Xavier Blogs: Season 2 Finale

June 27, 2009

First, let me say that it was a wonderful experience being able to communicate with all of you. It's not very often that this kind of outreach is possible. Plus, having the time to respond was a lot of fun too. If I didn't address any of you, my apologies. Between my dogs and other responsibilities, it's hard to respond to everyone; however, my heart and well wishes go to all of you!

Now, on to the point of this blog: Doc Halligan ... just kidding! But did you see her fun side in the highlights episode at 8PM? If you didn't, you better have DVR or Tivo! She sure was "animalisitic." Gotta love her. And those crazy groomers sure do know how to have fun. Bill does have a bit of wit about him. Seeing those moments, well, as Joey would put it, "...it even made the tinman smile."

So with Huber and Lisa, we probably have two of the strongest competitors left. At this stage, the cards could have fallen in any direction. Yet, who would have thought that they would have to directly deal with me? Now, I have worked with handling classes and I'm usually not this strict and impatient, but this was a "handling bootcamp." There are some "old school" judges who will not express it verbally, but their body language says it all when you don't have the dog under control and presented well. If you think that groomers are dramatic, wait until you see a dog show and the behind the scenes.

So, unfortunately we couldn't show you all of the different types of dogs the groomers dealt with in the quick sniff, but they had to handle some little dachshunds and they were cuties ... the dachshunds, not the groomers! It was really tough for me and I wanted to call a tie breaker with two spare dogs but we ran out of time thanks to the news helicopters of Los Angeles. Still, it was close enough to give Huber the win, but by the skin of his teeth. Both groomers have handling experience and sometimes you get a dog that will make a fool of you ... I know I did at a show last fall.

On to the grooming ... even though Huber had the leg up, he did have his own problems with the dogs he chose. Now, I just want to say in defense of Lisa, that the Irish Wolfhound was a bitch that just had a litter so her coat was going to be a difficult mess. Personally, I took that into consideration. As it was a blind judging, I knew that whomever got that dog would have a difficult time. I didn't care much for the work on the corded poodle, but any corded breed can be a challenge too. It was truly difficult for me and to be candid, I was dead down the middle with each dog, but like diving contests, it's a total calculation of the points of all judges. And, it was Huber who won.

Congratualtions, Huber. I'm jealous of you ... that Subaru Forester looks nice. Yet, let me be the first to say that Lisa is someone I would trust at any given moment with my dogs or the dogs I handle. I hold her with the utmost respect for the perfectionist she is. So, thank you for watching everyone! Don't forget to give your four-legged friends scratchies behind the ears ... and hopefully we will see you again for a season 3!

Comments

[Merle]

WOW! What a letdown for the finale of Season Two. Lisa led every show. Every competitor imagined themselves beating Lisa. To Hubert's credit, he kept up and did it graciously. But the bottom line is - Lisa was always the one to beat. For the last show to come down to basically "drawing straws" was unsatisfying. And a little disturbing. It seems a large, assertive, white lady can't be given credit. Poor Lisa. She mistakenly thought it was all about grooming. Now we all know it's about being PC.

[Mary Lou Barden]

Xaviar,

I felt your comments were honest and heartfelt. Lisa got shafted in any case. She was the most professional and most talented groomer all the way through the competion. Lisa made some unfavorable comments, that she should not have made. But that should not have cost her the competion. Frankly I am disapointed in seeing another competion turn into a personalty and looks contest. The final winner should be the groomer who was consistently the best groomer and that was Lisa. Deeply disapointed.

Mary Lou

[Kate & Zena]

I loved the season two finale. I loved that this one was a rare breed show. Zena is a very rare breed (it's not yet recognized by the AKC) and it was nice to see other rare breeds.

It was so touching. When you wrote that the Irish Wolfhound had just had a litter, I suddenly understood how frustrated Lisa must have been grooming her. We adopted Zena shortly after her last litter (the puppy had died of congenital birth defects in its first hour) and, boy, her coat was a mess. There wasn't a fiber in my house that wasn't covered in her fur. Every time I thought I got all the dead fur out, another pound of fur would appear out of nowhere and I'd scream in frustration. I'm glad you took that into consideration.

