Embracing Diversity in Dog Grooming and Canine Care with Anna Marie Schuth, Citrus K9

Karin (00:01.304) Hello everyone. My guest today on the Poodle People Podcast is Anna Marie Schuth. I know Anna Marie because she came to one of my yearly events that's called Poodles in the Park, and I met her there, I think last year. And over the past year I've gotten to know her on social media. I follow her and she has this really lovely Positivity that I wanted to share with everyone. So Anna Marie, thank you so much for joining me. Anna Marie Schuth (00:39.935) thank you so much. Karin (00:42.274) So tell us a little bit about you yourself and how you got into dog grooming. Anna Marie Schuth (00:48.02) Yeah, so it's kind of this weird accidental, you know, kind of a thing that I fell into it. I was at the time in college and I was going to school for biology. I got my first dog, her name is Penguin, and I had a I had a professional training background, and so I thought, well, you know, she's too young to go to the groomer because she doesn't have all of her vaccines yet, but I'll get some, you know. cheap grooming equipment and I'll just, you know, socialize her to the equipment at home. And then, you know, if I end up, you know, enjoying this, then I can teach myself how to really do it. And if not, she'll at least be really well socialized for, you know, when I do take her to the groom or whatever groomer I take her to. And I fell in love with it. I started grooming, you know, a couple of my friends' dogs and I just slowly taught myself how to groom and then I eventually found a place to apprentice. And that's kind of how that you know, steamrolled into an actual career and, you know, fast forward a couple more years and and I do it full time and I own my own business doing it. And I I just fell in love with it. Karin (01:50.52) That's fantastic. are you from Kentucky or have you always worked as a groomer in Kentucky? Anna Marie Schuth (01:57.366) I am originally from St. Louis. I came to Kentucky to go to UK to get my Bachelor of Science, which I did finish. I was gonna go to optometry school and then you know in the gap year that I was gonna study for the OAT, I just I was grooming full time and I just decided I would miss it far too much if I gave it up. So I kind of fell into it unintentionally. but I I just love it so much. But yes, I've always groomed in Kentucky. Karin (02:24.174) Okay. So tell us a little bit about your your two dogs. Anna Marie Schuth (02:29.237) Yeah, so Penguin is a miniature poodle mix. She is five. she is also my original service dog. And then Sersha is my standard poodle who just turned two. and she is also a service dog. It's kind of weird that I have two at the same time. originally I got Sersha to take over when Penguin was diagnosed with cancer. and I didn't know prognosis wise how much time I had left with her. So I figured I'd have to start training as soon as possible. But Penguin has pulled through. She's in full remission. We did, you know, chemotherapy and various other treatments, and she's still here. So it's I have two in working rotation and I just kind of use whichever you know, suits the environment better. Sometimes it's more convenient to have a smaller working dog than a larger, but they both do a fantastic job. Karin (03:21.816) That's really cool that you have two at the same time and it is completely amazing. I I think because you've posted about this on social media, I feel comfortable asking you about it. do you do you mind talking a little bit about Penguin's Himangio Sarcoma? Because it's really amazing that you still have her. I I am in awe and so happy for you for that. Anna Marie Schuth (03:32.628) Course. Anna Marie Schuth (03:44.65) I know, I'm so enthusiastic about it. So I had come home from the gym at the time, and n at the time, health-wise, I would bring her, you know, to be working while I would go, you know, like 80% of the time. But that day I was, you know, in in a pretty good health stint, so I felt like I could leave her at home. And I'm honestly really glad that I did because then when I got home, the difference in her behavior was so obvious to me. So, you know, she she didn't greet me when I came home, which is extremely unlike her. and you know, to summarize, very long story short, her gums were pale. So I took her to the ER vet just in case. Her signs were very subtle, but it's just there was something off. And she ended up having a emergency splenectomy, which the biopsy came back positive. And at the time she was three years old. Karin (04:14.519) Okay. Anna Marie Schuth (04:38.404) And the I had several vets tell me that it was not worth pursuing any kind of treatment because her mangiosarcoma is just so aggressive. But I ended up with Cincinnati Med vet and my veterinary oncology my veterinary oncologist there had, you know, just said it was shocking how young she is, because you know it's her mangiosarcoma is mostly older dogs and it's mostly larger breed dogs. So she's just so small. I mean, she's about twenty pounds. but because we caught it really early and there were no signs of, you know, immediate metastasis, or at least not severe metastasis, we ha we went ahead and we did all five rounds of chemotherapy, Cirulimus, Clorambia cell, Unon Bio, and turkey tail. And then they also have her on a experimental Yale vaccine study. She's still participating in that. but she's been in full remission for about a year and a half. So I'm I'm very, very lucky that she's still here and she's thriving. She's still doing great. Karin (05:40.322) That's really wonderful. I think you probably know that I had a very different experience with homangiosarcoma with my dog Jane Bennett. So