Dog Grooming With Love
We treat your fur babies like our own
Lucky Puppy Dog Grooming in Kennewick, WA has been grooming pets in the Tri-Cities since 2010. We have a reputation not just for the quality of work but also for how we work with pets. We groom with the same care as if the pets were our pets. So if you’re looking for a new groomer consider Lucky Puppy Grooming in Kennewick as an option for your pets new groomer.
Dog Grooming Done Right
Since 2010 Kim Snoddy, the owner of Lucky Puppy Grooming has been grooming animals. Kim is known for her sincere love and care of animals, her true skill for grooming as well as her multiple certifications in dog grooming. In 2018 Kim purchased Happy Tails Spa in Kennewick and invested in her love of animals by becoming a business owner. When you take your pet to Lucky Puppy Grooming you can be assured your pet will get the care they need. Sometimes animals can get anxious about getting groomed. With Kim’s personal touch and love each pet is treating like her own.
Over the years Kim and her staff have gained a reputation for being top notch groomers where some of their customers travel for over 100 miles just to have their pet groomed by Kim and her staff. This is a true reflection of the care and quality of service that Kim and her staff offer. If you are looking for a quality groomer and want to make sure your pet is handled with the same love you show to your pet then contact Lucky Puppy Grooming today.
Dog Birthday Parties
Barking Birthday Bonanza Bundle
$29.95 pupucinnos
$39.95 pup cakes
$49.95 pupucinnos & cupcakes
1 hour party
birthday hats & bandanas
treat bag
birthday card and picture
cookie for birthday pup
scent spritz
snacks
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Dog Grooming - Basic Dog Grooming Supplies Every Dog Owner Needs
No matter what kind of dog you have, or how often you may visit a professional groomer, it’s fairly common to need basic grooming supplies at home for your pet. Having quality, basic dog grooming supplies on hand can allow you to take better care of your dog, and make grooming sessions easier. Regular grooming helps owners to bond with their furry friends, and helps keep your pet looking and feeling healthy. Below, we’ll highlight some of the basic dog grooming supplies that every dog owner needs to have at home, and some of the details to consider when purchasing those supplies.
Dog Grooming Brush
A good quality dog brush doesn’t cost much, and usually will last for quite a long time. Just don’t let your dog use it as a bone or chew toy! When considering brushes for your dog, they should have smooth and soft teeth, that won’t irritate or cut into your dog’s skin. You also need to consider the kind of coat your dog has, in order to choose the best type of brush for them.
Dogs with smooth, shorter coats usually benefit the most from curry-type brushes, often made from rubber or a similar material. They are meant to remove the short hairs that typically shed on smooth-coated dogs, and work equally well on wet coats (such as during a bath) or dry coats.
Dogs with longer or thicker coats need a slicker-style brush. These brushes are constructed so as to reach past the outer hairs to the undercoat, removing dead and damaged hair, and preventing mats and tangles that can become a nightmare. Choose a brush sized to easily fit in your hand, and appropriate for the size of dog you have.
Dog Grooming Comb
Most dog owners have a grooming brush, but often forget about a good grooming comb for their dog. Combs play an important role, especially in helping keep long-coated dogs’ coats in good condition. It’s recommended that a slicker brush be used first, and then the grooming finished with a comb. The brush will remove the dead and damaged hair, and the comb will help straighten, fluff, and untangle the remaining hairs.
Most combs are made from steel or other metals, and are suitable for dogs of any size. It’s important to note, however, that grooming combs are meant for grooming – to help straighten and untangle hair. Dogs suffering from flea or other infestations require a separate, different kind of comb (usually called a flea comb) for those conditions.
Grooming Spray
When you’re grooming your dog, especially in between baths (dry grooming), grooming spray can make the entire process easier. It can also help keep your dog’s coat healthy, straighter, and fuller, and makes working the hair with a brush and comb a lot less difficult. Grooming sprays typically help reduce static, as well, so you and your pet won’t experience any kind of sudden, unpleasant shocks during or after the grooming process. Grooming spray also helps remove tangles, and prevent new tangles from forming. They are usually available in scented or unscented styles, depending on what you and your pupper prefer.
