Tail Talk Grooming Chronicles with Hound Therapy

When Clean Isn't Just Pretty: The Hidden Health Impact of Grooming Salon Hygiene

• Shannon & Tanya • Episode 25

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Why Is Salon Hygiene The First Step To Wellness? 

The moment you walk into a pet grooming salon, your nose knows. That distinctive "doggy smell" isn't just unpleasant—it's a telltale sign of hygiene practices that could affect your pet's health. Shannon and Tanya, professional groomers at Hound Therapy, discuss what really happens behind the scenes in grooming salons and why cleanliness matters more than you might think.

"Humanity over vanity" isn't just their motto—it's evident in how meticulously they approach salon hygiene. From the surprising truth about what causes ear infections (hint: it's not water from bathing) to the importance of non-porous surfaces that can be properly disinfected, these experts share practical wisdom gained from years of experience. They emphasize that disease prevention starts with the smallest details—cleaning underneath drain covers, sanitizing tools between each pet, and getting on hands and knees to scrub daycare pens with toothbrushes.

What makes this conversation particularly valuable is the transparency about an unregulated industry. Without standardized cleanliness protocols for pet groomers, consumers must know what questions to ask and signs to look for when choosing a groomer. Shannon and Tanya encourage pet parents to trust their instincts, take facility tours, and ask direct questions about sanitization practices. After all, your pet's health depends on more than just a stylish haircut—it begins with the invisible aspects of cleanliness that truly professional groomers prioritize every day.

Wondering if your current groomer measures up? Listen to this essential episode for the inside scoop on keeping your furry friends healthy and safe. Your pet deserves a grooming environment that's as clean as it is caring—and now you'll know exactly what to look for.

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?

Speaker 2:

Who let the dogs out. From sparkling tools to sanitized tubs, shannon and Tanya reveal how a clean grooming space sets the tone for pet health and peace of mind. Welcome back everyone. I'm Sofia Yvette, co-host and producer, back in the studio with Shannon and Tanya, professional groomers at Hound Therapy. Hi guys, how's it going today?

Speaker 3:

It's great. How are you today?

Speaker 2:

Great. Thank you so much for asking Now. Today's topic is all about cleanliness. Tell us why salon hygiene is the first step to wellness, Our most favorite thing.

Speaker 3:

Yes, Well, I love to clean. So cleaning is my. I love it. Whenever we're slow, we deep dive and we deep clean into everything.

Speaker 3:

Every nook every cranny clean. So let's start with the obvious right Animal to animal transmitted diseases and human to animal transmitted diseases. Nobody wants them, nobody wants to spread them Like everything else. It's pretty much common sense, right, you need to keep your dogs vaccinated, healthy and well. But if your dog is sick and sometimes they get sick even though they are vaccinated they go out and about, they catch colds just like we do, and they pick up things you know, in the air. They've got allergies, ear infections, there's a lot of things and some misconceptions about how those things are spread.

Speaker 3:

So some of them are from surface to surface. So we use porous surfaces here on everything. We've got concrete. Our concrete is sealed. What is not a porous surface is wood or linoleum, carpet, glass. Anything with porous is not. Yeah, you've got to be able to. If you cannot bleach it, to disinfect it with water without destroying it, then it is not a safe, transferable environment or type of material that you want to use. So if you've got a dog kennel, you notice they're made out of plastic. They're easily disinfected and cleaned. If your dog has got, you know, sick or diarrhea in there, you want to pull that out completely and make sure that it's been cleaned on top, bottom and underneath. So those are some. Those are some just things that you need to look at in in the grooming service If you walk in, and let's just get with the obvious. If it smells that's just.

Speaker 2:

stay there, just don't stay.

Speaker 3:

It's off footing. Nobody wants to walk into a shop and have this pungent. Oh my, we do dogs in here.

Speaker 3:

It smells like pee or poop or it smells like dirty dogs. You don't want your shop to smell like that. Now I'm not saying that. You know from time to time we walk in and you know we've got a lot of dogs that have just walked in and they're all smelly. And you know you can kind of walk in and smell in the heat of summer day, but it's not typical for us to have our shop that smells bad. So if you are walking to a shop it does not smell good.

Speaker 3:

The chances of them demonstrating hygiene and cleanliness over a period of time is probably less than positive. So definitely your nose should be able to do 90 of the work, for you ask to walk around and look and see our towels put up. Are they in a covered bin? Does the tub, is it smell like sewer when you walk in or walk past our tubs here, get hair down them. Every single day we clean out our drains because fleas can live in those. Hair can live in there, which then grows algae and it will back up your drain and it's just awful we have backflow systems terrible.

Speaker 3:

Oh, it's awful. Our vacuum cleaners, you know those get gross and disgusting, so we hose those out. I mean, and it's just awful, we have backflow systems and it smells terrible. Oh, it's awful. Our vacuum cleaners, you know those get gross and disgusting, so we hose those out. I mean, it's the little things that you don't see. Those are the things that smell and when you use a wet, dry vac it sucks it up and it puts all of that air back into the shop because it's, you know, it's got to blow air out of something.

