Pet Grooming Orange County

The Dangers of Free In-Home Grooming Ads

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The Dangers of Free In-Home Grooming Ads

We all enjoy browsing through the classifieds on websites like Craigslist. Even though most of the products and services offered on these websites are legitimate, there are many possible dangers in answering these types of ads.

Recently there has been an increase of people offering in-home pet grooming for a reduced price or for free. Many of these individuals claim that they are professional groomers that are trying to earn money to open a shop or to purchase a mobile pet grooming van. Sometimes they advertise that they are offering services for free or for very little in order to collect before and after pictures for their website. While this might seem like an incredible deal, there are several reasons why you should never allow one of these so-called groomers into your home.

Law enforcement agencies agree that you should never give out your home address when answering classified ads. Once you provide your physical address, you become a potential victim. The individual offering grooming services can use your address to commit crimes against you, or pass your address along to their acquaintances. Remember that scammers on Craigslist are professionals at what they do. Even if they are extremely friendly and professional on the phone or through email, you should never give out your address to strangers. Bogus groomers, once over the doorstep, can become menacing and even violent.

In addition to the dangers of allowing strangers into your home, there are potential dangers for your pets as well. If you don’t take the time to check your pet groomer’s credentials, the consequences could be severe. Inexperienced, unlicensed groomers are more likely to cause serious injuries to your pet including:

  • Cuts
  • Burns
  • Falls
  • Eye Injury
  • Ear Injury
  • Brush Burn

Even though these injuries can happen when you use a licensed groomer, if your groomer is not licensed and is un-insured, then you will be the only one who is responsible for these injuries.

Using a professional, licensed groomer just makes sense. If you are unable to leave your home to bring your pet to the groomer, consider mobile grooming. Never allow strangers into your home, or allow inexperienced groomers to touch your pet.

Claws N Paws Day Spa offers mobile grooming for both dogs and cats in Orange County, California. Our pet grooming salon has been in Fountain Valley, California since 2001. For more information, or to set up your next grooming appointment, please call 714-962-1005 today.

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Brushing Your Cat

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Healthy cats will typically spend several hours each day grooming themselves. Regardless, every now and then they will need your help maintaining their sleek or fluffy appearance. Regular brushing and combing helps remove dirt and prevent tangles from forming. It also helps to spread out your cat’s naturally produced oils, keeping their coat shiny. These important oils also keep your cat’s skin free from irritations.

Cats that have long hair will require more grooming assistance than short-haired cats. Long-haired cats can easily become matted and get things tangled in their fur, especially if they are allowed to go outdoors. Long-haired cats should be brushed and combed every single day. Short-haired cats really only require brushing once a week unless they have a habit of collecting things in their coat.

Brushing is especially important during season changes when your cat tends to shed more fur. While outdoor cats will shed in the spring and autumn, indoor cats tend to shed all year long. This is caused mostly because of the amount of time that your cat spends in direct daylight vs. artificial light, and less because of temperature changes. When a cat is shedding and it grooms itself, it will ingest the hair. This can quickly lead to hairballs. Regular brushing removes the loose fur before your cat has a chance to ingest it.

There are a large number of brushes and combs available for use on cats. For short-haired cats, you can use a short metal comb to remove loose hair or a rubber brush which is perfect for removing loose hair and giving a soft massage at the same time. Fine toothed metal combs can be used to lift any fleas from their coat. When selecting a brush or comb, just make sure that the comb is short and delicate enough so that it does not damage your cat’s skin. Start at the head and slowly work your way to the tail, carefully brushing the legs as well.

For long-haired cats you should use a larger comb and a longer pin brush. When brushing a long-haired cat it is extremely important to remove any tangles, but you should never tug on the tangles too hard. Hard to remove tangles should only be removed by a professional groomer. Brush your cat’s fur all the way through, making sure that you brush the cat’s tummy and legs.

After brushing, it’s a good idea to use a damp cloth or a wet hand to carefully remove any remaining loose hair.

Claws N Paws Day Spa has been taking care of Orange County’s cats since 2001. For information on professional cat grooming or to schedule a grooming appointment, please call us at 714-962-1005.

Receive a free teeth brushing for your pet when you mention our blog!

Why Pet Grooming Costs So Much

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Why Pet Grooming Costs So Much

Today, consumers everywhere are trying to make sure that they are getting the most value for their money. When it comes to pet grooming, it’s difficult to see the value when you only see the end product and your pet can’t exactly tell you about their grooming experience. This leads many pet parents to wonder why pet grooming costs so much.

