Bain Bo Toutou

At Bain Bo Toutou, we strongly believe that the psychological and emotional well-being of your dog is just as important as their physical well-being.

All of our dogs are treated according to their individual capabilities and limitations. Our goal is to take the stress out of the grooming experience so eventually your dog will actually like being groomed!

We believe in establishing trust with our canine clients, observe their body language and respect their limitations. Once a dog sees a human as a threat, it is hard to undo the damage.

That is exactly why we do not believe in forcing your dog. We want the dogs to comply, not to force them to comply. If there’s something we cannot do on the first visit, we will get better results with the next visit. Your dog will remember their 1st visit and since we have established trust, this will allow us to be more efficient on the subsequent visits.

Hand photo created by prostooleh - www.freepik.com

Grooming Services

We offer a full range of grooming services.

Bath with 2 shampoos
(according to your dog’s specific need; whitening, deshedding, hypoallergenic, therapeutic, etc.)
Blow dry
Nail trimming and filing
Ear cleaning*
Eye cleaning
Haircut (if applicable)

Experience over the years and new research shows we should not be plucking the interior hair from the ears. Only if your dog is extremely furry will we cut and remove some of the dead hairs.

À la carte services

Nail clipping and filing
Small dog $10 (as of September 2021)
Big dog $13 (as of September 2021)
Ear cleaning $5
Shave cushions $5 (free with nail clipping)
Brushing $15 per 15min session
Severely tangled coats must be shaved. Please maintain your dog at home if you do not wished to have your dog’s hair cut very short. We will not put your dog through pain and/or anguish just to achieve a certain look. Refer to our brushing and maintenance section for tips and facts about dogs and their grooming needs

Before the Grooming

• Please make sure you take your dog out to do their business before the session. This is for their comfort. A dog on the table that needs to go is not only uncooperative but very uncomfortable.

• Bring your dog’s favorite treat.

• Bring them on a leash so they can smell the exterior of the salon. This helps them feel more secure about their surroundings.

• Let them sniff the inside of the salon and don’t worry or scold them if they mark. It’s probably because they smelled another dog and we expect these little messes. (If you took them out prior the mess will more likely be little).

• DON’T FEEL BAD, SAD or anxious as you are leaving. Your dog smells these reactions. Our promise to you is that we would never let your dog suffer by any means. We are true animal lovers and they sense this. We will always offer them reassurance and praise in your absence. After all, they are our babies too!

• Unless your dog is high energy, there's no need to work them out before coming. We need them to stand at certain points and we never like over exerting a tired dog.

• Haircuts for a small dog take 1 to 2 hours. Haircuts for big dogs take 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours

• We will call you when you’re dog is ready. We do the finishing touches last and if you walk in before we’re done chances are your dog will get too excited to allow us to finish.

Price List: click on the image to view the pdf file

Grooming Routine

Haircut

Wash

Blow dry

Finishing

About Us

Our grooming is done in a safe and sanitary environment. Grooms include a bath with high-quality products designed for pets. We have a variety of shampoos and conditioners to match every pet's need.
Our grooming is done by appointment only, so your pet does not have to stay all day. Most grooming appointments take 1.5 - 2 hours.

Meet the Groomer

In 2004, I decided to take grooming courses after my sister’s dog had a bad experience with a groomer. It was meant as a hobby but it quickly became my passion. I was born to work with dogs! My authentic love and respect for them puts most dogs at ease. I handle them gently and read their body language and cues in order to identify their particular needs. They sense I mean no harm and I do all I can to reassure them, establishing a secure environment, to make their grooming experience as pleasant as possible.

I have always had a crazy love for dogs since childhood. I was the kid who always brought strays home. I grew up with German Shepards. I later adopted Ginger, a Chihuahua mixed with a Pom. She taught me how to understand and manipulate tiny sensitive breeds.

Puppies

Dog photo created by master1305 - www.freepik.com

Going to the grooming salon can be quite the experience for a young puppy. It’s very important that you prepare your dog for a lifetime of being groomed especially if they have hair that needs regular attention.

At Bain Bo Toutou as well as any other salon, your dog will be brushed and combed, washed and blow dried. They will see and hear the clipper and feel the vibrations of it. They will have scissors put close to their face. Introducing all these things in one grooming session will be hard on your pup. Brush them at home, it’s never too early. If possible, bath them too and introduce them to the blow dryer (start with the back area, they hate the face being blow dried). Another good tip is to turn the vacuum on in another room and give your dog a toy or treat to keep busy with. The next time turn the vacuum on a little closer to your dog (again, give them something they like that will keep them occupied.) Do this enough times and they will no longer react to the sound. Never stick the vacuum too close to the dog. It’s like learning to swim. You can’t just throw someone into a pool if they’ve never been in water before - that would traumatize them.)

