calling cd groomers. I have decided to have Brooke my fcr professionally groomed partly because I donot have theright equipment and I would like her to look good for a change and partly because I am a still unsure of what I am doing. She isnt in the ring so a true "show" trim isnt as important although I would prefer it as I dont want her to look unflatcoat like
I use alocal groomer on occasion for my gsd who does him very well but she has never done a fcr for the ring doesnt know what to do. I have rung others but neither have they.
I also asked if she could use my drying coat but she said itwasnt possible as she has to hand dry completley before trimimg. Does that make sense.
Help I am completely confused and worried now I dont want to pay good money for her Brooke to have her coat spolit although I know it will grow back.

Flatties aren't a common enough breed to be taught even if groomers have been trained, and unless they are show people then they may never have seen a Flattie before let alone know what it should look like! :) :)

When I was starting and had a new breed booked in, I would sit ring side and watch the breed judging so that I would know what I was aiming at as I'd always aimed to trim even pet dogs to the breed standard.

I think you'd do better yourself with just a stripping knife and a pair of thinning scissors! :) :)

http://www.groomers-online.com/article.php/189/flatcoated-retriever-grooming

I'd be very careful taking a show dog to a groomer, there's not many of us that have any interest or knowledge of show trimming (I find myself strongly in a minority when chatting with other groomers). You'd be better off talking to her breeder and getting some demos about how to prepare her for the ring, then perhaps the groomer can just wash and dry the dog before you take her back to do the tidying up. I think they are a fairly natural breed, but I don't really know!

I'd agree, even groomers who show aren't always interested in giving a show groom :(  For many it's all about how many they can do in a day, and a show groom often takes longer because you use different tools ;)

I'd second talking to her breeder - I'm always pleased to be asked for lessons on grooming and trimming my pups or other bedlington pups, it shows the owner wants to make an effort for a start :-)  (I don't charge for lessons as the people are usually coming quite a way and it's for the welfare of the dogs.)

When I do a demo, I show the owner how to groom and trim one side of the dog, then they  have a go on the other side under my guidance, especially if they've never used clippers before, then they go home and finish the other side and I'm available on the phone if they have a problem or need help :-D

Thought you got the link from Redcape to help you along?

There must be a local breeder who you can go along to for help?

I can't see that you'd need much more than a pair of scissors - normal and thinning, brush and comb?

I did Sue but I am just not happy with with how she looks when I do her. I like he looking good even if she isnt in the ring. Also I havnt got thining scissors although I could buy some and unfortunately no show people that I know nearby

I don't clip my breed but I have seen demo DVD's on how to cut certain breeds, I think there is a series of them. Might be worth looking into if you run out of options

furrie have you tried going to a Flattie Club show?  Even if you don't want to show I'm sure that you'd find it an interesting day out and if you buy a catalogue you can see where everyone lives and maybe make contact with someone not too far away. :)

I have no doubt that with a little instruction, you'll do a better job than the average groomer. :)

What about Terri D she isn't that far away from you or the family who come to my RC, they'd e happy to help..
I was going to also mention a show too..
Didn't Rach and Jess help you a while back?

If you are not going to be competing with her then it is a matter of personal taste. I once was asked to trim a Flattie and did it as I would my own for the show ring but I could tell by their faces they did not like the fact I had trimmed and smoothed out the ears as they commented that he had lost his shaggy ears or something o that effect.
If you did want a 'show' trim you want the ears thinned and trimmed to the actual ear length. The feet should be trimmed neatly and excess hair removed from under the foot and between the toes, I pull it up and use thinning scissors. I twist the hair in a rolling action along the tail then snip the excess from the end of the tail in a straight snip then just tidy up any straggly ends.
The neck is cause for debate as it should not be trimmed but nearly all dogs are trimmed here to some degree or other, I thin in a V shape in from the ears to the brisket bone with thinning scissors. I know some folk use clippers and others those sharp thinning tools but I am too afraid I will make a mess.
I don't fully dry using the drier as it can dry the hair out, but remember to keep brushing as she dries to avoid any sticking out patches, usually I give three days before a show to get the coat fully settled.

That doesn't sound too difficult tbh, apart from the neck line it's the same as a Bernese or what I do with them anyway, the neck thinning out shouldn't be an issue either..
Chris bring her here with your Redcape link and we'll sort her out x

Just re reading my post, it is not a precise V just kind of shaped in rather than going straight down he neck if you know what I mean!

thanks folks in particular flattiemum that is actually quite clear. sue I will contact you and see what we can arrange. Getting anywhere at the moment is harder than usual due to domestic stuff

Depending on the amount of coat the dog carries, there's no real need to even thin the neck hair on a dog that's not being shown. I handle Flatcoats as well and don't trim the necks, just use hand stripping to get out the stray hairs but wouldn't bother on a pet unless the dog was carrying loads of coat. Really the only thing that you need to do for pets is trim the feet as described above, and maybe trim the ears and hair on the hocks. Again, I don't trim ears on the dogs I handle, they're hand stripped but that's just for the show ring.

If you don't touch the neck then it's all very simple with a pair of thinning scissors x

Thanks people have borrowed some thinning scissors so will have ago myself. SJ I will be in touch