sorry, Jane Austen, not Jane Bennett. That's her daughter, Elizabeth Bennett. Jane Austen had homangiosarcoma. We did the splenectomy and she was doing really well and then all of a sudden she wasn't. Anna Marie Schuth (05:48.315) Yes. Anna Marie Schuth (05:56.41) You're good. Karin (06:08.458) So, you know, hemangiosarcoma is just that silent and deadly disease where you know you can just totally miss it and they can drop dead literally. there are plenty of stories and I know several people firsthand who have had this disease strike them. So it is something to be aware of. But I'm so pleased for you and Penguin that she's doing well. Do they have a yeah, do they have any kind of Anna Marie Schuth (06:14.75) yeah. Anna Marie Schuth (06:33.148) And so far so good. Fingers crossed. Karin (06:37.358) prognosis for her? Like how long will she's in remission? So what does that mean really? Like is she Anna Marie Schuth (06:44.051) So she has absolutely no signs of cancer at all whatsoever and has consistently had absolutely no signs of cancer whatsoever. since, you know, about gosh, I wanna say like six months into her treatment, they were like, we're comfortable saying she's in remission. and they were very upfront with me about prognosis. I mean, the median survival rate is even with chemotherapy, well, sp so they they had told me That the most recent scientific study at the time, the median survival rate without chemo was 18 to 60 days post-diagnosis and about 283 days, you know, on median with chemo. we just hit our her two two-year anniversary of her diagnosis. And she still consistently 'cause for the Yale vaccine study, she has to have x-rays and a blood serum done every three months in order to, you know, qualify for the continued booster vaccines. and all of all of her scans, she just had scans done last week and they all came back normal again. So we're and very enthusiastic about it. And she has her when she was diagnosed and I was mentally going through it and I was like, you know, the one obviously there's many things I, you know, would have loved to continue to do with her, but there was the one thing that I was like, wow, I never got her into agility and I always thought that she would really love it, and I just never got around to it. Karin (07:43.822) That's fantastic, really. Yeah. Anna Marie Schuth (08:06.429) So when she when she got into remission and and my my brain and my heart were starting to accept that there was hope that she might, you know, still be here. That's when I actually did invest in agility classes and we're going to our very first agility trial in July. So that'll be that'll be really exciting. I'll be probably pretty emotional about that. Karin (08:25.531) that's such a sweet story. It's really fabulous. So so tell me a little bit about your other dog. Anna Marie Schuth (08:28.48) yeah. Anna Marie Schuth (08:33.542) Yes, so Sarha, I got to train as my next service dog in In and Amongst All of Penguins Diagnosis. there had been several breeders that luckily I had already been researching standard poodle breeders for my next dog. But originally I had thought it was gonna be five to seven years down the line. and actually your program is one of the programs that was in my list that I was interested in, and when My timeline was moved up so exponentially. I was I was reaching out to everybody, and I think I had emailed you, but I think that that had gotten lost in in translation. I don't think that's the the the best way to communicate. But I I was reaching out to all the breeders on my list, and either everybody was either not expecting a litter anytime soon or their service prospect specific list was you know, pretty far out, which is why I was researching so far in advance, because I was happy to be on a wait list, you know, until the my time frame moved up. because at the time penguin was three. So I was thinking five to seven years down the line, and then it would take, you know, two-ish years to train another dog, for penguin being retirement age. So I ended up finding Semper Pudelis, which is where S Sersha came out of, and I flew to Arizona to get her. and she She does, you know, she titles her dog. She does all of the health testing and the socialization, you know, puppy protocol that I require when I'm looking into a breeder. and she had had two of the litter test positively on the Volhard test. And I picked, I picked between Sarah and her brother. normally she doesn't let let people pick, but we talked really extensively and she's like, I think both of them suit your needs. But Karin (10:05.006) It's too awful. Anna Marie Schuth (10:15.205) Personality wise, I ended up picking Sarha. She's a little bit more of a Velcro dog, and and I like that. I like a very affectionate dog. but yeah, it it is she has turned out really well. she does great. She started natural alerting for my dogs are procedure alert. but she started natural alerting probably about somewhere between seven and nine months old. and then we were able to and penguin was a a natural alerter as well. I actually had penguin before I ever had any health issues at all whatsoever. And she's kind of slipped into the role of service dog. is kind of very non-traditional. I would never have expected it to happen that way, and I got extremely lucky. but but Sarah, I think, picked it up from one, she comes from a program of dogs that have, you know, a long history of producing successful seizure alert dogs. and then also, you know, she was around penguin when penguin was alerting. So I think that that helped too. Karin (11:18.582) Bet it did. So you also show Sertia, right? So tell us a little bit about that. Anna Marie Schuth (11:23.812) Yes, yeah. Anna