Grooming and Pregnancy

OK, clearly this post is directed at women, but not because we women haven't at some point or another wished a man could be pregnant! I see a lot of groomers asking about grooming while pregnant on other sites so I thought, since I've gone through it twice, I would share my own experiences.
First and foremost, every pregnancy is different. Even when it's the same woman getting pregnant! What I found worked for me, what my limitations were and the like may be different for you. This is simply a guide that I hope the expecting moms out there find useful. And you know as a proud mom I will now have to find some pictures of my children to post!
When I found out I was pregnant with my first child I was working full time for someone else. I had actually started working for her while she was pregnant so that I could run things while she was on maternity leave. She knew she was a having a cesarean section and had an expected recovery time of 8 weeks. I came in and started working for her when she was about 7 months pregnant. If you own your salon and don't have anyone else working for you then you may want to look into hiring someone temporarily. If you have to close up for your maternity leave try to set aside a little money every month (even tips) to try and cover yourself for the weeks you'll be enjoying your new bundle of joy. It's always a good idea to prepare for the longest leave you'd expect which is typically 8 weeks. A vaginal birth recovery is usually about 6 weeks. I returned to work after my first baby after only four weeks but I came back only one day a week.
It's really a guessing game when it comes to planning your time away from work. Due dates are typically the day when you can plan on NOT giving birth! Most first time moms can expect to go up to two weeks on average past their "due date". I know some groomers who have worked up until the day they went into labor. I was actually working the day one of my groomers came and told me she was having contractions and had been all day. She had a baby girl early the next morning. I chose to take my leave 2 weeks before my "due date" for my first baby. The best thing for you to do is whatever you feel most comfortable with. Most clients understand the unpredictable nature of pregnancy and when they are aware of the impending birth would understand a cancellation call.
My first trimester with both pregnancies were horrid. I felt like I had the worst flu of my entire life. It was hard to work through at times. I had to cut down on the number of dogs I was doing a day simply due to my fatigue and nausea. Of course there are other women who feel great throughout their entire pregnancy. Until you know how your body is going to react to those pregnancy hormones I would recommend scheduling a bit light. Make sure you don't lift anything over 40 pounds by yourself in the first trimester. If you are considered high risk, don't lift anything over 25 pounds. I know it's limiting, but it really is a short period of time in the grand scheme of things. Of course once you are into week 14 don't start benching 300 lbs either!
If you haven't learned how to groom sitting down this is the time! I had been taught long ago that "real" groomers didn't sit down to groom. Now I know that only real groomers who want to still be grooming for a long time sit to groom. It took a while to get the hang of, but certainly was a saving grace for me as I got bigger and more uncomfortable.
Don't touch any flea products or chemicals. No flea collars or applying spot on treatments. At least not without gloves! They can't exactly study the effects of pet flea treatments on unborn children so they don't really know what hazards it may pose if any, but why take a risk? Don't do any dipping either. We don't use flea and tick dips anymore at my salon but when I was working within a vet clinic I would periodically have to do mitaban dips for mange. Anything where you have to get dressed in rubber from head to toe you should not be doing while pregnant. Good rule of thumb there!
Keep yourself hydrated. If you are having morning sickness sometimes lots of little snacks throughout the day can help. Also those Sea bands do really work. They apply pressure on your wrists at a certain spot to help with nausea. You can usually buy them at any pharmacy. When your body tells you to take a break, listen. You need to take care of yourself if you want to be able to continue working for the majority of your pregnancy.
If you have back problems or start experiencing them during your pregnancy I highly recommend a maternity belt. I had a great one that was three pieces. A back support, underbelly support, and overbelly strap. Another great help is using an antifatigue matt in front of your table if you are standing. They do make a huge difference in how your back and feet feel at the end of the day.
If this is your first child and you can, sleep as much as you are able. I remember feeling guilty if I took a nap when I came home instead of spending time with my husband. I wish I could go back in time and reclaim all the sleep I missed! I certainly get very little now!
I know many groomers don't have health insurance. It's so important to get prenatal care during your pregnancy. There is help out there in most, if not all, states for pregnant women if you look for it. I know in NY state there is PCAP(Prenatal Care Assistance Programs), and many other states have similar programs. If you have just found out you are pregnant even before you get to the doctor you can buy prenatal vitamins over the counter. It's important to make sure you are getting the nutrients you and your baby need from the beginning. It seems that in the grooming industry there seems to be a higher than average number of smokers. I know it's difficult, but stopping smoking can be one of the best things you can do for your unborn child. I know exactly how hard it is since I was a smoker until I saw those two pink lines! Enough said.
If you have complications during your pregnancy the most important thing that you do is to take care of yourself and your baby. You can never really prepare for everything and have to deal with certain issues as they come. With my first I was due August 22 and had her on Aug 21. I stopped working 2 weeks before my due date and only had her early because I was induced. With my second I was taken out of work a full month before he was due because of pre-eclampsia and then had a cesarean because my 10 lb 5 oz little boy couldn't turn around and was breech. So I know how things can happen not exactly the way originally planned. My best advice is to take care of yourself, see your doctor regularly, and enjoy this part of life. While you're pregnant it may seem like it will never end, but once it's over it will seem like the time flew.
After delivery, accept all the help people offer. Let them take care of you. Your body has been through many major changes in a very short period of time. You may experience baby blues, post pardem depression or post pardem anxiety. You may feel great! Whatever the case may be take time to pamper yourself and your baby. You've waited 10 months (yes if you count it most pregnancies are actually ten full months!) and now it's time to enjoy the beautiful new arrival in your life. Don't vacuum or mop or do anything strenuous for at least six weeks or whatever your doctor has advised. They don't stay babies quite long enough and there will always be dogs to groom. Love your baby and enjoy your maternity leave. And if you're like me you may not want to go back to work full time at all.

