Tail Talk Grooming Chronicles with Hound Therapy

Cone of Shame, Meet Clipper of Fame: Navigating Special Needs Pet Grooming

• Shannon & Tanya • Episode 5

Share episode

What Is Special Needs Dog Care?

When it comes to grooming special needs dogs, the focus shifts dramatically from aesthetics to comfort and care. Shannon and Tanya, professional groomers at Hound Therapy, dive deep into the specialized approaches required for our most vulnerable four-legged companions.

For senior dogs, those with sensory impairments, or pets recovering from medical procedures, regular grooming becomes even more essential than for their younger counterparts. As Shannon poignantly observes, "It's not about how they look, it's about how they feel." This philosophy guides their approach to every special needs pet that enters their salon. The episode covers critical adaptations for dogs with hearing impairments (more tactile communication, no surprising touches), vision problems (slower movements, verbal warnings), and mobility issues (gentle handling, awareness of potential pain points).

Particularly valuable is their advice on pre-surgical grooming. For dogs scheduled for spaying or neutering, a preventative grooming session with a slightly shorter cut can make recovery significantly easier. The unavoidable cone collar and reduced activity during healing often lead to matting—preparing ahead minimizes discomfort during an already challenging time. The groomers share practical insights about "happy tail syndrome" (yes, dogs can actually sprain their tails from excessive wagging!) and why sanitary cuts prioritize hygiene over appearance for special needs pets.

To learn more about Hound Therapy visit:
https://www.HoundTherapy.com
Hound Therapy
3509 E Park Blvd.
Plano, TX
469-367-0009

Speaker 1:

Welcome to Tail Talk Grooming Chronicles with Hound Therapy, the podcast where we talk all things pet grooming, daycare academy and more. Hosted by Shannon and Tanya of Hound Therapy serving pet owners across North Texas, we're here to share expert tips, hilarious pet stories and the inside scoop on keeping your furry friends happy and healthy. Our motto humanity over vanity. And don't worry, we don't bite. Let's get started. Who let the dogs out? Who let the dogs out?

Speaker 2:

Special needs dogs require extra love and care during grooming, whether it's a senior dog with arthritis or a rescue dog with past trauma. Understanding their needs can make all the difference in their well-being. Welcome back everyone. I'm Sophia Yvette, co-host slash producer, back in the studio with Shannon and Tanya, professional groomers with Hound Therapy. Shannon and Tanya, how's it going today? It's fantastic.

Speaker 3:

Sophia, Some storms here but good otherwise.

Speaker 2:

Well, that's great to hear that you're doing well. We're excited to have you back in the studio. Your listeners would love to know about special needs dogs care. Let's get into it a bit. What attention needs to be paid to senior dogs, cataracts dogs, dogs that are just bin, spayed, shelter dogs and overly matted dogs?

Speaker 3:

All right. I would say it's more important for any dog with a special need to get groomed regularly than it is for a younger dog. It's important as regular exercise and nutrition for them it's more about the hygiene than the actual appearance of the dog. As animals get older, they're less likely to care for themselves. They move around less. We have hearing impaired, vision impaired and motion impaired. I know you mentioned spayed and neutered. We'll talk about that at the end of this.

Speaker 3:

If you have a dog that's hearing impaired, they can't hear, so it doesn't matter how loud it is, it doesn't really matter what's going on. They've got to go by emotions. They tend to be a little more anxious because they don't know what's going around them. So you've got to be a little bit more hands-on with those dogs. In their face, hello, touch their back end, no sudden movements. I don't know if anybody's here had a massage, but you know when they stop and then they leave and they come back. You're like Ooh. So we don't want to do that with a dog that can't hear.

Speaker 3:

We have a lot of dogs that are elderly that end up with cataracts. You can tell if they've got cataracts. Usually your vet will tell you. If you're not certain. If your dog's eye catches light and it looks like a milky gray at any sort half moon or all the eye, that's usually a sure sign that your dog is getting cataracts. Another sign of that is if you go to reach in front of them where they wouldn't normally bite A dog. That's just really good. It's never bitten for anything. And then you go to touch it or you reach in front of it. It just snaps out of nowhere. It's usually because it's frightened. It's like like, oh my god, you've startled it because he didn't see you coming, quite literally. So we need to be a little bit more careful about that.

