Professional Tips to Pampur your Pooch

Happy 2011 everyone! I hope you are managing your winter with ease. Here are the Pooch Parlor Updates and February specials.

Customer of the month: The Stewarts with Bichon beauty Angel.

Shop Hours: Monday thru Friday 9am-3pm, later and earlier by appointment, Sat 10am - 2pm

Student Groomers: ask for discounted grooming by groomers in training Mon, Wed, Fri each week.

Email appts: make your grooming appointments online at www.thepoochparlor.net.

Shop Specials for February: ‘Angel Eyes’ tear remover is 20% off in-store (Ponderay location only) or online. This product is great for tearstains that are smelly or ugly.

Self-Service discounts: Prepay for 5 self-service visits and get one free! Buy in-store or online.

Valentines Specials: Get a free doggie charm for your valentine pooch with the groom by asking! While supplies last. We have hair glitter too!

I'm back from vacation! My husband and I went to dive in the Florida keys and found some sun! We swam with nerf sharks that we bigger than we were, marveled over a 3 foot stingray, and followed an electric eel around an old shipwreck. Wow was that great! We ate all we could of key lime pie and are pictured here on the water taxi.

Grooming Questions?Ask your questions on Facebook or the website blog http://poochparlorpost.blogspot.com
We love to answer grooming questions.

How to keep your dog from getting matted in the snow. Easy advice that works.

Winter is a great time to watch your dog romp around in the snow. Watching them play and tunnel in the powder brings joy to the hearts of owners and non-owners alike! But when it’s grooming time –it’s not so joyful! The snow creates iceballs which can wreak havoc on your dog’s fur and skin – and stress the relationship between you, your groomer and your dog. Most people are not aware of the matting that happens in the snow as it starts on the skin’s surface. It can be very severe without appearing as such. Many owners do not know how to brush their dog’s coat effectively; they only know how to brush the surface hair, all the while the mattes are winding tighter and tighter underneath. For these owners, it’s understandable that both choices they are presented with during the next trip to the groomers is not welcome news: torturing the dog to rip the mattes out or stripping the dog naked during the winter – both being a threat to the physical or emotional state of the dog. Finding a way to let your dog enjoy the snow without ruining their coat is an easy task if you have a brush, a comb, and a little knowledge about timing.

There are two ways to melt the snowballs out of dog’s fur after they come indoors. Let the fur melt on it’s own, or wash the ice out with warm water (using a tub, sink, or large pail). Both options leave mattes if you don’t complete one third step – brush and/or comb the wet area all the way to the skin. If you can’t get a comb through your dog’s hair after the snowballs melt, your groomer can’t either. If you use water to melt the dogs’ fur, you can add a doggie moisturizer to the water or spray bottle to condition the coat, making brushing easier on everyone.

It’s not a fun job, but if owners spend just a few moments brushing the dog’s affected areas at home, they will be much happier with their winter grooming results. Timing is crucial, brush or comb the dog before the dog gets wet again. This way the brushing will always remain easy and painfree. Dreadlocks are created by repeated washings (or snow) without a brushout in between. This simple task will help the dog keep his coat, and will help the dog LIKE going to the groomers.

There are preventative measures you can take to keep the dog’s fur from knotting so quickly in the snow. Emu oil spray is extremely helpful in preventing mattes if sprayed on the hair before mattes start. This spray moisturizes and softens the hair and skin and does not leave the hair oily. This spray cannot be overused. Another product is ‘The Stuff’ spray, a siliconized spray designed for dog hair that is helpful in preventing and detangling existing mattes. This spray works great, but if overused, can leave the hair oily. Both of these products are available in store and online at http://www.thepoochparlor.net/shopping.html#catagory3. There third option is ‘Pam Cooking Spray’, found in many households. Sprayed lightly on the legs, chest and underbody, it can prevent the hair from becoming saturated in the snow, which keeps the mattes from forming. It can leave your dog a little greasy, but washing a greasy dog is better than clipping one naked in the middle of winter.

These options can make winter fun, and grooming a great experience for dog, owner, and groomer! Be proactive in preventing doggie dreadlocks! Notice if your dog is wet or full of ice. Use a diluted conditioner or spray on the wet parts while melting your dog’s hair. Time the brushing immediately after the dog’s fur is free from ice. Be thorough and check the wet areas to the skin with a comb. Give your dog praise and/or a treat for enduring your melting and brushing process. Use preventative spray measures that are cheap and easy before your dog goes out to play in the snow. Ask your groomer to show you the most effective brushout methods and tools for your breed of dog. Get your dog groomed consistently and regularly. Take the stress out winter with these simple steps. Next time your dog asks to go out and play in the snow, enjoy watching him play his heart out! The joy of watching your best friend play in the snow is worth a thousand brushings!!