Equipment-Clippers

I realize that everyone is going to have his or her own preference when it comes to equipment. I am sharing my personal preferences and my experiences with different brands of clippers. I have not been able to try every brand of clipper, but I have used many of them. I'm hoping to get a chance to try out the Ausculap clippers sometime soon though!
My first set of clippers were pink Laube two speeds. I was in love with Laube at the time simply because of the ease of which they could cut down even the most matted coat. The Laube clippers have a different cutting path then typical clippers. Instead of simply pushing the cutting blade back and forth it moves the cutter all the way to the right, then back twenty five percent of the way, then back all the way to the right. Then all the way to the left, then back twenty five percent of the way and so on. When my Laube clippers worked it was a thing of beauty. Unfortunately keeping them running was the problem. The bottom that would snap into the hand piece would start falling out or not connect correctly. The low speed might go, but the high speed would still work or vice-versa. I would have to adjust many of my blades to get them to fit. All following the instructions of how to get your blades to fit their product from the company. When I first started grooming there were a few of us sharing equipment so this made that difficult. Once I would bend the blade socket to get it to snap on my clippers it them wouldn't fit on anyone else's. I have owned four sets of Laube clippers. None of them are working today. None of them worked longer than 6 months. What made me most upset was the poor customer service I received. I had convinced three other groomers to buy Laube after my short love affair with them. They all experienced the same problems. When I called Laube I was told they were shocked to hear a complaint as they never heard anything bad about their product. It was hard for me to believe that in a grooming salon where four groomers used their product and all had problems that we were the first to call. This was many years ago and though I have heard many of the products have changed and they have added new ones I still hear complaints on their poor customer service. The hardest part about the whole ordeal was none of the local repairmen could fix Laube clippers so I had to mail them out to the company and wait a few weeks or more at times to get them back.
I've also had my fair share of Oster clippers. Both were the Golden A-5's and I had the one and two speed. I have to say that they were reliable and all the local sharpeners could work on them and fix them. I didn't have the same problems with the Oster clippers simply conking out like the Laube. They held up to being dropped a bit better than Laube. They were also easy to do minor maintenance on. It was easy to change the carbon brushes and the blade lever. The downside to the Oster clippers unfortunately outweighed their reliability. They got hot. Even the newer models still get hot, just not as hot as the old models. The air vents on the sides blow hair everywhere. They are loud and are not the easiest to use on skittish dogs or cats. My main problem with them was the lack of power. It was harder getting a smooth clip and they just weren't fast enough. I ended up selling all of my Oster clippers or giving them to apprentice groomers. I've also tried the cordless Oster PowerPro. The clipper design has changed since I used it and is supposed to be 15% lighter, but they were very heavy for me and terribly balanced. All the weight was in the battery pack. Hopefully the new design truly is better than the old one.
The Conair clippers have not been around for that long as far as I know. I've only used them a few times, but found them to be a lot like the Oster in power, though I did find they weren't as noisy. I also didn't care for their overall weight and feel in my hand. I have extremely small hands so this might not be a problem for others. My experience with these clippers is extremely limited so if anyone else would like to comment on them please do!
The new switchblade clippers are coming, but I have yet to actually try them. Once I do I will edit this post to include a review.
