Safety and Sanitation Certified Groomers: What Does That Mean?

You have probably noticed us mentioning Safety and Sanitation Certification on this page before. It is something we take great pride in and something that definitely sets us apart from the rest! But what is it? What does it mean for your pets?

Our Safety and Sanitation Certifications through the Intellectual Groomers Association means that we have completed a fairly intense course on the subject and we have passed a knowledge quiz. The course covers nearly all aspects of cleaning, disinfecting, and sanitizing necessary to keep the salon environment as healthy as it can possibly be. We learned not only about various products which are human and pet safe to clean and sanitize, but also what daily, weekly, and monthly protocols we should have in place. We also learned about various aspects of tub, table, and emergency safety.

One of the very last things we would ever want to happen is a happy, healthy dog coming into our salon and then hearing two or three days later that they had to go to the veterinarian with an infection they likely picked up from us. It is so easy for things like fungal, bacterial, and viral infections to be spread through a busy shop completely by accident. No groomer would ever intend for a dog to become ill but we might not know that another client is! It only takes a moment of inattention for something like a fungal foot infection to be spread from one dog to another because a crate or table wasn’t cleaned and disinfected properly. Therefore, we have taken our new knowledge to heart and follow it to the letter!

Between every single pet, there is a lot of cleaning going on! The shammy towels we use as a first towel on your pet is placed in a vinegar solution which kills most of the common skin bacteria and fungus a pet might have. The wet towels we use on your pet are placed in the laundry bin. We NEVER reuse a wet towel on another pet. Period. A damp towel might be used to mop up water on the floor, but never on another pet. Yes, we do a lot of laundry all in the name of being sanitary! After your pup has been in our tub, not only do we rinse down and wipe out the hair, we also squeegee the water off the walls then spray them down with a peroxide based disinfectant. This is allowed to sit on the tub and walls until the next pet is brought over for a bath. Even though the cleaner is safe for pets and people, we still rinse the tub down before placing your pet in it. We do the same for the safety loops, the drying table, and even the dryer hose. Everything is cleaned and then disinfected before being used on the next pet. After your pet is done on our grooming tables, a similar process takes place. The removable table covers are vacuumed and placed in the laundry. The table top, even though it was covered the entire time, is sprayed down with the same peroxide based disinfectant. The grooming loops are sprayed and moved to the laundry bin. A fresh table cover is placed on the table top. A fresh loop is hooked up. Every tool that touched your pet is cleaned and disinfected before it is used on the next pet either with spray, heat, UV light, or ozone depending on the tool.

Have you noticed the cart between our grooming stations? That cart holds two of the most important disinfecting tools we have! We have a small heat sterilizer which we use for our shears. Any hair or dirt is wiped from the shears. They are then placed in the unit which contains small, heated glass beads. The high heat the beads are exposed to is then evenly transferred around the metal of our shears, killing any pathogens that might remain on them. The microwave-looking box is a sterilizer unit. This uses both UV light and ozone to sanitize tools which either cannot be exposed to high heat or that do not fit into the heat sterilizer. Clipper blades and attachments, combs, brushes, and other tools are placed in this box for 20 to 30 minutes. The combination of UV light and ozone destroys any and all pathogens, making the tools safe and sanitary for the next pet in line.

Once your pets are all gone for the day and the shop is ready to close, the more aggressive cleaners are brought out. These are excellent at cleaning and disinfecting, they are 100% safe to use in the presence of animals, but due to their nature, we feel it is safer to wait until everyone is gone to eliminate the potential risk of irritating someone with a sensitive throat or lungs. Best Shot 256 is used to wipe down all the kennels used during the day, even if we cleaned them with the peroxide based cleaners after a pet checked out and it was not used again. The tub and tables can be sprayed down as well. We will even wash down the walls and baseboards with Mrs. Meyers cleaners on a regular schedule to be sure there are no sneaky pathogens hanging out there, waiting for something to touch them and transfer to a tub, table, or towel! The floor is swept, vacuumed, scrubbed, and mopped with Best Shot, ensuring there is as little hair and dirt on it as possible. Twice a week, we even set up an ozone machine which helps to sanitize the air in the building, reducing the possibility of airborne pathogens and even mold and mildew. In the future, we hope to install a UV/Ozone sanitizer in our heating/AC system to further aid in our quest to be as sanitary as humanly possible.

