Grooming FAQ
What are the benefits of Dog grooming?
There are several benefits to regular grooming including socialization, controlling shedding, avoiding medical problems, and improving appearance. You can read more about each of these below.
Socialization
Dogs are pack animals, and usually enjoy being around other dogs and/or humans. Most dogs, especially puppies, can benefit greatly from being in a social environment that a trip to the grooming salon provides. A socialized dog is a happy dog.
Controlling Shedding
Dog’s coats have three growing cycles, which allows a year-round release of hair folicles with the two heaviest seasons in the spring and the fall. While regular grooming doesn’t completely stop your dog from shedding, it does result in less hair in your house, making it easier for you to clean up. Not only does regular grooming help control shedding, but it makes your dog’s skin and hair healthier.
Avoiding Medical Problems
We recommend bringing your dog in for grooming every 4-8 weeks. Most of the time, this means your groomer is seeing your dog more often than your veterinarian, enabling us to work hand-in-hand with your dog’s healthcare team. Frequent grooming allows us to see problems arise before they could become major issues.
Improved Appearance
When most people think of grooming, they think the improved appearance is the only reason to get your dog groomed. Most dogs, like most humans, love feeling clean and beautiful. It’s proven every day in our salon as we finish their spa treatment and watch them prance around the salon waiting on their owners to pick them up. Who doesn’t like to show off their new haircut?!
What does grooming consist of?
Grooming is kind of a vague term. It can consist of several different services including a haircut, nail trimming, bath, and anal gland expression. You can read more about each of these below.
Haircut
When you bring your pet to us, you can be assured that we will cut your pet’s hair to your and the American Kennel Club (AKC) standards. You get the cut of your choice with the care your pet deserves.
Nails
When you bring you dog or cat in for a grooming, you will get more than just a haircut. One additional service you receive is a nail trim. We will clip or grind your pets nails to make them even and less sharp. Much like humans, pets need to regularly trim their nails. This will help reduce scratching on you and in your house.
Bath
Your pet will also receive a bath when they come in, regardless of if they are getting a haircut or not. Dogs and cats need baths regularly to keep their fur and skin clean and healthy. Plus, your pet will feel so much better after their spa treatment!
Anal Glands
The dog's rear end contains two lubricating glands located right inside the anus on either side of the rectum. While most of the time these glands release on their own, sometimes they need a little assistance. We can express these for you from the outside. This doesn't always release every bit of it, but it does help a lot.
I have an outside dog, does it need to be groomed?
Yes! Even if your dog is outside, your dog still needs socialization, shedding control, an extra set of eyes watching their health, and the feel-good feeling of a fresh haircut. Bringing your outside dog to us takes the burden off of you, and you can be confident that your dog is getting the care they need.
Doesn’t my cat groom himself?
Many people think that cats groom themselves when they are licking themselves. In fact, they are doing just that— licking themselves. Cats, much like dogs, need to be groomed regularly for a lot of the same reasons that dogs do.
How long does it take to get my dog groomed?
Grooming is not a quick process. It typically takes 1-3 hours of hands-on time, but most dogs won't tolerate standing and being worked on for that long. We like to give the dogs plenty of rest and play breaks. It’s important to us for your dogs to have an enjoyable experience.
As far as how long your dog will be at our salon, you can drop your dog off between 7 am and 9 am, and they are groomed on a first-in, first-out basis. We appreciate your patience on the larger breeds as these take more time to groom and require more breaks. Be assured that your pets are well-cared for when they are with us!
Does shaving my dog in the summer keep him cooler?
No, God designed the coat of a dog as an insulator of sorts, and you can actually damage a dog's thermal system by shaving their coats off— especially double-coated breeds (i.e. retrievers, cattle dogs, and livestock guardian dogs). For single-coated breeds, it doesn't matter much as long as you are watching for sunburn.
My dog is scooting their bottom on the floor. Should I be concerned?
Not necessarily. There are a couple of reasons your dog could be scooting their bottom on the floor. One common reason for this is that their anal glands are full of their natural lubricant and need to be expressed. Another reason could be that their anal glands are infected. In this case, you will want to have your vet take a look. A third reason could be that your dog is itchy back there. They scoot to relieve the itch, which can lead to carpet burn. The carpet burn then can lead to more itching, perpetuating the cycle. This can occur especially after we clear the hair from around the rectum area and they feel breezy back there.
How often should I get my dog’s nails cut?
That really depends on their environment. Dogs that walk on concrete a lot (ex: around a pool or on a sidewalk) usually can keep them trimmed down naturally. If your dog doesn’t regularly walk on concrete, we recommend getting your dog’s nails trimmed every four weeks.
What kind of brush should I use for my dog?
For short-haired dogs like beagles, labs, boxers, etc., rubber knobbed brushes work great (We recommend ZoomGroom).
Longer-coated dogs should be brushed with longer wired bristles with a soft bristle bed, so it doesn’t put too much pressure on the dog’s skin and coat (We recommend Big G & Big K). Then we recommend using a metal comb through the coat all the way down to the skin, so you are sure you are getting those tangles out so they don’t turn into mats.
How should I clean my dog’s eyes?
Your vet can recommend a special eyewash to keep your dog’s eyes clean. Use the recommended eye wash and a clean, soft towel or washcloth to gently wipe the gunk out every day. Talk to your vet about what might work best for your dog.
How long does it take to get my dog in for an appointment?
Our busiest times of the year are March through August and then again in November through December for the holidays. During these busy times, we can be booked out for 3-5 weeks. We can usually get you an appointment in a week or two at any other time of year.
We take walk-ins for a bath between 7 and 9 AM. For haircuts, you will need to make an appointment with one of our certified stylists. Our reservation team can help you with that.
How often should I get my pet groomed?
The American Kennel Club (AKC) recommends getting your dog groomed every four weeks. We follow the AKC recommendations for large, double-coated dogs. These can include retrieving breeds, cattle breeds, and guardian breeds (Great Pyrenees, Bernese Mountain Dogs, Saint Bernards, etc.). So we like to see them every four weeks for a bath and an undercoat blowout. For most of your smaller breeds, we recommend getting groomed every 6-8 weeks.