Grooming - HELP!

[Beagled1]

I recently entered one of my males in a show for this March. He's already a finished champion, so at least *someone* will know what they're doing, lol ... This will be two firsts for me, though. My first AKC conformation show & also the first time I'm doing my own grooming. I've been practicing on the huntin' dawgs and thought I was ready to start on Indy.

Well, I just got finished trimming this poor dog. He looks like he got into a fight with a lawnmower ... and the lawnmower won His rear legs didn't come out horrible, not great, but passable. His chest is another story. The coat was shaved all choppy and uneven. I was having a hard time positioning him and was trying to TRIM, but OMG ... lol.

Any tips to giving a better shave? I really messed up when I got under his ears, thankfully his ears are covering my botched job! I was using an Andis Adjustable Home Pet Clipper, came w/ the blade so not sure what size it is but the clipper comb I used was 1/16".

[JesandDeb]

Well, I'm a pet groomer, but on the job, I don't clip on the pet beagles when they are groomed, and never have come across any show beagles to clip, but I used to clip on an old female I had when she was still alive, as her coat longer. First if you want to get into clipping your own, I would trade off those clippers for a pair of professional clippers, andis or Oster A5, and a few blades for the job...not sure what sizes you may want so ask another show person for that. Another thing is a small grooming table with grooming arm would help you a lot for the handling part during grooming. My 8 month old beagle I got now hates to have his nails done , but if on the table, he's a different dog about it .....puts things in a different perspective for them when on the table . Also, knowing how to move the dog while grooming him, is one of the biggest know hows in grooming.

[TC]

Cindy??????? LOL
Honeypot is the one to Ask!!!!
My other 1/2 JC learned by Going to Dog shows and asking the beagle Folks that we had met to Show her!!!!
Another groomer Friend of ours that also Showed beagles Spent a lot of Time Teaching her how to do it.
She once said that grooming a beagle for Show was harder than groomin up a poodle..
I Do know that she spent a few hundred dollars on A pair of Clippers (Andis) and 2 pair of Scissors and somthin called a Thinnin or stripping blade and another 100 bucks on a table with an arm on it
AND our ol house beagle Rosie Used to Run at the sound of Scissors clippin

[Honey Pot Hounds]

Hey!!!!! Sorry I am so late on seeing this one!
No panic...you have until March right?
I agree with the other beagler...get an Oster A5 and a #10 blade. Just clipper the white from his chinny chin chin down to his prosternum. If he is real heavy and deep chested zip all the way down and under. If he has no chest leave some hair there to look like he has a prosternum, lol.
You need some good thinning shears to do the sides of the neck...the ruff (or fringe). For now just do the front and the ruff. On the top of the neck just use your brush and your Lava Stone (buy one at a tack shop $2.00 max) to pull out any dead hair and undercoat. A stripping blade is very usefull here too....a red handled one from http://www.Cherrybrook.com
You can get all of the above fro Cherrybrook.
Dremel those nails nice and short, clean his feet up. Cut some nice lines around the bottom of his foot with your scissors and take the 10 blade and carefully get that hair out from in his pad area...
Round the tip of his tail with thinning shears......
I don't like clipping butts much, I tend to skim them lightly and use my thinning shears along the back of the leg to make a nice tight muscle. You do need to clean his balls up....be careful and skim them gently with the #10 and inside each rear leg where they would touch and have their nice egg shape distorted by hair

Here's a great link: http://www.geocities.com/aladarbeagles/groom.html

[Van-Mar Beagles]

^^ You pretty much covered everything Cindy

Though I do have to add in (from another perpective) that I do prefer to stop at the prosternum when I am clippering even when I have a deep chested beagle if they are also well-angled in the rear. My bitch, Marti is a clear example. She is balanced on both ends so I can really actually showcase off that deep prosternum she has and simply do a little blending.

I also do the "butts" a little differently (than Cindy) and do them the same way I would do a front. I Go "between the lines" with the andis and blend with the shears.

I would HIGHLY recommend taking a stripping knife as soon as possible and get all the loose dead hair out of your beagle's coat. Start from the top of the neck, in raking motions, and finish all the way to the base of the tail. You may have to do it a couple of times every so often but it will be easier each time you do it.

