Knowledge
A bit like dog walking, the industry of professional dog groomers can be hard to navigate. Anyone can grab some scissors and a set of clippers and announce themselves as a ‘professional dog groomer’. It’s easy, right? But what you think you want for your pet may not be what is best for him and a bad groomer could potentially damage his coat or permanently injure him psychologically. So what knowledge should you expect? A good reputable qualification goes far. You can find out more here. Remember not all good groomers need the top level in training, after all they are grooming pet dogs more often than show dogs (whose standards are required to be a lot higher). But they do still need to know certain basic points, for example: Did you know you should never shave a double coated breed.
Skill
Natural skill, you either got it or you ain’t. That might sound a little black and white but dogs need to trust their handler and if they don’t all kinds of things could go wrong. Not every groomer is confident will all breeds or all cut standards and that’s ok to but you might want to research your chosen groomer before letting them loose on your dog if they are used to rotties and you own a standard poodle!
Repeat customers
Repeat customers says a lot about a service. Check out their social media, ask your local vets, ask around for recommendations. Good service providers often have a waiting list, policies and a structure. Don’t fight them, ask for an explanation and then decide what is best for your pet and your circumstances. Your dog walker, vet or dog groomer should be chosen on how the relationship makes you feel as well as their skill. What works for one owner may not work for another.
So let’s get down to local recommendations
Please note our dog walking is based in the Barming area of Maidstone.
When asked who we suggest for a friendly homely environment which suits nervous dogs especially we send referals to Victoria Paws in Barming. A friendly lady who although trained is still improving her skills with continued learning (always good) who has become a friend since she agreed to groom our name sake who despite being knee high to a cricket and with very few teeth was turned away by too groomers who didn’t even bother to meet her just because she was blind.
A shop setting suits some but not others. The only grooming shop we know of is Hair of the dog we cannot personally recommend them as we haven’t used them but if a shop setting suits you why not give them a call.