"Valentine’s Day is just around the corner – just the right time to talk about doggie kisses. They might be slimy, they might be messy. You always get them at the wrong time or place.
They might even be smelly, but not matter how much you hate doggie kisses – YOU GOTTA LOVE THEM! Happy Valentine’s Day!!
I took a poll on Facebook for all the names you can give for a doggie kiss. Here’s what we came up with:

1. Wet willy’s - Montee loves to demonstrate those!

2. A swirllee – compliments of Matt and his golden retriever Lady

3. Slobber – compliments of Suzanne Muusers

4. Puppy attack kisses – compliments of Tom Mitchell

5. Monte Zuma’s Revenge - compliments of Sara Goss

6. Dudley’s slippery slurpee - compliments of DuAnn and Dudley

7. The chin sneaker -compliments of Lori and Star

8. The sweet smooch (no tongue incl) - compiments of Greta and Mike Chambers

9.National Lick-a-thon -compliments of Beth Reigner

10. Just like a timex-takes a tickin and keeps on lickin! - Tom Mitchell
11. A gift from God on four legs - Tom Mitchell
Thanks to all for your great ideas!
Please check out all the great shop pix on facebook

We offer the following services:

* full service grooming for all breeds of dogs and cats by state-certified groomers
*student grooming discounts
*offer ‘no-kennel’ grooming by request
*owner stay grooming by request
*self-service bathing stations
*walk-in appointments
* teeth scaling and/or teeth brushing
* nail trimming and dremeling (filing) on a walk-in basis
*anal gland expressing bird nails and wing trimming
*retail grooming tools
*doggie day care
*owner grooming training by request
*doggie and family portraits(free)
*walk-ins are welcomed here

Pooch Parlor Groomers/Staff:

Every groomer has undergone rigorous training to attain their certification at the state level. The training includes more than instruction about the technical aspects of grooming and scissoring, it includes strict codes of conduct and tight guidelines for ethical treatments of pets and their owners, safety practices, and cleaning standards. This certification is something we are most proud of, as the grooming industry is not regulated, and only 5 percent of all groomers spend the time and money to train under any qualified guidelines. All employees are drug-tested and undergo criminal background checks. The Pooch Parlor Pet Groomer Academy, is the only grooming school licensed and bonded through the Board of Education, in the State of Idaho.

The Pooch Parlor Pet Groomer Academy:

The Pooch Parlor Pet Groomer Academy is the only certifed grooming school in the state idaho. The school is licensed and bonded through the Board of Education in the state of Idaho. Students come from all over the nation to learn the trade of pet styling. Their courses range in time from 2 months to 8 months. Reduced grooming prices are offered to customers that would like to help these students out with their well-behaved family pooches. Student grooming must be requested and scheduled on Mon, Wed, and Friday. When the students graduate, they are certified as professional groomers, trained under standards that are higher than required by the industry. Students that graduate end up all over the nation as employees and business owners. If you have family in the U.S., check out the groomer academy webpage for a Pooch Parlor graduate near you.

At the Pooch Parlor, we always have a camera handy and LOVE to take pictures of our staff, students, customers, and their dogs. There is no charge for family portrait and we email it to you, just ask. Pictures of your 4 legged kids are really important, since our time with them is never long enough during our lives.

The Pooch Parlor in Ponderay is owned and operated by DuAnn Chambers and her husband Mike. Mike is not a groomer, he is a remodeling specialist, with Git ‘er Done Construction LLC., and helps out in the grooming shop with all repairs and upgrades (unless the upgrade is granite –thanks again Idaho Granite, we love the new countertops!). Mike and DuAnn have been married 17 years, and have no human children. They share the love of dogs, owning a mini schnauzer, 1 year old ‘Grouchy Greta’, a Standard Poodle, Montee, 5 years old, and an adopted Rottweiler cross, Marlie, 7 years. In our spare time, we scuba dive and snowboard. We thank all of you our friends and customers for making it possible for us to LOVE what we do! Thank you!

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To provide a clean, safe, fun, family environment for dogs and their humans, where integrity, customer service and professionalism are held to the highest possible standard.