Speaker 3:

Motion impaired, those are those dogs that hip dysplasia, back injuries, a lot of tail wiggle, that's a real thing we have. I have a dog in here today. Knee injuries are big too, but we have the. The tail is all of those little vertebraes are connected down to the spine, kind of like you you would have a sciatica or you know your spine's connected all the way down to your legs. So if you have a broken spine or a spine that that it's injured, you know it hurts. So those tails, those dogs that don't have a tail or they have those long whippy tails and they just move their butts back and forth as fast as they can Happy tail syndrome.

Speaker 3:

And it's a real world thing. They can actually sprain. So those are all things to be cautious of for us. We can see those and we try to give them a calm environment. We move a little slower with dogs that have cataracts. We obviously don't want to sneak up with them. So we try to explain to people that are there and I can't express enough that the grooms that we do for them it's not to be pretty, these are not good looking grooms, these are sanitary grooms. These are grooms that we're going to do for comfort If they're urinating on themselves, if they can't make it out, if they've got pee pads or having to wear a diaper because they've got a loose bladder. What we're gonna do is make this dog as comfortable as possible in the least amount of time so that when you go home, your dog, if it has an accident, if you can't walk, if it's raining outside Cleanable yeah, take a chamois or a wipe and clean up your dog pretty quickly, the quickest and easiest as possible. They're getting food in their mouth. They're missing teeth. It's not about how they look, it's about how they feel.

Speaker 3:

And I don't know about you. I'm definitely older than Tanya here, but I'm much older than you as well, sophia. So the older we get, and for anybody else that's listening, we know, right, I mean I loved high heels and dressing up and being pretty and doing my hair. And you know, the other day my husband called and said you know, surprise, we're going out. I'm like no, we're not, by the time I go home, wash your shower, do my hair and I don't even fit into shoes. So we went fishing. That's what your dogs want to do. Your dogs want to. Just, you know they want to go home and they want to chill and that's what we're setting them up for. This is not glam time. They're not going to a prom.

Speaker 3:

As far as the spay and neuter goes, I miss almost all of my dogs that are getting done right before they get neutered or spayed. The neuter isn't as important as the spay. A neuter is a very quick, easy in and out kind of procedure. Always are easy. The spay is much more difficult. They've got to be calm, they've got to be quiet, they cannot be here for a long period of time and they usually cannot get groomed for at least 14 days after. So if you have a long hair dog, a doodle per se, they're going to shave right around your areas where the IVs are going to go, and then they're going to shave their bellies, and then they're going to come in here and your dog is going to be matted. So then you're going to have a completely shaved dog. So I highly recommend that you come in here before you go to get spayed and neutered.

Speaker 3:

Let's get your dog cleaned up. Let's do a shorter than normal cut so that you have some extra two and three weeks to have your pup grow out and again be comfortable after surgery. I mean, nobody goes into surgery ahead of time and fixes their hair. What you do is you make sure it's cut, it's clean, you know. You make sure you've got fresh clothes. You make sure all your stuff is laid out, you've got pull-up sweats. You're not going to go into surgery thinking, okay, well, I'm going to put my tightest, skinniest jeans on. It's not about looking good, it's about recovering. The best way to recover is to take care of that before we even have to get to that point. And when they're healing, they're not going to want you sitting there brushing and combing on them either.

Speaker 3:

And they'll also have to. More than likely, if it's a female, we'll have to wear a cone, and actually even a male. So all of this around that neck, it is just going to promote matting, matting, matting, matting. Once we get down to a severely matted dog, that's a whole different problem, that's a whole different ball game. Wow, does that answer your question?

Speaker 2:

no, that's some great insight for sure, and I understand that you both have a special promo going on when it comes to grooming. Would you like to share that with our listeners today?

Speaker 3:

Yes, If any of our listeners mentioned podcast while they're booking their appointment, you will receive $5 off of a nail trim, or $10 off of a bath and brush. So we encourage you guys to come in and see us and if you're listening to us, let us know. You can also book online. Just put that down in the comments and we'll give it to you when you come in.

Speaker 2:

Well as always. Shannon and Tanya, thank you for sharing this valuable information with our listeners today. I will catch you on the next episode and have a fantastic rest of your day Fantastic.

Speaker 1:

That's a wrap for this episode of Tail Talk with Hound Therapy. Ready to book your pet's next groom daycare stay or grooming academy tour? Call us at 469-367-0009. That's 469-367-0009 to schedule an appointment, or visit us online at wwwhoundtherapycom. Serving North Texas with expert pet care. Until next time, keep those tails wagging.