style – Karma the Pom

Did you include your dogs, cats, and other animals in your 2018 New Year’s resolutions? They could use a happier and healthier year too! There’s a more significant list of ways you can commit them to staying strong and well besides adding better treats and belly rubs.

Vet Checkup. It is crucial for your dog to get a checkup yearly. It can give our vet a chance to detect any conditions early and prevent any others from developing. Most importantly we go so that we can stay healthy.
Grooming. Our hair and fur can get real knotted, smelly, uncomfortable, and long. It’s essential for you to take your animals to get groomed every so often.
Teeth Cleaning. It’s important for our teeth to be brushed and kept clean. It not only helps our stinky breath to stay fresh, but it also helps with how our teeth age as we become seniors.
Therapy Dog. Is your dog a good candidate to become a therapy dog? They could help humans cope with illness, stress, and recovery.
New Friends. Is your dog social? Go to local dog parks and dog events. You never know, you might end up making life-long friends as well!
Plan a Pawty! If you and your dog have a social circle, what’s better than a celebration?
Daily Exercise. You don’t have to increase Fido’s regular exercise, but do not hold back on it or forget about it either. Maybe a trip to the park or a more extended walk every so often would be nice. If the weather is bad, try some indoor activities like a light game of fetch.
Go On An Adventure. Take Fido on a trip. Most of us love trips, and we love to be with our humans. Try it out and see if a new activity would excite us.
Dog Friendly Places. Take some time to find local dog friendly places. A day out together is the best time ever.
Unconditional Love. Don’t take your pup for granted. We just want a little bit of our human’s time and their unconditional love.

Try to stay as committed to your resolutions as possible. Your dog will love and appreciate you more than could ever be imagined!

Happy New Year!
-Karma the Pom

If your human is overprotective or if you just like a nice spa day every once in awhile then this article is for you. It’s important for our pawrents to find the perfect groomer for us like they find the perfect hair stylists for themselves. Changes through our skin and nails can happen among other things and a great groomer will not only notice, but also notify our humans in our best interest. An average groomer will give us a mediocre bath then a cut and send us home. An exceptional groomer will provide excellent services by giving baths and furcuts using the best quality products. It has taken some time, but my human finally found the groomer that meets all of my and my siblings’ needs.

It’s important for your human to ask your groomer, or future groomer, some questions before you start with them to make sure they are the perfect fit for you. My human asked Tess at Best in Show Grooming 21 questions before she left us with her for our spa day and she answered with confidence, with passion, and with expertise. After that interview going above and beyond giving 42 answers, we could have basically slept at Tess’ house and it would have been fine! Kidding, but she was so terrific.

Did you know there’s no regulation in the grooming industry as far as licensing? Neither did we. It’s so important you find a reputable groomer that stays on top of the latest health and style trends, and of course has good Yelp reviews, or you could be looking at some real troubles down the road!

Here’s a list of questions that are so important for your human to ask the groomer you are using or are going to use: (Thanks to the help of Tess at Best in Show Grooming)

Are you insured?
Is your business licensed?
Are you a mobile groomer?
1. Maybe mobile is the best fit for your schedule.
Are you a member of any grooming organizations?
1. Example: National Dog Groomers Association of America
  1. Since no licensing is required for dog groomers, this means that there are no requirements for any formal courses or certifications
2. Have you attended/joined any other organizations?
  1. Example: certifications processes and extensive education
  2. Example: attending seminars, competitions, conventions, expos, and maybe even dog shows
3. Is the equipment being used during grooming professional grade?
4. What vaccinations do you require your clients to have?
5. Do you specialize in anything?
  1. Example: seniors, difficult dogs, specific breeds
6. Where will my dog be during grooming?
  1. Even if humans aren’t insured in the grooming area, they should still be able to get a sneak peak of where their pet will be
    1. Is it clean?
    2. Are the kennels/crates cleaned between each dog?
7. How many dogs can be worked on at a time?
  1. Example: high volume rotation vs. one on one private care
8. What is included during my dogs grooming?
  1. What are your costs?
9. Are the products that are being used high quality?
  1. What are the products?
10. Will you notify me on how my dog did at their spa day?
  1. Good communication and honesty is so important
    1. Example: changes in skin, rash, anything new
    2. Example: was my dog well behaved?
11. After all of that, do you feel as if this person could build a worthy relationship with you and your pet?
  1. You have to feel as if your doggo will feel comfortable and trusting around this person
  2. You especially have to trust them – that overprotective human

When you’re choosing a groomer for us, it’s not just about maintaining our beauty, but it’s maintaining our physical health as well. Although you can groom us at home with brushing our fur and teeth, it’s also a good choice to bring us to a professional. They’re not afraid to get into our ears and places you humans are too lazy to get to. If the profession is as exceptional as they claim to be, they’ll be able to spot any abnormalities in our skin that our humans might miss at home, they will have passion for their work, they will extremely educated in the field, and they will be worthy enough for your family. Don’t wait, make sure doggo’s groomer has the best credentials!

And if you’re in the Miami area click here to get to Tess’ website.

& Check out my previous blog about my Movember fundraiser – reason for my mohawk!

-Karma the Pom