Joey Blogs: Ep. 10 -- Green on the Go

June 13, 2009

This quick sniff was one of my favorites. It looked like a lot of fun. Huber was in shape, that's all I need to say. There was a lot more resistance than you could see (so I was told).

On the grooming van challenge, both sides did a good job ... a really good job. It comes down to splitting hairs at this point of the competition.  All of the groomers that are left are real good groomers, so it comes down to even the slightest mistake. That is what happened tonight. Bill was responsible for the rear and that was where I had the biggest issues. I do think that Bill is a more rounded groomer than Danielle, but just not in this challenge. Sorry Bill.

The final three. Next week.

Check me out at www.joeyvillani.com or nashacademy.com.

Joey

Comments

[jake]

do you think it is possible for danielle to win.

[Lindette]

Why do so called judges-Xavier think that he has a license to be a j******! Talk about attitudes. You know what they say about people who have the need to make others feel inferior, they themselves are tiny inferior twi**!

[Linda]

This is a great program, entertaining and informative but WHY does Xavier have to be such a d#$% ?
Is this the controversy most reality shows aim for? This guy belongs on Jerry Springer.

[Cathy]

From the beginning of this season, I think it is rigged. Lisa wins, even when she made the cats claw bleed, please I only been trimming my cats claws 4 years and she squirms all over the place, a groomer of her supposed experience stood up there and lied tonight to save her butt and the judges let her get away with it and sent the other guy home for a knot!!!!!!!!!!!!! That chinges my suspension this is rigged.

And too, Artis won groomer of the year and Ive seen the runner up on tv more than Artis until his show started!!!!!!!!!!1

Groomer has it is off my list of shows!!!!!!!!!!! The judges need their heads examined!!!!!!!!!!!

[Cathy]

Sorry I missed spelled a word or two, but I was so furious, I didn't take time to read before I sent it!!

[Susie]

Sorry,Cathy,but Artist deserved to win because of his passion and obvious williness to learn. He always put the dog first and that is what is most important. Second, you may have clipped a lot of cat's nails, but I doubt you ever did it in front of camera's. I feel bad that Bill got sent home- he was foiled by the all to common PITA client. True, they were 10 minutes late getting there (in a strange town) but she wasted a lot of their time too! It's a tough competition and it down to splitting hairs!

[grant]

Hi judges,
I have 1 question about the last episode. I think you judged Bill a little to harsh. I know that it is the final 3 though. Danielle got the points for what Bill did right.

[doubleportion8svh]

I noticed that Bill was the one having to deal with the PITA client whiley Danielle was working on the dog. She actually had more time with the dog. Why wasn't she blamed for what was lacking on the pom? And who says that one person is responsible for the butt while the other person gets the front end? If they are working as a team, then they should both be judged that way...not who was working on the front or the back. To me, the show highlighted Bill mostly talking with the PITA client while Danielle worked on the dog.

[Joey Villani]

The first thing I want to say that the show is not rigged. Matter of fact there are people on the show that make sure of that. Second, it was the final four and it was going to come down to the littlest mistake. Ask yourself if you were a client and one groomer told you a nail bled, showed it to you and it was taken care of and the other groomer presented you a finished dog that came back all knotted in the rear. What would make you more upset with?
JV

[Xavier A. Santiago]

Everyone:
Joey, Karen and I can all attest that the show is NOT rigged. There is a whole industry that insures against that--Standards and Practices. The bottom line with this challenge is that we have to split hairs and customer satisfaction was and will always be a huge part of that. We definitely took into consideration all aspects, including previous health and reaction history. We all strive for perfection in our own careers and that is what we are looking for in the "Groomer of the Year". All four of these contestants have those qualities within them, but there can be only one. And as for our approach, I am and always will be a "trial-by-fire" guy. That's the way my dad did it, that's the way his father did it and that's the way America has done and should continue to do it. Otherwise, we would not be the great nation we are today. "Always strive for perfection and in the failure to accomplish that goal, you will achieve excellence." Thank you.

~Xavier A. Santiago

[Sandy]

I just want to defend the judges, their decisions, and the show.

The most significant shortfall of tv is that we can't touch and feel. We need to rely on our judges for that. It's impossible for any of us in the audience to know what the back of the dog felt like. Personally, I 'trust' Joey and believe the dog wasn't finished. And, remember that Bill said that even with more time, he would NOT have used something with silicone. Why??

Obviously those who are left are good and probably no one is going to blow it 'big time'.

If you don't trust the judges, don't watch the show.

[tali]

I just about cheered Lisa last night when she said she would NOT grab on to an animal's leg while dealing with claws. One of my cats is dealing with a subluxated (partially dislocated) elbow (caused by a clumsy landing- NOT by a careless groomer!) and one can see how this could all too easily happen.

