Maternity Leave

For those of you who don't know I will be taking about a month to 6 weeks off for maternity leave. My last working day will be next week the 12th of June. I hope to come back 15th of July but only 2 days a week and some mid mornings if pre organized. Obviously things happen and I may end up getting a C-Section so if that is the case I will start up again 7 weeks post partum. I will keep you all informed on my facebook page. My due date is 30th June, but I am currently 37 weeks so in theory labour could happen any time! My son came on his due date, but I have been having a few problems with this pregnancy and my doctor doubts I will last the full 40 weeks! I am so eager to get this baby out of me! 

If anyone requires any grooming whilst I am away I can recommend a few groomers.

PAWKIDS in Rockhamptom (quote 'The Pink Pooch' whilst making a booking and they will groom your dog for the same price that I do) 

Pristine Paws by Kaylah in Parkhurst

Aleisha's Pet Wash located in Stanwell but is mobile and services gracemere, rocky and surrounds

Liv's Hydrobath located in Gracemere ONLY DOES DOG WASHES. 

I will see everyone when I come back off leave! 

Thank you

Leanne and Ben

The Pink Pooch Dog Grooming

The Best Food For a Your Dog/Cat

I have had huge problems with finding a good quality and cost effective dog and cat food suitable for my Westhighland terrier with horrible, itchy skin and also a food suitable for my poodles sensitive stomach. I used to work in a pet store where I got premium pet food at a highly discounted price so it was easy for me to feed my dogs a god quality food and not cost me an arm and a leg. I used to use royal Canin for both the dogs and the cats and although this is a great food your looking at nearly $30 for 1.5kg. 

Since leaving the pet shop I have had to resort to supermarket bough pet food and it has played havoc on both my cats and dogs. One of the cats developed urine crystals from the high sodium content in whiskas and friskies cat biscuits and more poor terrier had scratched and chewed his skin raw. 

It has now been discovered that my terrier has quite an extreme wheat allergy as do a lot of dogs. It was recommended that we try him on a "grain free and raw diet" but having 3 dogs, 5 cats and a 1 year old I just could not afford to put the pets on premium pet food again. I then discovered that woolworths stock a brand called "V.I.P Natures Goodness" that promotes grain free in their dog biscuits. You can get a 3kg bag for about $20 and sometimes it's on special aswell. The only downside is that you can't get any bigger sized bags so naturally 3kg does not last my 3 dogs that long. I also buy pet mince from my local butcher that is chicken mince, organ meats and chunks of bone all mixed together, my dogs go crazy over it! And it's so cheap, I get 2kg for $4-5 and that will last about a week. My westies skin is looking so much better, it's not perfect, but it's a huge improvement to what it used to be. 

This is the dry dog food. 

This is the pet mince. (It looks and smells disgusting)

Most commercial pet food is full of preservatives, artificial colors and flavours. My Dog, chum and pedigree are some of the worst pet foods you could possibly feed your dog. Always look on the label of any pet food that you buy and if one of the first 3 ingredients is some form of grain like corn meal, oatmeal etc stay clear. Meat should be one of the first ingredients (meat by products do not count!) the grains are just a cheap filler and your feeding your dog on something that is as nutritional as a piece of cardboard. Tinned food is horrible, it's full of preservatives and is just blank calories. 

I'm still having a bit of trouble finding a decent cat food, my cats were fed on friskies or whiskas cat biscuits but since one of my cats has been getting urine crystals because of the high amount of sodium (salt) I need to swap to something else. V.I.P currently don't make the natures goodness for cats but do make another grain free food called fussy cat, but again it only comes in small bags. 

If your dog is struggling with skin and stomach problems, consider changing their diet before resorting to expensive vet medications. A good quality diet and regular grooming go hand in hand. Beef and any other red meat tends to flare up bad skin so stick to white meats like chicken and fish. Kangaroo is a big no no as it contains a high volume of worms as do a lot of other game meats (boar, rabbit etc)

If you would like more information then feel free to ask me and I can send you lots of recipes for your pooch/es :)

The best breed of animal is a RESCUE!

