Happy Pet Spa faq

What is involved in grooming my pet?

Grooming is the process of caring for a pet's coat, skin, ears, glands, nails, teeth and paws. Every pet is unique. We tailor our grooming process to their individual needs. Using specialized tools and equipment, specialty shampoos and conditioners, we can address any and all grooming issues.

Routine grooming helps keep your pet healthy and happy, which can save you time and money in veterinary expenses. Often, recurring problems such as ear infections, lodged objects in feet, sores and hot spots from mats, impacted glands can be prevented with regular grooming. Grooming also helps to spot possible problems, such as ear infections or skin conditions.

What happens during grooming?

A. Pre-bath inspection, Rough in, Nails, Ears, Paws

Before the bath, your pet will receive a once over inspection where we look for problem areas such as moles or mats, then they are brushed out or have a rough initial shave. Then their nails are carefully trimmed and dremmeled, their ears are plucked and cleaned, and their paw pads are trimmed.

Nail trimming is important to the overall health of your pet, as nails that are too long can affect how they walk. Once the quicks grow out, it is difficult to get them to go back to normal, so we recommend trimming your pet's nails a minimum of once every 2-4 weeks.

Ear hair can trap dirt and bacteria, so cleaning and removal of the hair will keep the ears healthy and reduce the potential for irritation and infections.

B. Bath & Dry

Your pet is bathed using only specialty pet shampoos and conditioners, and they receive as many baths as it takes to get them squeaky clean (a minimum of twice). A conditioner is applied for dry or dandruffy coats or skin, and then they are thoroughly rinsed out. If you have selected teeth brushing and plaq clnz treatment, we brush their teeth during the bath.

Bathing benefits your pet from head to toe by cleaning and conditioning their coat and skin, removing excess coat, which can mat, and controls "odor". Bathing at a grooming salon keeps stress to a minimum as the time spent in the tub is generally less than at home.

We check and express their anal glands, which reduces unwanted odors and helps to prevent impacted and ruptured glands.

Once bathed, we use hand held warm air dryers to dry your pet from head to toe so there's no chance of your pet catching a chill. We do not use cages or cage dryers, everything is one on one. We always use good judgement to make this as stress free to your pet as possible. If your pet is long-haired, or double/heavy coated, we line brush using a coat rake during drying to remove the dead undercoat. This helps to distribute the natural oils of the skin throughout the coat.

C. Finishing

Depending on your dog's breed, and your preferences, your pet is given a final trim, haircut or de-shedding brush out. If you've selected a nail polish, we apply it at this point. You can select the bows or bandana style you like and we will add them to the finished look!

Finally, your pet gets lots of love, attention and praise for a job well done throughout the process. They learn that grooming can be a wonderful experience and go home happy!

Which breeds should be groomed?

Grooming isn't only for Poodles, all pets benefit from routine grooming. Short coated breeds may not require the trimming that long haired breeds do, but reap the same health benefits. Talk to your groomer about a grooming routine for your dog at the spa and at home to keep your pet in tip-top shape.

How often should my pet be groomed?

This depends on the species, breed, hair type and activity level of your pet. Long haired pets that tend to mat easily should be groomed every 4-12 weeks. Short coated pets can be groomed anywhere from once per month to once per season.

Pets that are active outdoors, and pick up dirt, twigs, pine needles or sap in their coats will need to be groomed more frequently than their mostly indoor counterparts.

What about grooming in the winter?

A common misconception is that pets don't need as much grooming in the winter as the rest of the year. In fact, they should be groomed more frequently. As their hair grows, and especially if a sweater or other outdoor gear is used, matting becomes more and more of a problem. The only solution to matting is to keep their hair short, or grooming their coat frequently.

What can I do to maintain my pet's coat at home?

We recommend using a stainless steel comb, or an undercoat rake - not a bristled slicker brush. Slicker brushes tend to just do the surface coat, and can abrade the skin if not used properly. Pay special attention to those problem areas, such as under/behind the ears and under the legs. Never bathe a matted dog, it just makes mats worse.

What if I only want my dog bathed?

Happy Pet Spa is committed to complete care for the pets that we see. Therefore, the minimum package we have is a Bath & Tidy. This includes all of the essentials needed to care for your pet. We can't send a dog home without them.

What makes Happy Pet Spa different?

We love animals! We are committed to making your pet feel as comfortable as possible at the spa. We take the time to find out what your pet likes/doesn't like and we work on problem areas with a gentle approach. We never use force or punishment in the process. We treat all of our clients with affection and respect, and if they are stressed, we do not rush them through the process.
We also give tons of praise and positive reinforcement for a job well done.

We don't use cages or kennels in the process, dogs that are in between grooming or awaiting pickup get to play and have fun with the other dogs in our care. Cats can await pickup in a seperate room, or their own carrier, as the owners prefer.

We never use shortcuts or compromise on the grooming process. If a pet is stressed, we will send them home and bring them back a different day to finish. Your pet will always receive the very best in quality and care.

We will recommend solutions to address common grooming problems and set up a schedule that works for your desired level of maintenance and budget.

What should I do to book my appointment?

Give us a call at 780-449-4779, or email info@happypetspa.ca for more information. Please keep in mind that your appointment will be a minimum of an hour and could extend 4 hours or longer for more complex cases. We will contact you when your pet is ready for pickup. Please do not arrive at the spa unless we've let you know your pet is done, or a pickup time has been previously arranged. If your pet sees you, it will be difficult for us to get them to focus back on completing the groom.

What should I do before my appointment?

Ensure that your pet has had a chance to visit the bathroom. Water is provided in the spa, and we use treats from time to time with your permission.

What vaccinations should my dog have?

Because your dog will be socializing with other dogs during their visit, ensure that your pet is completely up-to-date on their shots.

Additionally, they should be treated for Bordetella (kennel cough) with an intranasal application; lice, ticks and fleas with a topical application of Advantix or Revolution; and finally with an oral medication to prevent heartworm and mites (like Frontline).

Please note that vaccination for kennel cough is not a 100% guarantee that your pet will not contract the virus (just like human flu, you can be vaccinated but as there are multiple strains out in the environment, you can still catch it).