6 weeks after my hair cut. Just look at how much hair I grew in a 6 week period!!

This was only mom's second time grooming me herself, so it took her a good four and a half hours to finish grooming on me. I used to go to a groomer who made me look very beautiful everytime. However, I HATED going there because they always wanted me there for at least eight hours, and they always put the big, loud, scary wind blowing thing infront of me after I was bathed. So everytime I saw mom pull into the parking lot of the grooming place, I put on my brakes and absolutely refused to get out of the car. Mom ended up having to carry me into the grooming place. Once I realized there was no turning back, I gave mom that heart wrenching "look" (to make her feel guilty) and followed the groomer to the back. Well, I guess my trick or "manipulation" worked because mom said she just couldn't stand having to bear with that "look" anymore. YIPEE!!!

To teach herself how to groom an Airedale, mom bought J. Helm's (Indus Kennel in Calgary, AB) video (http://www.cadvision.com/helmj/) and went to the following websites to get the general outline on grooming Airedales:

http://www.airedaleterriers.org/articles/haircut.html - this is an excellent site with step by step pet clipping instructions along with photographs to demonstrate the steps.

http://members.tripod.com/~SerendipityAiredales/ - lots of links including where to purchase Airedale grooming videos

http://www.shopping.airedale.org/product_info.php?cPath=25&products_id=86 - pet clipping grooming video by Joanne Vohs

http://rangeairevision.com/educational/grooming.php - EXCELLENT hand stripping video for show/pet Airedales

Mom chooses to clip me because I'm not a show dog, and mom doesn't see the need for me to have to endure hours and hours of stripping on the grooming table. A clipped coat however, is usually lighter in colour and softer in texture. I have been clipped all my life, but look at me, am I not still an attractive looking Airedale in a different way??

These pictures were taken yesterday right before mom chopped off all my hair

I am so happy mom has decided to groom me herself and I wish she had done it ever since the beginning. Even though mom's grooming is far from perfect, I am much happier this way. Mom knows I don't like loud blow dryers, so she brushes me up and bathes me the day before and lets me air dry. When I get tired from standing, mom lets me lie down while she works around me. I, of course, am a very cooperative, well behaved girl, and I usually try my best to do whatever mom asks of me. Mom also takes me to the park for a well deserved break in between grooming.

Mom's camera ran out of battery yesterday after grooming so she couldn't take pictures of me. You can kind of see what I look like in my next entry.