As we build out the Salty Dawg team in preparation for opening day, I’m reflecting on our guiding principles:  the highest quality service, a dedication to building community, a focus on supporting animal rescue efforts, and a true “safety first” approach. 

 I firmly believe in humanity over vanity, and ensuring that our clients, and especially their dogs, benefit from always putting safe practices first through the right equipment and processes.  

Salty Dawg will embrace industry-leading safety programs – like the Fear Free Groomer Certification Program – as a guiding principle of our philosophy on safety. 

Fear Free is a certification program you can do as a veterinarian, groomer, or pet daycare, and everyone on my team is training for Fear Free certification this month. 

The concept is that you design your facility, train your people, and put programs in place to mitigate dogs’ fear levels when they arrive and throughout their grooming session. 

For example, when we have a new dog coming in for a groom, they’ll have an initial visit to come in and walk around the salon. We’ll show them the different tools, let them smell and touch them, and we’ll turn on the air dryer. And then nothing happens (aside, perhaps, from some belly rubs and tail wags) – and they go home. 

The idea is to spend time with the dog upfront so that after the first few visits, they get acclimated to the salon’s process, the setup, and are comfortable with the overall grooming session.  

Layout of the salon is important, and every detail has been considered: We won’t, for instance, have a dog trying to get his nails done a foot away from someone with a high-velocity dryer blowing in his face. We’re setting up a process so our dogs can have as much peace as possible and not a loud, chaotic experience. 

The Salty Dawg salon has four distinct, separate areas: retail, the grooming area, the hound lounge where dogs can calmly wait in kennels, and the bathing area.  

We also have an individual groom room for our extremely sensitive or nervous dogs. Here the dog gets a one-on-one experience with the groomer in a private setting. 

Our equipment was chosen for sound (minimal), comfort (maximum), and quality (ultimate). And our focus will always be the health and comfort of the dog above all else. 

I’m proud to have made Fear Free a priority at Salty Dawg – because at the end of the day, what matters most is both the safety and peace of mind for our clients and their dogs.