Contents | AUGUST 2023
ALSO INSIDE
todd@barkleigh.com
adam@barkleigh.com
gwen@barkleigh.com
rebecca@barkleigh.com
luke@barkleigh.com
laura@barkleigh.com
brandi@barkleigh.com
carlee@barkleigh.com
evan@barkleigh.com
cassidy@barkleigh.com
allison@barkleigh.com
james@barkleigh.com
karin@barkleigh.com
britany@barkleigh.com
Daryl Conner
Jonathan David
Dr. Cliff Faver
Blake Hernandez
ALSO INSIDE
ON THE COVER
groomed by Blake Hernandez
here is more to cleaning and disinfecting than meets the eye. Keeping an aesthetically clean salon can help build and maintain clients, as clients like to know that they’re taking their beloved pets to a safe and clean environment, and it shows that you care for your business and are a hygienic salon. It also ensures the safety of the dogs and staff by mitigating risks, hazards, and infection or cross-contamination.
Naturally, dog hair or animal fur gets everywhere—in walls and floor cracks, behind sockets, you name it—you will find fur on any surface in a pet salon! There is also a layer of grease that comes along with the fur that can build up on surfaces within your salon. And if it’s not maintained and cleaned off regularly, this can build up in your lungs as it is blasted off dogs’ skin and into the air we breathe in, which is why we promote using masks. In addition, fur mixed with the warm, damp conditions of a bathing room can incubate bacteria which can also build up. Keeping a clean salon ensures that your environment is safe by mitigating hazards such as grease, fur and bacteria build-up within your working environment.
We all know that maintaining a clean-looking salon takes a lot of work and is extremely hard to do at times. But you can make it easier on yourself by having a clutter-free environment and having washable walls, floors and equipment. Ensure that you clean as you go along, vacuuming fur, wiping surfaces, disinfecting between grooms and throwing towels in the wash. In addition, set and stick to a strict rota that includes daily cleaning and disinfecting of walls, floors, equipment and filters. A weekly cleaning of vents and behind counters and crates is also a good idea. This may even need to be done daily in busy salons.
n more than one occasion, I have rescheduled a groom due to problems found during check-in. And no income could compensate me for the mental anguish over losing a pet I groomed when I should not have, or dealing with a social media smear campaign over a pre-existing medical condition.
My story involves a nine-year-old Maltese named Binngo with a known heart condition but had been cleared for grooming by his vet. Had I done a pet assessment before grooming, I might have noticed his gums were pale. Or, taking a peek at his gums before I turned the dryer on may have prevented Binngo from having a heart attack on my table. I may have been able to let his owner know that she should take him to her vet right away. But I didn’t, and that’s on me. Forever.
Photo by Agnieszka Pluta
ackensie Murphy has established herself as one of the world’s top dog groomers. Her illustrious list of awards and accomplishments makes her passion for the world of dogs quite evident. She has consistently ranked among the top ten competitors on every GroomTeam USA since 2012 and has earned a position on the last three consecutive travel teams, winning bronze, silver and gold medals at the world grooming competition. As the daughter of world-renowned pet stylist Jodi Murphy, Mackensie has worked hard to blaze her own path in the grooming industry with great success, and she isn’t stopping anytime soon!
by Daryl Conner
Photos by Animal Photography
hat is it that makes a groomer good at what they do? I pondered this question recently when I was referring a customer whom we could not help to another stylist in our area—someone I considered good at what they do. My curiosity led me to ask other groomers what they thought made for a successful pet styling business, and here is what we came up with!
Probably the most essential aspect of succeeding in the pet industry is having a high level of concern for the wellbeing of the animals in our care. As groomers, we deal not only with the physical body of pets, but also with their emotional wellbeing. From young dogs unfamiliar with the sights, sounds and sensations of the grooming process to elderly dogs with unique limitations, as well as a wide range of situations in between, we need to care for and support the pets in many ways.
lmost everyone has heard the saying “to clean house.” It’s a phrase that can have multiple meanings. One is, to get rid of unwanted baggage in one’s life and eliminate inefficiency. Another is, to eliminate or discard what is undesirable, or to rid a group or organization of people or policies that are deemed to be troublesome or lacking.
In this article, professional pet stylists Brenda, Connie, Joan and Sharon share what prompted them to “clean house.”
Brenda has been grooming for 12 years. One morning she walked into her salon, took a look around and said, “That’s it. I’m sick of all this clutter. Today’s the day it all goes!”