We don’t expect you to introduce your dog to scissors because that can be dangerous with an unpredictable pup, but if you can introduce them to the vibration of something, that would make the grooming task easier. (It also ensures that they won’t try to spring off my table in terror when I turn my clipper on)

Dogs are often scared of things they’ve never seen or experienced before. It would benefit your pup if you expose them to these grooming aspects, IN THE PROPER MANNER, so they live a happier life.

Brushing

Double-coated breeds

Dogs such as Pomeranians, Shephards, Collies, Bernese Mountain dogs etc. Have two types of hair; what you see on the surface is their top coat but under that is their undercoat. It’s a different, shorter hair that creates a barrier for their skin. It protects them from the heat in the summer and from the cold in the winter. This undercoat hair changes according to the climate/environment. This is the hair that sheds. In the winter it thickens up to keep the dog warm. When the weather gets warmer it sheds leaving way for thinner “summer” hair. It is strongly recommended to never shave this type of hair. It is not the type of hair that is meant to be shaved. Doing this can damage the hair and it may not grow back evenly. This is because you are cutting the beautiful top coat and leaving behind the undercoat hair that’s not meant to be seen.

In my professional opinion, I also think that this worsens your shedding problem. By cutting the undercoat you stimulate it to grow more (thicker, longer, and sometimes more rough and unmanageable). You do not want to disturb that hair. This means that it is imperative that you brush and comb this type of coat. We never want to be in a situation where we must shave a dog with a double coat because the tangles are so bad that they are impossible to remove in a pain-free, humane manner.

Dogs with hair that tangles

(ex: bichon, Yorkshire terriers, Shih tzu, Pomeranians, Doodles, Poodles etc) need to not only be brushed regular but you also need to comb.

The brush is your main tool. It gets out tangles much more efficiently and painlessly than a comb. Your comb is your detector. You pass it after brushing to check for knots or places that need more work with the brush. When you are brushing make sure you’re not scraping the skin and making it uncomfortable for your dog. Brush away from the skin. If you find a tangle, try to hold the hair right above the tangle and work on it with the brush. If you have ever had a small tangle on your long hair, you instinctively hold your hair in order to brush to soften the pulling sensation. It is the same with your dog. There are sprays called detanglers specifically designed to help you brush. Make sure when you are combing that you are not just getting the top part of the hair. It’s usually the hair closest to the skin that often gets missed during brushing and that forces us to shave your dog short.

Also don’t forget the paws, the belly, the thighs, the ears and the tail. Your dog has hair everywhere that needs attention. Places like the paws and the face are where a dog's nerve endings are. They will need to be handled more delicately there. Places where the paws join the torso (armpits), or by the genitalia, is painful to brush/comb if it is tangled, therefore leave those areas to be shaved. It doesn’t show anyway and your dog will hate brushing if you insist in theses areas. Another area that tangles easy is the spot where the ears meet the back of the head. Make sure you brush there to avoid tangles and if there is one that develops, try to have your dog groomed so we can cut it out before it gets too tight.

YouTube Videos

Severe Knots

When tangles are bad, we are forced to shave extremely short. Why? Because all the other blades just get stuck in the tangles and pull on the hair instead of cutting it. Shaving this short can irritate some dogs, especially those with pink skin. We can’t use scissors because your dog’s skin is often pinched or folded into the tangle. This can constrict your dog’s blood flow. If the mats are thick enough and your dog gets wet, the skin underneath the tangles may stay humid which is the perfect breeding ground for bacteria. In the wild, matted hair eventually falls out, leaving a bald spot.

Your dog’s fur is their skins layer of protection. No matter how careful we are (keeping blades cool, clean and sharp) a small percentage of dogs will get irritation. The short cut exposes their skin to wind and cold and if you’ve ever had a short haircut you probably know the sensation of feeling the breeze more. If blood flow was constricted, once we shave the blood starts to flow back which can create a tingling sensation. It’s important if your dog gets irritated to put an anti-itch product before they scratch so much it breaks the skin. We carry an all natural one if not I recommend Douxo which can get purchased at a veterinarian. If your dog gets irritated once, chances are they have sensitive skin and the same thing will happen next time we shave short.