Marie Schuth (11:27.941) Yeah, so when I went to Sertia's Breeder, I had said, so my first priority is service work. My second priority is I'm a dog groomer that would love to get into competitive grooming. I'm actually starting to get into that this year. and then maybe I'll do some, you know, confirmation and sports, but I can't, you know, guarantee that I'll do that because at the time, you know, my health was so up and down that I was like, I really don't know how active I could be. To do dog sports and Confo. but when Sarah Sha was about seven months old, I went to the local UKC venue that I have in Cynthia and at the Mason Dixon, you know, club. And I just I showed up with Sarah and sh I had her in, you know, funky whatever creative cut and I just kind of meandered around and checked it out and was like, is this something I might want to do? Cause I've not really been to a show. And People were extremely welcoming. They, you know, came and they're like, my gosh, you're thinking of, you know, showing like that would be so fun. And people were giving me all sorts of feedback and, you know, advice. And it was just a really wonderful community. And so I decided I did want to show her. So I had to grow her out from, you know, what she was in to a modern. she's a multicolored standard poodle, so she is registered with the AKC, but she can't, you know, as as you know, can't show. Confirmation. So we do UKC and I probably eventually want to do IABCA as well, but we have we're we're just doing one thing at a time right now. But she's my first purebred dog and she's my first confirmation dog. Karin (13:05.806) That's exciting. It actually sounds like you're doing more than excuse me, more than one thing at a time because you have two service dogs, you're showing one and using both of them as service pets. So, you know, i i it doesn't sound like you're slacking at all. Anna Marie Schuth (13:24.312) Okay. Thank you. I appreciate it. I just have such a big long list of 8,000 things that I want to do all the time. right now I'm limiting each dog to obviously they work in a service capacity, but I'm limiting them to one sport. So, you know, penguin is doing agility right now, Sersha's doing Confo. And then Sarah, she has her championship and she's two legs away from her grand championship. Karin (13:32.299) Right. Right. Anna Marie Schuth (13:50.875) and our next show is at the end of June. So she may or may not get her grand by then. but I think that once she gets her grand, I'll see how I feel. And we might take a break from confirmation for a while to do some more creative grooming. And then when I'm doing that, we might I might get her into another sport. And I think that she would also really love agility, but I might try to diversify and do something else just so that me as the a handler, I get to, you know, get the fun of doing multiple things, so that would be good. Karin (14:19.756) And it is always nice when you can take their coats down and have a bit of a break from, you know, the weekly b bathing, the grooming all the time, worrying about the rain, the mud, the everything, you know. So psychologically. Anna Marie Schuth (14:27.743) yeah. Anna Marie Schuth (14:32.322) Luckily Sersha's coat texture her coat texture's extremely forgiving. I mean, I do give her a weekly bath, but I'm really not worried about her tangling. I really don't have to brush her at all. I just, you know, bathe and blow her out once a week, or once every week to a week and a half, and she's good. I mean, we were going hiking and she's still good. So she's she's got a really nice coarse coat. that's one of the things that judges usually re you know, say. Especially because she's a multi and a lot of the times multis tend to have softer coats, but she has a really nice, you know, read read correct coat. the main the main thing the main feedback that I usually get is that she does have a a gay tail. She's got a natural tail that curls all the way over her back. So, you know, some judges some judges take more fault with that than others. some don't really see that as a a detriment to the breed, some do. It just kind of depends show to show. Karin (15:27.104) Right, right. so let's talk a little bit about competition grooming. tell me what your goals are there and what you're kind of hoping, you know. I know you've been practicing on some different clips and you're excited. I I think Sersha's still in an English saddle, right? Which is you you don't see an English saddle all the time. So I know you enjoy those kinds of clips. Anna Marie Schuth (15:49.325) Yeah, yeah. Karin (15:56.398) Tell me what you're looking for with competitive grooming and what your aspirations are. Anna Marie Schuth (16:02.74) So the original reason I even got into Confo to begin with is actually to better myself as a dog groomer. So doing confirmation has really allowed me to develop my eye when it comes to things like balance, structure, and movement. And you know, I was on another podcast a couple weeks ago and we talked about this a little bit, but it's it's so interesting to me that. Doing confirmation with my purebred standard poodle has actually improved all of my grooming. even breeds that are not poodles, even doodles. I mean, I'm grooming mixed dogs, and I can still look at them and say, you know, I could see that obviously you don't have a standard that I'm, you know, breeding you to or grooming you to, but I could see where, you know, this would make you a more well well-balanced dog if I groomed you in these ways. So that's kind of developed my eye in that way. And then from that, you know, growth in my career, I want to continue to propel myself into creative grooming and competitive