Slowing down or in pain? Reading an older dog
Seven signs that are not just age, and what helps.
Most owners book a groom when the coat looks long. The better question is what the coat is made of, because a poodle, a lab and a husky need three very different calendars.
Dogs with hair that keeps growing, like poodles, doodles and shih tzus, need a cut every four to six weeks or the coat mats close to the skin. Matting pulls, traps moisture and hides hot spots until they are sore.
Short single coats, like a lab or a boxer, rarely need more than a bath and a nail trim every couple of months. Double coats, like huskies and shepherds, need a deshed in spring and autumn and should never be shaved.
Your dog is booked in, not dropped and left. June checks the skin and ears first, then a warm bath, a hand dry with no cage dryers, the trim, nails and a final brush. Most dogs are done in two hours.
A towel and a quiet room do more for a nervous dog than any shampoo.
If we find anything on the table, a lump, a sore ear or a cracked pad, we show you at pickup and note it on your pet's record so the vet sees it too.
"Brush to the skin, not just the top. If the comb catches near the skin, the mat has already started."
June
Brush double coats twice a week, more in spring and autumn.
Trim nails when you hear them click on the floor.
Book the next groom before you leave, so the coat never gets ahead of you.
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Full groom
From $45
Bath, trim, nails and ears, hand dried, with a note of anything we spot.
