ASCUK GROOMING SEMINAR - March 12th 2010

with JEFF MARGESON - STONEHAVEN KENNEL (USA)

All pictures ©Wally Holligan/Julie Blackburn

After a busy day on the Thursday at Crufts, it was nice to see a great turnout for ASCUK's Grooming Seminar. The venue in the heart of the Midlands was spacious, if a little cold. Sarah Green did a good job feeding the meter with pound coins to keep the heating constant !!

Our 'groomer' and 'mentor' for the day was Jeff Margeson from the Stonehaven Kennel in the USA. Jeff had kindly give up watching the Terriers at Crufts, to spend time with the UK and European Aussie folk who were eagerly awaiting his knowledge, expertise and grooming tips. He didn't disappoint at all and started off telling everyone about his introduction to dogs, and indeed Aussies. There were some heart warming tales and it was nice to hear that even the 'experts' laugh at themselves once in a while.

Jeff started off talking about keeping your Aussie in tip top show condition and talked about food, exercise, bathing, drying, grooming products and grooming tools.

Jeff explained all about his grooming tools, which scissors he uses on which part of the body and which brushes are best for the Aussie coat. There was much interest in his 'triple toothbrush' and had he have had a bag full of them, he could have made a tidy profit!! He kept everyone entertained with stories of his Aussies that are past and present, shows he has attended and good and bad experiences with chalk and grooming products !!

Lunch was a help yourself buffet, ably produced by Wally, Fred and the ever helpful Sue. There was plenty of food and drinks to go round and everyone sat chatting and discussing the mornings tips and lessons. After lunch, Andy and Geoff brought out a cake that had been donated by Mel & Brian Harris and it was auctioned for Aussie Rescue. There was much hilarity and good natured banter as the price went up and a bidding war became apparent between Tricia and Ros. Ros won, and handed over £40.00 for Aussie Rescue (Thank you Ros it is much appreciated) !!

After lunch, it was time to bring in the volunteer dogs and first on the table for Jeff to demonstrate his skills on was Lydia & Kev's ever obliging Badger.Bodger as he is affectionally known was bathed, but ungroomed and untrimmed. Jeff started on his feet explaining how to trim correctly and worked his way up the legs. He also trimmed belly hair and showed people a trick or two for trimming the back end just below the 'tail area'.

Next on the table was Hilars's red merle dog Rider. Rider doesn't always have a completely straight coat, so Jeff explained how to trim  a wavy coat and maintain it in good condition as well as explaining how to trim ears and make the most of front facing and rose ear sets.

Next on the table, and probably the biggest challenge of the day for Jeff was Christine's dog Toffee. Not only does Toffee have a profuse undercoat, he also has something that Jeff has never had to contend with in Aussies before.... a tail !!! It was interesting to hear Jeff's thoughts on tails and how he would eventually probably have to learn how to trim one if the docking ban reaches the USA. Jeff also explained how to deal with a huge undercoat and how to strip some of it out.

Last on the table was Julie's ever obliging 'Dash Dog'. Julie wanted to know how to trim the ruff and Jeff showed everyone how to trim the ruff, back feet and 'pants' at the back. He proceeded to brush Dash much to Julie's horror as they had a show two days later and Dash was blowing coat !! :-) Jeff also showed how to remove hair from the topline and neck to make the dog look more balanced.

Jeff finished off the day with a 'question and answer' session and answering everyone's questions about different aspects of grooming and trimming that he hadn't already covered. The day finished all too quickly, and I think most people could have sat there all night listening to this very entertaining and knowledgeable man.

ASCUK would like to thank Jeff for giving his time and knowledge for this day. It really was very much appreciated and we have already asked him to do it again next year !! Watch the website for details..

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