Good Vibrations & Puppy Love

"Ok. I want to put Zellie in a continental trim." Bre called me to talk about how she's ready to put her puppy in a new trim.

"How old is she again?" I asked forgetting even though I was there when we picked her up three weeks prior.
"Four months old."
"Ok, when do you want to do this?" I was getting excited about coming back to grooming after my one year hiatus.

"Are you free tonight?" She asked.

"HELL YES" I cried out.

We decided to meet at our friend Moe's house as she has great space for us to work & play.

I arrived at Moe's a little after 7.

Bre bounced in the doorway with her big red standard poodle puppy minutes after my arrival.

"OMG! She's gotten so tall!" The three of us stood back and admired the legs on this beautiful dog. In my mind, I was already trimming her and setting my patterns.
When I lived in Austin, I was always grooming poodle puppies and I convinced one client to let me do my first continental trim on his dog, and the trend spread like wild fire. Next thing I know, I'm putting this fabulous cut on every poodle on my books. I learned so much as a baby groomer. I loved to study and research haircuts.

My fear got the best of me as Bre set the dryer hose down after finishing Zellie's bath. I looked at her puppy and went blank. I don't even know what scissors or blade to use suddenly.

"OK...I don't know what I'm doing after all." I said out loud, already defeated. Then I laughed a little.
"So, lets do some internet searching and see what to do. I'm seriously unsure about the rosettes that go on her ass."

We all had a good chuckle, then turned to our phones to dig for the answers.
After a few seconds, we each had really nice pics, examples & even videos.
The first pic we used was of a white poodle.

"Ok, so I need to know where I'm gonna set the pattern on the front legs. That seems like a good place to start." I announced as I put my hands on Zellie and searched for her elbow and first joint on her front leg. I felt a knot at the wrist, and slid my hand up to the elbow.

"Ok, I need someone to hold her," I said as she wiggled away from me.

Bre stepped up and held Zellies throat gently and helped the puppy balance on the table. We were gonna take a while to do this and we wanted her to be as comfty as possible so we could get the best cut possible and teach her that this is fun & we love how she is behaving.

I kept using my hands to measure where I would begin the trim. My hands started to sweat and I felt all these fears rush into my mind.

What if you fuck it up? What if she hates you because you ruined her puppy's first haircut? What if everyone finds out you don't even know what you are doing after 18 years of being a groomer?

Before I could even entertain too much of this, I said,

"OH, ok, hand me the clippers -- let's just GO. I can't think about this anymore." I laughed as Bre handed me her Andis Pulse ZRII. I smiled. 

"omg it feels so good to hold clippers again!" I thought as I admired the casing and fumbled around for the on switch. 

I panicked again.

"FUCK ok, how the hell do you turn them on?" I whimpered.

Bre pointed to the button.

"OH! omg are you sure you want me to do this?? I don't even remember how turn on CLIPPERS!" I fake cried and whined to her.

"Yes, just go." Bre & Moe laughed as they tried to contain the wiggly Zellie.

Without any more hesitation, I flicked the switch on. That old familiar, good vibration lighting up in my hands was like heaven. I relaxed, my mind shut off and I zipped out the pattern on the front right leg. I felt absolute glee and joy. I giggled.

"Oh yessss" I said as I leaned back to admire my first clipped out cut on her.

I leaned in and started to clean up the newly naked strip around Zellie's leg. I moved on to the next leg, measuring again with my hands and using my imagination to draw my lines.

Zip, Zip...leg two...set.

We all leaned back off the puppy and looked at what I had done.

"Bre, we gotta talk about this mustache." Moe motioned over Zellie's face.

I winced. I wasn't ready to break the news to her.

"Ok she looks like an Irish terrier." I blurted out without really thinking. "I don't like it."

Bre sucked in a big breath. "Awe, hell no. What?! You guys suck. Really?!" she started to get mad at both of us.

"Uhhh," I nervously stammered. "Well, I mean it's ok. It's your dog, really. Let's just put a pin in it and come back to that."

I laughed and reassured her, it's fine.

I began to cough, as I was getting over a cold.

"Ok, I have to take a break." I stepped away.

When I returned, Bre and Moe had worked on Zellie's clean feet, and cleaned up my lines on the front legs.

Now, I was ever so eager to shave off the dog's rear end and start the rosettes on the hips.

