Puppy Intro Session
This special session is a gentle introduction to grooming for your puppy. We specialize in providing a relaxing and enjoyable experience for puppies to help them get accustomed to grooming. The earlier puppies are started the better, and the shorter the initial session the better! That's why we created this Puppy Intro Session, where the goal is to help introduce all the sights, sounds, and smells of salon to ensure a lifetime of happy grooming visits! Haircuts can be done on subsequent visits as needed, but Puppy Intro Sessions still include:
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Bath and dry
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Trim around the face, feet, and sanitary area
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Nail trim
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Ear cleaning
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Lots of hugs and kisses! (free)
"What age should I bring my puppy in for their first grooming?"
We recommend between the ages of 12-16 weeks and after their second round of shots for their first visit to a salon. Many people make the mistake of waiting too long before their puppies first visit. In this crucial developmental stage puppies are less likely to be fearful of new things. Exposing them to as much as possible in a safe and gentle way during this time really sets them up for a life of confidence and ease. After this window of time is closed, usually after about 16 weeks, dogs become less likely to accept new things and may have stronger fear reactions to work with.
"We already bathe them at home, they'll be okay with it!"
It's a wonderful and necessary thing to have a positive home maintenance routine for your pet! There are many things you will do at home that we also do here in the salon. However, the two experiences are not the same through the eyes of your dog. Being away from home in a new place, new people, new sights, new sounds, new smells; that in itself can be a lot for a puppy (or dogs of any age). We also use professional equipment which may look/feel/sound different than what is used at home. We introduce all these things slowly, gently, one at a time, and at the dogs pace.
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"They don't need a haircut!"
Because the goal of our Puppy Intro Session is more about acclimating your puppy to new things, we often will not do a full groom on the first session. Your Puppy Intro can even be broken down into multiple shorter, quicker sessions to lessen the possibility of overwhelm for the dog. We always want to end on a happy note so dogs love coming back! Our hope is that the initial time we spend working with your puppy will carry over to all future visits; not just with us, but any groomer, vet, or daycare experience they may have and will lead to a lifetime of confidence!