grooming. So I in July I'm going down to Florida to a mock comp. So Cammy Lewis, Allison Brooks, and Blake Hernandez are hosting a three day seminar. And you know, two of the days they're gonna go over Asian fusion and you know, doodle face, you know, grooming. And then the third day we're having a mock comp. So they're gonna sit us down and walk us through all the steps of how competitions work, all of the different types of competitions you can enter. And then we we are going to do a competition. and they're gonna, you know, walk us through how it works, our timing, give us feedback. And I'm gonna put Penguin back in a I had her in a like a modified Portuguese water dog type cut a little bit ago. And so I'm gonna put her back into that. and it'll be, you know, just a really fun experience to get to do. so I'm looking forward to that. And then I'm hoping I'm debating, if I want to go and enter Hershey in Pennsylvania in September, which is a really big grooming competition. if I do that, I think I would do Sersha in her English saddle, but I still have some work to do to perfect that trim. And then there's also the time, the time management aspect of it where you have a a limited amount of time to complete the groom. So, Anna Marie Schuth (18:24.958) With Penguin, I'm a little less worried because I've been grooming her for such a long time. And the, you know, freestyle Portuguese water dog-inspired trim that I'm doing on her is one that I've done before and I can whip it out really quick and I'm very confident in it. The English saddle just takes such a a sheer amount of hand scissoring and well, I mean, so does Penguin's Cut, but it just is a lot more of a technically difficult trim that has a lot of factors at play. So I'm a little concerned about being able to do that in the an allotted time frame, but I I kinda I just think I wanna challenge and push myself and it's it's how I learn best, I think. Karin (19:02.67) So this is a fun fact. Kami Lewis was going to be my guest this week and we recorded Yeah, we recorded about half of it, but I don't know if it was my Wi-Fi or hers, but something like I don't know how many times we kept w we lost the connection over and over. And finally I was like, okay, let's, you know, we just have to bail on this. And she's at a show, so Anna Marie Schuth (19:08.596) Really? Anna Marie Schuth (19:22.055) yeah. Karin (19:30.088) she'll be on next week or the week after, as soon as we can get together after she finishes the show she's at. so I thought you Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I I can't wait to talk to her. or talk to her when we don't have aggravation of losing the connection and having to start over or me talking to, you know, you know, talking to the the microphone and then all of a sudden realizing that there's no one there. So these things happen. Anna Marie Schuth (19:38.327) A small world. I'll be excited to listen. Anna Marie Schuth (19:49.55) Yeah. no. Anna Marie Schuth (19:58.539) Yeah. Karin (20:00.182) So yeah, so I I think that that thing that that event will be really exciting. It sounds like it's a really great way to develop your skills and get a lot of feedback from really great people. Anna Marie Schuth (20:15.5) Well, and I've had several people, especially in the last couple of weeks, actually. I've had several people reach out on my accounts and ask if I compete or ask ask me advice on competing. And I had to be like, I've actually never competed before. but I think it's because I've started I've started getting a lot of really excited breed standard clients. So, you know, I have I now have several show dogs that I groom. I have a lot of Karin (20:32.165) that's funny. Anna Marie Schuth (20:42.688) dogs that get more elaborate creative cuts. And I do have color clients as well. I have two red toy poodles that currently one's dyed to look like a zebra and the other one's dyed to look like a leopard. And, you know, it's just it's fun to get to do all that. And then I just I think that people see that and they assume that they are dogs that I also compete with and I say, one day, one day we will. I did a standard poodle in like a modified Karin (21:04.654) Sure. Yeah. Anna Marie Schuth (21:10.292) It was kind of like a fusion between a bolero and a German. So it was kind of a fun retro, you know, style of a trim. and you know, it was just it's just really fun. yeah. Karin (21:19.574) I I love those trims. Yeah, I love the old trims. They're really a lot of fun. Anna Marie Schuth (21:26.763) I that you could show them in confirmation. I mean, I guess technically in UKC, you technically could, because there's no disqualifications for grooming in the United Kennel club. But you know, you really only see the continental, modified continental German, modern, and English saddle. And then some people will show in a sporting clip, especially if a female has recently welped a litter. But you really you don't see like the retro trims like that. I would love to be able to do confo in that. Karin (21:57.804) The retro trims are so fun. they're not always flattering in the same way that, you know, our eye does not find them as flattering as the continental or the modified, but they still are fun. Anna Marie Schuth (22:00.194) yes. Anna Marie Schuth (22:11.004) Yeah. yeah. And I love the creativity. I mean the first thing I think the first thing that I'm gonna do on Sarah show once I'm done showing her and once I've decided that I'm gonna take a break from the English saddle is I wanna carve wings into the side of her body and dye them blue. And that's been, you know, a goal for a really long time. So it'll be really fun to get to do. Karin (22:33.294) Cool. So tell me a