While Zena, my mom and I were rooting for Lisa to win, I'm happy Huber took home the title. They both are exceptional groomers and they both will be "Groomers of the Year" in my mind. It must have been so hard to choose one groomer.

I will definitely give Zena a few scratchies behind her bat ears for you as long you give Dinah some for me. She looks like such a sweet dog from the webisode. She's gorgeous!

Here's to Season 3!!!

[Dalton]

Lisa should have won. I think the judges forgot to realize who won the most challenges...Quite disappointing. Oh well though.

Xavier, chill out a little ok? You seem like a cool guy, but you scare us a little. :P

[Leesa G.]

I honestly thought that Lisa was going to win from the 1st show! I've seen her at some competitions and met her. She is an outstanding person in every respect! Huber had it all as he proved time and time again! And last night, it was Huber's night! With the best 2, it really came down to who made the fewest mistakes.
And just to share, I used to show and also handled for a few people. I know what you mean about a dog making a fool of you! I was showing a 9 month old cocker (her 1st time in the ring) and every time we had to gait our dogs, she grew springs on her feet! With cockers, as you know, you have to jog kinda fast. She literally would jump up and be eye to eye with me going around the ring. It was literally impossible to keep the dog's feet on the ground! LOL We all got a good laugh out of that one! Esp. when she took her class and ended up with Reserve Winner's Bitch! I joked all day I was going to tie springs on all my dogs' feet!

[Molly]

What is PC? I thought huber should be it because he had more experience.

[Christy]

I don't think it was a letdown at all! Congratulations, Huber! I just KNEW it would come down to Lisa and Huber, and had a feeling Huber would be the dark horse. We are not able to examine the dogs closely, like the judges. We are only shown brief little snippets, and the entire show is edited to manipulate the viewers emotions.
The judges are all highly respected professionals, and know how to score. Huber won because he scored the most points. Sounds fair (not PC) to me.
I love the show! Thanks for a great season.

[Xavier A. Santiago]

Merie: Regardless of how the competitors performed in previous challenges, they were judged on that challenge's requirements. But since this was a blind judging event, the point is moot. Now, I am a little offended at your final comment. It was about grooming...and came down to mere points.

[Michelle Paulin]

Having handled both the Irish Woldhound and the Ibizan Hound featured, in the ring, I must say Lisa did the most correct grooming of the two. The Ibizan Hound standard states that the breed is to be shown untrimmed, this includes unplucked. Prior to the show Galinda was a wire coated Ibizan Hound, when she returned home she was a smooth with wire coat.
I loved both finalists, so I had my fingers crossed for both. I still leaned more towards Huber, on the finally due to the fact that he did such an exceptional job on the Cesky, their coat can be quite the challenge. This not taking away from the Bedlington, but you could tell Lisa was a little out of her league on that one.
I look forward to next season. :-)

[Meghan]

I thought Lisa was the best and she won more. Also just because Huber had more experience does not mean he should win. I felt heart broken when Lisa did not win. So three chants to Lisa.
Truly,
Meghan

[Alyssa]

I wanted Lisa to win so bad. Last season, I was rooting for Kathleen, and Lisa was like Kathleen all over again.
I was extremely happy that Artist won last season, but seeing Kathleen win would have been better.
Kathleen and Lisa were so alike, and I just rooted for Lisa the second I saw her. I am deeply disappointed that Lisa didn't win. I found her to be the superior dog groomer. But hey - that's what happened last season. I thought Jonathan was going to win, even though I was rooting for Artist. Artist won because he had more passion, not experience, like Jonathan did. I felt like Lisa was the better groomer, but once again, the judges decided who ever had more passion became Groomer of the Year, which I loved last year, but it disappointed me this year.
Another thing I find ironic - both Kathleen and Lisa went out most likely because of an issue with the nails. Lisa didn't want to stress out that dog, and I honor that. She was stressed, and if the dog was stressed, it was an extremely bad mix.
I look forward to next season when I'm 13, and hopefully I'll have started exploring dog grooming. Perhaps in 6 years I might be there too. You have to be eighteen to enter, right?
Anyway,
Sincerely,
Alyssa from Michigan

