For some reason the process of turning an overly warm, hairy dog into a comfortable, naked dog seems to take longer with Ember than it did with Chloe. Perhaps there are actually two reasons, the first one being that Ember loves to wrestle, the second one being that I am not getting any younger.
Step 1, brush all the knots out of the hair, wrestling match #1.
Ember knows that she's pretty,
but she also knows that something is afoot.
"Dad, protect me from mom, I sense that she has evil plans for me, perhaps involving the bathtub, water, and shampoo. And how dare you sit in an office chair, there's no room for me on your lap."
(Prepare for weight lifting and wrestling match #2.
See previous post regarding Ember's fear of bathtubs.)
"Dad, comfort me, mom picked me up, put me in the tub, tied my leash to the shower hose bracket, and gave me a B-A-T-H!
Honest dad,
mom will love your latest fragrance of 'eau de wet dog'.
Mom, you are so evil."
(Hang out on the couch and dry off Ember,
mom's not done with you yet.
Prepare for wrestling match #3.)
All done, that is until it grows out again.
"Mom, I will never, ever sit still while you shave my feet;
you know my toes are really, really ticklish.
Hope you saved some energy for our evening walk, because I am a turbo charged doggie now. That is obviously why show dogs have long hair, it is a nefarious plot on the part of breeders because a poodle's energy level is inversely proportional to the quantity of hair on the dog. Take the picture quickly, I have plans.
And you had better give me a rawhide, because I tried to be good,
sort of."
Ember got her rawhide, but not until the haircut was completely done. Nope, mom wasn't being mean; it is just that bits of rawhide stuck in dog hair will really wreak havoc on clipper blades.