While sanitation was the main focus of the course, safety was a big part as well. While we already knew the basics of never walking away from a dog on the table or in the tub, it covered other aspects of safety we might not think about, such as having a plan in case of a dog escaping, an aggressive intruder, or even a fire. We do have plans in place for each scenario! Of course, prevention is the best way to approach each of these.

There are times you might show up for your appointment only to find the door locked. You can’t get in! Don’t worry! There is a doorbell. Why is the door locked even though we knew you were coming? If we are working alone, keeping the doors locked is the safety option for us and your pets! If a pet manages to get out of their crate, off the table, our out of our control, the gate is our first line of defense. They can’t get to the door. However, an athletic or determined dog can potentially clear that gate! By having the door locked, we can assure that an unsuspecting owner coming for an appointment doesn’t accidentally open the door while we are trying to coral the Houdini, thus allowing the escapee access to the outside world. While we are in a small, safe neighborhood, we also have to worry about the possibility of an intruder coming into the salon as well. By keeping the door locked when we are not expecting anyone, and when we are alone in the salon, we can keep an aggressive intruder at bay long enough to call the police for help, thus keeping ourselves and your pets safe and sound!

We are confident our little salon will be safe from all but the most aggressive of storms given that it is made from solid brickwork. However, fire is still something that we have to worry about. While our fire risk is low, it is always a possibility. Rest assured that we have a plan in case of fire that does include getting your pets out quickly and safely! If there is ever a fire in the building, all pets will be evacuated through the nearest exit. They will go into our cars as quickly as possible. Our cars will then be moved far enough away from the threat to be safe but not so far that you will have a hard time finding us. Owners would be notified as soon as possible of the incident so they can come collect their pets.

If you ever have any specific questions about our safety or sanitation protocols, please ask us! If you are concerned about any product we use, we will be happy to show you what we use and how we use it. If your pet has any allergies or sensitivities, please let us know so we can adjust for their well being! While we never use products in close proximity to your pets, we do understand that they might be sensitive to products being used in the same room. So ask away! Let us know! We’re happy to adjust to accommodate your furry friends! 

(P.S. - Jess recently passed her class as well!  We are waiting for her certificate to arrive in the mail so we can hang it on the wall with Stacey's for everyone to see!)

Humanity Before Vanity

“Humanity before vanity.” You have heard us say it. We 

tag it on Instagram. It is our profile picture on Facebook. But what 

does it mean?

Humanity before vanity means we will never harm a pet to please a

 human.

Humanity before vanity means we will never push a pet beyond

 their limits for the sake of looks.

Humanity before vanity means we will never compromise a pet’s

 health or happiness to achieve “perfection.”

Humanity before vanity means the welfare of the pet always comes

 before the wants and desires of their human owners. Period.

At TLC Pet Services, everything we do is for the welfare of your 

pets. We take a hard stance on issues such as dematting, timing, and

 perfection.

By definition, dematting is the removal of tangled or matted coat 

from a pet. Generally speaking, when most groomers talk about 

dematting, they are referring to the process of brushing an 

extensively matted coat. Many owners do not want their dogs 

shaved short. They want all those tangles brushed out. A little 

conditioner should loosen it all up, right? And the dog won’t care, 

because they are just a dog! Wrong.

Dematting a coat can cause both physical and psychological 

damage to a pet. Tight matts can literally take hours to brush out. 

Even with the utmost care, it is likely the dog will end up with at 

least a few spots of brush burn, an irritation caused by the brush 

scraping one spot on the skin too many times. Tight matts can hide 

problems such as bruising, wounds, and infections. The matts are 

painful enough. Brushing over them can cause even more pain! 

There is a high chance any infections can become worse and could 

spread. A dog who is subjected to this process for the sake of 

vanity is likely to start dreading their grooming sessions. They may 

start to become fearful of the process or aggressive as they now 

anticipate grooming with pain. Imagine having a huge snarl in your

 own hair. The hairdresser refuses to shave it out and instead forces 

you to spend an hour sitting in the chair, scolding you if you 

wiggle, while pulling at your scalp. Is the pulling intentional? No. 