I put my hands on Zellie and felt for her rib cage.

"OK. I kinda remember something about using the rib cage as a point of reference for the jacket...Guys, I think I need to phone a friend." I started laughing so hard. "Guys..." 

A few weeks prior, I interviewed for a grooming opportunity. The owner was super gracious in sharing that she had hired a groomer as a consultant for her new mobile grooming business. I felt so privileged that she connected me with him. He sounded incredible by her description. I couldn't wait to chat with a colleague and learn more! Unfortunately, he didn't feel the same and gave me grief because I wasn't aware of his fame status. This has become the blunt of a few of our inside jokes between the three of us. His name was Jack Shoemaker.

I was already breathless from laughing at the idea that I would actually call Jack for help.

"I KNOW! I'LL CALL JACK" We all died laughing.

Moe was breathless, too, as she showed me her phone because she had quite literally just found him online showing off a beautiful example of a continental trim. The exact cut we were hunting for, of course.

"OK OK, but like should I really call him?"
"NO" Moe & Bre answered in unison.

"Right! OK, but we should call Ray, though. He will guide us in real time."

I video called him. No answer.

"OK, guys, don't judge me. But I actually kinda have to 'psycho call' him. But that's not who I am; it's just like what we do." I felt silly as they both shrugged.

He answered on the second attempted.

"RAY!!" Both our faces lit up with recognition. OMG I have missed my dear friend.

I excitedly explained where I was, what I was doing and how we needed his help.

Ray smiled that warm sunshine smile that I so adore and said he couldn't wait to help.

I flipped my camera to Zellie.

"Ok, so, we decided to come back here to the ass end and banded up mock rosettes on her hips, so we have some idea of what we need to keep. Do you think that will work?" I explained.

He studied our work.

"Yes, ok see there where your hand is? You need to take those bands out and you will begin her stripe in between the rosettes." 

We all found his energy helpful in calming us and guiding us on this beautiful haircut.

I removed the rubber bands and used scissors to trim out my path between the rosettes.

"YESSSS" Ray beamed with approval.

"Ok, now for the jacket...I remember something about using the ribs as a guidepost." I offered what I could recall.

"Oh, yeah, give yourself one inch extra behind the ribs." He said.

I showed him with my hands where we would start the trim line for the jacket.

"And we just watched a video that showed us to start just above the hock at an angle towards the floor. I had never seen that. Or I have forgotten. She said it gives the illusion that the dog is in motion when you do this." I explained what I just watched.

"Oh, yeah, that's right. So I want you to start two fingers width above the hock," he said.

I put my fingers on the dog's leg.

"Oh, you have some tiny ass fingers. Let's make that three fingers." He laughed.

I added a finger.

"Oh, yeah, that's it," he said.

Moe and Bre had been wrestling with a playful Zellie and she fidgeted during the instruction.

I turned on the clippers and buzzed off a little hair, testing myself in a way. I leaned back, flipped the clippers off and looked at my cut. I flicked the clippers back on and clipped her coat in reverse up her little leg.

"Oh, shit Bre, I'm going reverse and I didnt even ask you." I said as I continued clipping the hair in reverse anyway.

"It's ok! I'm glad her skin is getting exposed to it." Bre was trying to watch what I was doing, but Zellie did best with Bre on the opposite side of where I was working.

Moe was at Zellie's head with two phones: one recording and one holding Ray up to watch me work.

As I clipped up the leg to the flank and skin flap areas...

"Whoa!" He said quickly.

I stopped immediately.

"Oh, Gawd, am I ok?" I nervously pushed the rosette hair back, wondering if I had gone too high up on her side.

"Yeah, just stop there though. You definitely want to leave yourself some room."

I sighed with relief. ok, yes, I got this, I thought.

My confidence was growing by the minute. I loved being surrounded by so many awesome people. We were really enjoying this experience. Zellie could feel us and was playful and relaxed as we finished up this side of her body.

"Ok," Bre announced. "Let's ask Ray about the mustache...Ray? What are your thoughts?" She turned the phone to Zellie's head. "Oh, I trimmed the topknot too low by the way."

I giggled "Oh, you don't say." I broke into laughter.

"OK, let's hear what Ray has to say," she said sharply.

"Yeah, it fits her. I love the look. The short topknkot and the mustache balance each other out. If you want to do something with her ears (the ears were shaved with a #10)..." his voice trailed off.
"Oh, yeah, I was thinking about growing out tassels on them," Bre mused.

