Adorable Dog Portraits Before and After Japanese Grooming Makeovers

November 26, 2018

Bowie Before
This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase, My Modern Met may earn an affiliate commission. Please read our disclosure for more info.

Two years ago, animal photographer Grace Chon introduced her charming dog haircut portrait series, Hairy. The collection shows cute canines transform from bedraggled pups into pristine pooches in adorable before-and-after photos. Since then, Chon has expanded the series, photographing more than 30 dogs and their makeovers.

The Hairy series focuses on an approach that favors creative cuts and funky shapes over standard trims. “The dogs have been groomed in a Japanese Grooming Style, which does not follow the rules of traditional, breed-standard grooming,” Chon tells My Modern Met. “In fact, it only has one mission―to make dogs look as adorable as possible!” From teddy-bear faces to manicured fluffy paws, each doggy makeover perfectly highlights the uniquely cute characteristics of each dog. Chon reveals, “When I had the idea of photographing a before-and-after series of dog haircuts, I was immediately captivated by Japanese dog grooming, because my goal similarly is to capture the dog’s individuality in my work.”

Chon worked with a number of professional groomers from Healthy Spot, LA for the project, all of who show tremendous skill and talent. Each look has taken around two hours to complete as the majority of the styling is impressively completed with hand scissoring. In many of the before photos, the scruffy pups can barely see out from behind their overgrown fur. In the after shots, the same dogs looks almost unrecognizable, posing proudly as newly pampered pooches. Chon says, “With so much insanity happening in the world, I love sharing happy content that gives people a second to pause and smile.”

This adorable series has been published as a book titled Puppy Styled: Japanese Dog Grooming: Before & After, and it’s now available on Amazon. For even more from the photographer, head over to Chon’s website.