Tips To Choose The Right Dog Groomer
Selecting the right groomer for our dogs is just as important as us humans finding the right hairstylist. Sure, we expect them to style, cut and clean our dog’s hair but we also put a lot of trust in their hands to ensure that they keep our babies’ safe and healthy. We want to make sure that we leave them in the hands of a trained professional. While we all want our canine companions to look and smell their best, what is most important is their safety and happiness.
Here are some tips on finding a high-quality groomer who your pet will love.
Ask Around
One of the easiest and best ways to find a dog groomer that you can trust is to ask around for recommendations! Ask your friends and family, coworkers, and acquaintances, as well as your veterinarian, dog trainer or any other pet professionals you know.
Or if you’re a frequent visitor at the dog park, you can also ask your fellow pawrents where they send their dogs for grooming. Being in the same position as you, we’re sure they would entrust their fur babies health and safety to reliable and trustworthy groomers.
Chances are, you will most likely value the opinions of your friends and family over anyone else!
Get To Know The Groomer
Just like how a hiring manager would interview a potential employee, you’ll want to interview the groomer as well to ensure that it’s a good match. Some questions you can ask to evaluate your dog’s potential groomer would be:
- How long has she/he been grooming?
- What breeds is she/he proficient at grooming?
- May I stay and watch while you groom my dog?
- How will my dog be housed?
- Does he/she have any basic medical and first aid experience? Does the salon have a first aid kit?
These are some important information that you want to make sure you have about them. By engaging and chatting with them, it gives you a better idea and feel of what kind of person they are and whether you can get along with them. After all, there’s going to be frequent communication between the both of you regarding your dog so you’ll want to find someone that you and your dog can get along with.
Another way to better know potential groomers is through social media! Some groomers have Facebook pages or Instagram feeds that they will update with photos of dogs that they’ve groomed. Feel free to check those out to see if you like the groomer’s style. Google Reviews is another great place to find reviews on the salon. You can find past reviews of other pawrent’s experiences and what they think of the groomer when they brought their dogs there. This will help you feel more confident in choosing the right place.
Check for Certifications
Would you want to get your hair styled and dyed by a hairdresser that isn’t properly trained for the position? We’re sure not! This applies for your fur kid as well! Sending your beloved pet to someone who has not undergone proper training and education will not only give you a grooming nightmare but it could potentially be dangerous.
Check the Facility
Before commiting to a grooming salon, make it a point to visit the salon in person first. This is crucial in judging whether the cleanliness and structure of the grooming area is up to your standard.
How does it look? How does it smell? You’ll want to see a well-ventilated salon, clean workstations, sturdy tables and tubs, as well as pet-friendly products. Ask yourself, is this a place I’m comfortable leaving my dog at?
For example, if you’re uncomfortable with the thought of cage dryers and neck restraints, this is your chance to find out the process. You can also find out whether the cages there offer plenty of room for dogs to move about comfortably, how friendly the staff is and how gentle they are with their four-legged clients. While you're there, check to make sure that pets left under blow-dryers are monitored regularly to prevent getting overheated, and ask about what kind of records the groomer keeps. Ideally, they'll not only keep grooming records, but also medical and vaccination records and emergency contact info.
Listen to Your Pet
Ultimately, it’s key to observe how your dog behaves and acts with the groomer. A grooming session should be an enjoyable experience for your fur kid and not one where it dreads going for every month. Pay attention to your pet’s behavior post and after grooming sessions and make sure that your dog seems happy when you take them to be groomed.
We recommend tagging along during the first session and watch them throughout the session to see how they react to the groomer, vice versa. Hopefully your dog feels comfortable with them and does not show any signs of anxiousness, nervousness or aggression. If you’ve taken your dog a couple of times and he just seems miserable, you may want to find another groomer. It’s not necessarily that the groomer is bad. Different people get along with different dogs. Trust your dog and your own instincts.
Grooming At Pet Master
If you’re looking around for a professional groomer for your pup, why not consider Pet Master!
We will be more than happy to pamper your dog with our luxurious spa treatments and professional grooming that will make them look and feel good and ensure that their grooming experience is amazing Our well-trained and patient staff will make sure your pup is in the safest hands. Check out our grooming services here! To get a quick snap shot of our grooming services, you can also read this article next.
