A Day at The Spa
First step we check in your dog. We get our first look at him, then discuss with you what you would like to see done. We make sure all forms are signed, and we have proof of vaccinations. You then kiss your puppy goodbye and we can start the groom!
Up onto the table we go. We always secure your dog with a grooming noose. This is for his safety to ensure that he doesn’t jump off the table and hurt himself. We bond a little, and try to help him relax.
In every groom, unless you specify not to, your dog gets his nails trimmed. Long nails are painful for a dog to walk on, can curl up and grow into the foot, and can cause stress on the joints from walking awkwardly.
As an add-on service we can dremel your dog’s nails. This smooths away sharp edges so less scratches on your arms and legs. Some dog also seem to tolerate this better than regular nail clipping.
Since Stryder is a poodle he gets his face, feet, and base of tail clipped. On other breeds the face and feet will get trimmed up after the bath. We also pluck ears and clean them at this point. Then...
Into the bath. Your dog receives a nice relaxing massage to work in the shampoo and conditioner, as well as stimulate the skin. Your dog also wears a noose in the tub to keep him safely inside.
We also will use special tools to really work in the shampoo and conditioner and loosen shedding hair. The curry brush works especially well on double coated breeds, such as the Keeshond, Goldens, and Shelties.
We carefully select from a number of shampoos. Here are only a few of the shampoos we can choose from. We offer hypo-allergenic shampoo and oatmeal shampoo for a small additional charge.
Next is a towel dry to soak up the water, plus who doesn’t like snuggling up in a nice warm towel.
We use a high velocity dryer to help start our fluff dry process. This drys the dogs further while starting to straighten the hair, to make it perfect for scissoring. We don’t like making the dogs stand any longer than they have to so this quick blow off cuts down their standing time tremendously.
We let the dogs have a quick break to rest in a nice comfy kennel wrapped in a soft towel, then it’s on to the fluff dry. This style of drying leaves the dogs coat with a plush finish, now that’s a cuddly looking dog!
The finished fluff dry. He is completely brushed and combed out with no knots left and his hair is straight and ready for scissoring, or if it’s a full hair cut like a kennel clip they would now get clipped to the appropriate length.
A finishing scissor to even up the coat a bit. Since this is a bath and tidy only the scissoring won’t take off much just evening up the stragglies to make a smoother finish. (This is the groomer’s dog and is very experienced in being groomed so she doesn’t always use a noose for him, but we would never leave him or any dog unattended on the table with or without a noose.)
And voila! With a spritz of perfume and a fashionable bandana, Stryder is ready to hit the town!
Hope you have enjoyed this look into our spa and we’d love for you to stop by our shop to order a ‘Day at the Spa’ for your dog!
Here we will take you through a dog start to finish to show you what all goes in to your puppy’s groom. This is a mini poodle, Stryder, getting a Bath and Tidy. This means he receives a nail trim, ears plucked and cleaned, bath with massage, fluff dry, full comb out, and some touch up scissoring or clipping. Topped off with nice smelling cologne and a bow or bandana.