Special Report
Breaking Into Show Grooming
While the world of show grooming can seem a bit intimidating, all it takes to break into this exciting segment of the trade is determination and a willingness to learn.

By Carol Visser

I remember being in grooming school and going on a field trip to the local dog show, which happened to be the spring Ladies’ Dog Club Show in Massachusetts, an outdoor show. I walked around just flabbergasted at the number of different breeds, their beauty and the incredible grooming being done. I watched in awe as flying scissors created smooth perfection on poodles, thinning shears removed cowlicks on rottweilers, and nimble fingers plucked and carded cocker spaniels’ backs to a sleek finish. I was amazed and intimidated, sure that I’d never be that good.

I became a dog show addict for a while, attending every breed show that I could. It’s an incredible grooming instruction course, and the only cost was the small price of admission. While dogs usually arrive clean and pre-groomed, the finishing touches done at the show alone are worth their weight in gold to learn. And some amateur handlers bring a prepped dog to the show for a professional to finish the groom for them–if you can catch one of those, it’s a joy to watch an expert take a mass of, say, old English sheepdog hair and craft and sculpt it into the breed standard.

A good many of our best grooming contest judges and competitors have shown and groomed for the breed ring. For many, that’s how they got into the pet grooming industry. For instance, I know a stylist that showed poodles, having learned from the breeder of her first poodle how to groom them. So many of her friends and family asked her to do their pets that she decided to make a business out of it. The poodles still serve as advertising, as they are often in the shop for customers to exclaim over. My friend loves that her hobby is now making a living for her and supporting her original hobby–she still shows poodles.

Sue Zecco, well-known judge, competitor, co-creator of grooming videos and breeder of champion poodles, started the other way around. Instead of show grooming leading to pet grooming, she was already a pet stylist, but it was her contest grooming that led her in the direction of the show ring. She was looking for a sporting breed to compete with and at a local show saw some English cockers whose looks and style she fell in love with. She hesitantly approached the handler, explained what she was doing and asked him if she might possibly use one of his dogs to groom in a contest setting. It turned out that Phil, the one handling the dogs in the ring, was married to Peggy Nelson, an English cocker breeder, and he suggested that Sue talk to his wife. After some discussion, Peggy agreed, gave Sue a lesson on the finer points of grooming English cockers and sent her home with one of her dogs to practice on.

Sue quickly began placing with that dog and ended up competing with more of Peggy’s dogs. By doing so, she got to know people that showed sporting breeds, which resulted in business coming into the Pampered Pet, Sue’s shop, once word got out that she had experience grooming sporting breeds for show. All of these contacts provided her with more dogs and more breeds for competition, and more contacts. It became common for her to tell Peggy what grooming shows she needed dogs for, so Peggy could check the breed ring show calendar and enter shows right after. This way, Peggy could take a dog that Sue had competed with and show it the next weekend, already groomed to perfection–a mutually beneficial relationship.

Later, Sue got a standard poodle to groom and show. She placed a lot, but couldn’t quite get the points needed to make a championship dog. She worked at it for 18 months, and then asked a professional handler whose work she admired what she was doing wrong, and he told her. She ended up placing her dog with him to be handled to a championship, which he did in three months.

Sue was always at the shows, learning more about grooming poodles, correcting conformation defects and showing. She would volunteer to help handler Kaz Hosaka, as she loved watching him work–his gentle kindness with the animals coupled with his talent and success were impressive. Even if she was only holding dogs for him while he was in the ring with another one, she learned. The smallest tips that show groomers take for granted were valuable to her in making each pet or competition dog look his or her best.

Getting in the Ring
So, if you are amazed and astounded by the quality of grooming work turned out in the show ring, what’s the best way to get there? The easiest way is probably to get a show dog and show it yourself. Everyone has a favorite breed or two; why not make a connection at a show with a breeder and buy a dog from them?

Novice classes will be populated with people who are just starting out, like you. Local obedience clubs often include a class on handling in the breed ring, as well as working in the obedience ring. Going to shows is a valuable way to broaden your styling horizons, and having your own dog to show makes it more fun. Make sure you get a dog from a breeder who shows, and be sure that they understand you want a show-quality dog. Often, the only difference is a small detail of color or tailset that is completely unimportant in a pet, but if it isn’t what the breed standard calls for, you will not be successful in the dog show arena.

Sue Zecco says the best way to enter the world of show grooming is to find a mentor. Once you have found someone whose work you admire, ask if you could help them in order to learn. Most people showing dogs could use an extra set of hands and might be amenable to having you watch them prep dogs and ask questions in return for your help.

“Spend some time first watching and familiarizing yourself with dog shows,” says Zecco. “And time your request carefully. Someone headed to the ring to make a class on time will not be able to chat and may be too nervous anyway. Instead, catch someone that doesn’t look as though they are in a real hurry as they are headed back to the grooming area.”

Try volunteering to meet them at shows to do whatever needs to be done–taking dogs out to relieve themselves, holding dogs before they are taken into the ring, assisting with bringing in crates and tables and setting up in the morning, and general fetching and carrying. That’s what Sue Zecco started out doing for Kaz Hosaka, who she refers to as her “Poodle God.” She learned a lot of finer points of poodle grooming from him.

Tricks of the Trade
Let me share just a few of the details and tips that I have learned from show people that help me to make every dog I groom look his or her personal best. Show styles are sometimes a bit more extreme than what we do for pets, and often owners prefer a shorter maintenance trim. But sometimes one little detail will allow us to send a dog out more clearly recognizable as a particular breed, or at least a bit more stylish. You may know most of these, but if there’s one you don’t, give it a try:

Westies–On westie heads with poor coat texture, a tiny bit of ear powder on the top of the head will make the coat stand up better, allowing those ear tips to peek out of the headcoat, as they should. Westies often have a dip behind the shoulder blades–use one blade length longer in the dip than on the rest of the back, for an instantly “correct” level topline.

Golden Retrievers–Trimming a golden’s tail at as close to hock level as possible when the tail is held straight down will give it the correct look. A golden without a lot of substance to his bone should have more hair left on the pastern and back of the hock when doing cat feet.

Cocker Spaniels–A cocker spaniel should have a long, elegant neck and will look more like that if a shorter blade is used on the neck than on the body. American cockers should have a “crown” on top of their heads to accentuate the definite stop and the dome shaped head, so make an imaginary semi-circle with your thumb and finger from the front fold of each ear and blend it in with thinning shears. Or if you have used a #10 on the rest of the head, clip that area with a #4 and blend in the back.

Scottish Terriers–Try trimming the inside of terriers’ ears with a #40 blade for a cleaner, crisper, more “terrier-like” look. With a little careful practice, you can edge ears with a #40, too, and not only is it cleaner than using scissors, it’s faster. Ear tufts on Scotties are very characteristic of the breed, but many groomers leave far too much. Only the hair on the inside quarter of the ear is left, and the entire back of the ear is clipped. GB

Carol Visser is a Nationally Certified Master Groomer and Certified Pet Dog Trainer.