Daryl Conner

Most groomers have styptic powder on hand and use it regularly to stop bleeding if a claw is accidentally trimmed too short, but have you ever wondered what it is made of and how it works?

Dogs with long coats often come in to be groomed with lots of thick hair growing between theunderside of their paw pads. Trimming this fur neatly is an integral part of a complete pet groom.  Untrimmed hair coming from the underside of the foot not only looks messy, but it can alsocollect dirt, sand, salt, snow, sticky things, and icky things and track them into the house.

This blog post might stir up a little controversy, but sometimes we work on pets that need to wear a muzzle for some of the grooming visit. With four decades of grooming experience and a reputation for safely grooming pets that have been turned away from other groomers, I rarely use a muzzle on any pet, but once in a while, I am glad to have a set stored away.

Sometimes, dogs come in to be groomed and make strange mouth movements, repeatedly licking their lips, shaking their heads, or smacking their mouths in an unusual way. Experienced stylists know to take a peek to see if the dog is bothered by fur growing over its lips and getting into its mouth.

An adorable Pug came to see you for grooming. She snorts and wiggles, and you pop her into the bathtub and get to work. Like most smooth-coated breeds, it can feel like grooming this breed is a walk in the park. But wait! There's more to it than a simple wash and dry.

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are popular pets and generally delightful to groom. Show dogs are not supposed to be trimmed at all except for the hair that grows between the pads on the underside of the foot, but many pet owners request shorter, more practical trims

We are fortunate to be grooming pets in an era where we have a gracious plenty of products to choose from when it comes to getting pets clean. This was not always the case, and many seasoned groomers remember the days when we had to resort to using products designed for use on humans or even household cleansers to wash pets. For the most part, it seems that groomers have embraced the wide range of shampoos designed and manufactured specifically for animals, but there seems to be one niggling little holdover. Dish soap.

Nico is a toy poodle, and I have groomed him every five weeks since he was a puppy. He is now a doddering old man, nearly blind from cataracts, riddled with arthritis, and missing most of his teeth.

I don't know many shops or mobile groomers who don't use a shop or "wet/dry" vacuum regularly. These wonderful tools are endlessly helpful for sucking up all that fur that hits the ground as we work, nabbing cobwebs, cleaning the filters in our dryers, heating systems, fans, and more. But let's be honest, they tend to get smelly. 

Dogs and people seem to agree on many things. We both like some of the same tasty treats, enjoy walks, and think a good snuggle is fun. Do you know what dogs and people don’t seem to agree on? The topic of what smells good. I’ve had a dog roll exuberantly in a decomposing animal and seem overjoyed to smell of corpse.