But it will happen no matter what products are used. You would not

be very happy and you would not want to go back to that 

hairdresser again!

Apart from the potential damage to the skin, dematting also 

damages the dog’s coat. When the hair matts together, the 

microscopic scales on each hair is acting like velcro. They stick 

together tightly. Brushing rips these scales apart as the hairs are 

separated, causing them to further fray. Often the dematted coat 

will have a frizzy appearance due to the damage. No amount of 

conditioner will repair all of the damage. Even with extra products 

and attention, the previously matted hair will matt again. The new 

matts usually form faster and will likely be tighter than before.

The only safe and comfortable way to dematt a coat, and the only 

way TLC Pet Services will dematt a coat, is by using clippers to 

shave as close as necessary to get between the matting and the skin.

 While we may attempt to brush a small spot here and there IF the 

dog tolerates it, we will not dematt the entire pet in any other 

manner.

Many folks want their pets back in their homes as soon as possible. 

We absolutely understand that! However, another aspect of 

humanity before vanity is timing. In a society that is all rush, rush, 

rush, we sometimes forget that going slow can be better for 

everyone. Some pets can be groomed in an hour or two. Some pets 

respond better to a slower approach and appreciate breaks. These 

pets might take three hours or more. Could these pets be groomed 

faster? Sure. Will they cooperate, be happy, and keep their positive 

attitudes about grooming? Not likely. Since we want everyone to be

 happy, safe, and comfortable, if a pet requires extra breaks, the pet 

will get extra breaks.

Perfection is a big part of why we believe in humanity before 

vanity. We all want our dogs to strut out of the grooming salon 

looking show ready! We want them to sparkle. We want every 

single hair in place. We want them to be the very picture of 

perfection! But sometimes what we want and what the pet can 

handle are two different things. Young puppies, seniors, and cats 

quite often get what we refer to as a “comfort groom.” There are 

times where we sigh and say “Well. Close enough is good enough I 

guess.” Why? Because the pet just isn’t having it! Believe us, we 

want your dog to strut out looking exactly like you pictured and we 

want your cats to be fluffy perfection! Sometimes, it just isn’t 

possible. The grooming process can be scary for inexperienced 

youngsters and for seniors who are either going blind, deaf, or 

maybe a little senile. Rather than force them into a perfect groom, it

 is better for them psychologically to just do the best we can. A 

young pup is being taught that grooming is not scary. A senior 

needs to be handled with care as they might be starting to 

experience some arthritis pain during the process. Cats are...cats.

 You never know what even the most perfect cat is going to do from

 one grooming session to the next!

For these pets, and for any nervous or fearful pets, we will always 

take the comfort approach. If they have any matting, the matts will 

be removed first. The sani trim will be done. We will do our very 

best to complete the haircut to the owners specifications but if the 

pet can’t handle it, we will not force it. Again, we want grooming to

 be fun and safe, not scary!

We understand that not everyone agrees with our approach. We will

 make every effort to work with you and your pets however, we 

will always chose humanity over vanity!

What sets us apart from everyone else? "Small Spaces"

Our next series of topics will deal with what makes us special. 

Things that help to set us apart from the rest!

One of the biggest things that sets us apart from some other salons, 

especially from big box corporate stores, is our size! If you have 

been into the building, you know that TLC Pet Services is small! 

When you walk in, what you see is pretty much all there is! We 

have a small area behind the wall that is about half the size of the 

grooming room where we have our tub, drying table, kennels, and 

furnace. We can comfortably keep 7 dogs in our kennels. With a 

little wiggling and setting up crates and x-pens in the grooming 

room, we can house a few more. Since there are only two of us 

here, odds are there will be no more than 6 dogs in the building at 

any given time (not including Lucky the shop dog of course!) 

Some of the larger corporate salons have literally dozens of 

kennels. 30+ is not unheard of in the larger stores. With a half 

dozen groomers and several more bathers, all these kennels can be 

filled all day long with dogs.

