It seems unbelievable that Marcel, a lozenge of fluff with dark eyes and a little laughing mouth, hates brushing so much that his owner has considered a muzzle. “If you muzzle them for a groom they can start to associate the process with stress,” says Natalia Swietlik, grooming development expertise trainer at Pets at Home. The two-year-old pomeranian, who sails through the preliminary health check and welfare-related admin, busies himself creating the impression that butter wouldn’t melt. Clever boy.
Working across 46 locations, Swietlik is one of seven trainers who support and upskill Pets at Home’s network of Groom Rooms. “One of us even flies to Northern Ireland because we have nine salons out there,” she says. Some Groom Rooms are standalone and a couple operate from special “pods” outside stores, but many – like this one – are nestled in large Pets at Home outlets along with everything else a dog owner could need.
Swietlik gets to know Marcel
Undeterred by Marcel’s testy relationship with groomers, Swietlik begins to bathe him with supreme confidence and care. Nearby is an array of pastel-coloured bottles to rival any beauty blogger’s shelfie: oatmeal and coconut products for sensitive skin and chocolate-scented “Choca-doodle” shampoo for poodle cross breeds. “We have seasonal shampoos, as well,” says Swietlik, opening a sherbet orange bottle that smells (to an inferior human nose) of subtle vanilla and pumpkin. As well as seasonal shampoos, Pets at Home also offers seasonal spa packages, such as the Halloween Spa package.
“We like to keep things fun,” says Swietlik. “We have company values and the first is: ‘pets come first’, but another is that we like to have fun in the salon.” The Watford team agree it is a lot of fun – especially when you’re working with puppies – but there’s a serious side, too. Pets at Home has a long and meticulous training programme complete with text books, online tests, a portfolio and practical assessments. Swietlik glows with pride at the career progression of “her team”, citing groomers who began on the shop floor: “In my experience, I would say about 60% of our salon managers were bred by us.”
Swietlik, who was a salon manager before being promoted, says it’s increasingly difficult to find the 20 or more breeds that trainees need to practise on. “Most dogs we groom now are poodle crosses: cockapoos, labradoodles, goldendoodles – they’re our bread and butter, if you like. Literally 60-70% of our dogs will be like this, followed by lots of double coats.” Double-coated breeds have a short undercoat that sheds regularly and range from German shepherds to pomeranians, like Marcel. One of the most popular tools to use on these breeds is the deshedding treatment, which removes dead hair, strengthens the hair follicles and reduces shedding overall. As well as coat maintenance, grooming is the perfect opportunity to check for parasites, infections, lumps and bumps, and other issues your dog may pick up over the course of its life – so it’s important to make grooming part of your dog’s regular healthcare.
A shampoo and a trim leaves Marcel’s coat in top condition
After two shampoos – one to remove the dirt – Marcel’s conditioner is left to do its work for five minutes. Ample time for Swietlik to apply the SPA blueberry facial, which lifts off dark tear stains and sends Marcel into a paroxysm of pleasure as his face is gently massaged. But all dogs enjoy different things – one could love a facial but hate being brushed, like Marcel. “It’s personal with dogs, just like with humans, but most of them really like the attention,” she says. For those that don’t – perhaps due to previous experiences elsewhere – there are shorter treatments to ease them in, or quiet sessions on a Sunday before the rest of the store is open. The best approach is to get them used to it as early as possible. The Groom Room offers a simple puppy package that can be given as soon as your dog is ready to go outside.
If your dog really struggles with grooming, you might presume you should stay in the room to offer them comfort – but you’d be wrong. “We understand that it’s very difficult to leave your babies with a stranger, especially for the first time,” says Swietlik, a dog owner herself. “But we have large windows and you can watch if you like – we just ask that you do so from an angle where your dog can’t see you because that bond between a dog and its owner, it’s always so strong, and the dog will keep trying to get to you, making everyone’s lives harder.”
Natalia Swietlik with Marcel
Swietlik’s words are proved moments later when Marcel is moved to the grooming table and catches sight of his owner, who has been diligently hiding out of sight. Damp and straggle-haired, he begins yapping then shifts to a gurgling growl when the electric dryer is switched on. “He doesn’t like the noise,” says Swietlik. She finishes the drying swiftly and lets him sit on her lap while she finishes brushing out his fur.
Now Marcel’s owner has returned, Swietlik has some tips to make grooming better for them both. But first she starts off with asking what food the pooch is on – if your dog isn’t eating the right food, she would usually recommend a nutrition consultation with a colleague. “You could try adding fish or cod-liver oil to his diet to keep his coat soft,” she says, adding that a hydrated coat is easier to brush. The direction of shampooing and brushing is also key: “If you go from the front you will be brushing over the top of the tangles underneath, plus most dogs are more sensitive at the back so it’s best to get it over with first.” And if that doesn’t work? “Bribery! You just have to reward them as much as possible. Treats, or even chicken, is good.”
It seems unlikely that any amount of chicken could have seen Marcel through the full range of treatments, from paw wax to the finishing spritz of fragrance. But dogs need regular grooming sessions – no matter how much they whinge. Even if your dog has been hesitant through its session, Swietlik says the moment when pooch and owner reunite makes it all worth it, especially for the dog. “If the owner comes in and is happy and the dog thinks: ‘Oh, she’s so happy to see me!’, they connect the experience of grooming with a happy owner. In a dog’s world, this makes them very happy, too.”
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