Of course I am saving my favorite brand for last. I am an Andis girl, but I prefer the older square design. They fit in my small hands better than the round. I have used Andis clippers faithfully for the last seven years and besides basic maintenance or me dropping them, I haven't had any problems. They are all about seven years old and all three sets of my Andis Plus two speed clippers work great. The outer molding never gets hot. They are quiet yet powerful. I can depend that they will work consistently everyday. No hot air blowing dog fur around (unless you count my chattering away) and I don't have any problems finding local people to do maintenance or repair work on them. I have to say I don't care for the cordless Andis nor the Andis with the light attached. The cordless(AGR+)is too heavy for me to use comfortably and even with a full charge doesn't seem to have much power. The Andis with the light only comes in one speed and just isn't powerful enough for me and my needs. The light is nice, but not as useful as I had hoped it would be.
I must admit I have never used the KM2 Wahl clippers, but what I do use is the Chromado clippers. I have also used the Bravura and the Arco. They all use the same blade but with the Arco the battery packs started falling out all the time and then not holding a charge at all. I didn't like the Bravura because of where the button to turn them on and off is. I would hit it mid stroke just about every time I used them. I do love the Chromado clippers for face, feet and sanitary areas. They are also great for shaving close matts and working on cats because of how quiet they are. The down side is the expense of the replacement blades. There are some sharpeners who will sharpen them, but not many that I have found. I was told by Wahl that they will be selling just the cutter to replace in the blade so instead of purchasing an entirely new blade you buy the part and can switch it out yourself.
There are so many choiced out there now for groomers in clippers. Please feel free to add any comments on clippers mentioned here or missed. Especially missed!

Equipment-Brushes

This will be the first article in a series dedicated to "tool talk". Since brushing seems to be the most universal service most of our clients receive I thought it a good choice to start with.
I've used many different brands of slicker brushes over the years. The brand that stands out and that I use currently is the Les Pooches brushes. I love them. I use the blue brushes for my everyday grooming. The red matt zapper is also great for, well, dematting. The head is very flexible and much easier on my wrists as I have problems with both hands. I love having a side with straight pins because I fluff dry just about everything that goes on my table. After comparing notes with other groomers I have heard complaints that they lose pins. After having the same set of brushes for about 3 years now I have to say it is not the case with mine. On Saturday I just used for the first time the new Mars Flexi Brush. Very similar in style to the Les Pooch but much more flexible. Smaller than the small Les Pooches brushes and only one sided. I will say that I think this little brush works amazingly well for small areas. Especially sensitive ones. Underarms, tummy, face, etc. It also seemed to work very well on getting matts out. Of course one day of use is never enough for a full review! It is also much less expensive than Les Pooches but Mars only has the small size at this point.
I used to use and still like to Oster Universal brushes. They are a good basic slicker and work with a multitude of coats. My problem with the Universal brushes were the pins falling out and the wear and tear on my wrists. I have also used the ergonomic JW brushes. Loved them for how easy they were on my hands and wrists. Unfortunately they seemed to fall apart and even with their guarantee it was a pain having to mail the brush back to the company every few months.
The initial expense of the Les Pooches may seem a bit much, but in my opinion it is well worth the cost for how well they work and the ease of use for your hands. I doubt I could make it through the day without mine just because of the pain I would have in my hands otherwise.


A profile view of a Les Pooches brush

The Mars Flexi brush