little bit more about your business. What you mentioned some of the dogs you have. What how is your business developed? What kind of clients do you get? what is the makeup of you know, the dog population where you are? Anna Marie Schuth (22:54.314) So it's I'm in a really wonderful spot and place to be in career-wise because I personally I like to diversify. So I, you know, people in the grooming industry talk a lot about burnout. And it is a very relevant issue in dog grooming. It's a very physical career. A lot of the times people land themselves in jobs that are, you know, you know, not balancing work life, you know, very well, especially in like a corporate setting. I've I've been lucky to avoid a corporate setting my entire grooming career. I've never done corporate. but I started at the salon that I'm currently at is the Barkside Groomery. and I I had apprenticed several other places first, but then I landed there as a W 2 employee part-time while I was in college. And then when my gap year before I was gonna go to optometry school is when I said, you know, I'm gonna take this opportunity to work here. full time for at least one summer before you know I have to move on to you know what was supposed to be my career. And then you know, Kelly's the owner of the Barkside, she transitioned the salon from W-2 to booth rent. And so in that process, you know, she helped me open up my own LLC. We we, you know, divided so that you to do booth rent in the grooming industry properly and legally, you know, you You are all your own individu individual business owners with your own LLC, you file your own taxes, you have your own separate booking system, clientele, everything. So I essentially I just rent the use of a table and access to the, you know, tubs and things like that. But we're all our own individual entities. and I I really love that setup because it's really enabled me to be really specific about the clientele that I developed. So I have a professional a pr background in professional dog training. So I actually do really love working with behavioral cases. But knowing that I already have health issues and grooming is not easy on the body, I am really intentional about only taking on so many behavioral cases at a time. So I like to consider what I do rehabbing dogs. So I'll take a behavioral case and I say, in order to, you know. Anna Marie Schuth (25:18.366) Be my client. you know, you have this dog with this behavioral issue, this aggression issue, etc. We're gonna work together and I'm gonna get us to the point that your dog is no longer considered a behavioral case if we can. So, for example, I have a doodle client that came to me and she said in her initial message before I've conversed with her at all, she said, I have a two year old doodle, he's a rescue. I have no idea if he had ever been groomed before the rescue took him in. Honestly, based on the pelted, matted shaved down that he had, I would not be surprised at all if he had never been groomed in two years of life. he's highly aggressive towards strangers, and she told me I will bring him. I'm already working with a professional trainer at home. I would love to get grooming equipment just to socialize him to at home between visits. I will sit in this parking lot for four hours if you need me to, so that if he's too aggressive, I can immediately walk in and get him from you. And so to me, that says, this client is extremely intentional about what she's doing with this aggressive and dangerous dog. I mean, he is a dangerous dog, or at least he was. and so I I said, yes, I'm happy to try. we'll work together with him. and and he did, you know, the very first visit. he I didn't make eye contact with him in the lobby at all. I stayed, you know, a couple feet away while I was talking with his mom and he he did try to bite. And we we were able to work up to I was able to groom him and we just we go really slow. We take a lot of breaks. when I'm doing a behavioral case, I take a lot of videos where I show the pet parent, like, hey, this is what I'm doing when he behaves this way, this is how you can help socialize him at home. I give a of homework to my my behavioral you know clients. And now I've gotten that dog to the point that he is actually very affectionate with me off the table. On the table he has his moments, but for about 90% of the groom, he's he's pretty comfortable and he does a good job. So he has made an immense amount of progress in the three years that I've been working with him. Really proud of him. But I'll only take on you know however so many behavioral clients at a time but I like to diversify between Anna Marie Schuth (27:37.67) You know, my behavioral clients, like my rehab dogs, breed standard trimming. I'm starting to get some really good momentum specializing in that. And then creative grooming. and I do regular pet grooming as well, but ideally I'm I'm really trying to fill the niches of behavioral cases and rehabbing, creative grooming and breed standard trimming. lately I've gotten, I'm trying to think. Well, I have an Airedale that I've started doing that's a show dog. So that has been great for breed standard trimming. I've got a red Irish setter and an English cocker that are both show dogs. that I, you know, I do. And then I've got an Afg an Afghan that's a recent client. She's a retired show dog. She doesn't currently get, you know, a full Afghan coat. But we're, you know, we're I'm rehabbing her coat actually because she had She'd been spayed and she had been shaved when she was retired. So I'm hand stripping her again to try and recover her coat texture as much as possible. But but yeah, no, I I love having the diversity. I also find that very few groomers