THE SECRET OF DOG SCISSORING

                               Scissoring slowly becoming the "lost art" of the professional pet stylist. It is a skill that requires practice stylist learn to have full control over the any pet while trimming it. For those who become proficient at this skill, the final when you watch a top stylist at work, you quickly a trained eye. With beautiful hand scissoring, the groomer becomes an artist or "stylist." Not only must air shears, they must master the art of safe scissoring to avoid injuring product can be exquisite. When you watch top stylist at work, quickly realize you are watching an artist and begin to understand the skill required of a true master. Top stylists are three-dimensional sculptors and their medium is fur. Balance, style grace and flair all become working components of a pet with fur that has been sculpted to show off its most positive aspects. So how, do you learn to become a master of the hand scissor? First, you need to learn to run your shear smoothly and proficiently. A beginner can learn to do this through a series of exercises to be practiced without a real pet present. This is the easy part- the mechanics of scissoring. One becomes a highly skilled stylist through learning, understanding and interpreting the dynamics of breed anatomy and proper breed standards. This is the greater challenge as it takes time, patience and application of sound mechanics. In this section, we will focus on the mechanics or scissor.

The Exercises:

1. Running the Shear -

With the shears in your hand, drop your hand to your side. The shears should be parallel to the floor, creating a right angle to your hand when they are in position. Maintain the hold and begin to open and close the blades using only your thumb it is critical that the shears remain parallel to the floor. As you begin to get comfortable with this exercise, begin to lift your arm up and out. Continue to maintain the proper position in relationship to the shears and your hand. If you begin to lose the position, drop your hand back to your hand back to yourself. To lose the position, drop your hand back to your side and realign yourself.