We would love to! We have a real passion for working with these special dogs. We’re always searching for new tools to make the grooming process easier and less strenuous for disabled dogs.

We accept:

♥ Dogs who have skin conditions
♥ Dogs who have heart problems that are diagnosed and medicated (as deemed necessary by your veterinarian)
♥ Dogs who have diabetes or other chronic health problems that are diagnosed and medicated (as deemed necessary by your veterinarian)
♥ Dogs with seizure disorders
♥ Dogs with collapsing trachea
♥ Dogs with mobility issues
♥ Dogs of advanced age

Please disclose all known health problems and conditions. Please note that we cannot accept dogs with communicable diseases, due to the risk they pose to other pets in our care.

We will certainly try! We all have a fair bit of experience working with difficult dogs of multiple varieties. It’s never safe or ethical to force through a groom that isn’t working, but with the right environment and groomer; many dogs find success. We are happy to try our best working with your dog.

We accept:

♥ Dogs who bite
♥ Dogs with severe anxiety
♥ Dogs who are dog reactive or dog aggressive
♥ Dogs who require muzzling for the majority of services
♥ Dogs on anxiety medications or sedatives
♥ Dogs with a variety of behavior concerns

Please disclose any issues you’re aware of so we can be prepared! We won’t turn you away for them.

It isn’t always safe to accept a dog for grooming. We want to offer our services to as many dogs as possible, but some dogs are at too high of a risk for us to be confident of their safety in the salon.

We do not accept:

♥ Unvaccinated dogs
♥ Puppies under 8 weeks of age are too vulnerable to be somewhere that’s frequented by so many dogs. Please wait until 8-12 weeks for a first groom!
♥ Pregnant or nursing dogs are at high risk of miscarriage
♥ Dogs with contagious diseases (including but not limited to kennel cough, canine influenza and sarcoptic mange)
♥ Dogs with fleas
♥ Dogs in heat
♥ Dogs with open wounds
♥ Dogs with significant breathing problems may require oxygen during a grooming service due to increased stress. Please ask your vet about an in-clinic groom with oxygen available.

If we suspect a dog has a contagious illness, we will discontinue service immediately and call the owner for pickup.

Though we don’t have dogs in direct contact with each other, many dogs go through our salon. We clean thoroughly with a hydrogen peroxide cleaner known to kill contagions, but it’s impossible to know if every particle has been eradicated. Parvovirus can survive up to a year without a host, and distemper for up to 7 weeks. Both have a high fatality rate and cause permanent damage to survivors. Rabies, though rare in domestic animals, has a fatality rate of near %100 even in humans. Groomers are at high risk of bites, and need to undergo treatment for potential rabies exposure when bit by a dog without proof of vaccination.

It is essential to the safety of both dogs in our care and their groomers to have up-to-date core vaccinations (rabies, distemper, parvovirus and adenovirus). Rabies vaccination is also required by Ontario law.

We recommend bordetella (kennel cough) for all dogs who frequently interact with other dogs due to how contagious it is, but do not require it.

Puppies under 5 months of age will not yet be fully vaccinated. We are happy to accept them - in fact, not allowing unvaccinated adult dogs is partially for their protection during this time of increased vulnerability.

Your dog’s vaccination status and current veterinarian will be saved in their client file.

Dogs with actively seeping wounds or incision sites that have stitches are very susceptible to infection, particularly during the bathing process. We do not want to risk irritating surgical sites, or things such as hair particles finding their way into wounds. Scabs, healing hot spots, minor scratches and abrasions, cysts, cracked claws and other similar minor injuries are no problem. We’re also happy to accept elderly dogs with crusty, easily irritated warts and growths. Surgical sites should have their stitches removed and be cleared by a veterinarian for grooming.

We recommend your pet takes flea prevention (oral or topical) but do not require it. Even dogs who are on prevention can pick up a flea or two outside, or even a small infestation between treatments! We do stock a natural and highly effective limolene-derived shampoo for use on dogs found to have fleas during their grooming appointment. It’s simply unavoidable to run across fleas from time to time.

However, if you’ve found your dog to be infested with fleas; please treat them with a topical treatment and wait the recommended time (usually several days) before bringing them to their grooming appointment. Our shampoo treatments will only kill the adult fleas that are currently present.

