Pups Are Pals small Dog Grooming

Pups are Pals Small Dog Grooming Is a small business which offers security and quiet for your dog. He or she will feel more at ease, since he will be dealt with on a one to one basis. My policy is to take dogs in, one family at a time, treat them to individual care and give them the full attention they deserve.

I have nine years experience, am fully certified and took an apprenticeship to learn the trade hands on.

My salon offers specialized styles for small dogs (30 lbs. and under). Cuts are done to specific breeds, mixed breed cuts and "made to order" cuts. This includes puppy cuts & shave downs. All dogs will receive (unscented), top quality, skin sensitive hair products. Your pet will go home looking his or her absolute best.

All products are ordered from Renspets.com, an exclusive wholesale outlet that carries all the latest products for dog care. Only oatmeal shampoo is used.

Grooming photos

Yorkshire Terrier (silky)

Ziggy is like his name. He never stands still. Ziggy has beautiful colouring. His owner brings him in every two months and he gets his brush, bath and trim and off he goes to zig and zag all over again.

Australian Terrier

Lucy has a luxurious, thick, black and tan coat which is prone to matting. Since de-matting is a long and arduous task with such a coat, weekly brushing and combing is important. Her face and ears, cut quite short in a previous grooming could be allowed to grow longer. This would create a more stunning contrast to the black and would give good balance to the cut.

Bichon Frise

Saffy is a bichon with thick curly fur which you can do almost anything with. She's a good little dog and makes grooming a pleasure. Her fur is groomed monthly since she has constant shedding which sits in the fur and knots if not kept brushed and bathed. Although Bichons are considered non shedding, it is inaccurate. All "non shedding" dogs actually shed since they have to replace their fur in the same way we replace our hair. They just don't shed into the space in which we live.

Scottish Terrier

this little Scottie has a fell, which, in this case, is preferred over the individual eye-brows.

Miniature Poodle

Nicky is a white poodle with dark markings. She is easy to groom and is groomed regularly. Her legs, head and ears are hand scissored, her body shaved with a 1/2 inch extension and her face, feet and tail (leaving a pom) are shaved with a #10 blade.

Miniature Poodle

Kloe is a very active little dog with a beautiful, shiny, strawberry blonde coat. Her owner has been asked to bring Kloe in every two months which will make it easier to work through her knots, will make it less painful for her and will make her a calmer dog to groom. Poodles are clipped through the body with and extension. The feet and face are shaved and the ears, pom and legs are all hand scissored.

Miniature Schnauzer

Roxie's owner just had a new baby and with that and a toddler keeping her busy, she just wants Roxie cleaned up, nice and short and lasting for awhile before she has to be done again. All longer hair is hand scissored.

Maltese

Jack is a pure breed Maltese with sassy attitude. He is brushed at home but rebels against this and the back end needs to be de-matted before we can start. With Maltese fur this is a relatively simple procedure, since there is no fluffy undercoat. This is a typical, easy to maintain pet cut.

teacup Maltese

Muffin (on the left) is a teacup maltese. Teacup dogs are groomed much the way their larger counterparts are. Here Muffin is groomed with her home buddy Sacha. These tiny dogs are more compact and closer to the ground but are usually very still and quiet when groomed.
Both dogs are cut with a 1" extension with the legs hand trimmed to leave them fuller. The ears are left long as per instruction from their owner. Sacha has kept her eye lashes.

Shih tzu

Gismo is a puppy. Her fur is thick, even at this age. Gismo is well behaved and the knots are easily brushed through. Her legs, face and ears are all hand scissored.

Shih tzu

Olivia has a top knot all tied up in her Christmas best. Her fur is cut with a 3/4 inch extension. Her legs are hand trimmed. Olivia is kept well brushed at home and comes to be groomed every 6 weeks.

Shih Tzu

Penny has the popular lighter hair color. She is kept brushed by her owner, so the job for me is focused on the cut and the nails, the shampoo & fluff dry. The light coloured shih tzus tend to have a cottony undercoat which must be maintained weekly at home since it matts very easily. Badly matted shih tzus are shaved. Sometimes the coat can be saved, although at extra expense.

Pomeranian

This is Jess with her pal, Buddy. Jess likes Buddy brushed, bathed and trimmed on a 6 week basis to keep him clean and fresh and nicely shaped. The brush out is the longest part of the groom since the undercoat on a pomeranian sheds almost constantly and then drops into the outer coat where it tangles.
However a brushed out pom always looks better than a shaved one (in my opinion) and is just as cool in the summer since the coat protects from the sun and the brushed out coat lets the cool air through.

Westhighland Terrier

close up of the Westie face when groomed

West Highland Terrier

Roary sports his new cut. He is only groomed twice a year so he is cut quite short to maintain his pet trim between grooming.

Westhighland Terrier

Piper is quite tiny with fine fur. A short pet trim keeps her looking great for a couple of months.

Shihpoo

Lexi has a tiny face, so the chin and ears are left longer to balance the style with the rest of the body. Her fur is quite thick and she always looks great once she is done with her sparkly white fur and big brown eyes.

Schihtzu

Ben is a youngster with nice markings. He has the fuzzy undercoat which needs weekly brushing because he matts easily.

Cairn Terrier

Mitzi is a sweet little girl. She is a well loved, older dog. Her owner likes her fur left a little longer but clean across the back. She has a softer fur type. This is a typical pet cut although cairns are often hand stripped which maintains the wirey hair.

Shih tzu

Hayden is normally kept very long and brushed by his patient Dad. His fur has been shortened for easier maintainence now due to his family's busier schedule.

Bichon X

This is Carmel, waiting by the door for her Dad. She is a busy little dog with thick curly hair. She comes to visit on a monthly basis for a full groom to keep her looking her best

Miniature Schnauzer

Luigi is trimmed with a broader cut through the face, extending the beard up to the ears giving the dog's face a fuller, fluffier look.

Yorkshire Terrier x

Angel is a tan coloured Yorkie with cottony fur type. She is quite tiny--under 10 lbs. Her fur has been clipped with a 3/4 extension, with the legs and head hand-scissored. Her owner prefers the shorter, rounded head shape.

Miniature Poodle

Bichon Frise (shaved)

Sammy's coat was badly matted when we adopted him at 2 years of age and was immediately shaved due to overall poor fur condition. Shaving is used as a last resort when the fur is so deeply matted that it cannot be saved. Because matting causes pain when a dog moves and because it hides many other problems, such as a variety of skin problems and parasites, it is best to clean the dog up and start over with a weekly brushing regimen.

Bichon Frise

This is Sammy, later in life, when his fur has grown in. Although Bichon's are traditionally styled with shorter ears, the longer ears are sometimes preferred. It took two years for his ears to grow to this length. Sammy is bathed and brushed weekly and fully groomed once a month. Sammy is easy to groom because he is used to being handled. His coat is kept to a 1 inch length. Longer fur knots quickly and brushing then becomes quite uncomfortable for the dog. The body is clipped with an extension and the legs, tail, head and ears are hand scissored.

Shih tzu

Allie is a happy, funny, playful little dog. She has the cottony fur that matts easily but because she is kept brushed at home, it makes it possible to keep her fur longer, which is what her owners like. Allie had a face, bum and feet trim only since it is cold outside. She was brushed, shampooed and dried, anal gland expressed and her nails were trimmed.

Poodle

Polly is an energetic miniature poodle with black fur and white markings. She is well brushed and de-matted by me before we begin. Her face and feet are not shaved since this is what the owners want.