in the area have expertise in hand stripping. So that's also a fantastic, you know, avenue that I've found myself into. Karin (28:52.154) Right. So let's do a little I don't know what to call this, but like a little round robin kind of thing. what kind of dryer? What kind of dryer do you use? Anna Marie Schuth (29:04.058) I canine two. Karin (29:06.37) Okay. do you have a force dryer? Do you have a forced heat dryer as well? Anna Marie Schuth (29:07.559) I like the canine threes. I'm sorry. Anna Marie Schuth (29:15.921) Yes, my K nine two is my force dryer. The velocity dryer. Karin (29:18.828) Okay. Do sorry do you have a heated dryer as well? A stand dryer? Anna Marie Schuth (29:24.137) sorry, I understand what you're saying. I have a j jerpet. I'm not really sure if I'm pronouncing that right, J I R. and it's like a neck dryer. and that one has heat. Karin (29:36.82) one of the is it that new one that wraps around the neck? Anna Marie Schuth (29:40.636) Yes, yeah. they had actually gifted that to me. I don't use it on most of my pet grooming actually, but I do definitely use it on dogs like Sartia, where they have you know, certain areas as I'm fluff drying. I find the average pet pet dog that I'm doing doesn't stay still enough for me to be able to use a neck dryer. But a lot of my clients that have been coming to me for a really long time that I've trained to be really good for the dryer, I can definitely do it with them. So that's good. So Karin (29:56.81) Yeah. Karin (30:02.776) Right. Anna Marie Schuth (30:09.861) I like to fluff dry on my longer coated dogs. Karin (30:10.755) I I think the dryer that goes around your neck is such a brilliant thing because I have always been amazed at people who could actually manage to hold a dryer either under their chin or in their armpit. I just don't have the man, I can't do it. I get aches and pains. I I definitely can't do it. so so I think that that is a very good thing. what's your favorite slicker? Anna Marie Schuth (30:26.001) I had an armpit, girly. Anna Marie Schuth (30:43.065) It's so hot take. I do love the Chris Christensen, which is the classic that everyone goes to. actually, I and I have that one and I do love it, and is one of my go-tos. But Warren London has a slicker brush that is half the price. And honestly, I actually like a little bit better. I feel like it's a little bit gentler on show coat in particular. So if I have a dog that, you know, I'm using a slicker brush to get out tangles. I which also Equus has a survivor gel magic, it melts mats out, it's phenomenal. I love that stuff and I'm obsessed with it. I tell everybody that can hear. I don't have sponsorship or anything. I'm just really obsessed with it. But if I have a dog with tangles, I usually will go to my Chris Christensen. but if I'm working with a coat that I want to try and be really gentle with and I need something a bit more than a pin brush, I will go for my Warren London slicker. Karin (31:40.887) Is it a slicker that has just straight pins or are they bent like the Chris Christensen? Anna Marie Schuth (31:49.23) It's the same setup as the Chris Christensen coral. It's bent, they're about the same length and time. For whatever reason, I just feel like the material in the make, it's just slightly gentler on the coat. I usually try to avoid using a slicker on on Sertius' show coat, but if I have to use one, I go with the Warren London one. Karin (31:59.575) Yep. Karin (32:06.944) I actually like a slicker that has straight pins. I have the Chris and use I think I have three different Chris Christensens. but I like one from Ashley Craig that has straight pins and it's definitely gentler and it's easier on like if you're trying to get into the armpit, there are three sizes, so you always have something that fits where whatever body part you're doing and Anna Marie Schuth (32:16.717) okay. Anna Marie Schuth (32:24.421) Mm-hmm. Anna Marie Schuth (32:31.383) nice. Karin (32:36.404) I find that I can use it on bracelets really easily and the tail. so favorite detangler. Anna Marie Schuth (32:41.1) Mm-hmm. Anna Marie Schuth (32:48.357) I like the Botanica Avocado Detangling Spray for light tangling, but then that Equus Survivor Gel is my go-to for any any type of tangling that's a little bit heavier. It seems kind of odd because it's a gel, so you would think that in putting it in the coat, you would gunk the coat up really bad. But if you just put the tiniest, tiniest little pea-sized amount on whatever matte or tangle you're working on. Karin (33:09.528) Mm-hmm. Anna Marie Schuth (33:15.733) And I take a slicker and I brush it, it l just melts out like butter and then it doesn't leave a residue. I don't really know the science behind it, but it's it's phenomenal. I love that stuff. Karin (33:27.082) I I might need to get that stuff. I I always like trying new things. Yeah. it's really interesting to try new things. Like I just switched from using Chris Christensen shampoo. and I went back to Crown Royale, which I used earlier on, and Mary's coat is very different with it. it's not as white and Anna Marie Schuth (33:29.25) Honestly, yeah, you should try it. It's phenomenal. Anna Marie Schuth (33:52.216) Mm, okay. Karin (33:54.688) I had kind of thought that I had a really white cream dog because everyone asks, you know, everyone thinks she's a white dog and she's actually a cream. And in switching, I was reminded that she actually is a cream dog. She's not quite as white. I mean she's still quite white, but not, you know, paper white the way she was with Christian. Yeah. Anna Marie Schuth (34:03.288) Yeah. Anna Marie Schuth (34:16.482) More toned, yeah. Karin (34:23.682) Favourite scissors? Anna Marie Schuth (34:26.309) I like Magic's M-A-G-I-X. I just I don't know. They're I talk with my sharpener about it. I feel like they're my brand of shears that have lasted the longest in terms of being able to be resharpened over and over again and not, you know, losing their their edge. And then I feel like they last a longer time between sharpenings as well. Like I've tried other brands that I felt went dull really fast. Karin (34:44.738) Mm-hmm. Anna Marie Schuth (34:55.3) they're f they're phenomenal. They've got a lot of really nice options too. because I'm a groomer and I work on so many different breeds. I have a lot of different settings that I'm like, okay, so on this dog, I'm gonna just use straight up sh straights the entire time. I I usually gravitate towards just straight up using straights or curves for like 90% of the groom. certain dogs I'll use thinners. on Sertia's coat, I I mostly use I've got a pair of nine inch magic's straights that I whack off any and all coat, you know, as I'm going. And then I have a pair of Kenshi chunkers that I like to do my finish work with her. And it just is a really nice blend. My my Kenschis really nice. I would like to get more from their line as well. and I've actually not had to have my Kenshi chunkers sharpened, and I've had them for over year. Karin (35:34.862) Mm-hmm. Anna Marie Schuth (35:50.722) but also I I do utilize them a little bit less than some of my other you know, I my straights and my curves I utilize on almost every single dog. But yeah, Magics and Kenshi have been my favourites. I do really like Foxy Roxy as well. Karin (35:51.127) Nice. Karin (35:55.256) Sure. Karin (36:03.754) I I love the Foxy Roxy website. I mean it's just so charming. I think they have a great idea. Everything about it is really nice. so Anna Marie Schuth (36:08.597) yeah. Anna Marie Schuth (36:12.419) Well, I think their subscription service is really nice for people building up a collection too, when they don't yet have a ton of shears. Karin (36:17.142) Yeah, yeah. Yep. so if you were going to offer advice to people who are grooming at home, either trying to learn or in between grooms, what would you tell them that they, you know, that the groomer knows that they probably don't know? Anna Marie Schuth (36:39.395) So usually and I actually I like to consider myself an open resource to any and all of my clients. I like to do a lot of education and I actually really love teaching people how to groom. I would love to bridge that gap more. I've started offering, I haven't advertised it, but I've started offering virtual bathing lessons where I do a Zoom call and I bathe Sersha and then I walk the person through Karin (37:01.476) Anna Marie Schuth (37:06.264) Hey, here's how to properly bathe, dry your dog. These are different products you use, different, you know, brushing techniques. But generally speaking, the main things that I that I go to, well, we'll talk poodles because different dog breeds will require different, you know, grooming needs. But if I had someone come to me and they have a poodle and they want me to keep them relatively long and they want to maintain them between visits, the very first thing I tell them is you need to learn how to properly bathe your dog and you need to have a really quiet quality high velocity dryer. I think the main mistake a lot of people will make when they're learning to maintain a longer coated dog coated dog at home is that they'll get you know, they'll they'll bathe the dog, but they don't know that they need to get the tangles out before the bath, or they don't know that they need to have a high power velocity dryer to blow out tangles, or they're using the wrong brushes. So I always tell people, invest in a really good velocity dryer. Some dogs you could get away with a lower powered one. and I do like I've got a Schernbau, like a smaller Schernbau that's like a a lesser powerful one. That's great for smaller breeds of dogs, I think. But if you're you know, if you're going, you know, f head first into a standard poodle and full show coat, you really need something with a a bigger kick. So I usually recommend people a canine two or three, and I I say I know that they're really expensive, but in my experience Karin (38:14.35) Mm-hmm. Anna Marie Schuth (38:33.215) Most of the time when people get a lower dryer, they're ending up replacing it with a higher powered one in the next six months because they're so fed up with how long it takes to dry their dog. So that's with a longer coated dog anyway. It'll it'll differ dog to dog. But I tell people get a really good dryer, learn how to give a really good bath, and I can teach you, I'm happy to be that resource for you. Ask me any questions. and then I explain line brushing. I'm saying People will try to brush their dog, but they'll either be using the wrong tools or they won't be getting all the way down to the skin. So I give a lot of line brushing tutorials. I have a video that I send clients that breaks it down. And I also mainly give a lot of socialization techniques, especially when I have a client with a young puppy. And I do a puppy program where the dog comes in more frequently and I give them a bunch of mini grooms before their first big one. But Karin (39:27.288) Mm-hmm. Anna Marie Schuth (39:27.584) I also give a lot of homework where I say, you know, for example, take a spoon to your puppy and, you know, gently introduce the spoon around the puppy's eyes and face and give them treats and positive, you know, praise for having the spoon around because the curved reflected metal surface imitates curved shears. And so that is a way that at home, safely, without having any sharp objects near a puppy's face, because you know, pet