It is very important to keep a beagle in show condition if you plan on taking it to shows periodically or every weekend... Because if any of you have beagles like my broodie, Maize, it is like shearing a sheep EVERY WEEK I pull her out for grooming!

...Beagles. Dontchya love 'em.

[Honey Pot Hounds]

Agree with everything you wrote Chels. Also thanks for describing the stripping action I was trying to think of how to describe that but I got tired and felt like I had probably already given her enough info for one post
Your Marti is an exceptionally nice beagle...easy and fun to groom because she is so beautiful to begin with...every Beagle is a little different and can use a little creative styling depending on what you have to work with, or not

[TC]

Honey Pot and Van Mar thanks for the tips, I have a question on the butts, how far out do you trim on them? Do you trim to the tan or do you trim out to the top line of the leg, like you were drawing a ling down the middle of the leg then blend with the blending shears? Or do you use the stone to do the blending? Do you trim to base of tail as well? It has been a while since I groomed these pups are in for a terrible time of it... Practice practice practice... LOL poor babies...

[Beagled1]

THANKS SO MUCH everyone for the advice (especially HoneyPot, lol)!!! I *think* the main mistake I was making was not using any trimming shears - except for on the tail. Was just shaving the poor boy practically nekkid Good thing I started early ...

Question: How often do you use the stripping knife on the coat? Really appreciate the responses, nothing but informative replies on this thread

[Honey Pot Hounds]

On the butts less grooming is more I used to shave them nekkid and then I'd have "diggers" and "tracks" and a "too sexy" looking bitch too often. There is no need to go as clean as a brazillian wax on the beagles IMO. I go real easy on their rears, usually use a #10 as you can take it off but you can't put it back on I tend to lightly skim with my clippers up to the base of the tail and then use thinning shears to blend out. You certainly don't want your beagle ending up looking like she/he does not have breadth of thigh so you don't want to shave everything right off of that back leg most of the time anyway. Also, you don't want the beagle to look obviously shaved. Thinning shears and hours of stripping and thinning over the course of several weeks are really the way to go. You usually don't want to strip your beagle for too long at one sitting as it is an aggressive grooming proceedure and most of them hate it. Don't strip the topline EXCEPT right over the withers.

I will be grooming my boy today for this weekends shows so I will be in the hop working on him for an hour or more. His "pattern" is pretty much set though. He is almost finished. He has 15 points and 1 major. Just needs that 2nd major and then we are going to sit him out to mature and see how he turns out and go from there.

He is a very nice young dog. He will be one year old on the 29th.

[TC]

Thanks for the great tips, that is one beautiful dog. Good luck this weekend!

I will try what you have explained... appreciate the tips.

[Honey Pot Hounds]

Thanks for the compliments on Ben. He is beautiful but a PITA baby! I am glad he only lives with me part-time
Can you send me a picture of your beagle and I can give you some specific grooming help?
Send them as jpegs to honeypothounds@aol.com

[TC]

Will do. Thanks for the help!
I will take some updated photos later this week maybe Sunday and send them for think we have a field trial this weekend so will be busy until Sunday. But really appreciate your help.
JC

[TC]

Thanks for the compliments on Ben. He is beautiful but a PITA baby! I am glad he only lives with me part-time
Can you send me a picture of your beagle and I can give you some specific grooming help?
Send them as jpegs to honeypothounds@aol.com

Aren't all the big boys that way? LOL the bigger the male the bigger the baby too.... HA HA...

[Honey Pot Hounds]

Aren't all the big boys that way? LOL the bigger the male the bigger the baby too.... HA HA...[/quote]

Agreed!!!!

[Beagled1]

On the butts less grooming is more I used to shave them nekkid and then I'd have "diggers" and "tracks" and a "too sexy" looking bitch too often. There is no need to go as clean as a brazillian wax on the beagles IMO. I go real easy on their rears, usually use a #10 as you can take it off but you can't put it back on

Cindy, thanks - that was more helpful than any article I've read on grooming a Beag

BTW, that boy of yours is gorgeous! I'm droolin' on my puter, lol. Is he a Joe puppy?
Good luck with the major, tho from the looks of him, he doesn't need luck