If you ever wondered what your dog goes through when visiting a professional groomer, you may be surprised at all that is involved.  In this gallery, you can come on a photo tour of the Country Canine experience. 

In the beginning

Most dogs arriving at Country Canine are not looking their best.  Some are worse than others, but each dog is an individual and we treat them as such.  If it is your dog's first time visiting, we will have you fill out a new customer card so we have information about you and your pet.  While you are filling out the necessary information, we will spend time getting to know your dog and letting them feel comfortable with us.  Next, we will discuss what you are looking for in a grooming.  We will give advice on a good style to fit your lifestyle and maintenance requirements.  After the formalities are out of the way, we will place your pet in one of our secure kennels while we prepare the table and tub.  Each kennel is disinfected between dogs and your pet will be given a clean towel for comfort. 

The prep work

The next step is to prep your pet for their bath.  Nails will be clipped or filed with a grinder (upon request).  If your dog is a breed that requires their ears to have the excess hair removed, this will be done during the prep work.  We will do this by using a special ear powder that is sprinkled in the ear to give both grip and help reduce ear odors.  Next, the ears are cleaned with a gentle non-toxic ear cleaner.   You can see in the picture that we also shaved this dog's face and feet during the prep work.  Depending on your dog and the style we want to acheive, this may or may not be done before the bath.

Squeaky Clean

After the prep work is complete, it's off to the tub.  Your dog is given the royal treatment at Country Canine.  No old fashioned hand bathing here!  We use a hydrosurge bathing system to get your dog cleaner than they've ever been before.  We start by only using top of the line professional grade shampoos that are formulated for your dog's skin and coat.  Whether your dog has a dry or an oily coat, itchy, flaky, irritated skin or no problems at all, we have a shampoo that can help.  We spare no expense on the products we use because we know it will pay off when you see the difference.  Our bathing system will massage the shampoo all the way down to your pet's skin instead of just getting the surface clean.  After their body has been thoroughly cleaned, your dog will get a tearless facial scrub to clean any food, saliva or eye crusts.  At this time we will check your dog's anal sacs.  If necessary, we will empty the sacs at the end off the bath. 

Some dogs will require a conditioning rinse at this time.  Typically, if your dog is matted or full of thick undercoat, we will need to administer a conditioning rinse to acheive the best end results.

Good & Dry

Once the bath has been completed, we use a high velocity dryer to get the bulk of the water off of your pet.  After this initial drying, we may use a leave in conditioning spray to help with shedding and/or dematting.  Depending on your dog, their coat, and the style we are looking to achieve, your dog will either be cage dried or hand dried.  If your dog is cage dried, they will be placed in a secure kennel with a clean towel.  The cage dryer is what is referred to as a natural air-volume dryer.  It does not have a heating element, so there is no concern that your dog will over heat in the kennel.  The air-volume dryer uses large volumes of room temperature air to dry your pet's coat.  If your dog will be hand dried, they will be placed on the grooming table and we will use another high velocity dryer like the one used in the tub.  This dryer has a rheostat to reduce the air flow so as to not harm your pet when drying around their head, ears or genitals.

The final results

After being dried, it's time to finish what we started.  The beginning of the end is to get all of the tangles out.  We use only the best brushes and combs available to professional groomers.  This, along with our experience, ensures that your dog will be protected from harsh treatment that may damage their coat and skin.  Next we will give your dog a style that will fit into your lifestyle and maintenance program.  We accomplish this with the help of our clipper vacuum system.  This system vacuums while we clip your dog and keeps the hair and dander contained rather than being in my and your dog's lungs and eyes.  After clipping, we will scissor up any stray hairs, trim ears and tails and topknots and finish the look with bows or a bandana.  Because some clients suffer from allergies and/or chemical sensitivities, we do not usually use any colognes.  If we ever do, it is a light scent free from harsh chemicals. 

There you have it... a beautiful, clean dog that will enjoy the lasting health benefits of regular grooming services.