[J.C. DogHero]

This was a season finale that will go down in my memory. I laughed, I cried, I did it all over again!
I'm always interested in behind-the-scenes moments, so I'm glad we got some really funny outtakes... especially with Bill in makeup and Doc Halligan's energetic side!
The last Quick Sniff was great. I have to laugh when people say handlers don't know how to groom. I've never handled myself, but I've been to dog shows and have a general idea of what it takes to get that perfect look. It's all about the whole dog package, coat and all!
When Jai said the final challenge was rare breeds, I originally thought of breeds outside of the AKC. Certainly would've been evil, not necessarily of the delicious variety, haha! I've always wondered how in the heck you groom a corded Poodle! And blind judging? I can't even imagine what that was like for everyone!
As for Huber winning Groomer of the Year? Personally, I would've been happy if either he or Lisa won. Both of them are passionate, knowledgeable, and generally amazing; I hope I have opportunities to learn even more from them!
This year was one wild ride. I do have to agree with Joey though: I didn't really know what it was like because I wasn't there. However, I've offered a view of GHI through the eyes of (borrowing a favorite phrase of an old friend here) "some little punk," so I hope my entries have at least been entertaining :)
I'm going to miss writing back about each episode immensely, but I think you said it best: "There's always another dog show!" With Season 2 at a close, I've got Groom Expo and hands-on groom school closer on the horizon - and the cycle of anticipation begins anew :)
Take it easy, sir... or at least as easy as you can ;D
See ya on Season 3!!
~J.C.

[Susan]

I am pleased that Huber won. Although I thought Lisa seemed to be a very good groomer, Huber seemed to have the edge in passion and compassion for the dogs, and not just the competition. When Lisa could not trim the nails on her final dog, I was pretty certain that Huber would win. I'm looking forward to next season.

[Gina Guthrie]

I think that the bottom line is that Lisa should of won. She work so hard and just because she did not clip her last dogs nails made her lose. I thought that it was the worst finally every.

[Foxxy&Baldr]

I was rooting for Lisa..

But 1st things first .. Standard Poodles are not a rare breed, and a corded Standard is not a separate breed from brushed Standards. Yes it is not common to see a corded poodle, I know, I have one, and I corded her myself. What I would like to know is how on earth did Huber bathe and groom the corded poodle in the amount of time he had. That is impossible, he did not bathe the dog, or the cords were still wet in the ring. I was hoping to see more of the grooming on corded poodle, but we saw the least from that dog. I have to say the tail, was a nightmare, it was horrible, and the pom poms looked as they were just being started. The top knot cords were very nice.

[Pamela]

I wonder if the judges had a heads up on the final grooming event? Did the judges know what the breeds of the dogs would be? If so I will tell you I am a little disappointed with the lack of knowledge on the Wire Coated Ibizan Hound. The dog is not to be stripped. By hand or by tool. It is to be show natural. This does not mean you can not remove dead coat. By all means this is something that should be done. But not to the point of the job Huber did. How sad for our breed. Please if your going to do a rare breed, please by all means read the standard...
On another note. I truly love the show and look forward to it return... Congratulation to all. And a big Congratulation to Huber...Pam and the Hounds of T'Marras...

[Joey Villani]

Pamela I do not know why you are disappointed in the judges, I do not believe any of the judges said anything about hand stripping, I know I did not. In fact I thought that was the worst groomed dog.

[Ashley]

From the course of the season, I thought Lisa consistently did a great job, but I suspected from the second show she would not win. My belief is that she would be perceived as not personable nor attractive enough. And I believed the thread would continue from last season regarding the "passion" demonstrated being the most important "deciding factor."

I was SO happy when it was announced the judging would be blind, because I felt that was the only hope Lisa would have to win. The truth of the judging was not apparent from the editing on the show, but it appeared that while it was a blind challenge in examining the dogs, the actual decisions were made after the groomers had been interviewed and the judges knew who had groomed whom. If that is true, I am not sure how a 'blind' judging could make any difference in removing bias.