Sometimes, bigger is not always better. Many dogs become 

overwhelmed in such a large, noisy, slightly crowded environment. 

Who could blame them? The dryers are running. The bathers are 

bathing. Dogs around them are barking. Clippers are going. People 

are talking. Customers and coming and going. Other customers are 

watching through the windows. It can be very overwhelming! 

Nervous dogs then either shut down and just accept what it 

happening or they start to fight back out of fear. Some dogs might 

not like other dogs but they feel like they have no room to escape. 

They start barking in fear or frustration because they can see four 

other dogs and hear a dozen more. Even a good, well mannered 

dog who is used to the grooming process might start barking along 

if others are. My own Shaak Ti was well known for starting “sing 

alongs!” She would howl in her kennel and get all the other dogs 

barking and howling along!

TLC Pet Services is small. Very small. Purposefully small. Would 

we like a bit more room? Yes but what we have is pretty much 

perfect. By staying small, we can control who comes on what day. 

We can control the level of noise in the building. We can book 

nervous dogs on one day and the barkers on another. Does your 

dog do best when there are no other dogs around? No problem. We 

can book you first thing in the morning on a quieter day, last thing 

in the afternoon after the rest of the dogs have left, or even a day 

when we know we have a full house with only well mannered, 

quiet, non-threatening dogs. Maybe your dog doesn’t like other 

dogs but is great with cats. We will eventually have cat only days. 

Your dog might be a candidate for coming toward the end of a cat 

only day. We even have the ability to open on a special day just for 

a special dog if we really need to. Each day is tailored to the dogs 

and cats on the books.

Both Stacey and I came from a corporate back ground. While we 

are not here to bash corporate salons or their groomers (we’re all 

on the same team after all!), we did absolutely have some problems

 with the way things were done which influenced why TLC is TLC.

 The biggest thing we wanted to change beyond creating a quieter 

environment was eliminating walk-in services. Walk-in nail trims, 

brush outs, teeth brushing, and even nail painting seems like a 

convenient thing, right? It absolutely is! However, it can cause 

added and unnecessary stress to the dogs who have appointments. 

When a walk-in client walks in, the groomer or bather must put the 

dog they are working on back in a kennel while they assist the 

walk-in. After they have trimmed the nails, brushed the dog out, 

etc, they then get their appointment dog back out and continue their

 scheduled service. One or two breaks probably won’t make a big 

difference to that appointment dog’s attitude about the day. But 

once you hit three, four, ten or more breaks, that dog starts to feel 

just as frustrated as the groomer does! We don’t want that 

happening to our clients. That is why we decided that even nail 

trims need to be scheduled. It is all for the comfort of the pets in 

our care!

With up to a dozen or more people working in a larger salon, 

corporate or not, it can also be hard to know who is doing what on 

any given day. While this might not make a big difference in some 

areas like folding towels or sweeping the floor, when it comes to 

cleaning, it can be a big problem if things are not properly 

organized and tasks are not properly assigned! By being a small 

salon, we know exactly who is cleaning what on any given day. We 

have a schedule for cleaning, disinfecting, and sanitizing that we 

follow between each dog and at the end of the day. There are daily, 

weekly, and monthly tasks that we undertake so we know things are

 clean, tidy, and most importantly sanitary for your pets! With only 

two people, it doesn’t take long to figure out who washed the 

windows yesterday or when the floor was last mopped! We know 

with absolute certainty that the tub has been disinfected between 

dogs. We know 100% that the floor has been swept, vacuumed, and

 mopped. We’ll cover our policies and procedures for cleaning in 

more depth in the future too.

Most importantly, our small size lets you be confident that your 

dogs and cats know their groomers! Even if Stacey is their regular 

groomer, they will be familiar with Jess as well since she is the 

only other person in the building most of the time. Stacey will 

know if Jess’s regular clients have any little quirks such as needing 

to be in a bottom kennel or needing to “fly” for their nails. Regular 

clients will be familiar with both of us and can be confident when 

leaving their dogs in Jess’s care because Stacey is running a few 

minutes late. Personable and personal service are our goal! We 

never want to have a staff so large that you don’t recognize all the 

employees floating around!

