Doc Halligan Blogs: Season 2 Finale

June 27, 2009

Okay, it's my final entry for season two! Both Huber and Lisa deserved to be in the finale because, in addition to being excellent groomers; they are true competitors. Huber has a tremendous amount of passion and had to clearly struggle to reach his life goals while Lisa is very determined and confident.

Huber had a major advantage in getting to pick which dogs to groom and that most likely helped determine the outcome. The finale was a lot of fun to shoot with a live audience and having Artist there was a real joy too! It was also fun to have the blind judging because it allowed us to focus on the grooming itself.

Charles the Cesky Terrier was, in my opinion, the best groomed dog of the night and because of Huber’s passion, commitment to excellence and integrity plus his grooming of both Glenda and Tyler, I ultimately chose him for Groomer of the Year.

Lisa is an amazing groomer, but I had a hard time with the fact that she didn’t try harder to trim Clancy’s nails even if she had to use a muzzle. If Clancy had reacted negatively to the muzzle, then that may have swayed my opinion because nail trimming is an absolute necessity when grooming a dog. That said it really was a hard decision because both groomers have what it takes to be Groomer of the Year but that particular night, Huber out-performed Lisa.

I may be biased but my favorite episode was still the shelter episode and hopefully we will be back to the spcaLA to groom another group of shelter dogs. It really does help those dogs get adopted and at the same time brings awareness to the thousands of dogs and cats in shelters that need loving homes.

Thanks for allowing me to share my thoughts with you all and remember “Rescue a pet, save a life!”

Doc Halligan
www.dochalligan.com

Comments

[Sandy]

btw, Huber DID NOT groom Solise. Lisa did.

[Kate & Zena]

This was a season finale I'm sure no one will forget! I loved that it involved rare breeds as I myself have a rare breed.

The shelter episode is my favorite episode as well. Here's to next season!

[Jim]

Sorry Doc, but I have to take issue with putting a muzzle on a clients dog unless it was okyed with the dogs owner. It was obvious that this dog had some behavior issues, that in a normal groom would be discussed before hand or is not, by phone call or settled when dog was picked up. I think that both Lisa and Huber are good groomers, but Lisa should have won.

[Leesa G.]

Congrats to all the groomers that made it on the show! That in itself is an acclomplishment! I wish all of them the best! I really would't have wanted to judge last night. Ya'll had your work cut out for you. It really boiled down to being nitpicky and deciding who made the fewest mistakes. Good job to all the judges on what had to be a truely difficult decision!

[Kevin]

Animal Planet got it right.

[claire b.]

i really thought Huber should win! good job.BTW i am becoming a vet too

[Alyssa]

I'm 12, and I know that putting a muzzle on an already stressed dog is a bad idea. You might think I have no idea what I'm talking about, but I've been underestimated before.
That dog was her last groom of the three dogs. Lisa was stressed out - who wouldn't be? If both of them were stressed, it would be an extremely bad mix. That dog obviously had some behavior issues.
I respect you Doc, but I find it upsetting that Lisa got in trouble because she didn't muzzle a dog. The comfort of the dog is more important than the looks.
You said that she should have tried the muzzle first, but putting on the muzzle isn't going to fix the dog's feelings towards having it's nails cut. Stress and frustration would come out of not being able to do what the dog wants done. Imagine if someone were trying to do something to you that you might have never been done before, and you have no idea what they're doing. For all you know, they could be trying to cut your toes off. I would be extremely stressed if anyone did that to me.
With the sincerity,
Alyssa

[Kathy]

I was flabbergasted that Huber won. He rode Lisa's coattails on the "green" episode and the mobile grooming episode, so I am surprised he made it to the end. On the green episode, Lisa was not able to ride the bike anymore, but she was the one who could groom faster, which is why they won. Huber took back seat to Lisa in the mobile grooming episode, and even stated that it would be best if he did.
Huber is a great groomer by his own rights, but I was pulling all the way for Lisa. I love the show and will definitely watch next season. I am not in the field, BTW.

[Kathy]

I am not in the field, but I simply did not understand why Lisa failed to trim the nails. It seemed like it was self-sabotage to me.

[Rich]

Huber should have never been in the final two. On the show that came down to Bill and him, Huber should have been clipped but no one was. That looks like a set-up to me. Lisa was never on the bottom like Huber was. Lost me as a viewer.

[Melissa]

First off, I think Huber and Lisa are both great groomers. But I was really hoping Lisa would win. To me she was the best. I think that it was unfair that Huber was able to pick the dogs for Lisa to groom. All it did was make it easier for him and not for Lisa so it wasn't fair. It brought out his strengths and her weaknesses. I believe they both should have groomed the same dog breeds to make the chance of winning equal.

When it came to the issue of the nails, I think that Lisa did try to trim them and I understand why she failed at it. I also understand that she didn't want to stress the dog out and that is why she did not put a muzzle on the dog.

Even though I strongly disagree with this year's winner, I respect the judges' opinions and I love Groomer Has It and will continue to watch it.

[Gina]

To all those who are not in the field, as a 12 yr veteran groomer, I agree with Jim's comment, you shouldn't muzzle a dog without the owners permission first. Lisa was not able to get the owners permission and if the dog was going to bite her, I wouldn't have tried to clip the nails either. Sometimes it takes 2 people to do nails on a difficult dog. I don't recall Lisa ever being in the bottom. Huber may be a good groomer but Lisa is far more the "superior" groomer. In real grooming competitions everyone is given the same breeds to groom in the same alotted time without "leg ups". I also felt there were alot of other things that were unfair throughout many of the challenges on the show as well. Lost me as a viewer too.

[Leesa G.]