I have nothing against Huber. He seems like a genuine person and a capable groomer. However, I heard each judge state how Huber's "passion" for grooming was somehow the deciding factor. However, it was abundantly clear that Lisa's passion was as strong as Huber's, she just did not break into tears every time the camera was on her. If passion is to be the primary criteria for determining the winner, and is judged by a person's show of emotions, then I cannot understand why Xavier would be on the panel, or why he would be considered qualified to judge the competition at all.

However, I have no doubt whatsoever that Xavier is both as passionate and committed to, and qualified in his profession as Lisa clearly is to hers. Neither one is given to breaking down into tears at the drop of a hat, however. Oddly enough, the viewers hands down believed in Lisa. Too bad the producers/judges thought so little of their viewing audience as to believe Lisa would not be the "likable" best choice in terms of future "on-camera" potential.

Your viewers like and respect talent, commitment and passion - regardless of the "package" it comes in. We are actually quite fond of you, Xavier, and while I would be more likely to give a hug to the other two judges, I would also be more likely to watch anything you did and feel any of my time spent on you would e well worth my while.

It is too bad I spent weeks watching this show in hopes that the producers were over the "feel good" decisions they felt the audience had to have to come back. I no longer have much interest in watching this show after this season's finale. There is no need. One look at the first episode and I can figure out the winner, as I did this season. Pick someone capable, who is fairly presentable, is extremely open emotionally etc., and who has some rags to riches story that they feel compelled to share with the camera week after week.

I hope Animal Planet and the producers figure out that while their audience likes "feel-good" stories, we also respect talent, and that we can identify with contestants who may not go over the top emotionally, but who's passion and talent are clear in every snip of their scissors. Unfortunately, I won't be watching to find out.

Oh - and the nails issue on the Irish terrier? Joey says he better see teeth as a reason not too clip them - and both Lisa and the viewers saw teeth, another tells Huber how much his placing the needs of the animals first was a deciding factor - and yet Lisa states the dog almost bit her and that she felt she should not further stress the dog out as the reasons - it suddenly was not a good enough reason? She doesn't make excuses - you know that - and she told the truth. I suppose if she should have put her needs over the animal's, then she would have lacked "passion" for the dogs.

I don't begrudge Huber - but the outcome is a real shame.

Respectfully...

[Joey Villani]

My Dear Ashley can I ask you why do you think Huber was chosen because of his personality. That is not the truth at all. Lisa also did not loose because of nails and solely nails.

[Aspiring Groomer]

I was shaking my head at the Ibizan. A wire hair ibizan is a wire hair Ibizan! You don't strip them like you do to a terrier! Nevertheless, congrats Huber!

[Marie]

I think this competition was Lisa's to lose. By not clipping that dog's nails - that was a bonehead maneuver and showed lack of focus at the end. It was hers to lose and she lost it. I was sad for her but I couldnt fault the judge's decision. She is the best groomer but Tiger doesnt win all the tournaments either.

[dog lover]

hey xavier i love groomer has it. people the competition was not rigged. the judges judge the groomers fairly. huber and lisa i picked those two from the first episode. but i always knew that huber would win and some of the people in joeys blog said they were going to stop watching the show well dont stop watching the show because lisa didnt win. dint judge the show on how the judges judge there just doing there jobs they thought huber had more passion like artist. so watch the show and if you still dont want to watch the show then give some good reasons why. i think huber is a smaller size of artist they both have a passion for it and love what they do but i think lisa was just in it to win. Artist and huber were in it to win with pride or lose with dignity. they want to make a difference in the doggy dog world.and in the doggy dog world its dog eat dog so lisa put up a good fight but huber won so get over it. PS cant wait to see the new groomers!!! GO HUBER!!! :) :)!!