If your dog is infested with fleas, there will be an additional fee to cover the extensive cleanup that ensures fleas won’t spread to other dogs in the salon.

We understand how much you love your pet and want to ensure their safety, but the honest truth is that the vast majority of dogs are, at best, distracted by their owners’ presence. This often makes them extremely wiggly and difficult to work on when they would otherwise stand completely still - which is very important when we’re holding sharp tools in our hands! We’re used to working on a moving target, but a dog gets very excited - even frantic - to see their beloved owner. Many try to reach their owner or are far more stressed by the fact that you’re standing there watching them and not bringing them back home! Imagine the difference in your dog’s energy level when you first return home from work and they can barely contain their excitement. I’m sure you’ll understand how much more difficult this makes the grooming process.

Non-employees being in the grooming area also presents a huge insurance risk. Not only would our provider be unable to cover things like slips and falls, but we also can’t predict how other animals in the salon may react to your presence. We don’t want any pets or people getting injured on our watch!

If you’ve always been curious how your pet responds to the grooming process, we may be able to take a short video for you. The groomer you were working with will always give a full report on your pet’s behavior on check out.

The kennel is a safe and controlled space where your dog can stay while they aren’t on our table. A kennel-free salon sounds appealing, but creates a chaotic environment where dogs are underfoot of busy groomers. Your dog can’t be observed at all times, which always creates a risk, and would be around other dogs they haven’t met. Some dogs may find this fun, but many dogs don’t like other dogs. They may easily become reactive and fight or bully each other. Dropped tools are always a risk to dogs on the floor, and some energetic dogs will even jump on tables where other dogs are currently being groomed. All of this is also highly overstimulating to the dogs we’re trying to groom, and can stress them out more or make them excited. Either way, they will often move unpredictably. This isn’t exactly safe when we have scissors in our hands, and we want to do everything in our power to minimize the possibility of an injury.

At Paw Envy, our goal is to create calm and safe conditions for your pet to be groomed. It is much calmer and quieter when dogs aren’t running around our feet! Also - even when everyone plays nice, it’s pretty likely you’d end up with slobber, poop or pee (or even all three) on your nice clean pup! We will call you a few minutes before your dog is ready, so they can spend as little time in a kennel as possible.

If your dog absolutely cannot be kenneled, we would love to work with you and evaluate your dog’s needs. Many people believe their pet will panic in a kennel - and maybe they do if they can still see their owner. A large number of these dogs are perfectly fine when we try them out to see how they react.

A calm, quiet dog with lower energy is welcome to stay in a playpen in the grooming area. This is a great choice for dogs who are older or have health issues, and could potentially be done on a trial basis. If this ends up being unsuitable, we do offer ‘express’ appointments in limited time slots and for a higher cost.

‘Restraint-free’ grooming is something that sounds appealing to many owners. The reality is that dogs don’t have great spatial awareness, and even the calmest and best behaved dogs often step backwards towards the edge of the table. A correctly used grooming loop does not pull on the neck, but the dog is aware of it - and they feel that they won’t be able to move a certain way.

Using no loop introduces needless risk. With a loop, the possibility of a dog falling off of the table is very low. Without, it could happen at any time and for any reason. Falling from a table can cause severe injuries.

It is also highly unsafe to groom a dog with any level of reactivity or aggression with no restraint. Not only can they easily bite the groomer, they can even more easily bite or thrash into scissors or clippers.

No, never. This is easily the leading cause of preventable deaths in a grooming salon, and we think it’s non-negotiable. There is no reason for a pet to be unattended on a table. The only place your dog will be left unobserved is a secure kennel.

A thorough bath and blow dry is essential to a good haircut. Very few owners have the skill or tools and products to bathe a dog as well as we can, and we need the hair freshly cleaned and fluffy to do a nice even haircut. Dirty hair also dulls our tools much faster!

There are some extreme circumstances, such as comfort grooms for elderly or very sick dogs, where we will consider services with no bath; but generally speaking a groom with no bath is more work for us than a standard service including a bath.

