Our Grooming Gallery

What you're looking at

Every dog here was groomed one at a time. No queue behind them, no rushing on to the next appointment — which is why nervous dogs, older dogs and dogs who've had a bad experience elsewhere tend to do better with us than in a busier salon.

What you can't see in a photograph is the drying. A dense coat that isn't dried right down to the skin will mat within days, and it's the single biggest reason a professional groom lasts longer than a bath at home. It's most of the work and none of the glamour.

Getting a finish like this

The honest answer is that most of it happens between appointments rather than during them. A coat in good condition can be styled. A coat that's matted close to the skin can only be clipped short, however much anyone would like otherwise.

Three things make the difference:

• Comb, don't just brush. A slicker glides over the surface of a curly coat while the layer underneath felts. Follow it with a metal comb — if the comb won't pass cleanly from the skin outwards, the brush has missed something.
• Keep to the interval. Six to eight weeks for most curly and long coats. Stretching to twelve usually means accepting a shorter cut than you wanted.
• Dry properly after wet walks. Especially through a Lincolnshire winter. Damp coat left to dry on its own is how matting starts.

Breed-specific advice

Different coats need completely different handling. If your dog is one of these, we've written properly about what their coat does and what it needs:

Cockapoo · Cavapoo · Labradoodle · Shih Tzu · Cocker Spaniel · Miniature Schnauzer · Bichon Frise · Cats