As she went through her cupboards and drawers, Brenda took out every broken and unused tool, brush, and blade she came to and got rid of them. “Why do I keep things that don’t work and that I never use?” she muttered to herself.
et groomers clean for a living. We remove dirt, dander and hair from furry animals who are fortunate if they get bathed once a month. Cleaning these precious living creatures is how we make our living. But what we take off them must go somewhere—down our tub drains, onto our grooming floors, smocks and tools, and into our equipment. However, our greatest workplace challenge as groomers is how we organize a significant number of tools, specialized furniture and unique equipment needed to work on the diverse coat types we groom.
Groomers are not alone in needing organized workspaces—every profession faces the challenge of how to organize the physical space for optimum efficiency, ergonomics and healthy productivity—but groomers are surely on the high end of the scale with the sheer amount of equipment and tools we must use. We clearly have bigger daily messes to clean and more stuff to organize than most professions do. But despite the greater challenges we face in organizing our workspaces, we can learn from organization principles that have helped other lines of work. After all, no one should spend almost a third of their lives in a workspace that exhausts them just by walking into it.
ne of the most critical areas of training in veterinary medicine is controlling the spread of disease. We are regularly exposed to highly contagious and highly infectious diseases, so we must constantly be aware of procedures and protocols for ourselves, our staff, our clients and their animals. This is not only a concern for pets spreading disease amongst themselves; many of the things we encounter are zoonotic.
It is scary to think about, but groomers and their staff also have high exposure to many of these same diseases/infections. Have you thought about your risk? Do you have protocols, protective gear and the right products to kill these nasty bugs effectively?
he first time a cat owner calls to get their cat groomed, the cat is often matted and suffering from fleas, dandruff, and other types of gross skin and coat issues. The groomer becomes the hero needed to fix the problems for both the cat and owner. But what happens after the initial grooming?
The biggest challenge when working with cat owners is convincing them that their cat needs regular grooming—not just one-time fixes. Educating clients is an important part of the grooming service, and describing the benefits of regular, frequent grooming is the first step.
CONTEST RESULTS
Best in Show
BEST ALL AROUND
BEST SCISSORING
love this head piece because it is low maintenance with tons of attitude, and can be done on all coat types and sizes. With the fusion muzzle perfectly fluffed straight and sculpted, the natural topknot texture coming through with its rough edges, and a dash of the unexpected from the tasseled ears, this trim is sure to delight!
Photo by Anjie Coates
ugustus, commonly known as “Gus,” always enjoys a nice relaxing spa day. Some may say he enjoys it more than most, as he’s been groomed his entire life. My assistant, Angie, grooms cats with me so she can keep them happy while I do the grooming bits. Gus is always happy, so it takes very little to keep him that way. 
His Mom puts the crate on the grooming table and I open it. Gus comes out with a flourish and a high, happy tail.-
“Hi Gus!” I say.
Gus: “Hi Anj!” As he smooshes his face against mine to mark me as his, then turns and does the same to Angie.-
Gus plops down on the table and stretches out: “So, let’s get this spa day started, shall we? Let’s begin with head scritches.”
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I look at Angie and the two of us grin at each other.
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“OK, buddy, let’s do nails and we can start getting you cleaned up,” I tell him.
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Gus: “I don’t care much for nails, so we can skip that part. I used my scratching post this morning.”
Made with plant-based ingredients, Alzoo concentrated Stain & Odor Remover is a more sustainable option to remove pet stains and odors. Our easy-to-use spray is an effective blend of probiotics and botanical extracts that attack and destroy pet stains and odors. Use it to clean spots and smells left behind by urine, vomit, food, or similar mess quickly without the need to scrub or agitate. When used as directed, it is safe and effective for use on carpet, bedding, upholstery, and hard surfaces such as wood, vinyl or tile. Safe for pets, people and planet. www.alzoo-vet.com
Hause of Bones is here for you on those days that you just can’t. Your daily dose of doodles got you down? Our stickers are here to bring a laugh to your long days! Show some solidarity with a sticker. Our high-quality stickers made of durable, waterproof vinyl are perfect for water bottles, notebooks, grooming cases, and anywhere else you can think to stick them. Specializing in the grooming and veterinary industries, we have the inside knowledge to make jokes you’ll really get. Go ahead, stick it to the “Karens” you have to deal with every day in the salon! www.hauseofbones.com
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