In order to maximize our time, we work on multiple dogs while they are with us. Most dogs prefer a moderate amount of downtime during their haircut - usually a break between their bath/blow dry and the haircut itself. An older dog may not even be able to stand up for that long. The 2-3 hour window (or 3-4 for large dogs) allows us time to check other dogs in and out; and begin their service.

Many people say they’re bringing their dog for a ‘day at the spa’, and are confused that they’re not terribly fond of being groomed. Unfortunately, it’s more comparable to a dentist visit for us humans. There’s really not anything to fear, but most people aren’t comfortable going to the dentist anyways. Unfortunately, you can’t really explain to a dog that grooming is necessary for their health.

If a dog is well socialized to grooming from a young age, they will usually come to accept it as a regular part of their life - it’s not scary and some parts of the service can even be enjoyable. This is one of the main reasons why it’s important to bring them regularly as a puppy! Some dogs do enjoy the attention and a large number of them (even those that hate being groomed) love their groomer. Letting them build a trusting relationship with a specific groomer makes a big difference, particularly for more suspicious or fearful dogs.

There are definitely a lot of dogs that will tolerate grooming at best, and that’s just fine!

If you’ve ever had long enough hair to put in a ponytail, you know how it feels to have the ponytail too tight; or when it’s uneven and tugging a few small hairs. That’s what matting feels like - and it gets progressively tighter the longer you leave it. Mats pull on the skin and cause itching, bruising and even loss of circulation in extremities (particularly ears). Moisture and bacteria gets trapped in mats and held against the skin, resulting in irritation or even infection. When a matted area gets wet (usually from rain, swimming, or at home bathing) and then dries without being brushed or shaved, it becomes even tighter. The limited air circulation through matted areas also makes a matted dog overheat very easily.

Mats can happen to even the most attentive of owners, and caring for your dog’s coat is a learning process.

It is possible to damage the coat of a double coated dog by shaving it. There are many contradictory opinions as to exactly why and how this happens, so it remains very difficult to predict the effect on any particular dog. Some people believe it is almost entirely genetic, some people say that diet plays a large role, and some say with proper skin and coat care the coat will grow back normally. It is most likely a combination of many factors, but it is true that sometimes a dog’s coat won’t grow back the same and occasionally it won’t grow back at all. Some breeds are more susceptible - infamously pomeranians and similar thick-coated spitzes (chow chows, samoyeds, keeshonds, eskimos).

With most dogs who are well cared for and in good health, the coat will grow back. However, there is always a risk; and the risks increase with frequent shaving. This is important to consider when you’re making a drastic haircut decision for your double coated dog.

Shihtzus, poodles, yorkies and other similar dogs have a ‘hair’ coat that will grow continually and doesn’t really shed. These types of dogs require haircuts to maintain their coats. Double coated dogs are usually dogs that shed - everything from german shepherds, huskies and shiba inus to pomeranians and samoyeds to golden retrievers, australian shepherds, and collies. These dogs have a fluffy undercoat that sheds frequently, and should be bathed and brushed to help remove the extra hair. Double coated breeds with long hair can be trimmed - for hygiene around the bum and back legs, simply to make them look nice and tidy, or both.

Doodles usually have double coated genetics somewhere in their family tree, and there are many possible coat types and textures they can get even within a single litter. The vast majority do require haircuts, and none are damaged by shaving.

Due to the risks of shaving a double coat, many people - even groomers - take a very strong stance against it. However, there are times when it’s truly the best and most humane option. If a double coated dog becomes severely matted, dematting can be impossible or far too intense to ask a dog to endure (more than 12 hours of blow drying, washing and brushing!). Intense dematting also damages the coat, the rough texture of the hair more prone to becoming matted again.

It’s often in the best interest of a senior or otherwise infirm dog to be shaved. Eventually, age and health issues cause coat damage on their own. Older dogs can no longer shed hair as easily, leading to large clumps of impaction or matting. Many senior dogs won’t tolerate regular brushing any more - sometimes from pain and sometimes just disposition - and if the coat can’t be maintained it isn’t fair to anyone to keep it. Shaving can also be helpful for some health and skin conditions.

We’re happy to talk with you about your dog’s coat, and let you know what we recommend.