To dye or not to dye?

[maddogdodge]

Hey everyone!

I absolutely love doing creative grooms, particularly dyeing dogs. Unfortunately for me, in the area I live, most people just want short clips that are easy to maintain. Not once have I had the opportunity to dye a dog since starting my career after finishing my course.

I dream of one day getting a white Standard Poodle but that won't be for a while.

For a while now I've been tossing up the idea of dyeing the white tip of my Australian Shepherd's tail. I wouldn't want to dye anything other than the tip of his tail because I love his natural coat... but at the same time I'm itching to dye something, haha!!

My Mum thinks it wouldn't look good and I'm nervous that it would look bad which is the only reason I haven't done it yet... The only dye I have is a semi permanent one, but I'm pretty sure it lasts for quite a while.

What do you guys think, would it look good? If so what colour do you think would suit him best? I was thinking blue, someone i know suggested orange.

Would the dye even take well to his fur? Would I be able to trial the look with food colouring perhaps? I assume food colouring doesn't last long?

Thanks in advance for anyones thoughts

Here's a photo of my boy, Koda (hopefully the photo will show up)

[Dolly]

I would leave your dog alone........if you are so inclined to do some dying, why not try it on your hair.........I've seen some groomers with red, blue, purple hair at GroomExpo, it's not for everyone but I think the younger groomers really love it. I don't think any salon bases it's income on dye jobs, in 30 yrs of grooming, I've never had one customer even inquire about it. You are going to find that most customers, regardless where they live, want an easy maintained groom for their pet.

Happy having blue hair

Dolly's Barking Bubbles, LLC

www.dollysbarkingbubbles.com

[wild4westies]

You could do food coloring, chalk, or some of those spray on temporary colors ( tons available now ) in the Halloween costume section of the stores. If and when you go semi permanent, BEWARE of orange. It does not fade as rapidly as the other colors.

[maddogdodge]

Thank you both for your thoughts

I found when I was grooming in the city for a short time there were lots of people who wanted their dogs dyed... but in the country people just want a #7 all over... often people want a #10 all over and I have one client who asks for a #30 all over!! Very short and easy to maintain.

I've thought about dyeing my own hair but I think I'll leave that to hairdressers

I tried food colouring today, it didn't take to his hair at all - it just washed straight out. At which point I decided to just go for it with the proper dye. I love the result I think eventually I might try doing the whole underside of his tail. I think that would look cool as he often carries his tail high.

[wild4westies]

Love the color choice, that blue is beautiful! He even has the perfect spot on his chest where you could stencil something for the holidays later on.

[Lacey33]

wild4westies is absolutely right. That blue is really nice. I also agree maybe a little something on his chest. I love creative grooming as well. I'm not in a big city and not in a small town either. I'm hoping it really catches on as I am the only one in my small city who will be actively pursuing creative grooming. For Halloween my Bassett Hound will have neon orange and black nails, and orange studs on the end of her eas (which are black). My doodle will have ears tipped in purple with a purple neck collar I bought at the dollar store. I want to do her nails as well but they are hidden by fur . If you start small with your clientele and just do blow pen art on the tip of the tail or in their topknot for maltese or similar they will get used to it and the special attention it creates for their dog.

[Jane512]

Love it! Great choice!

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[Cyn]

Thank you both for your thoughts

I found when I was grooming in the city for a short time there were lots of people who wanted their dogs dyed... but in the country people just want a #7 all over... often people want a #10 all over and I have one client who asks for a #30 all over!! Very short and easy to maintain.

I've thought about dyeing my own hair but I think I'll leave that to hairdressers

I tried food colouring today, it didn't take to his hair at all - it just washed straight out. At which point I decided to just go for it with the proper dye. I love the result I think eventually I might try doing the whole underside of his tail. I think that would look cool as he often carries his tail high.

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Didn't realize your Aussie had a long tail. The bright blue is very nice looking on him. I also think a blue design on his chest would look awesome!
My Aussie,.Pete, is a red Merle and has no tail or that much white for that matter, lol. My sweet solid white Aussie (RIP Jessa)
had a 4 " natural tail....always wanted to dye it this blue to match her eyes but was afraid Pete would really fixate on it as he LOVE to bite it to tick her off.

[ItzaClip!]

I did the same thing. I colored my Golden's tail until I got my first St poodle ( white of course). You can still dye short hair.. Leopard print, names whatever. This guy was clipped in #7.
You can also use small areas of more hair to shape letters
Or do more temporary creative like airbrush or blowpen


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[laurendoodler]

That looks really cute! I have a merle border collie and blue heeler mix and I airbrush the tip of his tail sometimes.

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[maddogdodge]

Thanks everyone I'm keen to experiment more over time, I'm going to buy some temporary colours that I'll experiment with. I'm liking the idea of Christmas themed stuff as we get closer to December!

Didn't realize your Aussie had a long tail. The bright blue is very nice looking on him. I also think a blue design on his chest would look awesome!
My Aussie,.Pete, is a red Merle and has no tail or that much white for that matter, lol. My sweet solid white Aussie (RIP Jessa)
had a 4 " natural tail....always wanted to dye it this blue to match her eyes but was afraid Pete would really fixate on it as he LOVE to bite it to tick her off.

I'm from Australia and tail docking is illegal here, so it is fairly common to find Aussies with full tails

[maddogdodge]

I LOVE your Golden's coloured tail - Just gorgeous!!