Friday, December 15, 2006

Tips On Starting A Pet Grooming Business

Article Title: Tips On Starting A Pet Grooming Business
Author: Gloria Fanz

With the ever-growing demand for pet grooming services, if you
are a pet lover, it is time that you may want to start thinking
about starting a pet grooming business. A pet grooming business
does not just wash the pet. It also provides other value-added
services such as trimming the pet's nails, cleaning their
teeth, and shaving their coat. These value-added services call
for your expertise and creativity in the work and thus they can
fetch you a higher profit.

If you are interested in starting a pet grooming business,
below are some tips that you can take away.

1) You should find out if there are any other pet grooming
services near your shop location.

2) Purchasing pet grooming equipment can be expensive. You
should buy them just before your business opens, just in case
you back up. You should buy the equipment from people who have
knowledge about grooming supplies so as to get the best price.

3) As a professional pet groomer, you should not only give your
clients advice on how to groom their pets but also how to care
for their pets. This will make your service unique so that they
will come back to you again.

4) To increase your credential, you should obtain a pet
grooming license. But be prepared to go through intensive
hands-on grooming training before you can receive the license.
But once you got it, it's going to benefit you for your entire
career course.

5) Constantly attending pet grooming course and seminars to
keep yourself ahead of your competitors. Upgrade your equipment
regularly and more importantly, consciously convey the benefits
of your new equipment to your clients. Let them know that they
are getting the most up-to-date service and technology from
you.

6) As a professional pet groomer, you should always take your
time when grooming each pet. You should make sure you do your
best, because this is what it takes to keep your business.

7) Initially, you may want to start your business out of your
home until you build up your client base. The time to move out
of your home to a shop is when your income in enough to cover
the shop rental and other basic recurring expenses.

Businesses do not grow overnight. The law of germination
applies. Take your time to build up a reputation for your
service, always over deliver your service and soon, your
business will spread by word of mouth. When that happens,
success is inevitable and no one will be able to stop you.


About The Author: Gloria Fanz is a professional writer. For
more information on pet grooming business, visit
http://www.pet-grooming-tub.info.

Grooming Your Dog At Home



Article Title: Grooming Your Dog At Home
Author: Caninecoalition.com

Your pets, especially dogs, play a vital emotional role in your
life. You love them so much and want to treat them as one of
your best friends that you spend some of your spare time
playing with them. But what if your dog is not actually doing
what you want him to do? What if he is not looking as good as
he should be?

Herein lies the need for grooming your dog. More or less all
pets, including dogs, require grooming. Pet groomers are easily
available anywhere; some of them are cheap and some are very
costly. You may not want to visit a cheap groomer, but you may
not also be able to afford the costly ones. What is the
solution then? Well, a better idea is to do it yourself.
It�s not very hard to groom your dog yourself, but you
should practice this right from the start. And to do that you
must follow some guidelines:

Start early and groom your dog while he is still a puppy.


Grooming habits should start from a young age. You should train
your puppy to do the most common daily activities like sitting,
standing, eating, etc. This is necessary because if he can
learn all these things at an early age, you will have no
problem doing other typical activities like bathing, hair
cutting, etc.

Devote some of your spare time in grooming your dog.

Dogs naturally take care of most of their grooming needs by
themselves, but they still need grooming help for doing many of
their activities. Devoting some of your time in grooming your
dog has its own rewards, too, for it strengthens your bond with
him and makes it easier to diagnose early the diseases that can
be dangerous later on. You are not required to do all grooming
activities on a daily basis. Some of them can be done on a
weekly or monthly basis. For instance, nails, ears and teeth
can be cleaned weekly or monthly whenever needed.

Give him a bath, frequently.

Generally, frequent bathing is advisable to keep your best
friend clean and healthy. But you must heed some of the tips
for bathing. Never give him a daily bath as it can cause
dryness to the skin. Some experts even advise that a monthly
bath is enough for normal needs unless advised otherwise by
your pet doctor. Do not use very hot water and always brush his
fur before giving him a bath.

Brush your dog�s hair regularly even he has short hair.

Brushing is like a silent communication between you and your
dog. It is a necessity for all dogs, whether they have long
hair or not, because brushing stimulates the oils on your
dog�s skin. This will also free him of unwanted dust and
alert you about skin related diseases well in advance.

Take care of his teeth, too.

Tartar builds up very easily on a dog�s teeth. This
collects bacteria from the food he has consumed, causing common
teeth problems like gingivitis, bad breath, ugly looking teeth,
etc. These problems can be easily prevented if you taught him
to let you brush his teeth regularly. However, if your dog has
already built up so much tartar, it needs to be handled by a
professional then. You should therefore begin cleaning his
teeth right from a younger age so that tartar cannot
accumulate.

About The Author: Please visit us to consult freely our dog
namess http://caninecoalition.com database or to find out more
about dogs and puppies in general.

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Basic Dog Care Information

Article Title: Basic Dog Care Information
Author: Kelly Marshall

Dogs are not only part of your family but the most loyal and
loving companions that you will ever have. They stay by your
side when you are happy or sad and love you unconditionally. If
you go out for as little as ten minutes, they let you know how
much they missed you when you come back. Our responsibility, as
a dog owner, is to provide our dog with everything it requires,
to live a healthy, happy life.

Always feed your dog a healthy diet, as you do not want them to
become overweight or underweight. Dog treats are great but stay
away from ones that contain a large amount of sugar or salt. Be
aware that there are people foods potentially fatal to your dog.
Some of these are chocolate, onions, garlic, grapes, coffee and
certain mushrooms. Give your dog only food and treats that they
make specifically for dogs. Never give your dog chicken bones,
fish bones or pork chop bones. There is a possibility of the
bones splintering into very sharp pieces and lodging in your
pet's throat. Have fresh, cool water available at all times.

Dogs need daily walks, exercise and play time, so be prepared
to spend time doing this. A fenced yard is great but some dogs
are fantastic escape artists, so make sure your property is
secure. A dog kennel that is large enough for your pet to get
fresh air, look around with enough room for some exercise, is a
great option for people with unfenced yards.

Dogs require grooming but how much will depend on the breed of
dog or coat type. Some dogs with long hair require an hour or
more of grooming daily while grooming once every few weeks is
fine for others. There are dogs that require haircuts, as their
coats grow continuously, such as poodles and miniature
schnauzers. You should consider this when selecting a dog
because, unless you cut your dogs hair yourself, it can become
a little costly.

Depending on the breed, bath your dog when necessary or a few
times a year. Dog's coats contain oils that protect and keep
their coats clean. If you bath them too often, this can remove
these oils causing the dog to have more of an odor. Bath dogs,
which require haircuts, every six or eight weeks before
grooming them. If you are bathing your own dog, brush or comb a
longhaired dog first, as it is very difficult to untangle damp
or wet hair. Start at your pets head and work your way back. A
little apple cider vinegar on cotton balls works great at
keeping water out of your pet's ears. When there is no time to
bath a smelly dog, try rubbing a little baking soda into their
fur and then brushing it off.

Dog's nails need trimming occasionally. If you want to do this
yourself, have the vet or a professional dog-grooming person
show you the proper way. Brush your dog's teeth daily using
toothpaste made specifically for dogs. This helps prevent
dental problems as your pet ages.


About The Author: For products to assist with dog care, visit
Oh My Dog Supplies at http://www.ohmydogsupplies.com - also
shop for unique pet furniture, dog feeders, dog bowls and more.