Tail Talk Grooming Chronicles with Hound Therapy

The Truth Behind Common Misconceptions: Why Pet Grooming Isn't Just About Looks

• Shannon & Tanya • Episode 9

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What Are Some Common Pet Grooming Myths?

Discover the truth behind pet grooming as professional groomers Shannon and Tanya dismantle the most persistent myths that could be affecting your furry friend's wellbeing. Ever heard that doodles don't shed or that grooming is purely cosmetic? These professionals set the record straight with expertise and passion.

The conversation dives deep into why regular grooming serves critical health functions beyond making your pet look adorable. Shannon and Tanya explain that proper grooming addresses allergies, prevents skin conditions, and maintains overall wellness—embodying Hound Therapy's guiding principle of "humanity over vanity."

Some revelations might surprise even experienced pet owners: cats absolutely need professional bathing despite their self-cleaning habits; indoor pets aren't safe from fleas; tail wagging doesn't always signal happiness; and not all dogs can naturally swim. Perhaps most importantly, they emphasize that the pet grooming industry remains largely unregulated, meaning the difference between an experienced professional and someone who simply calls themselves a groomer can significantly impact your pet's experience and health.

Whether you're a new pet parent or have had furry companions for years, this episode equips you with essential knowledge to make informed decisions about your pet's grooming needs. Ready to transform your approach to pet care? Give this episode a listen, then reach out to Hound Therapy to schedule your pet's next professional grooming session. Your four-legged family member will thank you!

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

Speaker 1:

Thank you, 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.

Speaker 2:

There's a lot of misinformation out there about pet grooming. Let's clear up some of the biggest myths we hear all the time. Welcome back everyone. I'm Sofia Yvette, co-host slash producer, back in the studio with Shannon and Tanya, professional groomers at Hound Therapy. Shannon and Tanya, how are you both doing today?

Speaker 3:

Good, excited for this episode.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, awesome, that's great to hear and for our listeners here who may have the wrong impression about pet grooming, let's get into it. Can you debunk some of the most common pet grooming myths?

Speaker 3:

Yes, ma'am, we'll read off a few and see if you guys have heard them before Go ahead, tonya.

Speaker 4:

Grooming is for aesthetic purposes only.

Speaker 3:

No, we don't just groom our dogs to look pretty and to be cute. We've got allergy reasons, there's medical reasons, there's skin reasons. There's a whole lot of reasons other than just looking pretty. In fact, that's probably the last reason that people should get their dogs groomed on a regular basis. Myth Dogs that are part poodle are not a doodle.

Speaker 4:

Or they don't shed or they don't shed. That is not true. I've seen multiple any mixed breed dog that may or may not be part poodle. If it is mixed with a double coated dog it will shed Like Bernadoodles. All those they still shed. They might be more poodle-y. You might get lucky and get the few that don't, but for the majority they do.

Speaker 3:

Shed, shedding dogs. All dogs shed, human shed, we all shed. Some shed less than others. But my doodle is if you have a dog, that's with a poodle, if it's a cockapoo, it's a cocker poodle, it's a doodle, it's just a new name for doodle. So, uh, myth Cats bathe themselves. They do bathe themselves. You see them licking themselves a lot. But cats have some of the most dirtiest mouths ever. I don't especially if you have an indoor, outdoor cat. They, they eat things, they they kill things. Their food is made of real, real meat. So they lick themselves a lot, but that's usually to get rid of hairballs. But cats are very oily. They do need a bath somewhat regularly, at least two or three times a year, and cats do some self-cleaning. But it is not at all a bath Myth, right? Yeah, grooming is myth. Grooming is too stressful, better to avoid it.

Speaker 4:

That is not the truth at all. I mean, we do understand that some pets do have, you know, stressful grooming experiences, especially if they've had a bad experience with grooming. However, avoidance is not the easier answer to that. It'll, in fact, most of the time, make things worse for the dog and the groomer.

Speaker 3:

So just because they don't like it, don't avoid it.

Speaker 3:

Myth I bathe my dog at home, so it is clean, not true, just because you bathe your dog at home with some pert and it smells really lovely and the outside of the dog looks clean, doesn't mean that it is clean. You've got to get to the skin. You've got to make sure that you're underneath the mat. You've got to make sure that you're able to get to the ears in between the toes. You've got to get there's certain scrubbers and brushes. More importantly, if you're not down to the ears, in between the toes, you've got to get uh, there's certain scrubbers and brushes. Um, more importantly, if you're not down to the skin, your dog isn't clean and it can still be wet. It can do a lot more harm than good. So just because you bathe your dog at home doesn't mean that it's clean. We do a, we have tools and equipment that we have to use here to get down to that, and I 90 of the people at home don't have that.

Speaker 4:

And you have to get all the mats and tangles out or it makes them worse. Then we have to shave your dog.

Speaker 3:

Yes, indoor pets are safe from fleas Myth.

Speaker 4:

That is not true. You, anywhere that is outside of your home, has fleas. All dogs have to go outside and potty, even cats. You can bring fleas in from just walking through grass. You can bring it on your pant legs, your socks, what have you? You can still bring them into your home without even knowing, and your pets can still be infected. So it's important to get flea and tick control.

