A Fun Afternoon

Say Hello to Buddy, Soya Bean, and Sweetie… 

…we had fun today, thanks guys, and gal.

Grand Opening Week!

Tail Waggers Grand Opening was Saturday May 23, 2009. We had a draw for a basket of goodies and 50% off one grooming. I’ve decided to keep the draw going for the full week to allow for more entries. So if you want to a chance to win stop by and fill out an entry. No purchase necessary, we just want to meet you.

We had a great turnout and I groomed a couple dogs too. My Luath’s Holistic food showed up as well as my new Scallywags Biscuits. The biscuits smelled so good I almost tried one, but I wanted to save the samples for the doggies. We carry 4 flavours; Rye Crunch, Oatees, Peanut Butter, and Barley Bites. And in the Luath’s food the flavours are Chicken & Rice and Lamb & Rice. It’s an amazing food and I used to carry it in the States. I couldn’t wait to get it in the door because it healed diabetes and skin allergies in the dogs I used to treat. Come in for a free sample.

Soon to come:

• Herbal Remedies
• All-Natural Bones
• Essential Oils
• Grooming Supplies
• and many more toys…

Minor Setback

Yesterday started off fantastic. I was promised free balloons from the Londis down the road and he even let me borrow a price gun for my retail. The 3 dogs I groomed were wonderful and came out amazing. All was well in the world until I tried to call my last client to pick up her dog. And then the panic set in…WHERE’S MY PHONE??

Yup, you guessed it, stolen. My second day open and my first full day with my phone and it gets nicked right off my desk.

A guy came in to try and get me to donate to a charity. I didn’t have any change so I said catch me the next time. Then I went back to finish washing my buddy the Shih Tzu. And that’s when it happened. And what I don’t get is why anyone would even steal a mobile phone. They either have pins or get locked by the phone company as soon as you report it lost/stolen. They’re totally useless to any thief. All it’s done is put me in a panic, make me get up extra early to get it sorted,and cost me over 100euro to replace (ouch!). Not to mention the customers I’m losing over it. And to make matters worse the SIM they gave me wont work in either of the 2 phones I have sitting in my house. Hubby seems to think it’s a bad SIM.

So I’m sorry if you’ve been trying to call and it’s gone straight to voice mail. I’m really trying to get this sorted as quickly as possible. Stop by the shop if you get a chance. I’ll be there from 10AM to 6PM tomorrow and our Grand Opening is on Saturday as well.

Cheers!

Top Ten Reasons You SHOULD Groom Your Pet

Top 10 Reasons Why People Should Groom Their Animals

1. It makes them healthier by removing fleas, ticks, or even lice
2. Coats can become matted. These painful mats, if left too long, will pull hair out and causing bald patches
3. A dirty pet will stink up your whole house
4. They feel better when clean and pampered
5. Ears should always be cleaned and hair removed from the canal to prevent infections
6. Hygienic areas should always remain cleaned and mat free to prevent urinary tract and colon infections
7. Nails left to grow uncontrollably will result in a "slipped wrist" or doggie arthritis, or grow into the pads of the feet causing severe pain and possible infection
8. Seasonal shed needs to be removed to allow to animal to cool in the hot weather and to prevent matting
9. Groomers can check your animal for problems such as growths, cuts, ticks, fleas, mange, and many other symptoms owners might not see.
10. Expressing impacted anal glands. Which is commonly misdiagnosed as worms because of the "skooting" the dog does. Not a pretty job but someone has to do it.

To put it simply…Groomed Is Loved

B.A.R.F. Bone and Raw Food Diet

It’s time I start blogging about useful information.

There is a lot of controversy around the BARF diet for pets. I can now say from experience that it is by far the best diet. I have seen such an improvement in my kitten from incorporating raw food into his diet. And think about it. What did they get in the wild? Byproducts, preservatives, additives, and artificial ingredients? I think not. They got raw, nutrient packed food right from the source.

When I first got my little guy, Liam, he was extremely sick as were two of his siblings. Unfortunately we lost the other two boys from what I can only assume was some kind of viral infection. It caused them to stop eating and drinking, have watery diarrhea, and eventually succumb to their illness within 24 hours of us getting them. Luckily Liam fought for his life. He ate every time I fed him. I mainly fed him raw fish and chicken, and some hard boiled egg. I also supplemented infant probiotics and a baby multivitamin/mineral liquid supplement. I gave him Colloidal Silver to kill the infection as well as Oregon Grape Root to boost his immune system. I didn’t give him loads of supplements as it can clog the kidneys. I gave them sparingly and always with food to make sure they were digested and absorbed properly. But I do have to say with the raw food diet his coat is shiny and doesn’t shed much and his eyes have changed from a dull brown to a bright yellowish green. He’s as healthy as an ox and I couldn’t be more pleased with the results.

