Between the end of March up to now (5th June) many people have not been able to have a haircut!
The corona virus has stopped many things in life; going out with friends, going to the pub, going on holiday and not being able to use hairdressers as they are still closed, the same goes for dog groomers too. So its left many of us and our dogs with very new looks!
As with many families we have all tried the "lockdown cut" as one family member watches a Youtube lesson in how to cut hair & becomes an "expert", then gets a large bowl out of the kitchen cupboard & proceeds to snip away, the end result leaving the family in tears of laughter but the person who has been "attacked" in proper tears.
I bought some clippers and my wife gave me a no.1 hair shave, which left me looking like an extra from the war movie Full metal Jacket!. My daughter had a trim and my wife dyed her own roots successfully. My daughter also did a pretty decent haircut on her brother but before she snipped away at it he did have the pudding bowl look!
I have seen many dogs when out on my dog walk where the owners have clearly had a go at being a groomer and attempted a haircut. The funniest ones are the dogs that normally have a fringe or hair that hangs over the eyes, the owner snips at it and keep going until all that hair is totally gone, leaving the dog with a permanent look of surprise where you see their big eyes now fully on show.
I am guilty of this too, being the owner of 3 Yorkshire terriers, they are a breed that need regular grooming to keep them tidy and smart. We usually go for a short body cut and keep the Yorkie head style. But with Lockdown going on for so long now they have started to look very long and scruffy, but extremely cute at the same time.
For some reason, Rocky my little right hand man is the one out of our 3 that I do attempt to trim. Now most of the time I do take him to our groomer, Lorraine Fury a wonderful lady,the dogs love & adore who does a top notch job on them every time. But sometimes, just like now, the months role by and we have missed the chance to book him in.
I pick him up and put him on our table, the look on his face tells me he isn't impressed this is going to happen instead of his day out being pampered by Lorraine.
I generally start with his face, just in case he gets bored, at least the main part is done then.
As I draw the scissors close to his face, he tenses up & I guess I would too as these big shiny silver sharp things are getting near my eyes! I am lucky though as we have built up such a close bond over the 11 years of his life, he lets me start snipping.
A Yorkie's hair is very similar to human hair in it's texture and feel, so using a pair of scissors around his head is the best way. I randomly snip, snip, snip away, if I take a chunk off on the left I try and even it up on the right, winging it as I go. In the past I have made the mistake of snipping too much and turning him from looking like a Yorkie into resembling a chihuahua!
Once I'm happy with the look of his face cut, I move onto the body and feet, stopping to give him the odd treat for letting me massacre him.
Once I am finished I stand back and take in my work, proud of myself, Rocky breathes a sigh of relief but then I keep coming back with a snip here and a snip there but have to stop myself from going too far. I put Rocky on the floor and say "all done" as he trots off not caring what he looks like at all, just happy to get back to being a dog.
I often think if dogs could talk, Rocky would go up to his wife Stardust and say "what do you think?" as he does a little spin to show himself off.
"Oh!" She says "He got you again did he?, don't worry it will grow out in time!"
Then Herbie trots up laughing "good hairdo dad!" rolling about on his back with his legs in the air in hysterics.
So before you get the clippers out ready to hack at your beloved pup, stop and think, could I hang in there for a few more weeks and get the professionals on the case instead of living with a dog who can only go for a walk in the garden until their hair grows back!
I think having our hairdressers and dog groomers shut has left most of us realising how skilled these people are and realising how much we need these key workers!
If you enjoy my blogs, why not try listening to my podcast "Dogs" by Paul Dungey available on Google podcasts, spotify, Anchor podcasts, Apple and other platforms.
until next time...
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