As groomers and dog lovers we do care about your pet. We love to pamper your pet! And we know that you love your pet. As a dog owner it is your responsibility to keep your dog clean, the nails trim and brushed. The nails need trimming at least every six weeks unless you are walking your dog often on the pavement.

It is very simple to explain what groomers hate most about their jobs: matts.

A matt is a terrible knot of hair. They are sometimes quite large and hard and could get bad enough to resmeble a cast around an animal.

If customer comes to us and says their old groomer always shaved down their dog, this is a warning to us that their dog was probably often matted. Matts are painful to an animal to begin with because matts tug at skin. Furthermore, it may restrict blood flow in the skin. Once a matt is shaved off an ear, a hematoma may occur because of the sudden return of blow flow. Yes, matts are painful and unhealthy.

A good Groomer can not (at least in good conscience) leave a matt on a dog or cat. All matts are assumed to be uncomfortable. So, can we remove the matts? Yes, we try our darndest. We use conditioners which is formulated to dematt and prevent matts. But the matts still need to be BRUSHED or COMBED out. The dog does not like to have his hair tugged and pulled. So what do we do, tug, pull and more tugging? It is much more HUMANE to just shave the matts off. This means less pulling and tugging on the animal. Even this is not an easy task, especially on the legs, which have plenty of contours. No, dematting is not an easy task at all. It is not easy for the groomer and it is not easy on the dog. You will be charged a dematting fee if the dog is badly matted. The best solution is to brush your dog or cat regularly.

Now that we know a little about matts, what can we do to prevent them? Easy, brush your dog on a regular basis with emphasis on the neck area, under the legs and behind the ears. If you are not good about brushing your dog, then keep the dog SHORT. A short dog is a happy dog! He would need less brushing. Also, keep bringing your dog to the groomer at regular intervals for a complete brush out, groom and nail trim.