We value the comfort, health, safety, and happiness of our furry 

clients and their parents! We want everyone to be comfortable in 

our purposefully small space!

The Importance of Training

Today’s post is an important one but it will branch away from grooming just a little bit. While we are a grooming salon, both Stacey and I have worked in other aspects of the pet care industry. We have seen how these different aspects affect a dog in the grooming salon so every now and again, we will drift ever so slightly away from purely grooming to other topics related to pets.
Today I would like to talk a little bit about training. Not grooming training but training in general. There have been many, many movies in the last few years starring gorgeous and well trained dogs. Lady and the Tramp, Togo, Max, A Dog’s Purpose, A Dog’s Way Home, and Alpha are just a few recent titles. There is no question that we love our dogs in all aspects of our lives, including our entertainment! So much so that there is even a website called “Does The Dog Die?” which allows you to see if any animals are harmed in the plot of a movie in case you tend to get super upset about those things! We are also very fortunate to live near Purina Farms where you can go watch all manner of dog events from breed specific shows to agility trials to herding trials and even the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge!


When we watch these highly trained canine actors and athletes, it is only natural to think, “Wow! I want my dog to be just like that!” I, myself, have long dreamed about having a dog or dogs capable of doing agility, dock diving, barn hunt, bikejoring, carting, and even antler hunting. Watching these dogs then looking at the dogs we share our homes with, it is also very common to think, “Well. You will never be like that,” as Rex runs across the living room with yet another one of your hiking boots or yesterday’s mail!

The good news is that while Rex might never live up to the image of Diesel, the dog who played Togo in Disney’s recent movie of the same name, it is entirely possible for Rex to still be a very well rounded dog! Even Diesel had to start somewhere. It all starts with basic obedience training!


As a former trainer, I can tell you that basic obedience is far more than Sit and Stay. Yes, your dog will learn basic skills like leash walking, sit, stay, come, drop it, and leave it in most classes but this learning is having a far greater affect on your dog than you might realize. These skills seem so easy to us but they are giving your dog a huge confidence boost! Most dogs love to make their people happy. When you have that “Ah ha!” moment and your dog sits on cue, you are excited and happy which in turn makes your dog happy! You are happy because suddenly your dog is paying attention to you and doing what you ask! What happens when you are happy with your dog? You interact with them more! Maybe before classes you were afraid to take them for a walk beyond your own neighborhood. Maybe you were too worried about their lack of attention to you to take them on a hike. The thought of going someplace like Buchheit, Lowes, or Home Depot (all of which are dog friendly!) was just terrifying! Now YOU also have the confidence to take your dog out into public, exposing them to a bigger world and thus making them more confident individuals.


If you can, it is always worth going beyond Level One classes. Most trainers will start with the bare basic necessities like the sit, stay, and come which are skills every dog needs in their every day lives to keep them safe. Beyond that, they might offer workshops on advanced leash walking techniques. There might be a Level Two class where you start learning to add distance to cues. Progressing to a Level Three is usually a prep class for a Canine Good Citizen test. This test is offered through the AKC. Passing the test means your dog is a well rounded canine citizen who is reliable in a variety of situations. They can then progress to passing the advanced levels, Community Canine and Urban Canine Good Citizen. Is it necessary to take your dog’s training to this level? No. Is it fun and rewarding to see your psycho little nut of a puppy train through all the levels and turn into a well rounded adult dog? Yes!

So what connection does basic obedience have with grooming? Why is this a subject we feel is important? It isn’t just because training still has a huge spot in my heart! It isn’t because my poor, long suffering Shaak Ti ends up trying thing after thing after thing because I want to. (Don’t worry. She loves trying and learning new things! Except Barn Hunt. Rats are apparently scary. She didn’t like that. She is never pushed into anything she doesn’t want to do!) Training and trying new things helps your dog gain confidence. Nervous dogs blossom. Shy dogs start to come out of their shells. Over the top energetic dogs learn self control. Uninterested dogs suddenly start paying attention. On the grooming table, a dog who has had training will be more likely to understand that something is expected of him and he needs to be patient while he figures out the process instead of freaking out and jumping around. A dog who has had training is more likely to calmly accept something different. They tend to adopt a curious yet Been There, Done That type of attitude. Does it mean that every Canine Good Citizen will automatically love and accept every part of the grooming process? No! Shaak Ti still hates having her feet messed with as a result of both just not caring for it and a painful foot injury. However, instead of struggling to get away, she whines a bit, maybe pulls the foot that got injured away a bit, but accepts that it will happen and be over soon.