We all four shrieked like kids opening a Christmas present.

"Ohh, tassels..." the four of us all began talking excitedly to each other all at once. It was this low comfortable, excited buzz.

"I think if you grow them out like this..." Ray was talking directly to Bre and explained how the tassels can be grown out and it would bring a nice feminine element to her head.

"Yeah, I don't want people calling her a boy with that mustache, so the tassels will help that!" Bre was excited about how they were able to keep the mustache and the dog's girliness intact.

"HA, see?! Ray knows what's up!" She beamed.

Moe and I smiled. We loved how pleased our friend was.

About this time, I was ready for another break. Zellie seemed like she needed a pee break, too.

We let her run around and Bre decided we needed pizza.

I chatted with Ray a little longer, picked up pizza, ate, let Ray go, then we were ready to dive back in.

Next, we worked on her right side, repeating the same steps as before. We carved out the rosette tentatively, then moved to shaving out the line between the rosettes on her topline.

"Use her spine to guide you to shave out her line." I said as I watched Bre flick on the clippers.

"FAK!" She exclaimed suddenly. "I fucked up. Fuck." she said quietly.

"Nah, it's ok! It's puppy hair! Just like you said earlier, it's gonna get wet and you will blow dry it and it will look totally different again. This is just practice. Besides, it will grow back in." Moe insisted.

Bre sighed.

"It's only puppy hair. You got this!" Moe was so encouraging.

I looked at what Bre was worried about. The puppy hair had cowlicks and it gave the effect that the lines were uneven on her back.

We decided it was time to take the rubber bands out and see where our rosettes fell.

All three of us stepped back from the table as we looked at these big patches of red hair on her hips.

We thought maybe they were too big, too low and lopsided.

I grabbed Bre's curved scissors.

"May I?" I asked Bre pointing to the red puffs with her shears.

"Yup," she nodded.

"I'm used to using the chunkers or the thinners. I'm not gonna lie, I can't listen to what you are saying and scissor the rosettes. I am visual. I learn visually." Bre explained.

"Oh, yeah, ok. Watch me. Can I explain as I go? Or don't talk, just go?" I asked.

"Nah, you can explain, but I want to watch." She added.

I trimmed up Zellie's puff, molding it with every swish of the scissors. A sound I simply LOVE.

"Ok, if you feel more comfortable with the chunkers, I think you should go with that. It could work." I leaned back and offered Bre her chunkers. I couldn't hide the slight hint of skepticism, putting my own experience behind my words, and really imagining a chop job was about to ensue.

"OMG we need Ray!" Moe exclaimed.

"No, Moe. We are RAY." Bre said with this bold quiet confidence.

The three of us beamed.

She took the chunkers and like magic, the little rosette formed within seconds of her scissoring.

As she worked on the right hip, I moved to the other side of the dog and began trimming down the left hip rosette with more confidence and ease.

We stopped at the same time and looked at our work. Bre just needed to come to my side to match up the last of the puff.

Next, she finished one last clean foot and scooped out Zellie's eyes, leaving her beautiful mustache.

"Alright, let's let her down on the floor, shake off and we can see where we are," Moe said.

I laughed.

"Y'all, that puppy is tired. I bet she lays on the floor as soon as we set her down and passes out."

Bre set Zellie on the floor. The sleepy puppy found her way to the couch and cuddled up next to my sleeping son.

"AH! She didn't even shake!" Moe laughed.

We took our cue from Zellie. It was close to midnight and all of us were done grooming dogs for the time being.

Bre loaded her truck up as Moe and I cleaned.

The three of us groomers went outside to the front yard and Zellie trotted around sporting her new beautiful Continental Clip.

"OMG I love it. She looks so elegant. I love it!!" I swooned over my own work.

"Hell, yeah, wow, I love her legs. She looks great." Moe said brightly.

She and I were silently high fiving ourselves and basking in our own glory.

Bre laughed and said "yeah, that shit looks great...IN THE DARK!!"

All three of us broke out in laughter.

"Fuck you!! I thought the same thing!! OMG I love you!!!!" I was laughing so hard.

She was totally right, but I couldn't help but feel like it didn't matter that it was so dark outside. The glow from the streetlights illuminated Zellie and she looked like a superstar designed by three high vibe groomers.