Dog Grooming National Award

DOG GROOMING NATIONAL AWARD

Sayaka Tano wins at Groomex

Saturday, 13th September 2008, was an exciting day for the staff at Pet Design Grooming Services, Lane Cove West. It was on this day that one of their staff, Sayako Tano, won the Entry Poodle class at the Pet Industry Association of Australia annual National Grooming Competition as part of Groomex at Pet Expo 2008 which was held at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre Darling Harbour.

Sayaka competed in the Poodle class with a Miniature Poodle, Australian Champion Coifico Wicked Lady or Emma to her friends. Sayaka was at her best when she scissored Emma to her conformation and breed profile, as she looked absolutely magnificent when she was finished. This was the first time that Sayaka had competed in an event like this and she showed just what a professional she really is.

Originally from Japan, Sayaka trained at the Central Trimming Academy in Nagoya for two years before gaining certificates to become a Groomer and an Animal Health Technician. She then worked for one and a half years in a pet shop in Japan before coming to Australia to learn English. Whilst in Sydney, she started to work at Pet Design in Lane Cove West and has been there for the last five years. At Pet Design she has been taught and guided by Rika Watanabe who was also trained in Japan but who has since been up skilled in Australia. Rika has been with Pet Design for over nine years and was with Marcia Tsivinsky when the salon was called Marcia's North Shore Grooming. John Edwards, who is a Poodle specialist and world-renowned breeder and handler of Miniature Poodles, also gave Sayaka much valued training in finishing the grooming process to a professional standard. Thankyou John, Johns' grooming salon is located at Baulkham Hills.

Sayaka has spent years training to perfect her grooming skills. At present she is on a business visa but hopes to become a permanent Australian resident in the near future so that she can pass on her skills to other potential Australian groomers. Eventually, she hopes to manage her own salon as well.

Jay Scruggs, an international grooming judge from the USA, conducted the judging, his assessment being based on:

· The suitability of the trim to the dog's conformation and breed profile.

· The quality of the clipper work.

· Whether the pattern is placed correctly and evenly, and clipped with the appropriate blade.

· Whether the clipped lines are definite and straight, and neatly beveled where they meet the body coat. If there is no pattern and the body is clipped overall, whether the groomer has used a blade complimentary to the coat.

· Whether the feet, face and tail are clipped with the appropriate blade.

· Whether the clipped lines on the face are straight and the clipper work is smooth with no tufts of hair around the lips or eye corners.

· Whether the feet are clipped clean between the toes and the pads.

· The quality, uniformity and smoothness of the scissoring.

· Whether the finish is like that of plush velvet, free of scissor marks.

· Whether the legs are scissored evenly and are of sufficient fullness to balance the dog.

· Whether the topknot and tail are properly shaped and in balance to each other.

· The degree of difficulty of the clip noting that this does not mean that fancy patterns should necessarily take precedence since scissor trims can be just as difficult with certain coat textures.

· The dog's overall finished appearance with emphasis on balance, symmetry and smoothness of finish. A trim should hold together when a comb is passed through the coat.

As you can see grooming a dog to a professional standard is a special skill that takes years of training and is not something that you can learn overnight.

Congratulations Sayaka and all the best for the future.