Yoda Dog

No words to explain this we have.

Ren Netherland of Animal Photography took these photos below and many other excellent examples of creative dog grooming. He travels thousands of miles each year criss-crossing America to document our country's most extreme grooming competitions.

The Force is clearly with this Yoda dog (who da dog? Yoda dog!):

All of the dogs have been sheared and coloured to achieve the final look. Contestants at the grooming competitions visited by Mr Netherland included a dog dressed as the characters of Sesame Street, one dressed as Yoda from Star Wars and another dressed as different Disney characters.

Other dogs were dressed as tigers, elephants, robots, lions, dragons, and exotic birds. It takes two intense hours for the groomers to produce their masterpieces before facing judges. 

Mr Netherland said: 'The owners have to grow out their dog's hair in preparation for the show - so that it's long enough for them to make something. 'They train and rehearse throughout the year in preparation for the competition, whittling their creation down to a fine art.

'The best thing for spectators is that when the poodles fist come onto the stage, they just look like normal poodles. Suddenly they are transformed before your eyes into something colourful and completely different. The dogs seem to enjoy the pampering and all the attention.' 

View more over at the Daily Mail, which also has a neat Barcroft TV interview with Netherland: Link | Gallery at USA Today's For The Win