THere at The Pink Pooch I am a huge advocate for adopting rescued pets. These pets come already microchipped, vaccinated, council registered, vet checked and most importantly desexed. There are a huge amount of animals that are stuck in the pound that ultimately get put down because of lack of homes. It breaks my heart when I see so many people asking for sale or give away cats and dogs- puppies and kittens on many of the local buy and sell pages, the sad fact is that most of these pets end up in the pound for various reasons. I always try to encourage people to not shop, but adopt. 

The most common dog that you see in pounds are staffies. People do not realise that these are 'high maintenance' dogs and require a lot of mental and physical stimulation. If they do no get these needs met they become destructive, aggressive and just a general nuisance by barking constantly, escaping their yard etc. This leads to their owners giving them up because either neighbours are complaining, or they can't deal with the destructive behaviour. This goes for every dog, big or small- they all need exercise and stimulation, don't keep your dog locked up in it's back yard and complain when it misbehaves. Take your dog for a dam walk! I cannot stress this enough! Your dog will appreciate you for it! 

If you think that any type of "Bull Breed" is the right choice for you then please save a life and adopt. Don't bring more of these animals into the world! 

A huge issue for me is the sale of puppies and kittens in pet shops. These puppies are almost always purchased from puppy factory farms where the dogs are often mistreated, denied vet care and grooming and spend their lives locked in a cage and continuously bred. Once the dogs are not "viable" anymore (too sick to breed, too old etc) they are then killed by either gas or head trauma. This is something that people turn a blind eye to, it happens everywhere and people often don't think about where their cute, little fluffy puppy came from. Don't promote this sick and cruel trade and buy puppies from pet stores. Pet stores such as pet barn, best friends sell only rescued puppies and kittens, these are the pet shops we need to support! 

This is a good guide to understanding how to buy a puppy safely. 

If you need help to figure out which dog is the right one for you then don't hesitate to ask, I am not only your dog groomer but I am your friend, your dogs friend, your educator and your assistant. I am always available for help and can help you find the perfect dog for your family. 

Remember: DONT SHOP, ADOPT! 

Happy Easter my Pink Pooches :) 

SALON HYGENE

At The Pink Pooch I try to keep a sanitary and clean salon. The bath gets cleaned, table tops disinfected, floors swept and clipper blades cleaned after every day. All towels are cleaned after every day and only one towel is used per dog! I try to do a big clean at the end of the week (usually a Saturday) but recently I have only had time to bleach the floors. Today I took advantage of a day off and spent over 2 hours cleaning the salon and it is now spotless! The booster bath got a well deserved deep clean and disinfect, the floors and walls were vacuumed and all shelving and tables were moved out the way so I could get right up into the corners and under everything with the vacuume. The floors were then hosed down with a high pressure hose attachment and then mopped with bleach and disinfectant, all tables and shelving units where wiped down, walls were scrubbed with sugar soap, I sorted through all my broken/unwanted/old grooming equipment and threw a lot of it out and generally got rid of a lot of stuff I had started to hoard like empty shampoo bottles and stuff! 

The salon looks so nice and smells even better and I promise I will try to keep it that way!!! 

Now I just need to find time to bath my own dogs! 

EYE BOOGERS

A lot of dogs recently have been coming in with quite nasty and sore "eye boogers" or "tear stains"

(This picture is not mine)

It is important that if your dog suffers from this problem (most commonly shih-tzu's and shih-tzu x's) that you clean the eye area regularly to prevent the build up. In severe cases like the fellow above vet attention will be needed as it has become infected and painful. When the build up becomes too much it is quite painful and sensitive to remove and needs to be soaked in the bath and then gently shaved away with the clippers, that is why you get the red, open sores like the picture above also. 

There are a few products on the market that help minimise tear stains. I have had success with a product called "Angels Eyes" on my cavoodle. It is a powdered supplement that is added to your dogs food that neutralises the tear stains. You can read more about it and purchase it here;

http://www.angelseyesaustralia.com

They tell you to allow 6-8 weeks for it to be noticeable, but after just 1 week you can see the difference in Lulu.

There are also an assortment of whipes, sprays, creams etc that may help, but it's might be worthwhile to shop around with what works for you.