Age doesn’t matter either. At the age of 7 years old, Shaak Ti is now learning to pull a wagon. She has also learned to run with a Kickbike scooter recently and will soon learn to run ahead and pull it (hopefully). If you got a puppy for Christmas, now is the prime time to start that basic training. If you adopted an older puppy or dog recently, even if they seem to know their basics already, that class will help you form a strong and lasting bond. There are even classes to teach tricks. Classes for competing in Rally Obedience. Classes for Dock Diving, Agility, and more. Training doesn’t have to just be sit and stay! Get out there with your dogs! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain even if you just stick with the basics!

Chunky Monkeys: Your Pet's Weight and Their Grooming

With the holidays now behind us, many of us have realized we gained a few pounds over the last few months! Maybe we indulged a little too much at all the parties and get togethers with family and friends. Maybe there were a few too many convenience meals while we were traveling from place to place. Maybe we snacked on a few too many left over treats while binge watching our favorite TV shows on Netflix and Hulu during the recent snow storms. Maybe we were just too busy to make it to the gym but all the running around shopping for gifts made up for it right? Hmm. Maybe not.

Maybe when you noticed that you gained a little weight, you also noticed that your dog and cat gained a few more pounds too! Awww! Now they are so cute and chubby and round!


Unfortunately, just like carrying extra weight is not good for us, it is also not good for our pets. Those extra pounds add up much faster for them than they do for us, especially for smaller pets. Extra weight can make breathing problems in brachycephalic pets worse. It can put extra strain on joints, making arthritis and hip or elbow dysplasia worse. Chubby pets have less stamina and will become tired much more easily. This may lead to more irritable behavior. It can also effect their heart and blood pressure. Obese pets can even develop diabetes and heart disease.


When it comes to grooming, that little extra weight can become a big problem for both the pet and the groomer. Overweight pets are much less likely to stand up or stand still for their groom. This leads to the groomer constantly lifting the pets’ hind end in an effort to get them to stay standing or moving a constantly shifting pet back to a correct position. Not only can this make the pet cranky, but depending on how large the pet is, it can really hurt a groomer’s shoulders or back over the course of the groom. Fatigue will quickly set in for both parties, making them even crankier! The increased stress on their joints can make things like sanitary trims or nail trims extremely uncomfortable or even dangerous. An overweight pet is also more prone to injury themselves. They are much more likely to twist an ankle stepping out of the tub or off the table. They are at risk for torn ligaments or pulled joints at the same time. Simply lifting a hind leg for a nail trim puts them at risk for strains and sprains. Should an injury like this happen, the groomers now have to have an uncomfortable conversation with you, the pet’s owner.


Over the years, people have been conditioned to view overweight and obese pets as cute. There are web pages and Facebook groups dedicated to these “chonky” creatures. People brag about how “loved and spoiled” their pets are. Sadly, food does not equal love. We all know our pets, especially our dogs, love treats! Just like many humans, the worse the treat is for their health, the more they love it! I’m guilty! I absolutely love my cookies, ice cream, and chocolate! Wild Skookum loves potato chips. Shaak Ti loves buttered popcorn. All three cats love cheese. I once thought Jerreth AKA Boober AKA Super Duper Uber Boober, my 10 year old cat, was having a joy induced seizure over whipped cream (also called Kitty Crack in my home) because he was so excited he could barely stand up! It is absolutely adorable watching them freak out for their favorite treats. It is also super easy to allow them to over indulge in the process. We are now all so used to equating treats with love and seeing the overweight pets as a result that when many people see a pet with a healthy weight, they think the pet is starving.