[Xavier A. Santiago]

Hello Everyone:

My apologies for not writing sooner but I have been traveling a lot and handling some personal business. For those that liked the outcome, we appreciate the support. This was a very tough decision for all of us. We definitely ranked the dogs appropriately. Unfortunately, the edit could only allow for so much commentary regarding the Ibizan (i am all too aware of the mistakes and the standards for this breed) and the other dogs. My judging was extremely impartial and in fact, of any of the two competitors I would be the toughest on, it would be these two. Why? Because they are the final two and they had similar backgrounds. Provided that they had different strengths and weaknesses, my job is to find any little hair out of place. To be candid, I had problems with all of the dogs, but it is a competition and we have no control over the final edit. On another note, any implications that we were being politically correct or that I was biased against Lisa are completely unfounded. With my two sisters and my own wife competing in fields that are dominated by men and the very fact that I have been on the receiving end of the most heinous of racism, I could not have asked for two more equivalent individuals. Regardless of their backgrounds, I am still an extremely impartial judge. My father always raised me with a sense of respect, dignity and positive reinforcement that we can all accomplish great things regardless of our circumstances. Lisa and Huber competed with great passion and fortitude and were judged accordingly. It was a blind judging after all. And with that judging it was on the day's challenge, not the cumulative wins. Just like a dog show or a competitive grooming competition, the results can differ day-in and day-out. Still, we have to be fair and I was fair during both the quick-sniff boot camp and the final event.

So, to everyone, I appreciate your support, your passion and your love for animals. This is what makes us a great nation: one where we have the freedom of expression, whether they are dissenting views or not. This is America. Despite whether you agree or not, take a moment to pause this Fourth of July and take pride in the freedoms we have. In the mean time, I hope to see you all for a 3rd Season of Groomer Has It!

~Xavier

[Maggie]

I was so glad for Hubert! He was all about the dogs, it was obvious by just watching him handle them. I found Lisa talented but tiresome. Her constant self-praise made me feel that the dogs were secondary to her.

[dog lover]

hey xavier i was overjoyed when huber won. he and lisa work great as a team and love what they do but as a teacher i wasnt surprise that she didnt win because the teacher is supposed to be well the teacher and there supposed to be excited when there students excell in life. i would have been happy either way wether lisa won i would still be happy. but i was glad that huber won. he and lisa were in it to make a difference and they love what they do which i think is very important. they were in it to win with pride or lose with dignity. they werent in it to win moeny and the title they were in it to make a difference in the doggy dog world. and in the doggy dog world its dog eat dog so i'm happy huber won but i would have been happy too if lisa won as well. sorry lisa! GO HUBER!! :) :)

[Mark W]

Xavier, Joey and Doc H: thanks for another great season of Groomer Has It.

I like that the three judges have diverse backgrounds and are experts in their own way. It makes for a more well-rounded panel, in both experience and personality. I'm puzzled when people criticize the show for having judges that are so, well, judgemental. It is a competition after all.

Thanks again!

[jsf]

I just wanted to thank the producers/judges etc of the show. I have been a groomer for 30 years and showed in obedience and breed competition for 15 years. The show has been really inspiring for me and a huge boost in motivation. I hope the show continues for many seasons. As for who won...Huber got my vote, hes very dedicated and compassionate. There is so much more to being a great groomer than just your scissor work.

[K9 Care]

Hi Xavier, Thanks for another super season of GHI. I am so glad that you patiently point out to the novices in the viewing audience that every dog is a separate challenge and a great groomer can overcome most challenges with a lot of patience and persistance!! I've been going to dog shows for 35 years and I was always facinated by what went on behind the scenes. In the beginning, I spent most of my time at the grooming areas just watching how much work was involved to get these top dogs into show ring readiness. I asked questions when I felt the people were receptive to them and as a result, have gained a lot of respect and much admiration for these top groomers and handlers. If more viewers did this, they would understand why you come across to them as being critical of every little thing. In the dog show world, you had better care about every hair being in the right place if you want to win "Best In Show". We as viewers do not have the luxury of being able to see the condition of the dog's skin and coat, or the texture of those coats,or if the dog has other issues that would affect how the final groom looks up close. I am glad that you and Joey have tried to explain some of the comments that you have made in your blogs. It never hurts to try to educate the general public to what each breed should look like per the standard, but unless they actually go to a show and see this first-hand they usually haven't got a clue and should reserve their irrational comments. Thanks once again for your expertise and knowledgeable judgements throughout season 2. I look forward to season 3 and the next group of groomers. Best wishes to you & Dinah. Sincerely, Carol Metheny.