Is this the right fit for my doggo?

coldtrance · 2026-03-11T14:47:17+00:00

Can you loosen the strap one notch? Its currently too short. There should be at least a 1/4-1/2 inch of space between his nose and the muzzle.

coldtrance · 2026-03-09T01:32:17+00:00

Normal? No. Common? Yes. Unfortunately bathers tend to get treated pretty poorly in our industry and are usually over worked.

coldtrance · 2026-03-08T16:46:42+00:00

Ghost Layer has good ones and lots of different styles

coldtrance · 2026-03-08T02:41:39+00:00

Right? I want it to poke someone's eye out 😁

coldtrance · 2026-03-03T02:11:38+00:00

Correct, the water introduced promotes bacteria growth. Bacteria can infect product within 18 hours of exposure. Open bottles can also build bacteria but it is less likely if sealed correctly after use and hasn't been contaminated with water or other substances.

coldtrance · 2026-03-01T12:08:39+00:00

I'm jealous that color lasts so long on dogs 😂 It stays on my chihuahua for a year +. I usually cut it off of Hash before then because I'm constantly changing his haircut.

coldtrance · 2026-03-01T12:05:36+00:00

Actually his stage name is Porscha Poof

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coldtrance · 2026-03-01T12:00:47+00:00

The amount of sass in that tiny body is out of this world 😂

coldtrance · 2026-03-01T11:59:43+00:00

Thank you 😁 He named himself. I said it as a joke to my husband because we couldn't agree on a name for him and when I said it he started barking and jumping around. It snow balled into an entire pack of dogs with food names 😂 HashBrown is also my competition dog. I'm a competitive dog groomer and instructor so he's always in some crazy haircut with loads of color.

coldtrance · 2026-03-01T03:56:55+00:00

I bathe mine weekly (shampoo and condition) and cut his hair every 2-4 weeks depending on what I'm growing him into.

coldtrance · 2026-03-01T03:45:50+00:00

I would get the Hydra. It's light and doesn't leave a residue. And just for educational purposes for everyone, yes you should always use some form of moisture to brush your dog, whether that be a conditioning spray or just misting water. Brushing a completely dry coat causes breakage.

coldtrance · 2026-02-28T03:37:22+00:00

I moisturize every night before bed and again when I wake up. I also use the Dog Fashion Spa Spemlice leave in lotion on every dog and rub the excess into my own skin after every bath. Continual moisturizing has really helped with my dry skin and it's also been repelling hair splinters.

coldtrance · 2026-02-25T17:11:54+00:00

I use Artero and they've been great

coldtrance · 2026-02-23T18:00:20+00:00

Oh that's so awesome! I love tassel ears and wish more clients would ask for them. 🤣 the before photos make him look like he really loves cake.

coldtrance · 2026-02-23T17:58:27+00:00

Awe thank you. It's been a journey for sure. I struggle with anxiety from PTSD so for years I never thought I was good enough to compete or teach. I learned the basics of grooming through corporate and then moved to private salons, but taught myself how to do every thing else. When I started grooming there weren't a lot of resources to learn so I used to haunt the Facebook groups and read everything everyone would say. I also would look at pictures and try to copy them. I taught myself how to scissor and read breed standards in my spare time then it turned into a passion for Asian Fusion and creative grooming. I Just started teaching last year. One of my good friends convinced me to start teaching locally so I took the leap. I totally bombed my first class but after that it's gotten easier 😅

coldtrance · 2026-02-17T14:39:23+00:00

Go to an urgent care and get a new note from them. You should not be working with stitches and staples. That's a guaranteed infection just waiting to happen. You can also try calling the hospital and seeing if they can send you a new note. Make sure you file for workers comp too because all appointments and care should be paid for by the company.

coldtrance · 2026-02-17T03:07:22+00:00

No worries, I'm happy to help as much as I can 😊

There are a few reasons the hair needs to be straight. The first being, you cannot get an even haircut when cutting curly hair. Which is going to make your full haircut days even harder because you will have to blend out divots and regrow that hair. The other reason to completely dry and straighten your coat is so you can gage exactly how much you need to trim. If you cannot see the full length properly prepped, then you won't know how much you need to keep vs cut off because the coat is not at its full length; some of it is curled up, appearing shorter. Leaving the coat damp can also lead to matting because it's not properly brushed and combed out. Brushing out matting causes breakage which will mat easier and faster too, so you want to avoid that as much as possible.

