When the client loves a style that doesn't quite fit their dog's life
Elektra's mum loves her in a Miami trim. Elektra lives on a property and needs to stay warm. A traditional Miami - short body on a five or seven blade - would look great and leave her cold. So rather than talk the owner out of the style, Tay adapts it.
The result is what Tay calls a jigsaw groom or a mixy matchy groom - a Miami-inspired poodle trim that keeps the signature bracelets and the sophisticated look, but carries enough coat on the body to actually suit the dog's lifestyle. It's not a compromise. It's a better version of what the owner asked for, built around what Elektra actually needs.
Sound familiar?
Every groomer has this client. The one who shows you a photo of a trim that's beautiful but wrong for their dog - wrong for the climate, wrong for the coat condition, wrong for how active the dog is or how often they come in. The instinct is often to explain why it won't work. Tay's instinct is to work out how to make it work anyway, and watching her think through that process on Elektra is genuinely useful.
The jigsaw approach - taking the recognised elements of a Miami trim and reworking how they sit on this particular dog - is something that can be applied to almost any named style. It's not about ignoring what the client wants. It's about understanding it well enough to deliver something better.
The bracelets and the body
Tay works through the body, the blade choices, and the bracelet construction in detail - including the difference between front and back bracelets, how to use wide blades and wide comb attachments to save time on a dense coat like Elektra's, and what to do when a scissor mark needs rescuing. Her notes on coat preparation before bracelet work are worth paying attention to for anyone who struggles to get clean bracelet lines.
Tay's complete demonstration on Elektra is available to Members inside igroomhub. Wide blades and wide comb attachments are available in the igroomhub shop.
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