If we ever tell you that Fifi seems to be gaining a little weight, please know that we are not judging you or Fifi! We know that sometimes owners don’t notice the slow changes since they see their pets every single day. The groomer is more likely to notice since we see Fifi once every 4 to 6 weeks. We mean nothing by it when we tell you. We simply want to bring it to your attention before the problem is out of control. We want Fifi to remain comfortable and healthy for her grooming! 


If you ever have any concerns about your pet’s weight, please talk to your veterinarian. They can help you figure out the best way to help Fifi drop a few pounds. Quite often it is simply a matter of increasing exercise while reducing the extra treats. Maintaining a healthy weight will not only make grooming more comfortable, it will help your pet live a longer, healthier, more active life!

Safe Table Practices

It came to our attention yesterday that there has recently been a tragic accident at another salon involving their tables. A dog lost her life and a salon team is traumatized. We are not going to go into details nor are we going to bash or judge anyone for this tragedy. Accidents can happen. People can panic. However, we do want you to feel safe leaving your pets in our care so I wanted to take a moment to talk a little about our tables and our safety policies surrounding them.

We NEVER tether dogs to the bottoms of our tables. You may have seen some grooming tables that have little loops of metal down near the feet. In the past, some salons have used these loops to tether dogs who either need to be groomed on the floor or if the groomer has to step away for a moment. Our tables do not have these loops. Even if they did, we would not use them. You may have noticed hooks at all four corners under the table tops. These hooks are not for dogs. They are for hanging equipment such as table brushes, slickers, or clippers so they are within easy reach at all times. 


There are two pedals that adjust our tables up and down, one pedal on each side of the table. An awesome feature of our Comfort Groom tables is that these pedals flip up! If a dog is on the floor near the tables, we can flip the pedals up, preventing any chance of the dog accidentally stepping, sitting, or laying down on a pedal and causing the table to come down toward them. We very often flip the pedals down, adjust our tables, then flip them back up and out of the way to prevent accidental triggering or tripping. All it takes to move these pedals is a flick of the foot which means we never take our eyes off your dog while making adjustments. I frequently find myself adjusting the table while brushing the dog at the same time! 


Our tables lower very, very close to the ground. When lowered fully, a dog only has to step or hop 15 inches from the floor to the table tops. There are very few dogs who cannot hop that far! A reluctant dog who is under 50 pounds is generally just picked up and placed on the table. Should we encounter a slightly larger dog who does not want to step up, we use team work to safely get them onto the working surface. Quite often it only takes one person to be calling and talking to the dog from the opposite side of the table while the second person assists the dog’s hind end up. If the dog cannot be encouraged up, a team lift is preformed where one person lifts the dog’s front end and the other lifts the back end. The dog is safely and securely lifted, placed on the table, and the person lifting the front end can then attach the grooming loop. The dog does not get stressed as it feels secure the entire time.

In the very, very rare event that we have a larger dog who just absolutely will not get on the table and will not cooperate for a team lift, the dog can be brushed while on the floor. The dog would be tethered to the fully lowered table using our Groomer’s Helper, a clamp that attaches to the grooming arms. A loose grooming loop is then placed on the dog and attached to the Groomer’s Helper. The idea isn’t to hold the dog completely still but rather just keep them in the general area we need them in in a manner that does not cause them any stress and in a manner that keeps them completely safe. A dog would never be tethered to a raised table. A dog would never be tethered with a loop so tight they cannot get their heads out. Our “shop cat,” Jelly Bean, is every so kindly demonstrating for you how we would tether a larger dog to our tables. 


Our hearts break for the dog, the family, and the groomers who were forever changed by the table accident. We have taken a look at our practices to ensure that such a tragedy will not happen in our facility. We are here for the safety, comfort, and well being of all the pets who come into our care.

Honestly? Just Be Honest!

Honesty. It is something we have briefly covered before on our

Facebook page but I would like to take a moment to go a little more in depth about why honestly on both sides of the grooming table is absolutely vitally important. 


Have you ever taken your dog to a groomer and asked how they did? Maybe you were told “Oh they were great!” However, in the back of your mind, you have doubts. How could she be great for the groomer when at home she panics at the sight of a brush? Or, you were told she was a perfect angel by one groomer but the next groomer tells you “Well, she certainly didn’t appreciate her brush out and she did fight a little for her nail trim but we made it through! She just needs a little training!” How can that be? Her last groomer never said anything about her being naughty! Which groomer isn’t telling the truth?!