Dog Shampoo
Bathing your dog requires a dog-formulated shampoo – human shampoo is too harsh, and even baby shampoo isn’t designed for the chemistry of your dog’s coat and skin. A gentle dog shampoo will help remove dirt from your dog’s skin and coat, and leave them smelling and feeling fresh and clean.
You should always choose a shampoo that is as mild as possible, to avoid irritating your dog’s skin. Experts advise you don’t apply the shampoo directly to your dog. Rather, put a bit of shampoo in a cup or bowl with warm water to dilute it. Use a sponge to absorb the diluted shampoo and use it so scrub your dog gently. This ensures better coverage with the shampoo than when you apply it directly, and avoids “hot spots” that can irritate the skin.
After shampooing your pet, gently rinse the shampoo and dirt away with water. Try to avoid getting shampoo or water in your dog’s ears, eyes, or nose – they won’t like it and it can cause irritation and infections.
Dog Conditioner
Just as with human hair, after shampooing, conditioner can help to replenish the oils and other substances that shampooing removes, to leave the hair in the best condition possible. Dog-formulated conditioners help leave your pet’s coat shiny and fluffy, and can even help reduce or prevent tangles. Always follow the instructions on the bottle, just as with shampoo, and be sure to rinse your pet thoroughly after using the shampoo and conditioner before drying.
Drying Supplies
Speaking of drying, after a bath, you need to dry your dog – it is best not to let them entirely air dry on their own. Proper drying helps prevent coat tangling and matting, or allowing bacteria or infections to take hold on wet skin and in wet hair. It also will help keep your dog from getting too cold (especially in cooler months).
After bathing, you can dry your dog with dog-specific microfiber towels, and/or drying mitts, which are often easier, especially if you have a very active and squirmy pup. In a pinch, regular human towels can be used – the softer and fluffier the better. In any case, it’s best to gently pat the dog’s coat – rubbing their coat can create braids, tangles, and knots.
Dog dryers are also available and can be used, but be sure to purchase one meant for dogs – human hair dryers should not be used, as they can get far too hot, even on low settings, and burn your dog’s sensitive skin. A good dog dryer is especially important for breeds that have double coats, promoting removal of the dead undercoat during drying.
Alcohol-Free Wipes
In between baths, or when you only need to spot-clean your pet (such as if they step in something stinky or messy), alcohol-free bath wipes are a good bathing alternative. The best choice is a deodorizing bath wipe meant for dogs or furry pets, rather than baby wipes for human babies, as they are designed to help promote coat health, and often include a moisturizer/conditioner to replenish any oils removed in the cleaning process.
Dog Nail Clippers
Keeping your dog’s nails in good condition is important to ensuring they don’t hurt themselves (or you/your friends/family/etc.). Many people prefer to leave clipping or trimming to professionals, but it can be done at home, too. Plier-style nail clippers are usually the best choice, offering a simple mechanism and safe, sharp blade for a clean cut (reducing the risk of injury or difficulty).
With any clipping or trimming, there is always a risk of bleeding if you cut too much nail off. It’s best to have some styptic powder in your basic dog grooming supplies, to help stop the bleeding and promote healing right away. If you’re not sure how to clip your dog’s nails, there are plenty of good video resources and tutorials online, including several articles we have posted on the subject.
Concluding Thoughts
By ensuring you have these basic dog grooming supplies on hand, you can help take proper care of your pet. Keeping them clean, looking, and smelling good will make them feel better, and more of a joy for you to cuddle and play with. Dog grooming also helps reduce unwanted shedding all around the home, reduce tangles and knots in hair, and helps keep your pet cleaner between baths. If your pet doesn’t like grooming, take things slowly and gently, and use treats to train them if necessary. Always allow your dog to smell and investigate any grooming implements you plan to use on them, and be firm but supportive in your approach to grooming them. This will help acclimate them to the experience and become more comfortable with it – making things easier for both of you.
Dog Grooming - The Top 5 Dog Grooming Mistakes You Should Avoid
Everyone wants to be a good “parent” or owner to their little four-legged friend. Grooming is part of taking care of your dog, and keeping them happy, healthy, and clean. Some people prefer to have their dogs groomed professionally, whereas others prefer to take care of things at home. Regardless of what you choose, it’s important to know how to properly groom your dog. Equally important is understanding the things you absolutely shouldn’t do when it comes to dog grooming. So, we thought we’d put together this list highlighting the top 5 dog grooming mistakes that you should avoid at all costs, for the safety, health, and well-being of your pup.
