Julie Rust does a fine job of fluffing pretty pups.

She also knows how to groom employees’ skills with a fine-toothed comb.

So fine, in fact, their trophies stand as straight as show dogs in the lobby of her Bainbridge Island business, The Fluffy Ruff Dog Spa.

“I like being able to support the continuing education of my employees,” said Rust, a shy strawberry-blonde with a soft voice. “I’m just excited to see them where I was.”

In February, Rust tagged along with two of her employees to Pasadena, California for the Groom Expo West competition. While Rust enjoys competing now and then, she’s more excited to watch her young employees grow and experience the joys of placing, she said.

“It’s wonderful to see the enthusiasm that I felt, too,” Rust said. “Grooming does not require continuing education. It’s not required, but it’s important to me, and that’s why I like seeing it is important to them, too.”

Groomers Tasha Smith and Julia Sklar won three awards in Pasadena. Smith received first place in the Sporting Division, and Sklar secured first place in Intermediate All Other Purebreds and First Place in Rescue Roundup.

In two weeks, the trio will do it again in Tacoma.

“It takes a lot of work to get ready for competition. You have to prepare for months and months … I am still looking for the magic shears that I wave over the dog that makes the hair fall off,” Rust joked.

For the upcoming show, Smith in particular hopes to win in the creative category, where she will show her artistic skills of shaping and coloring a dog named Sprite into a Chinese dragon. Sprite is Rust’s very shy Bichon Frise, who often gets many odd looks when out and about due to her dyed fur and crazy cut.

“People ask a lot of questions,” said Rust. “She gets a lot of attention. She and I are sort of bashful. She doesn’t have a show-off personality.”

Since November, Smith has been designing and sculpting Sprite’s fur just so. It’s been a lot of trial-and-error, but she’s enjoyed the process, she said.

Smith originally planned to study zoology. When she took a break from school, she agreed with her mother that she would take a job. She found one at The Fluffy Ruff Dog Spa and moved from reception work up to groomer, and she hasn’t looked back since.

“It’s just fun. I like it,” she said.

“I like to compete because you get critiques out of it,” Smith added. “You’re also able to see what is new and what’s out there. You can meet new people and learn and take new classes.”

Sometime next year, both Smith and Sklar hope to be National Certified Master Dog Groomers, like Rust.

“I just like the overall showing off your dog and having a good dog,” Sklar said of competing. “It’s just a learning experience for you and every dog is different.”

Learning what to do and how to do it right isn’t hard when their boss has held her own in the show business through the years.

Since she started showing, Rust has accumulated her share of awards through eight different dog grooming competitions. Her awards dot the walls of her Tormey Lane business, and trophies covered in ribbons greet customers as the walk through the doors.

Ever the accomplished groomer, she also has experience in small animal massage and completed an apprenticeship with a nationally-ranked grooming competitor, Debbie Slocum.

In 2008, Rust decided to move to the cooler Bainbridge Island climate and opened her own business, The Fluffy Ruff Dog Spa. She had a feeling the business would be a great success when her loan officer couldn’t wait to work with her. Each time she saw the officer, their conversations always turned to his Bichon Frise.

“He would go on and on about his Bichon,” she said with a laugh.

“I decided an island might be a good place to groom dogs. This area gets a lot more foot traffic than I would have thought,” she said in the lobby of her business on a recent busy Wednesday morning.

Since she started, she has groomed around 3,000 clients with about 800 of those on a regular basis. The most common breeds she sees are West Highland White Terriers, Bichon Frises and Labradoodles.

As she continues to grow her business, she hopes she continues covering her walls and shelves with awards earned through grooming show competitions.

“I reached all the goals that I set. I’m kind of scrambling to find what to do next. I don’t want to backslide. I want to enjoy my work,” she said. “One thing I’m proud of is these trophies are not all mine.”