I did start him on a very high quality kibble that I used to sell in the States. Unfortunately, through process of elimination, I found out he had a horrible reaction to it because he kept breaking out in sores on his neck. With cats, skin sores, biting or pulling out hair, or even just jumping up as if being bitten by something are all indicators of a food allergy. Always check for fleas first, but 9 times out of 10 it’s the food. The kibble I sold in the States is different from the one out here. It has the same name but the two brothers that own the companies apparently don’t use the same ingredients.

Once I buy my own food grinder I will be making all of his food myself. I still use a good quality kibble, that he has no reaction to, but supplement it with raw fish or chicken at every meal. In Ireland they don’t sell organ meats, other than liver, at the butcher’s or the supermarkets. So what I will have to do is source it from a butcher and find out what day they get their shipment and pick it up THAT day. It’s illegal for them to hold it for me so I have to time it right. Just a quick note about liver. It’s extremely high in Vitamin A and giving too much can cause liver stones. So to avoid that but make sure they still get their Vitamin A, give them a small portion twice a week. This will give them enough in the meat source but don’t forget you can give them the vegetable source, Beta Carotene, from carrots as well. It will also add a little sweetness to the food. My Liam ate some crushed carrots and broccoli when I drizzled some olive oil on top. They aren’t herbivores and what little vegetation they do get is from the partially digested contents in their prey’s stomach and intestines. Yum!

Visit one of these great websites for raw cat food recipes. If you don’t want to make your own pet food there are several raw food manufacturers currently in the US. Do some research and see if there is a retailer nearby. One fabulous company I found was Primal Pet Foods. They have really high quality foods and treats. Instructions on how to feed are also on the package. You can even order online from one of their "Online Stores".

Good luck and give me testimonials on your success.

The Panic Begins

With my first client booked as of yesterday (OH congrats Jess, yes thank you thank you *bows*) it’s now a race to the finish. I need to get all of my supplies ordered, delivered, and installed by this Friday. With the bank taking its sweet time to do anything I’m freaking out. I wont go into detail but suffice it to say they are more of a hindrance  than a help.

But here are some pics to hold you over until it’s finished.

The Man in the Wall

It’s White Alright!

Pink and Chocolate, My Favorite

Putting My Man To Work

Chocolate Mint?

The flooring will be finished today as well. But I’ll hold off on taking pics of that until everything is up and displayed. I ordered some retail yesterday too. Can’t wait to get all the little dog toys and treats displayed. Happy Days!!!

Progress

My landlord Tom and his trusty sidekick John (the renovator)-cool nickname!

Since I last wrote so much has been done.

• The partition wall I didn’t need was removed and a new one put up
• Flooring has been measured and purchased (not to go in until I’ve finished painting)
• Walls scraped and prepped
• Signage quoted
• Electricity turned on
• Electrician out to do some repairs/add ons (coming back Wednesday)
• Plumber plumbed
• Odds and ends purchased

Things on my To Do list

• Sort paint and finally pick the colors for the shop
• Paint the walls
• Get the flooring laid
• Get plumber back in to install tub
• Get signage done
• Paint the outside of the shop a garish color so people can see me
• And many other little things like ordering my grooming supplies and retail.

Some fun pics for ya…

That’s right. Three guys all working for ME!!!

What a mess. Oh and he thought he got an electric shock when I took his picture. He wasn’t expecting the flash haha!

Before…

…and after

It’s all coming together nicely.

Breaking New Ground

Remodelling Day 1

Seven hours of scraping, peeling, and picking away at that god awful wallpaper and the shop remodel is still miles away from being finished. Still to get done are; the rest of the paper that was too high up to reach, build a partition wall, plumb in the pipes for the tub, paint the walls,  put in flooring, tear down the back wall, electrical work, and do a final cleanup. Of course I won’t be doing half of those jobs because I’m no contractor. Now painting, that’s something I’m very good at, but I’m still unsure what color scheme to use. Do I go bright and bold or soft and subdued? I’m torn.

Here is what the shop looked like when I went in this morning.

And this is what it looked like when I left at 5pm.

My arms are killing me.