#1 – Shaving Your Dog During Summer
The impulse to shave your dog’s coat during the summer time makes sense intellectually, at least from the standpoint of being a human. You think that getting rid of all the extra hair will help them stay cool during the warm summer months, and naturally want to keep your pet comfortable. So, what could go wrong?
Unfortunately, shaving your pet (at any time of year) isn’t necessary for cooling, and can actually do more harm than good. The thick coat helps them to regulate their body temperature effectively, in both warm and cold weather. Shaving off their coat can also make them much more prone to sunburn and sun stroke. As a dog’s skin is thinner and more sensitive than humans, and can easily be burned or absorb harmful UV rays.
Shaving your dog can also leave lasting damage to their coats. The hair follicles can become damaged, resulting in poor hair regrowth, patchiness, and duller, less shiny coats when the hair grows back. Regular grooming with a brush and comb is the best approach to keeping your dog’s coat healthy, and removing any excess dead hair. A shorter trim is okay, just so long as you leave sufficient hair to protect them from the sun.
#2 – Washing Your Dog’s Inner Ears
This is a common mistake that dog owners make, but your dog’s ears don’t require washing. In fact, you should avoid introducing water or other liquids into or around their ear canal, even when bathing and rinsing your dog. Water or liquids in the ear canal create a perfect environment for bacteria to grow, which often leads to ear infections. It can cause additional irritation, swelling, and discomfort for your pet as well. The ears, eyes, and nose should all be kept dry when you bathe your dog, and certainly should not be intentionally washed with water.
#3 – Not Rinsing Your Dog Thoroughly
On the flipside, insufficient rinsing of your dog when you bathe them can be a serious problem, too. That doesn’t mean you should rinse the aforementioned eyes, ears, or nose – in fact, the entire head is best rinsed using a wet cloth or towel. For the rest of your pupper’s body, however, thorough rinsing with water after a bath is very important. Shampoo residue will remain otherwise, and can cause skin irritation, matted or knotted hair, and other coat problems.
While you don’t want to blast your dog with water, a shower head or sink sprayer with decent pressure is usually the best bet for rinsing. Pouring water with a cup or bucket isn’t recommended, and won’t necessarily penetrate far enough into your dog’s coat. Continue rinsing until you don’t see any more little bubbles coming out of their fur, and then a bit longer.
Always be sure to use lukewarm water, too – you don’t want to scald your dog and their sensitive skin. Dogs with extremely sensitive skin can best be served with specialized shampoos, often made with tea tree oil and other natural ingredients. Human shampoo should never be used, as it is too harsh. Conditioners meant for dogs can help restore ingredients like oils and proteins that are lost during washing and rinsing, and some are available with aloe and other skin-calming ingredients.
#4 – Brushing Your Dog While Their Coat is Still Wet
After a bath, a swim, or even a romp in the yard in the rain, you may want to brush and/or comb your dog’s hair to get their coat back in shape. But be warned – you should always dry them first, and allow any remaining moisture to air dry, before you attempt to brush to comb their fur. Brushing while their coat is still wet can irritate your dog’s skin, as it tends to cause hair to clump together, making knots and mats even worse, and pulling on their skin when you comb or brush them. Most experts suggest you brush them and comb them before a bath if they have significant knots and mats, and then again after they’re fully dry. The exception here is short-haired dogs, since there’s no risk of matting – they can be brushed and combed during a bath or after, even if they are still a bit wet.
#5 – Bathing Your Dog Too Frequently
Speaking of bathing, doing it too often is another of the most common grooming mistakes you should avoid. Bathing your dog too often will damage their coat, as it removes the natural oils and proteins that coat the hairs. It can also dry out and irritate skin, and make any existing conditions much worse. Unless your dog has a particular skin condition or other medical reason to be bathed more frequently, a once-monthly bath is all that is necessary. Obviously, if your dog gets into mud, dirt, or other messes, and you need to give them a quick bath, that’s a different story. But regularly-scheduled baths on a frequency of more than once a month are not recommended.
One more note for bath time – use towels, drying mitts, or a specially-made dog dryer to dry off your dog, or let their coat dry naturally. Human hair dryers should not be used on dogs, as they can cause overheating and even burn the skin – even on their lowest settings.
