(photo from www.patheos.com)

In 2012, I was heard saying, "We will NEVER be open on a Blue Moon again!"

Talk to any emergency room healthcare provider, teacher, or animal care professional and they will tell you that when things are at their "harriest" someone invariably asks, "Is a full moon?".

Here at GroomingDales Pet Salon and Day Spa this question prompts us to whip out our phones and check our Moonrise app, because from experiences past we all KNOW to blame the moon. The lunacy that ensues during a full moon must have some scientific basis, after all the word lunacy comes from the Latin word Luna= moon.

If Friday July 31st, 2015 wasn't a testament to the "crazy", I don't ......

7 things your pet groomer can be doing to protect your pet from Canine Influenza H2N3

While there is all this scary talk about canine flu H2N3, taking your pet to a store that has other unknown canines inside can be a scary affair. It really depends on the groomer. Because there are no real regulations for groomers, pretty much anyone with a business license can open up shop.

Here at GroomingDales Pet Salon and Day Spa, we are on the forefront of grooming equipment, style/trends, and safety practices. A pet groomer worth taking your pet to can certainly put practices in place to protect your pet from a virus that can be transmitted, by implementing some serious but necessary sanitizing and infectious disease protocols.

Zero ...

HOW DO I FIND A GOOD GROOMER?

         Word of mouth will always be your best bet when looking for a special person that will be kind and qualified. Internet reviews can be a starting place, but can reflect an “online reputation” that is different from reality. Ask your co-workers, people at church, or even the stranger in the dog food aisle. For a visual resource, Facebook pictures should be of their best work. No matter how “cute” the dog is, look at the quality of the cut. Attractive styles demonstrate skill with tools and pets.

         When calling pet salons for information ask to speak to a groomer. You will get a better ......

Your groomers's basic training DOES matter!

As a long time groomer (23 years) and shop owner (17 years), I have noticed a decline in haircut quality from the younger generation of groomers and have FINALLY zeroed in on a common denominator. It’s not their lack of love for animals or their newness to the trade, as you might guess. Nope, it’s their desire to leap without learning. Groomers that use tools designed for more skilled or adept groomers will certainly not grow in their skills, because they have missed the very foundation of the skillful art of sculpture with the basic tools before trying the tools that enhance established skill. Here-in we will discuss a small facet of what makes a groomer great.

Choice of the .........

A customer of mine recently sent me a message asking me if I did stripping because he got a terrier. He expressed that he had read on the internet that a terrier should be stripped. And if he should strip with a tool called a Mars Coat King.  This was my response.

I have done stripping
     

It's very expensive and requires 2 week appointments (at least, at first)
Stripping is where you pull the hair out, plucking it from the dog, in similar way you would a chicken. You pluck out a percentage of the entire coat alternating weeks and plucking another percentage of the hair. It has to be done this often because when you are stripping you want varying sections to be growing at different lengths. It is .........

            We are starting the second week of February on a smelly note, here at GroomingDales Pet Salon & Day Spa! We have heard this exclaimed by the owners of 11 dogs so far this month. That’s averaging to 1 a day!  A “skunked dog” is a pet that has been sprayed by the anal glands of a Skunk. Skunk is a small omnivore that uses its foul smell to keep predators at bay. Most Wolves, Coyotes and Foxes, carnivores that would normally hunt such a small slow moving animal as a skunk, seem to be aware of the foul smelling defense and are effectively deterred. February marks the beginning of mating season for mature skunks. Male skunks will mate with .........

I recently read an article about a cocker spaniel being burned to death in a cage dryer. I was appalled, heart broken, and angry.....but not at all surprised. The pictures of the sweet doe-eyed girl were gruesome to say the least.

     The pet grooming industry is unregulated. Other than industry associations, there is really no one to set the bar. When you visit a groomer, your pet is potentially at the mercy of their morals, ethics, standard of cleanliness and humane treatment, or those of the business’ owner. If you take your pet to a chain store that has grooming, your pet’s experience will be up to the manager that oversees that department. Basically whoever is in charge. This is one of the reasons I never......

IS COLORING PETS HARMFUL?

    With some pet owners, there is controversy surrounding the idea of dying pets colors.  There are people out there that just simply think it's cruel. There was even a groomer who dyed his own poodle pink,and got prosecuted with an obscure law that was meant to protect bunnies and chicks, at Easter... which grow up to be unwanted pets.

    After dying dozens of dogs over the last 15 years, I have come to the conclusion that it is harmless.  There is nothing harmful about dying dogs.  Silly, maybe, but sometimes we need to be a little silly!  I know some guys that are ridiculous over football.  So, people want  to .........

The following blog posts are written by expert animal handler and master groomer Amy Howard.

Amy has been in the grooming industry for 23 years. She has owned and operated GroomingDales Pet Salon & Day Spa in Beavercreek Ohio, for almost 17 years. She has completed Companion Animal Hygenist certification, and is the first groomer in Ohio to perform Ultra White oral freshness treatments.  

Amy is a leader in her industry in the greater Dayton, Ohio area, setting high cleanliness and animal handling standards that most groomers in this area had refused to uphold.

Amy attends continuing education conferences and continuely evaluates her job as a salon owner and her facility to be inovative and state of the art. She has also ......

How to get dogs to sit still for grooming

I am often asked… “How do you get them to sit so still? How do you get them to let you do that?”

The answer to this question is often hard to sum up in a quick retort. So here, I have taken time to explain what makes the really talented pet groomers great at what they do and the techniques behind the magic of what I like to call “The jedi mind wave” (convincing pets that it is in their best interest to sit still.)

1. Don't Get Bit

Animal handling can be a very dangerous prospect. I think there aren't too many people that haven't been somehow affected by an animal viciously biting a human. How about that story, you know ......