What most people do not realize is that being a pet groomer is a skilled profession. Professional pet groomers must go through several years of training and experience in order to become a professional in the industry. Charging between $40 and $80 per groom is normal for a professional pet grooming salon. We understand that this is typically higher than what it costs to get your own hair cut. Let’s take a closer look at why:

Time and Endurance

If you’ve ever bathed your pet at home then you probably already know that it’s not an easy task. They don’t sit still, they attempt to jump out of the tub and they scratch and paw the entire time. This process can take up to one hour per pet and might even require the assistance of additional employees because of how physically intensive it can be. From shampoo to towel dry, grooming a pet takes much more time and is far more physically demanding than cutting a human’s hair.

Skill and Technique

A pet groomer must clip and cut your pet’s hair in multiple directions. This is because a pet’s hair does not grow in just one direction or two. It grows in hundreds of different directions and each must be tended to individually during their haircut. One example would be your pet’s armpit fur which grows towards their stomach while their leg hair grows towards their rear. Both of these areas are directly next to each other, creating quite a challenge for your pet’s groomer.

Services Provided

When you bring your pet to the groomer they don’t just bathe your pet and cut their hair, they also provide many other services as well. They trim your pet’s nails, clean their ears, pull out their ear hair, express their anal glands and inspect their skin for irritations and parasites. If you were to add up all of these services for a human it would total much higher than what it costs to groom your pet.

In order to keep your grooming costs as low as possible, you must get your pet groomed regularly and keep their fur properly maintained. If you show up for your grooming appointment with a matted pet, your groomer will have no choice but to charge you for the extra time it takes to insure your pet’s safety and overall quality of their groom.

Claws N Paws Day Spa offers quality professional pet grooming in Orange County, California. To schedule your next grooming appointment, please call 714-962-1005.

Receive a free teeth brushing for your pet when you mention our blog!

 

De-Matting vs. Shaving

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De-Matting vs. ShavingDe-matting vs Shaving

Pet hair can become matted for many different reasons. Allergies, excessive scratching, fleas, lack of regular maintenance and bathing your pet before combing them out can all lead to matted hair. Once your pet’s hair becomes matted you will have to decide whether to de-mat or shave your pet’s coat. The answer will depend on the degree of the matting. If the matting is extensive or very tight, then the most humane thing you can do is shave them off. Matted hair is extremely painful and uncomfortable for pets.

Severe matting can lead to a number of different health conditions including:

  • Hotspots
  • Sores
  • Fungal and bacterial infections
  • Yeast infections
  • Flea infestations
  • Moist eczema
  • Mites and lice
  • Scalding from urine and feces
  • Eye and ear infections
  • Severe itching

De-matting is time-consuming and can be extremely painful for your pet. While there are a large number of sprays, conditioners, shampoos and tools available to assist you with mat removal, there is no grooming shortcut that will simply make the mats fall out. Once your pet’s hair becomes damaged it is impossible to reverse the damage to the hair shaft. The damaged hair must be removed much like split ends on a human’s hair. The end result of de-matting is much less attractive than the end result of shaving. Additionally, because of the time it takes to properly de-mat, de-matting is much more expensive than simply shaving your pet.

De-matting of both younger and older pets can cause severe mental and physical stress, placing their health and well-being in jeopardy. De-matting large areas can easily lead to brush burns, which can be just as serious as a third degree burn on a human. In addition, de-matting younger pets can make them fearful of the grooming process, leading to biting and other difficulties.

Shaving the matted hair is the most humane thing to do. How short it must be shaved depends on how tight the mats are and what must be done in order to make your pet look good. Sometimes only certain areas must be shaved, such as the ears or the belly.

Frequently, mats will be so tight that they actually pull up the skin. This makes it easy to nick or seriously injure your pet if you aren’t careful. Shaving matted pets is best left to a professional groomer. A professional groomer understands exactly how to remove the mats and make your pet look their best.

Once the pet’s matted coat is removed, the skin underneath is typically red and irritated from lack of air circulation. Occasionally a severely matted pet will have sores and/or infections underneath that require veterinary treatment. This is caused by the matting and is NOT a result of shaving.

Regardless of whether you choose to de-mat or shave your pet, professional grooming for matted pets is more expensive. The very best way to prevent matting in the first place is to brush and comb your pet daily between regularly scheduled professional grooming appointments. If this is not an option, then it is recommended that you book weekly maintenance grooming appointments so that a professional groomer can brush and comb your pet’s hair for you.

Claws N Paws Day Spa practices Humane Grooming. We will NEVER attempt to de-mat a pet if we feel that it will cause them harm.

Claws N Paws Day Spa has been taking care of Orange County’s pets since 2001. For more information please contact us today!

Receive a free teeth brushing for your pet when you mention our blog!