I thought there shouldn't have been a leg-up for the final but, just to answer Melissa's post, Lisa DID end up with the Irish Terrier and that was the breed she was hoping for. I personally would have done his nails 1st before anything else then took a moment to calm him afterward.

[Melissa]

I think Barbara Bird has explained best on her blog exactly why nails are NOT fundamental grooming procedures. Dogs HAVE died from being overstressed for simply things as nail trimming. It is up to the individual groomer to make the decision as to whether the amount of stress is worth it. With Lisa's background and experience her word that is was too much for that dog should have been good enough. It's ridiculous for groomers to be told "you HAVE to get it done" even if it is a detriment to the dog? Come on, I would think a vet would know these things. I would especially think Joey would understand these things as well. After the entire show, Lisa proved she was the better groomer simply by knowledge alone. Huber seems like a wonderful human being, but this wasn't "best person of the year" this was "groomer of the year" and Lisa is that hands down whether AP recognizes it or not. I think Huber is definitely a great groomer and if Lsa had not been his competition would have cleaned up the entire show.

[Michelle Paulin]

In regards to the Ibizan Hound Galinda. Please read your AKC and any other standard on the breed in the world. The breed is to be shown and presented untrimmed and unplucked. To have removed all the hair from her face was a mistake.
I also suggest you read the standard on poodles and the care of a corded poodle.
I will agree that he did a great job on the chesky.
I loved Huber, but overall Lisa was the most qualified. Although they attempted to give you guys a blind judging in the end your feeling for the underdog took over. Both finalist deserve congrats for a way more grueling season than the last.

[Marie]

There is so much controversy about this episode that I think could have been forestalled by showing more of the grooming. Animal Planet - give us a 2 hour finale! next time. Or an "after-party" show like Survivor so we can see where the decision points were. As to permission to muzzle a dog, it might be that when a dog is used for GHI they sign a release that would allow muzzling. There must be some kind of contract.

[Leesa G.]

I agree Marie. I would think thayt there would be less contraversy if people got to see more of the judging! And more of the grooming! The veiwers don't have a hands-on visual like the judges do. We don't see faults and the editing keeps us from knowing exactly what the judges saw.

[dog lover]

hey doctor halligan i love the show. im glad huber won i agree with alyssa you shouldnt put a muzzle on an already stressed dog. all that does is stress out the dog eveb more. so if your stressed then your dog will be stressed so putting a muzzle puts the dog over the top. but i''m glad huber won i picked him out from the first episode that he would win. he reminds me of artist which they both love what they do and both want to make a difference in the dog eat dog world artist has so i hope huber follows in his footsteps but with a little bit more luck. they both werent in it for the win they were in it to win with pride or lose with some passion and they have a ot of character. so im so glad that huber won!! GO HUBER!!! :) :) :) !!!!

[Rachel]

I think that Lisa should have won the show, but that doesn't mean I won't watch next season. I mean, just because who most of us wanted to win didn't, it doesn't mean that we shouldn't watch the show next season!
It was funny during the show that they showed deleted scenes on, because Huber said he hated being called what his name would be if you pronounced it the way it looks. That's what I used to do!

I'm looking foward to next season!

[K9 Care]

Hi Doc, Thanks for another super season of GHI. I loved the out-takes of all 3 of you judges! We need a show on just the out-takes.(Just in case SOME viewers missed it, Xavier did laugh at some of the funny things you did!! Yes, he DOES have a sense of humor! LOL.) Congrats to Huber on winning Groomer of the Year! Lisa can be proud of all that she did every week. This had to be a VERY tough choice for all of you judges. Huber was so good with the Cesky's groom! I personally have never seen this breed anywhere at the shows that I've gone to. Would like to know more about them and how all the other rare breeds were chosen for the finale this year. Hope that maybe next season AP will let you elaborate a little more on this for the viewers.

Lisa did what she thought best with her Irish Terrier as far as the nails were concerned. I have used a muzzle on an older Schnauzer that I used to groom at the owner's request. She told me right up front at his first grooming appointment that I would need to do this to trim his nails. This was for my safety as well as the dog's comfort in getting the nails done. The owner was in her 70's and could not trim this dog's nails herself and therefore she trusted me to do this job correctly. I was grateful for this trust and permission to use the muzzle from this fine owner. Some owners will just bring their dogs to you and not warn you if their dog bites in certain situations because the dog is a problem and has been turned away from other salons for safety reasons. I had an issue with a Siberian Huskey who I could not even make eye contact with. All his owner wanted was the nails done. Needless to say,I had to pass on any attempt to touch this dog! The bottom line is SAFETY FIRST- yours and the dogs!!

Looking forward to season 3 of GHI and all the new competitors! Good luck with all those great shelter dogs and keep up the good work getting them all new homes! Hey viewers, do your part- spay & neuter your pets!! No more homeless pets!!! Best wishes, Carol Metheny.

[Cindy]

It was such a great season this year. From day one I was pulling for Huber and I'm so thrilled he won. As it went on his skills showed me that my initial instinct was right and then it was his unbelievable love for pets that really sent me into his corner. At the finale if a groomer for ANY reason did not trip any of my dogs nails I would have hit the ceiling because sometimes that is the main reason I'll take them in so as long as I'm having that done I'll have them bathe and groom my dogs but for a groomer to not trim the nails well that's unexcusable. While I thought Lisa was extremely talented, I just didn't get the "feeling" from her that I would want in my own groomer but Huber had it all the way. It was a fantastic choice Doc to pick Huber. Oh and without a doubt I agree that the shelter episode every season is by far my favorite. That's why I love Artist so much because he still does the shelter dogs for free. What a wonderful young man and a gift to the pet world. I know that Huber will be just as wonderful as Artist has been.