A Full groom at Dogtopia includes all the services listed below.

Some of these services such as nail clipping and grooming out are offered separately.

1. Groom out

Your dog is thoroughly brushed first, to remove any matts or loose undercoat.

Matts can enlarge and become unmanageable when wet. If a matt goes undetected or coat care is neglected your dog may have to be shaved or the matt cut out so that bacteria doesn't grow between it and the skin and cause a yeast infection.

Smooth or short coated dogs are groomed with a rubber curry or fine comb. Long coated breeds are groomed with a slicker or pin brush or an undercoat rake. This distributes oils from the skin throughout the coat.

2. Clip or trim

Any mats or large amounts of hair that may increase shampooing and drying time will be trimmed out.

Some breeds such as poodles have their feet and face clipped before bathing. Most dogs look best when groomed after they are bathed and blow-dried.

3. Ears cleaned

Next your dog's ears will be cleaned with a few drops of ear clean solution which will kill bacteria, yeast and mites.

The solution is applied to a cotton ball and simply wiped around the inner ear. The ear is then wiped out with a damp cotton ball or cloth, gently drying it.

If your dog's ear looks swollen, red, irritated, dark or blackened or show signs of discharge or sores or has a bad smell I will note this and you should consider making an appointment with a vet as this could be a sign of infection or disease.
 
(A clean ear may contain some wax but shouldn't have any particular smell to it).
 
4. Eyes cleaned

Some breeds require more maintenance in this area than others. While it may often be a simple matter of pulling eye “crust” away from a potentially irritating spot in the corner of the eye, long-haired or white-haired dogs may require special attention to make sure that the eyes are clear.

I use a special product called Eye Stain Remover for this job.

A healthy eye should be clear and should not show any sign of irritation or unusual discharge.
 
5. Shampoo

Your dog is then put in the bath and, if necessary, secured to keep him or her in place.
 
The regular collar is taken off and replaced with one that will not stain the coat or be damaged by water.

(A wet collar can cause sores around the neck of a dog that is not fully dry).

Your dog is thoroughly soaked down and the hand shampooing then begins starting at the back and working towards the front. I use a curry brush on double coated breeds to help work the shampoo into the coat.

The head is saved for last and is gently tilted back to ensure that no shampoo gets into the ears or eyes and special care is taken around the nose and mouth.

I have 5 different shampoos:

•    Banana and mango - General use
•    Blue pearl - White coats
•    Ridasect - Flea prevention
•    Medicated tea tree - To combat skin problems
•    Stay fresh shampoo - to combat odour

I also have a topical cream conditioner for silky coated breeds.

6. Rinse

Your dog is then rinsed. This must be done thoroughly as any shampoo left in the coat may cause hot spots, irritating spots of bald, itchy and red skin.

7. Dry

The dog is then towel dried with absorbent cloths and towels before being blow dried with a high pressure drier. A slicker brush and comb may also be used if necessary.

If your dog has a naturally curly coat like a Poodle or Bichon it will be blasted dry and stand dried straight to stop the coat reverting back to a curl.

Lastly the feet are thoroughly dried to stop fungus growth or or feet problems occurring.

8. Clip and style

Your dog is then clipped and styled to your own preference.

I use very powerful clippers with many different blades to facilitate the effective cutting of different coat lengths.

The scissors I use are top quality Japanese stainless steel and give a very professional finish.

9. Cut nails

Next your dog’s nails are trimmed if necessary.

If left uncared for nails can grow to enormous lengths, twisting the toe and causing pain and sometimes even curling into the pads of the foot.

Depending on the dog nail trimming may need doing as often as once a week or as infrequently as once a month.
 
The nails are cut with a pair of dog nail clippers taking just the first 1/16 of an inch off the end of the nail.

10. Perfume and bow

Before your dog comes home, he or she is perfumed with a dog safe scent and a bow is added to the collar as a finishing touch.