It was down to the final Fab Four, all of whom are excellent groomers, and one...little...mistake can make or break them.
I would have been sad for whoever had been clipped, but I was disappointed that it was Bill; I liked him as a groomer...and I really enjoyed his commentary!

Huber, Lisa, and Danielle are thoughtful, dedicated, passionate and knowledgeable about grooming, but Bill just has this way of putting things...

I'm curious as to why a post I made last week was deleted?

[Marie]

Watching Artist on GHI and on BHG I think he is extremely talented and sensible as well as skilled. And driven. He is so good with people and dogs!! (and cats) and he knows when to let something go (an unreasonable customer that he knows he wont be able to satisfy).

I thought he deserved to win last year, even though the other guy had a lot of experience and polish. Artist never complained, took responsibility, improvised well, used all available info. The other guy coasted. And I do think Artist outdid him in the end, from what the judges said.

[michelle hayes]

we need to remember a lot goes on behind the scenes as well. Why are people so cruel and disrespectful. We will not always agree with the judges but that is no excuse. I have watched this show both seasons and look forward to it. All three judges are more than qualified and have different backgrounds that qualify them and make them diverse in judging.

[michelle hayes]

I am not sure what would upset me more knots left in my pet or bleeding from too close of a nail clip. Grooming is not cheap and i agree with Xavier that it should be perfect. Nail clipping is not easy but pet owners do it all the time and do it right. I also know that by accident nail clippers can clip too short. That would of been a hard decision to make.

[Lis]

Michelle, there's no question in my mind which would upset me more as the pet owner. Quicking the nail WILL happen occasionally, it's unfortunate but it's not serious. Lisa and Huber dealt with it appropriately, AND told the owner. They didn't hand her back a bleeding cat, or a cat who might mysteriously start bleeding later, causing her to discover the accident that way.

Bill and Danielle, though, they handed back to the owner a dog who wasn't completely groomed, who was still significantly matted in his rear end. Quicking happens; failure to completely groom the dog shouldn't. I would be very angry if I paid for my dog to be professionally groomed, and got her back still matted. Also, Bill and Danielle presented the dog as being completely groomed; they didn't tell the owner that they simply needed more time, or that the job could not be completed under the conditions she had set. That's inexcusable.

And Bill, unfortunately, WAS the one who was grooming the rear end.

[Leesa G.]

As groomers, we are expected to get nails as short as possible. I have owners tell me all the time that they cut their pet's nails at home, but just can't get them short enough because they are afraid of hurting them. I would be irate if I paid $30 to get my dog groomed and he came back matted! There are too many products and different brushes and techniques out there to ever send a pet home with mats!

[K9 Care]

Hey Joey,Another good show! I was really sorry to see Bill get clipped, but by all the standards of good grooming, you should Never give a dog back to the owner with mats left in the coat. If it were a salon situation,I'm sure Bill would have suggested the owner bring the dog back as soon as it could be scheduled for a re-groom. As for the owner, she was a total A** as far as expecting to hand over a dog in the condition the Pom was in and expecting to get a show groom on the dog in an hour!! That type of matting borders on cruelty in my book!!! I had a customer who brought in a Field Spaniel with ears so badly matted that I could barely get a 40 blade to take off the matted mess!!! (It looked like the old-time horse-hair padding that was used under carpets back when people first started to put carpeting down in their homes.) He had horrendous ear infection and was also matted to the skin everywhere else on his body! She then had the audacity to tell me she wanted the coat saved - not to strip the dog!!! I told her on first examining the dog that nothing could be saved. When she returned for the dog, she pitched a fit! I finally got fed up with her as her ultimate idea was a free grooming from me. (There are a lot of those owners out there that want that freebie due to getting the dog done once per year and never touching the dog between groomings.) I told her she would not have to pay for the groom if it was that terrible, however I would report her for cruelty to her dog for leaving him get this bad! We came to an agreement in the end, however I told her to never bring her dog back to me again. I hated it terribly for the dog, but I invested 4 hours in the dog to clean him up and make him comfortable and I know at least he felt better when he left. I did what I felt was in the best interest of this poor dog and I did make it clear to the owner right up front prior to the grooming, that I could not save his coat. I did manage to save his feathering and tail to keep his breed look somewhat normal.
Just goes to show you that some folks do expect you to do the impossible! To bad we aren't God as far as miracles are concerned!!
THE FINAL THREE _ GOOD LUCK, HAMMER DOWN & GROOM HARD!!!!!!!!!

[Joey Villani]

Sometimes they think we have a magic wand.

[Leesa G.]