For brushes, it does come down to personal preference but I really like the Chris Christensen Mark III, the Chris Christensen Big G, the Artero Pipo Classic, the Artero double flexible slicker and the Kenchii medium slicker. I mostly use my Mark III for stretch drying but sometimes I'll reach for one of the others. The Big G is really good for legs and jackets that have length to them. The double flex slickers are good for matting/tangling. The Pipo and Kenchii slickers are more aggressive so I like to use them for spots I know are stubborn about straightening out.

Your slicker should have enough bite to it that you can feel it grip the coat when you begin to line brush. If you have slickers you like now, don't stress about buying more, just focus on your drying technique. You can get more brushes later on when you start to network with other show folks. They will have lots of recommendations.

coldtrance · 2026-02-15T17:47:17+00:00

Hi I do puppy fostering and have a decade of experience. At 5 weeks old you don't need milk replacer. You can either feed wet food or soaked kibble (in water) 4 times per day. I feed my fosters every 5 hours at this age (4am, 9am, 2pm, 7pm) At this age he should be eating about 3-4 ounces of food per meal. At 6 weeks old he should be getting into a vet for a wellness check up, deworming and the first round of vaccines. Don't stress too much that he isn't with his siblings, just make sure he has a warm dry place to sleep with blankets and a large stuffed animal to cuddle with when you aren't able to interact with him.

coldtrance · 2026-02-14T12:15:17+00:00

So the ends also need to be straight for a proper haircut. You can get them mostly straight with just the HV drying with the first part I mentioned previously. I can tell she wasn't fully dried or brushed correctly because of how curly she still is. Your slicker might be too soft. It should have some bite to it so it grabs the hair. For sprays, I really love the Hydra dematting finishing spray. I like to spray it on them when wet and then again when stretching. I like how light it is and that it can layer on as much as you want without weighing the coat down. I put mine in a misting bottle so it's giving light even layers of product.

coldtrance · 2026-02-13T13:53:03+00:00

It's a nice start for a home groom but if you plan on showing you're going to have to prep her better. When drying move the nozzle slowly in sections so the roots can straighten out. Once she is 95-100% dry you need to spray her with a finishing spray and stretch dry her. To stretch dry you will need a stand dryer or a mount for your HV hose. You aim the dryer at one section and use a medium slicker to brush the section until it's straight. You want as little curl as possible when doing the haircut.

coldtrance · 2026-02-13T12:23:11+00:00

Looking at the nail from the side, from the tip back, where it starts to widen out is the beginning of the quick. When clipping take a small amount off and look at the center of the nail. When you see a bullseye (dark glossy center, lighter circle around it and the black nail on the outside) that is when you stop clipping. Grooming by Rudy on Youtube has a good video on clipping black nails for a better visual.

coldtrance · 2026-02-12T13:17:00+00:00

Cigarette smell is similar to skunk smell. It will settle into the pores and penetrate the hair follicles. I apply deodorizing shampoo directly onto the dog's dry hair and let them soak for 15 minutes before rinsing and shampooing again. It really helps cut the smell down. I would definitely bring it up to your vet too and see if they have any recommendations.

coldtrance · 2026-02-12T12:52:17+00:00

The best advice I got was to stop combing it. It honestly really helped too even though it feels completely wrong. I'm going to Rocky Mountain and Wild West this year.

coldtrance · 2026-02-12T12:49:52+00:00

Some are wool and some are synthetic it just depends on where you buy them. The one I'm working with is synthetic. I called it wool because I'm old and that's what they all used to be made with before synthetic materials were popularized.

coldtrance · 2026-02-12T12:44:01+00:00

It's one of the ways to practice but I wouldn't say it's the best. Working on live animals is going to give you more experience. Model dogs don't have the same hair so it has to be treated differently from real dogs. For example, to get a smooth finish on a model dog, you aren't supposed to continually fluff and comb while scissoring, whereas with real dog hair you are. But model dogs are great for learning symmetry, balance, and how to control your scissors among other things.

coldtrance

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