Hey Woofa’s,

So far we’re two episodes in, tonight will be episode 3, of Rebel Wilon’s Pooch Perfect Show, airing on channel 7 at 7.30pm.

As a Dog Groomer – although everyone on the show calls themselves a Dog Stylist – I wanted to tune in to see how the show would portray the industry.

I must admit I was kind of worried that they would make a joke of the dog grooming industry.

My worries were:

• they would make dog grooming look a lot easier than what it actually is;
• that the contestants would only groom their own dogs;
• would they make hours of dog grooming look like it only takes minutes;
• that the demand for matted household pets to look like the dogs on the show;
• the dog grooming industry would look like a joke;
• dog groomers would no longer be taken seriously; etc.

My hopes were:

• the show would help people to see the actual work that goes into grooming;
• how important it is to keep your long haired dog brushed;
• make it fun for the whole family to watch;
• people to understand the process of grooming as much as what they can;
• Dog Groomers would finally gain some respect.

I also thought my customers would come in with high demands of what they saw on the show, I got a very different experience from the effect the show had on them.

WHAT IS POOCH PERFECT?

It is a TV show hosted by comedian/actress Rebel Wilson.  Her co-host being Russell the terrier mix.

The name is a take on her previous movies Pitch Perfect.

There are 10 pairs of groomers (2 to a team) that compete each week to get Best In Show, which means they are free from elimination.

The dog who wins Best In Show also receives a $1,000 gift voucher to Pet Barn, as they are one of the main sponsors of the show.

They are given a dog and a criteria to guide them and away they groom.  They have 3 hours from start to finish, including bathing, drying and brushing.

Once the 3 hours are up, the dogs take a walk on the Dog Walk and the judges make their decision on the winner.

The 3 bottom teams then compete in the elimination round.

Three different dogs are then groomed by these teams with different criteria again.  The team who comes last in this round is then eliminated.

Throughout the show we get to meet each dog, learn their names, their owners and where they come from and what hairstyle they will be getting.

The final winner of the whole show stands to win $100,000 and a trophy acknowledging the win as well as the publicity from the show.

WHO ARE THE JUDGES?

I must admit I had no idea who the judges were, not sure if this is a good thing or bad thing, given I’m in the Industry.

AMBER LEWIN – from California and according to her website –

Amber’s Mobile Pet Salons Inc was started in 2005 by Jeff and Amber Lewin.   Amber has been the the pet business most of her life, after starting their Mobile Pet Salons business offering a fully equipped mobile pet salon, Amber appeared on the animal planet reality show Groomer Has It season 1, and won the Groom off broadcast on the today show in New York.

After their venture into the successful mobile salon business, they opened a pet Spa and boutique in South Corona.

With 2 businesses going full time, they figured there was a need for a nice pet hotel, so now comes Ambers Luxury pet hotel.

They have finally combined the pet spa and hotel to bring you their 7500 sq ft facility now known as Ambers Luxury Pet Hotel & Spa.

COLIN TAYLOR – as per his website.

London born, Colin Taylor has been at the very top of the professional pet grooming world since starting out in 1985 at the London Academy of Grooming.

Colin is certified by the UK City and Guilds and is a Certified Master Groomer in the United States.

He is a multiple GroomTeam USA member and was part of GroomTeam Scotland in 2007.

In the US Colin won “Best Groomed Dog in Show” at every major grooming show, plus “Best All-Round Groomer.”

He has been awarded multiple “Best Scissored Dog” in Show” and has also featured on the front cover of Groomer to Groomer magazine five times.

Following his success, Colin has become an admired all-breed industry judge and speaker at grooming contests and seminars all over the world.

His specialties include breed profile trimming, handling, hand scissoring, professional proficiency and personal motivation.

HOW DID IT RATE?

Apparently,  Pooch Perfect premiered to 624,000 metro viewers, which Seven’s network director of programming Angus Ross was ‘happy’ about.

But in the space of one week, viewership has dropped by 223,000 viewers – a 29 per cent loss of audience for the second episode.

As I said earlier, I’m surprised by my customer’s reaction to the show.  I thought for sure most of them would be watching it because they all get their dog groomed.

However, upon asking them whether they watched it and/or liked it, most of them have said they didn’t bother watching it.

Those that did watch it thought it was cute, and others thought it was cruel to do a ‘designer style’ on a dog.

I mentioned that it was for a competition and the dog didn’t have to stay looking like that if it didn’t want to.

Dean, Billy and I watch the show, probably because we are in the industry.

CHECK IT OUT!

IN THE COMMENTS BELOW – BILLY WOULD LIKE TO KNOW– WHETHER YOU WATCH AND LIKE POOCH PERFECT?

Cheers