Honestly, yes sometimes they do. However, I just don't have the heart in me to tell somebody something like that (not to bring dog back). I know the way I work and know that at least I will be good to the dog while he's in my shop, quite likely the only kindness the dog gets. I don't back off my prices though. The only concession I give is a discount for bringing the dog in regularly (in those cases). I have however taken the dog's pelt up to the owner to show them just how cruel it would be to dematt the poor dog. I did once tell an owner that just because they were willing to risk jail for animal cruelty, I wasn't! I got into the business to help animals, not hurt them and I refuse to be cruel to the dog by trying to brush the coat out. Said owner left my shop vowing to groom their dog themselves. A week later I got a call apologizing and asking would I PLEASE groom the dog. When they came back, 1 ear and part of the dog was kinda shaved. The owner had bought a clipper at Walmart and destroyed it. And still scraped and even cut the dog in 2 places. When I finished, I got a $20 tip and a client for the next couple of years (dog died from heart problem). And amazingly enough, she kept Mason the cocker short the rest of his life. She thought he looked like a lab puppy which ended up being her next dog.

[Janet]

TO MICHELLE HAYES: Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and so there shouldn't be these blogs of "defending the judges" or this and that. I don't like the judges either and having a unique background to make the show diverse is a poor excuse to defend why the vet and dog handler should be there to begin with! Perhaps some of us like to watch strictly for the grooming, such as myself and a lot of other groomers I know. The only judge that deserves to be there is Joe. Are you going to tell me that if they had only one judge with experience in singing on American Idol, with the other 3 being a background person, a drummer and a pianist with no singing experience that they should be judging the next American Idol because they're in the music industry? No different here. Just because we're dealing with dogs, doesn't mean that just any person who works with dogs should be a judge. Expand your mind and as far as I've read, you are the only one who is disrespecting what others have to say. Let them have their opinion and you have yours. You don't need to bag on everyone else because they don't see the show the way you do.

Ugh! Had to get that out!

Joey: I love you!

[Lis]

Janet, did you really see that everyone is entitled to their opinion, and therefore the judges shouldn't have a platform to express their views? Sorry, but your rights are not being infringed by other people expressing views you disagree with.

As for Joey being the only judge who is entitled to be there, because only groomers should be judging groomers: It seems to have escaped your attention, though it has been mentioned several times, that Xavier the handler DOES groom dogs, a lot of dogs, different breeds of dogs--to the highest technical and artistic standard, grooming dogs for high-end AKC show competition. And he gets it right or the dogs he's handling don't win. And Doc Halligan is there because grooming is NOT only about how the dog looks; it's also about the HEALTH of the dog.

It's not only about who is the best technical groomer, and this is not a "creative grooming" competition. It's about who is the best OVERALL groomer.

And yes, actually, it's not the model that American Idol has chosen, but it would be totally valid if they had one singer among the judges, and the others represented other parts of the total package--a background musician, an album producer, etc. It might be a somewhat different show, but there would be nothing invalid about it, because being a success musically is NOT only about how good your voice is. Nor is being a great groomer only about your technical mastery of the clippers, even though that is a very important piece of it.

[Jean Honsinger]

My definition of GROOMER OF THE YEAR : The groomer needs to be diversified in the health and education of health issues pertaining to the animal they are working on. They help clients in watching over the health problems an animal may develop. (where a vet judge comes in). Being able to use the breed standard to interpret what part of the dog will be best to use to accentuate a groom as a whole, or to make the pet look like what a client purchased and fell in love with. (A show handler comes in, which has a trained eye for finding the closest representation of a breed to handle in a ring). A Groomer/instructor of course has the skill to completely judge the groomers skill and execution of a creative approach at pulling off a pet groom to meet the needs of the average pet. I also feel they all are able to judge on whether or not a groomer handled themselves in a professional manner and with passion. So I don’t understand why people are complaining about the judges since they make a diversified and complete panel as far as I’m concerned I would be honored to be judged by them and can’t wait to get the opportunity to be judged by them in the upcoming season 3 to prove I have what it takes to be the next groomer of the year. :) Grooming Jeannie

[Janet]

Lis...I think you're pretty rude. I'm making a point by saying everyone has a right to their own opinion and clearly, you believe only your opinion is correct to the point where you have to refute what everyone else is saying. Why does it bother you so much that people don't like Xavier or the vet? Sounds like you may have some part in the show by how defensive you are. If you like them...fantastic. But if someone chooses to come on here and state otherwise, let it be. Just as, I choose to come on here and say that I really like Joe and how he carries himself on this show. Xavier doesn't quite cut it for me and neither does the vet. That's how I feel. Thank you very much.

[Lis]

Janet, you said: "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and so there shouldn't be these blogs of "defending the judges" or this and that."

You are the one saying that people shouldn't be able to post opinions favorable to the judges. You are the one who thinks only your opinion is correct and differing opinions are somehow an infringement of your right to have your opinion.