Speaker 3:

So common sense is is probably your best, you know. Number one defense in that let's go with the less common things, like the ear infections. You know I have, like, please don't wash my dog's ear. It got soaked in it last time and it caused an ear infection. That is not how an ear infection starts. An ear infection does not start from us washing your dog and it does not happen because there was some shampoo that got into the bottom of that dog's ear canal.

Speaker 3:

Shampoos are disinfectants, regardless of whether they say or don't say, water that gets into a dog's ear can cause a yeast infection or an infection due to the fact that your dog has yeast, especially if it's a big floppy ear.

Speaker 3:

Another way you can transfer would be if we use hemostats to pull the ear hair or if they've got a little bit of a brownness or a smell to them.

Speaker 3:

Our hemostats we have 50, 60 pairs here, easily just off the top of my head and after we pull ear hair or we stick anything down inside of a dog's ear, we will stick it in barbicide, which is a hospital level disinfectant and that makes sure that it kills any bacteria or anything that's on that, and then we pull them out and clean it. So we aren't using the same tools. The same thing with blades. If I'm going over a dog that's got something that looks like ringworm or mites or something that's really yeasty or gross and I'm not sure what it is, I'm not going to reuse that blade on another dog. We do clean and disinfect our blades with a five in one in between every dog when they're here. It not only helps the blade but it does keep any kind of disease from transmitting from one animal to another, not to mention that, you know, if we touch those blades same thing. We want to wash our hands in between because we don't want them.

Speaker 3:

I don't want unmentionables on me. No, no, thank you. So a lot of these things that we use, and we've kind of made a hybrid of it because you know, we've got cosmetology degrees and barber degrees and so the state of Texas has basically said hey look, this is what you have to have to disinfect, what chemicals you should and shouldn't use. We don't necessarily have that protocol for dog groomers because, again, once again, unregulated, I just can't say it in enough episodes. But because we don't have that, it's not that people maybe don't know that, it's that they don't take the time, because they don't understand the importance of the little things.

Speaker 3:

And for us here it's the little things. We have tile on the back of the walls. We clean, we hose the walls down. We have drains. We pick up the drain lids and clean underneath and behind them, and we do this because we know that things can get stuck in the nooks and crannies. And I mean we even take like screwdrivers and toothbrushes to our daycare pen, Like it's like you see us on our hands and our knees and we're scrubbing and just because nothing will fall through the cracks.

Speaker 3:

These are areas that you don't see and they but they've got to be clean and they're areas that will build up and and they and they can be, you know, a very expensive cost to you if you've gotten some place and they haven't taken just the smallest and easiest of steps. And I mean, it's not hard. The hemostats are not expensive, you know, it's not hard to, and they only soak for 10 minutes. So there's no reason that groomers shouldn't be doing these types of things. But I would say the telltale is for sure. Let's, let's take a sniff, take a smell and then ask hey, can I walk around? What is your? You know, if I leave my dog here, is my dog safe? You know, do you feel safe? Do you feel, you know, uneasy? And if you do, then, you know, go in a little bit more thoroughly and ask you know, what do you use to clean? It should be something with bleach or a disinfectant. They have kennel sides, they have barber sides for kennels, they've got.

Speaker 3:

They have everything but light drop of Lysol and bleach, you know, are the most common and they're not overly expensive, so there's no reason not to use them. No, not at all. We don't use smells or anything like that. We don't burn incense or you, you know, have Febreze to try to mask an odor. So if a dog takes a big old poop in the back when you walk in, it might smell like poop, but it's just because he pooped when he got here. So, other than lighting a match and blowing it out, it's, it is what it is. So, but for the most part, you can walk around and you can see that our shop is clean and it's, it is what it is. So, but for the most part, you can walk around and you can see that our shop is clean, uh, and, and it's, it's an important, it's a very, very important step, and I feel like people should just, you know, be more aware. Use your gut instincts, for sure.

Speaker 3:

Yeah yeah definitely, yeah, I, I agree. Hopefully that answers some questions for there and would, hoping, make some people feel a little bit more easy about you know, leaving your dog, especially with us, and we're more than happy we have an open salon to show you around. But if you've moved or you're going around.

Speaker 2:

I will parade them around the shop.

Speaker 3:

I'll take their hand and skip throughout the shop, Take a little peek and look around, use your best judgment, you know, ask if they vaccinate, if you have dogs here that are good and well behaved. We do unneuter dogs, so we do get some hikers, but we have a little you know wrap if it gets out of control, to keep them from hiking all over stuff. But then again we, you know, we bleach it and hose it right down and if it's uncleanable we throw it away and move on.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, Well, thanks for lifting the curtain on what keeps Hound Therapy safe and sparkling. This is a great reminder that wellness starts with cleanliness. See you next time, see you later. Have a great rest of the day.

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.