Sometimes, when I am grooming a dog, I think, "Oh, it would look so pretty if I left the coat longer." Then I must remind myself that this particular dog walks in the woods often, swims sometimes, and never, ever gets brushed at home. That means that if I leave the coat longer, there is a good chance that it will come riddled with mats and tangles when I see it six weeks later. And if that happens, I will have to cut it shorter, making the owner unhappy, or spend time dematting, which is unpleasant for the dog and not much fun for me. Thinking about the groom you will do on the dog the next time is good, pragmatic planning.
Here is another example. We have groomed an oversized pet Tibetan Terrier for years. His owners strongly desire for his coat to be at least 2 inches long but have a spotty history of brushing. I believe they make an effort, but his fur is not easy to maintain. He's a little grumpyand spends a lot of time hiking, so he often comes to us in less-than-stellar shape. Recently, both owners have been hit with significant health challenges, so the home brushing routine has suffered. In a stroke of genius, my co-groomer took an Andis deshedding tool to his coat before we cut his hair the last time he was in. It dramatically thinned out his dense fur. In an ideal world, this is probably not a great idea. The tool is fabulous for many coat types, but it is not designed for this coat type. However, when he returned eight weeks later, even though the crisis at home had not improved, he had hardly any tangles. His owner confessed that she had not had much time to brush, and we understood. We were all delighted that we could groom him and leave him the desired length without putting any of us through arduous brushing. This is a winning situation, even though it is not exactly a "proper" technique.
When we groom each pet while considering the condition it will be in when we see it for its next regular appointment, we are setting ourselves up for success. The dog may look more stylish if we leave full scissored legs or flowing ears, but if we know that long fur will not be adequately maintained between grooms, the wiser choice is to tailor the trim to suit the pet's lifestyle.
