Getting naked!

Not me, but Arwen.

I'm actually quite proud of myself, I did my first ever body clip on her yesterday afternoon and it looks pretty good! Took me almost three hours though (UGH!) because I admit to being a little slow (and overly careful when I first started) and taking some breaks because towards the end my back started killing me. But, I got it all done, including her face and ears. Its funny, she's a totally different color when clipped. With her coat she's a very bright bay (with reddish undertones) but when clipped, she's a light golden almost seal colored bay. Totally different looking. She looks good though. Her long winter coat was making her look a little raggedy and with the clipped coat, she looks sleek and pretty again. I just have one patch on her butt that needs to be touched up a bit, but other than that she's good. Next week I do need to do her mane, however.

This was also my first time really seriously using the clippers I bought last year. I really like them. They have enough power, are fairly light and very quiet. Not too impressed with the blades though. I basically used one for the entire clip, and towards the end I had to take shorter and shorter strokes to get it to cut through the hair. I did a blade change about halfway through and that blade didn't even last for part of her body. Fortunately I bought it from Smartpak, so I'm hoping they will send me a replacement (even though it was a year ago). We'll see if they live up to their legendary customer service reputation!

Anyway, I'm hoping this helps her not be so grumpy and hot when we're working. Its supposed to be pretty warm this week, so I'm definitely glad I clipped her.