New clippers

Here they are and they're gorgeous. I cannot wait to try them out; finally after many years of saying "I'm not clipping the dogs again with these clippers," I can finally put the old ones to rest. I just recently threw out my first original set and now the remaining oldies are 20 years old and time to call it quits.

It is such a hassle to shave the dogs so the other day I put in my order and they just arrived. As you all know I do not fuss with my poodles; off it all goes. Very utility; just like the breed themselves. No fuss no muss; it is truly a wash and wear clip and rarely needs brushing. So gone are the days of "extreme grooming" under the poodle category; at least in this house.

I've come alongway from the show ring with my second standard poodle Clyde who very much resembled an orangutan in full coat. He was brown; clearning to cafe au lait as he aged. But in his prime and full coat we matched pretty well. His coat faded to red in the sun and I am a red head so we were quite the pair.

Clyde should have never been in the ring; poor guy. He was not from good breeding but handling in the ring was what I did back then so in he went with me. It is amazing what a coat can hide and he racked up quite a few ribbons.

But it all ended very abruptly one day as I was grooming and getting ready for a show. I had two children at the time and I was busy; a show coat like that takes alot of time. I sort of lost it, I took my clippers and shaved it all off. In a moment of weakness it was all over; just like that. No more shows for Clyde; in fact there were no more shows ever; it was a defining moment in my life. At the time I didnt' realize what a huge impact this would have on my life with dogs but, it was sort of the beginning of a new for me.

Over the years I have gone between shaving completely and doing the "poodle" look. I have not had the "poodle" look now for years. Grooming was a hobby at one point, a sort of relaxing sculpting session. I would bathe the dogs, blowdry them out straight and scissor them into the perfect looking poodle. That is until I grew tired of the needless work and shaved them down again.

I am continually amazed by how few people know what breed my dogs are because they are not in a recognizable clip. Poodles are after all wonderful, big, non-shedding curly retrievers.