Speaker 3:

If you've had your yard done in the summer. If I have a guy who's never had fleas before ever and he had a whole bunch of sod brought in fleas all on the side. His dog had hundreds and hundreds of fleas on him and he was on a flea preventative. He's like we've never had fleas before. You live in Texas. Your dogs are going to get pleased. People come over. Um, cats that don't belong to you are going to jump in your yard Myth Just because your dogs, your dogs, go outside at some point, hopefully to pee and poo and uh yeah.

Speaker 4:

Myth Only happy dogs wag their tails.

Speaker 3:

Not true. Body language is a key important Dogs that are happy definitely can wag their tail. But a dog that's like ready to fight, can also wag his tail. That might be what makes him happy. So you need to look at the entire body language of the dog, see their stance, see what they're doing. Just because a dog's wiggling their tail, if they've got a lip that's curled or an ear that's raised, that could be a sign of aggression or a dog is ready to defend or attack. So don't just watch the tail. Watch for all of the body movement, not just because, yeah, that little butt's wiggling, that may mean like I'm ready to brawl, um myth, um, my dog doesn't bite just because they don't bite you at home does not mean they won't bite somebody else.

Speaker 4:

It could be a over the head touch, like going straight at them to pet their head. They might not be okay with that behavioral. Um then, just, we're doing their nails, we're doing all the things that they don't want us to do, and but it's our jobs to do them. They can and will bite us if they want to. So just because they don't bite you at home does not mean they won't bite us.

Speaker 3:

Or for a procedure. So all dogs bite? Watch your dogs, don't put them around babies. Just be aware that, like if somebody pulls or tugs on something that I don't like, dogs, all dogs can bite.

Speaker 4:

Um myth all dogs can swim.

Speaker 3:

Not true? Uh, I wish that were true. Um, winter dogs, winter puppies don't swim as well as summer puppies. So if your dog was born in the winter and then all of a sudden you're trying to throw them into the water, that might be like what the heck Like they? They may sink like a rock. Uh, flat nose dogs they may. They, they can't breathe. So little short legs pugs uh, english bulldogs some of those dogs can swim, but most of them are like rocks at the bottom of I mean they. They're going to just sink. They're going straight down. They've got water up their nose, they're coughing. So not all dogs can swim. If you are have a pool and you have a dog that's got short little legs or a dog that was not trained to swim, that you know. Like you have a dog that is good for swimming, like by its breed, if it was born in the winter, you've got to get him used to that water. You don't want him to be afraid of it. So they're. They're not just born with with that knowledge.

Speaker 4:

Just like children, they can be taught, and some dogs still need a life vest they do sell puppy life vests myth my puppy doesn't need to be groomed until it's six months old all puppies are safe to be groomed after that first set of shots, where they get their parvo shots, their bordetella shots and maybe their rabies, depending on how old they are. After that they are safe to be groomed. At least bring them in for us to do their paw pads. Sanitary areas clean up that face a little bit. Areas. Clean up that face a little bit, nothing major on the body, just to get them used to it. Um, and how to stand on a table and why we're doing what we're doing and it's not going to kill them, yes, so puppies.

Speaker 3:

puppies should be groomed as early as possible. As soon as your vet says that, hey, this dog is ready to go into the world, then it's time for grooming. Um, myth all groomers groom the same. That is probably the number one biggest myth. I think that people think they think because we're a dog groomer or that they've seen somebody that has posted I'm a dog groomer online, that doesn't mean that they're dog groomers there. We are unregulated. Anybody can call themselves a dog groomer. There's no test, there's no license by the state. There is nothing. So Tanya and I at this shop, here at Hound Therapy, we groom the same. We ask our clients. We have a list that is. It's on topic for every single dog, every round head looks like every other round head. It doesn't matter what groomer grooms here. We groom the same. We have the same style of grooming. We have the same ethnicity and grooming.

Speaker 4:

I mean, sometimes they look a little different just because it is an artistic field.

Speaker 3:

but yeah, and some people may do more of a square head, more of a round head. We want to do what you want to do, but we groom essentially. We do the basics. We do the body the same. We groom in the same form and fashion. We go the same direction in the hair. We know how to blend in the head, we know how to blend in the skirt. Just because you have a groomer and we've had probably six or seven here this week that somebody said something and they took it to a groomer and it was a very bad, bad situation and they said the exact same thing to us and the dog. Because of follow-up questions, the way that we groom and the questions that we ask, they were groomed according to the plan of the owner, so not all groomers groom the same. There's no handbook for that.

Speaker 4:

It's kind of like saying all tattoo artists give the same tattoos, yeah, so that's about what we've got for that.

Speaker 3:

It's kind of like saying all tattoo artists give the same tattoos, yeah, so that's about what we've got for myths.

Speaker 2:

Do you have any others for us, sophia? Nope, I think that just about covers it. Thank you so much, shannon and Tanya, for those very helpful insights today. We'll catch you on the next episode.

Speaker 1:

Have a fantastic rest of your day, you do the same. 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. Keep those tails wagging. Who let the dogs out? Who let the dogs out?

Speaker 2:

All right, ladies. Great episode, great job. That was a success today. See you, we have something to do today.