Holly, our dog groomer and owner of Sunny Dawn House Call Pet Grooming owns an Old English Sheepdog and a Maltese Poodle Mix.  Both of these kiddos are prone to tangling and matting, and sometimes when she is working hard making our client's dogs look pretty, her own dogs get tangled.  She understands the "I'll brush you tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, oops time to go short or time for a brushing marathon."

While we have solutions to the tangled / matted pet, please keep in mind that it always takes longer to groom a tangled pet than it does to groom a regularly brushed pet.  If your pet needs some special attention in order to look and feel their best, please allow additional time for their cut and style.

Many people believe that when a pet is matted or heavily tangled the only solution is to shave them naked and start over.  While sometimes  this is the case, we like to try a couple of other things first.

Sunny Dawn House Call Pet Grooming offers several options for helping your tangled or matted pet feel and look better.  

The first step to helping your pet look and feel good is bathing them using our recirculating bather.  A recirculating bather is essentially a water pump that allows us to bathe your pet with a shower attachment using shampoo and water already mixed together.  The  shower attachment allows us to apply the shampoo through the tangles or mats to the skin without causing any discomfort.  The benefit of thoroughly washing the tangles is that by removing the dirt from the tangles, it causes the tangles to loosen.

Next we rinse your pet thoroughly with fresh water, removing all the shampoo and dirt from your pets coat.

After rinsing your pet we use the recirculating bather to apply a leave in conditioner.  Using the bather we are able to condition your pets coat through the tangles or mats all the way to the skin.  This final conditioning rinse further loosens the tangles on your pets coat.

De Tangling / De Matting

After bathing your pet, we are then able to tell if detangling is an option.  Most of the time detangling  a pets coat is not viable because the process can cause discomfort to the pet or can take longer than a pet would comfortably tolerate .

 Occasionally, the bath and conditioner will loosen the coat enough that it can be easily brushed out using  a detangling slicker brush and a high velocity dryer (a no heat dryer that dries your pet using fast moving air - very much like a reverse vacuum cleaner).

Trimming to a Fluffy Pet Coat

If your pet is only moderately tangled, we can usually loosen the tangles further with the high velocity dryer, which when used appropriately can literally blow the conditioned tangles far enough away from your pets skin that we can leave a traditional fluffy pet length of over 1/2 inch to 1 inch all over. The fluffy pet length is achieved by using guard combs and scissoring.  Because guard combs do not get hot, we do not have to worry about clipper burn

Wet Shaving

Sometimes even though tangles are loosened by the bathing process, they are still too close to the body to be able to achieve a Fluffy Pet Trim without causing undue discomfort to your pet. Don't worry, we can usually save some length. 

By shaving your pet while wet we can often use a longer blade length and many times can leave up to 1/2 inch of hair. 

The benefits of wet shaving are two-fold.  The first benefit is when we trim the hair while it is wet we are able to leave it longer than if we were to dry the hair first. 

The most important benefit of wet shaving is the water in your pets coat keeps the clipper blades from becoming hot.  Making this a safer solution than shaving your pet before the bath.

Attractive  and safer?  What could be better?

(Besides brushing today instead of tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow....oops)

For more information about the benefits of House Call Pet Grooming in the Sarasota County or Manatee County please call Sunny Dawn House Call Pet Grooming 941-301-8543.

One of the really nice things about house call grooming is the flexibility it offers.  

I bring all the equipment I need with me, set up, style your pets to your specifications, clean up after myself, and take  all evidence that I was there with me. The only difference being that there are some lovely looking sweeties to remind you of my visit.

For bathing, I only need a sink, utility sink, bath tub, or even just a secure outdoor area and access to 5 - 10 gallons of water.  Whatever is most convenient for you. I use a recirculating bathing system which allows me to be able to bathe just about any pet just about anywhere there is a drain or outdoors.

Styling can be done in any secure area of your home, yard, or garage.  I only need roughly a 5 x 5 area within 15 feet of one electrical outlet.  I use a clipper vacuum system which eliminates a good deal of the mess associated with grooming and makes it easy to clean up any remaining hairs.

 Sunny Dawn House Call Grooming clients find in home grooming to be convenient and easy for them and their pets.  Many clients use the word fun to describe the service as well.

For more information about the benefits of House Call Pet Grooming in the Sarasota County or Manatee County please call Sunny Dawn House Call Pet Grooming 941-301-8543.

Hi,

I saw your ad on craigslist and thought I could help,

 Petco at University Parkway sells the #10 clipper blade. I think most PetSupermarkets carry them as well. At both stores they carry the Andis blade, which is also used by professionals and is a good quality clipper blade.

 From the look of your picture you have the A-5 blade size clipper.  

The same length 1/16th of an inch is also available at Sally's Beauty Supply.  Human hair blades cutting lengths are numbered differently at Sally's you would want a #0 blade.

Make sure you take your clippers with you, so you can ensure you are purchasing the correct size.  The Sally's girls are not well versed on grooming equipment vs. beauty equipment. Just get them to let you see if it fits before you buy and keep in mind if you go to Sally's you want the #0.

You can get your existing blade re-sharpened. Call any grooming shop, ask who they use for sharpening and get the sharpeners phone number.

I am a groomer and ship my blades out to Jeff at Northern Tails Grooming for sharpening.  He also has a great website with information on clippers, clipper blades, and maintenance of both.  As a home groomer you will probably find this information very  helpful. http://www.northerntails.com/bladeclipperarticles.html

One last option is you can always order you new blade online.  I like Groomers Choice for two reasons.  The first is their staff is very knowledgeable and helpful especially for folks that need assistance with purchasing decisions  The second is that they have a warehouse in Tampa, so if you like to do business in person (I do) it makes it easy and personal. Their website address is; http://www.groomerschoice.com/  and their phone number is 1-888-364-6242.

Before I started grooming professionally, I was in the same situation as yourself.  I had a dull 10 blade that wouldn't cut and had no idea how or where to get another one or how or where to get the one I had sharpened.  I hope this helps.

If you need any advice or suggestions, please feel free to give me a call.  My phone number is 941-301-8543 and my name is Holly.  Wishing you the best of luck.

Sincerely,

Holly
Owner/Groomer
Sunny Dawn House Call Pet Grooming
941-301-8543
www.sunnydawnpetgrooming.com

If you were to ask me why I groom my pets, I would tell you so they look good and smell good.  I would also tell you that I don't want to sleep with dirty dogs.

As a groomer, I notice quickly when one of my guys starts to look a bit raggedy.  Sometimes, though, just like the cobblers kids needing new shoes, I've let them slide a bit.

For many owners the reasons are the same as mine or they could be for the health and hygiene of our beloved pets.  

Wikipedia has a concise and I think thorough list of reasons for grooming your pet:

Reasons for grooming

Grooming is an important part of dog care. Depending on the breed, age, and health of the dog, grooming may be a daily activity. Many breeds require significantly less grooming than this, but regular grooming helps to ensure the dog is healthy and comfortable. It is important to note that while many dogs shed, others (such as thePoodle), do not shed (see Moult) as profusely, and require grooming by a professional every 6–8 weeks maximum.

The main reasons for daily grooming include:

• decreased chance of various health problems, such as thrush, scratches, and other skin problems
• general cleanliness of the dog
• monitoring of the dog's health by checking for cuts, heat, swelling, lameness, or changes in temperament, all of which could be indicative of illness
• forging of a closer bond between dog and owner
• reducing infestation load of external parasites on skin

For more information about the benefits of House Call Pet Grooming in the Sarasota County or Manatee County please call Sunny Dawn House Call Pet Grooming 941-301-8543.