As a general rule, the entire process can take between 2 to 4 hours because of the myriad of steps outlined below. The majority of this time is spent, prepping, drying, de-matting and brushing. Other factors that determine the length of time are the length and condition of your pet’s hair, and the services we are providing. For example, a bath and brush on a boxer will be much more rapid than a bath and a style cut on a standard poodle.
Step 1 |
We discuss what services you would like and assess the current condition of your pooch. Once we’ve got an idea of "the look" you want for your pet--we start on the basics or the "prep". First, we clean your pet’s ears and pluck the hair from them if necessary--this helps prevent and combat potential or existing infection. The last step in this preparation process is to brush your dog and give them a "rough-cut". If applicable in cases of severe matting or over growth, we remove the severe mats which allows the skin to breathe and soap to clean the skin while reducing drying time.
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Step 2 |
Once your pup has been "prepped", we carefully place them in a tub. We have multiple methods used for bathing, depending on the requirements of your particular pet. Our bathing systems ensures that the soapy water solution gently powers right down to the skin--for a truly clean pooch. You have your choice of just a "regular, clean-em-up" shampoo or you can choose from a variety of specialty shampoo treatments like Oatmeal, Aloe, etc. to sooth, moisturize, or treat special skin conditions. Additionally you are welcome to provide your own shampoo and/or conditioner that better suits you and your dog needs.
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STEP 3 |
The blow dry. After thoroughly rinsing your pet, we blow the hair dry using a hand held dryer, more powerful than the normal hair dryer. This serves to speed up the drying process. It also helps remove excess dander, undercoat or dead hair that remains after the bath. It aids the fluffing-up of curly coated dogs, straightens longer coats and, for double-coated dogs (or super-shedding breeds), is crucial in helping to get the coat ready for the final process. Certain sensitive areas such as the ears, paws, and face are primarily excluded from this hand-drying process to reduce the stress on the animal. Once, we’ve gotten your pooch about 80% dry we carefully set them up under our stand dryers that help get those sensitive areas dry for the grooming process.
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STEP 4 |
The final step. Once your pup is clean and dry, they are set to go through the "FINISHING PROCESS". For short-haired pets, this simply means a final brush out and nail trim. For longer coats or dogs that require haircuts, this process sometimes involves even more brushing and then the final, polished haircut to detail the specifications you give us during check-in. Additionally this is when we trim the toenails and the hair that grows on the bottom of the feet—this can help combat a potential infection of the pads. At PUPS we save the nails for last as to minimize the stress that your pet undergoes.
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We hope this gives you some insight into the grooming process, while your pet is in the care of The Dog Wash. If you have specific questions, please feel free to call us and we’ll be happy to answer any further questions or concerns that you may have.