There are a few reasons why some groomers are 100% truthful and others are not. Maybe the first groomer is afraid that if she tells you the truth about your dog, you will not come back. Maybe she doesn’t think the behaviors are anything to worry about. Maybe she wasn’t actually the one who groomed your dog and doesn’t know the whole truth. The second groomer might have less tolerance for naughty behaviors. She might have a different background and can see that with just a little extra effort on training, your dog will learn that brushes aren’t scary and nail trims are not the end of the world. She wants you to know so you can work on things at home. Maybe she has a medical condition such as a bad back or a bad shoulder that means a little naughtiness from more than one dog ends up hurting by the end of the day. Grooming is a very physically demanding job after all! Little aches and pains can add up in a big way after a few days of less than perfect dogs! But we push through because we love what we do.


In this case, are either one of these groomers really lying to you about your dog? Not exactly. Could the first groomer be a little more open? Yes, but again, she might have a different opinion than the second groomer.


What can you expect from us at TLC Pet Services as far as honesty goes? Honesty! We will let you if your dog is wiggly and wormy, squiggly and squirmy. We’ll tell you if they hate the brush out or the bath or the blow dryer. We’ll let you know if they jump around and require two people for nail trims. We will also let you know if they love the bath, love the dryer, hand over their paws willingly for nails. We want you to know exactly how your dog does for grooming so you understand why we book them the way we do. If Toby needs two people for nails, we have to book him on a day when we know both groomers will be in. If Sammy is nervous around other dogs, we want you to know that we need to book him either first thing in the morning so he can get in and out, later in the day when the other dogs have left, or on a day when we know there will only be quiet, well mannered dogs in the salon. We want YOU to be part of that process and we want YOU to understand why. We will never sugar coat behaviors even if other groomers have in the past. 


Honesty is a two way street. While we promise to be completely honest with you, we also need you to promise to be completely honest with us. If you know your dog has any problems at all, be they grooming related or not, please let us know. Even though we are a women owned and operated company, there are times when we might have a male coming in to do a minor repair. Our husbands might stop by to give us a hand with something. If your dog doesn’t like men, it is helpful to know just in case! If they are scared of storms, we can keep a close eye on the weather leading up to their appointment. Thunder is very loud in our salon! If they are terrified of dogs bigger than they are or smaller than they are, it helps us know how and when to book their appointments.
If your dog has ever been dismissed from a salon, we need to know why. Does this mean we will not groom them? No. It simply means we will have to approach things differently and be prepared. Where they simply too loud and stressed in the kennel? We can try an express type service where they get groomed straight through and sent immediately home. Were they a safety concern during their bath because they flail around? We can try taking a different approach by tethering them differently, using a different setting on the hose, or even taking a bucket and cup approach if we absolutely have to. Did they bite or try to bite their last groomer? What for? We can evaluate their behavior while being prepared for their reactions.


Even things like medical concerns need to be disclosed with open honesty. Arthritis, hip and back problems, collapsing trachea, lumps and bumps, past injuries, allergies and even separation anxiety can make a difference in the grooming process. While every dog is handled with gentle kindness, if we know your old poodle has arthritis in his hips, we will make every effort to handle his hind quarters as little as possible and as comfortably as possible. If we know your Jack Russel Terrier had a gash that required stitches on their shoulder six months ago, we can be careful brushing that area since it might still be a little tender or odd feeling. 


If you are at all worried that disclosing something might mean we automatically turn your dog away, please don’t be! While there may be times when we feel that we are not the best groomer for your dog or that a certain medical condition means they might be safer being groomed at a veterinarian’s office, we will openly discuss all concerns with you. Many times we will be willing to give your dog a chance as long as they are within our weight limits. We have no problem trying as long as you understand that we might not complete the full groom before calling for a pick up.
So please be completely honest with us. Let us know about that dental last week. Or the limp after she chased a rabbit. Or the fact that she didn’t like Uncle Bob over the holidays. We will always be honest with you and your honesty with us only helps!