SERVICES

      We offer the following services:

    Grooming - washing - hand drying - clipping - scissoring - nail clipping - ear / eye / teeth cleaning - advice + tuition*

Procedure:  The following is a description of a normal grooming session.

Once the dog is safely clipped onto the grooming table we start by giving the coat a thorough groom using various combs, brushes and de-matt tools.  Next we clean the ears with cotton wool dampened with an animal ear cleaning solution. We also pluck the hairs growing from inside the ear if necessary.  We then clip the nails. Dogs have a blood vessel inside the nail called the 'quick'. This varies in length between each dog but it is very sensitive in every dog! We aim to never cut the quick so we only cut the nail to a safe length. You or I wouldn't purposely cut ourselves so we shouldn't expect our dogs to put up with it either! 

Next we wash the dog in the bath and shampoo the coat as many times as necessary until the coat is squeaky clean!  We carry various professional dog shampoo's and conditioners to match the coat condition / colour and sensitivity. We also use a tearless shampoo for the face and head. All our shampoo's are organic and won't strip the coat of its natural oils.  Once the shampoo has been thoroughly rinsed we remove the excess water with towels and then lift the dog back onto the grooming table where we spray the coat with a conditioner which makes the dogs smell great! (These sprays are available to buy and we carry them on-board).  Next we dry the coat with a warm air dryer. With most coat types we 'fluff dry' the coat by brushing each area of the coat as we are drying it and we reduce the air flow around sensitive areas like the face and bum to make it more comfortable. You may find that the inside of the ears may still be a bit damp after we have finished. We don't agree with forcing air down into the ear as this is not only uncomfortable, but also dangerous so we towel dry the inside of the ear instead.  We always put the dogs first so if we feel that it's not safe, we won't do it!

Once the coat is dry we can then start clipping or scissoring depending on the breed and your requirements. We then give the coat one last comb and then bring your dog back to you where we advise you if we have found any lumps / bumps, skin problems, wounds etc.

We like to give each dog a few treats throughout the grooming session so if your dog is on a strict diet or you would prefer we didn't give them any treats then please tell us before we start.

Puppy advice:

Lots of our new clients with puppies are often surprised at the frequency and amount of work involved with grooming some breeds.  We often hear 'the breeder didn't tell us that when we bought her'!

To try and give prospective dog owners a bit more of an insight and unbiased information we now offer advice on breed choice.  This is purely grooming advice, i.e, how much brushing you should be prepared for, how long their coat will get, the likely cost's involved in grooming and frequency of clips etc.  A prime example is a Bichon Frise. They are often sold on the merits that they don't shed their coat, but many new owners don't realise (or aren't informed before they buy the dog) that they need a thorough brush several times a week and clipping / grooming about every 6 weeks.

This is a free service (even if you don't use us for your grooming). Its normally best to call us in the evenings when we have more time to speak to you.

*Tuition:   We are happy to offer tuition to owners who wish to groom / clip their own dogs themselves. The tuition takes place during the normal grooming session for your dog when we explain and demonstrate all the aspects relating to your breed of dog.  You are welcome to have as many sessions as you think you need until you feel confident, but we only allow training on your own dog, not on another clients dog.

The cost for the tuition is double the normal price for your dog. This obviously includes the normal groom for your dog plus extra time for your hands on experience.  We will also give you advice on the best equipment (clippers, scissors, shampoo etc) that you will need and you can call or email for advice anytime in the future if you are struggling!

This service is not for those wishing to start a grooming business. It's purely for owners who wish to safely and confidently groom their own dogs.