parents, not a professional, they If the dog jerks, you don't want to stab them in the eye. but you know, ha that kind of s simulation at home, or I I instruct people, hey, practice a chin hold with like lightly, you know, holding a little bit of the hair on the chin between two fingers, unless you have, you know, a poodle with a shaved face, to keep their head still or, you know, practice, you know, socializing to the feet. And I explain. That doesn't just necessarily mean yanking their feet up out of nowhere. It does mean a structured socialization. And I walk them through how to do that. But you know, my goal is to help create as many dogs as possible that are not only good for grooming, but are actually genuinely comfortable and enjoy being up on the table. So I try to help par pet parents accomplish that as much as possible as well. Karin (40:43.872) Yeah, I think that going to the groomer is stressful for so many dogs and i it's something that takes a lot out of a dog. I I know that, you know, many years ago when I was taking Max Lieberman and Jane Austen to the groomer, not to Marlena, but to a different groomer, they would come home and be very worn out, you know, just exhausted. Anna Marie Schuth (40:50.667) Mm-hmm. Anna Marie Schuth (41:11.785) Yeah. Karin (41:12.532) And I think people underestimate the stress of the noise. I mean, I I have to be honest, I wear headphones, ear protection in when I'm grooming and dogs don't have that. So dogs that are not used to it really can find it a challenging environment. Anna Marie Schuth (41:22.783) yeah. Anna Marie Schuth (41:33.131) Absolutely. Karin (41:36.19) so I am so grateful that you had time to come on the podcast. It's really been nice getting to know you and I hope to see you at the next Poodles in the Park. but I really yeah, I really just enjoyed I I enjoy your posts that are so deliberately cheerful, even silly. You know, I love that you are Anna Marie Schuth (41:50.089) Yes. Karin (42:03.394) being lighthearted and intentionally lighthearted about how you present yourself to the world. It's very nice. Anna Marie Schuth (42:10.337) Thank you. Yeah, I feel like I mean the world in general, but specifically dogs and dog community, it's just so much better when we lift people up. I mean, there's so many people that are gatekeepy or, you know, finger pointy or just so quick to anger in a situation that it doesn't really need it. especially surrounding doodles. And my first thing that I always tell people when I'm in a conversation, specifically when doodles come up, I'll say, you know. I don't agree with the ethics behind their breeding, but there's so much active misinformation out there. I am someone that bought, you know, a doodle from a breeder before I knew about ethical breeding. And so I will never judge someone that did the same. so when, you know, I have clients that come to me. I have actually quite a few clients that have either backyard bred dogs or rescues, which I'm no shame against rescues. I love rescuing. I would love to be a long-term shelter foster. when I have my own home and I'm no longer renting. or, you know, doodles or, you know, things like that. And they have conversations with me and now they're like, well actually I would love to get a well-bred dog. And I'm like, listen, I'm a ha I'm happy to be a resource for you. I love doing research on that kind of a thing. I think eventually I really need to add a blog to my grooming website that's like a a tip source on questions to ask, you know, breeders or how to find an ethical breeder, 'cause there's so much active misinformation out there that I'm like, you know, trying to trying to be an open resource to people, but coming from a place of support, you know, not judgment. I think people receive it much better that way. Karin (43:47.512) Right. Karin (43:51.136) And it is a very good point. The doodle owners don't care that their dogs are doodles, really. They just love their dogs, regardless of what their dog whatever dog we all love our dogs. So Anna Marie Schuth (43:57.375) Yeah. Anna Marie Schuth (44:02.943) Yes. And I think it's easier for people to have those conversations with me because I I have a doodle that is like my heart dog and I love her to the ends of the earth. And so I think when I'm having these conversations with people and I can be like, Listen, I I I'm not saying that a badly bred dog can't be the best dog ever, because listen, I have a badly bred dog and she is the best dog ever. But you know, she was also diagnosed with cancer at three years old. And I'll also tell you The top most five aggressive dogs that I work with, four of them are doodles. Some of the best dogs that I groom are also doodles. But I will say, like, temperamentally, out of the top five most aggressive dogs I groom, four are doodles. So take take that anecdotal, you know, bit with what you will. but people take it less personally when I'm like, I have a doodle myself and I love her to bits. So when I'm saying this to you, I'm not attacking your dog, you know, we're just having a conversation about, you know, dogs. Karin (44:49.302) Right. Right. Karin (45:02.72) Right. Well, I'm really grateful that you had time to talk to me tonight. I know that people will find it interesting to talk to someone who's relatively new in their career and building things and has great hopes and is bringing a really great fresh perspective to the grooming industry. So thank you for joining me tonight. Anna Marie Schuth (45:23.934) Yeah. Yeah. it's a delight talking with you. Thank you. Sorry if I ramble a bit, but I I love it, yeah. Karin (45:31.04) No, not at all. It was really wonderful. Thanks. Anna Marie Schuth (45:35.099) Of course.