The cause of tear staining is so varied, it could be a breeding problem causing a deformity in the tear ducts, allergies or diet. Most commonly the problem is usually associated with bad diet. Most supermarket foods contain artificial colors, preservatives etc, which end up coming out through the dogs skin, saliva etc. Have you ever wondered why your pretty white dog ends up with red/pink patches, usually on their feet and base of tail? That's the same enzymes as the tear staining. 

At the end of the day if you just keep that area clean you should have minimal problems. 

The Salon and Fleas

I just want to make some stuff clear to customers in the nicest way possible. 

I operate a dog grooming salon from my home, I have 3 dogs and 5 cats of my own so I try my hardest to keep fleas at bay for my protection and yours. I have between 2 and 6 dogs come in 7 days a week to be groomed and about 60% of them will have bad flea infestations. All my pet bedding and towels are washed every day, no dogs interact with each other who are from different families, and salon dogs are kept completely separate from my house, backyard etc and I set off a flea bomb once a week. Even after all this fleas are resilient and are still around. It is the owners responsibility to make sure flea treatments are up to date. If I notice fleas even just one or two on a dog they are always given a flea bath just as precaution. I like to have a high standard and value to my work and believe me, sending a dog home with fleas is both demeaning and embarrassing on my behalf and not something that I like to do, but unfortunately, the unexpected happens, even to the most experienced groomers in big fancy shops. 

If you notice fleas on your dog within 2 days of being groomed then please notify me. I will try to rectify and offer a free flea bath. But please make sure your dog didn't catch them from somewhere else and is up to date with flea treatments, even if you are a day past your dogs treatment day you are classed as "out of date" and you will get fleas so I will not be held responsible in this case or if it has been more then 2 days since your grooming appointment. 

A big apology to those dogs who may have gone home with fleas, it is honestly something I try my hardest to avoid and I really don't want to lose customers over something as simple as a flea!! 

Difficult dogs and how to groom them

As a groomer you are always going to come across difficult dogs to groom, these dogs may not be groomed regularly enough so they get used to it, they may have had a bad experience at a groomers before, they may be in pain/ sick or quite simply they just don't like being groomed. 

These types of dogs require a lot of patience and time to groom them in the safest way possible both for the dog and the groomer. 

A dog that is difficult to groom requires a lot more visits to a groomer then a easy dog to groom. A majority of the time the difficult to groom dogs are the dogs that see a groomer 3-4 times a year and are always a matted mess. Removal of matts hurts, there is always a risk of the dog being accidentally cut as well. Of course your dog is not going to enjoy getting groomed if every time it has been to a groomer he has had to have half a years worth of matted fur removed from him. I try to take my time and be careful but when your trying to wrestle with a dog that just doesn't want to be groomed and your using sharp objects you would expect an accident to happen. I always request that these type of dogs come in as often as weekly or fortnightly for a bath and brush just to get them used to being groomed again, so they associate the grooming experience with pampering and care and not just pain! 

Some dogs may of had a bad experience at a groomer and certain breeds (like terriers!) never forget! It could be something as simple as cutting a nail too short and in turn, the dog will freak out at the sight of nail clippers! This takes a lot of time and practice to get that dog out of that mind frame and is usually a 2 person job. 

If the dog is not matted and its previously been a good dog to be groomed, your dog might just be having a bad day. No one wants to go out and do stuff when they are feeling sick or in pain and dogs are much the same. Always keep an eye on your dog on the days leading up to your grooming appointment. If your dog looks as though it's not feeling well or is in pain then best to reschedule for another day so you don't put your dog through the stress.

Finally; you do get dogs that no matter what you do they just hate being groomed. These dogs are the worst and in most cases they will need sedating. I always like to give the benefit of the doubt and prefer to try grooming un sedated and most of the time I have succeeded where other groomers have failed, but I will not put myself or the dog in harms way. A bite even from a little dog is enough to damage a nerve and tendon- if I can't use my hands, then I can't work. A $45 groom is not worth it! 

Thank fully since being in Gracemere a majority of the dogs have been very nice and in good condition. I do have a couple of temperamental dogs, but if I go slow I can usually work with them and get a nice groom done.