Refresh Your Pet For Spring With #PetSmartGrooming + DIY Pretend Pet Salon

Momma Told Me: There's a litttle girl under there somewhere!


When I was a young girl I was quite the tomboy. I had little interest in dresses or hairstyles, yet it was the 80s/90s transition and I had a full head of hair. Thick, unruly, wild, wavy strawberry blonde hair. At one point, somewhere around age 6, Momma grew frustrated with my lack of patience towards grooming and styling, and decided (in I'm sure what felt like solid logic at the time,) that perming my hair would somehow make it more manageable. One Spring weekend, over many tears and atrocious fumes, my mother gave me a perm. While I escaped physically unscathed the several months marking this period in our family photo album shall, forever, haunt me.

Flash forward to January 13th, 2016- My Dogher resembled more of a poodle than a maltese and some of her Winter coat has turned into Winter mats. I try, desperately, to keep up with the trials of long coat hair grooming, but I am far from a professional. And, with the last desperate buzz of the dying pet shears, in 95F 'Winter' SoCal heat with precisely half my dog stuck to my sweating skin, I eyed the scissors with a maniacal glint my mother had once had. With no exaggeration, 90 minutes later, there was more 'dog' in  kitchen sink than on the dog- and she still looked like the photos above. (Yes, that was her AFTER photo from 'Dog Mom Salon.)

I am not a professional. Sure Nora, the world's most enthusiastic dog, will sit still for hours while I hack at her coat with Baber's shears, but that's about all I've got going for me. Defeated I headed online to #PetSmartGrooming where I could browse a variety of services online and book an appointment at a PetSmart near me. Our local PetSmart groomers are no strangers to Nora- we try to make it in at least every 3 month, but our holiday travel plans left us a little behind schedule. While PetSmart does offer some grooming services on a walk-in basis, we usually build a package of treatments and services that requires more of an advance notice. Scheduling these services, with our groomer of choice in,  our preferred time slot is a breeze.

Our local PetSmart groomer is academy trained and always friendly, and engaging, just as though it's our first time. We like to get 'the usual,' for Nora, but taking your pet into a new grooming location or to meet a new groomer can often best stressful for a pet parent. Once you've booked your appointment in store, or online, grab our free Grooming Greeter printable and fill it out as a basic introduction your groomer can keep with your pet's file. PetSmart has some basic forms for you to fill out at drop off, but this will serve as a nice personal introduction of your pet, and your preferred style.

After we dropped Nora off for her spa day we had a few hours to pass before we'd receive an update and pick up call from Missy, so I decided to channel the kids' enthusiasm with a Pretend Play Pet Salon. That's right, PetSmart Jr. step right up! I instantly knew this idea would be a hit with the daycare group (ages 3-11) because pets are a non gender specific topic everyone can get enthusiastic about. Setup for this imagination fueling pretend play session was as simple as gathering a fake cash register (a cardboard box with a calculator will do just as fine,) a few spare towels, a plastic tub (wash bin,) some collars/clips/bows, and some trial sized shampoo bottles. I also grabbed an 'open' sign at the dollar store, and told the kids to each bring a stuffed animal from home.

 You can grab our free 'price board' printable above and toss it in a dollar store frame for an 'official' establishment. PetSmart's pricing isn't quite as rock bottom as my PetSmart Jr chart, but I have to say, we get the star treatment at amazing prices when we build our custom grooming package for Nora. Giving the children a similar range of services, and prices, allows them to not only practice match skills while playing, but also helps them develop creative reasoning as they consider what they want for their pet, specifically.

I'll admit, Nora's doppelganger, "Duster" was a huge hit- his wild mob of brush-able hair was braided, clipped, and topped with tiny bows. And, much like Nora, just a few hours later he was in desperate need of TLC grooming once again. We didn't see many feline patrons- but Grumpy Cat did make a VIP visit. Many of the kids told me I was silly for bringing a cat, but a quick look at the real life grooming services offered by PetSmart, for felines, put that to a rest.

I can't say whether our salon turned a profit or not, after all the afternoon shift's register was covered by a 4 year-old, but a blast was had by all. Each child made up stories about their plush pet, and beamed with pride as they picked them up at the end of service. It's always nice to have a smiling customer handing you their credit card, right? And the last customer made it through the checkout just in time- as Missy called to let me know Nora was being primped with her final touches, and I could head over any time.

I never feel bad about dropping Nora off at PetSmart Grooming for a few hours- ironically, I feel bad picking her up. The staff behind the counter AND in store dotes on her like she's a princess. I have never seen her nervous or scared- in fact, she loves their attention so much, I'm impressed with the groomer's patience. I can imagine how hard it is for her when Nora won't sit still because she wants to greet everyone and every dog! PetSmart provides every pet parent with a 'Pawgress Report' upon pickup- and Nora's always has the sweetest remarks, but I know better.

Of course the 'best day ever' (as we refer to big days out, such as grooming days) doesn't end there. Nora always leaves with just as much energy as she arrived- I can imagine she must get a pretty big head receiving the star treatment she does at PetSmart. On our most recent visit she received the Premium Groom Package with TOP DOG SPAW (includes Very Berry face wash, coconut nose & pad balm, ear flushing & paw massage) and CHI nail treatment add-ons. I can't recall the last time someone rubbed my paws- lucky dog!

Not only did Nora return to us looking like an entirely different dog- Missy did an incredible job bringing Nora's personality to life with some affordable add-on services such as Nail Polish and Chalking. When we'd first requested Nora's nails be painted (for a mere $7) I was skeptical how well the finished product would look on a hyper toy breed dog. Missy nailed it (pun intended) with alternating purple and pink polish on all 4 paws! And here I was going to be thrilled just to see Nora's feet once again! And, if you're wondering, it's been 2 weeks since her visit and most of the color is still visible- she just got a compliment yesterday.

Usually we leave PetSmart grooming with a complimentary bandana- this visit we added on a service called 'chalking' for just $2. Chalking is a fun, temporary, pet friendly way to add some color and attitude to your pet's look. Think of it like using colored hair chalk on your pet- it's a temporary flash of color often applied to the ears, tail, or poms, as requested. Nora had matching purple and pink chalking done to her tail to really make the complete look pop- but there was one more cherry on top- Instead of a bandana, this time she donned a little bow.

Nora loves visiting the PetSmart spa groomers and if I had any proof she could control the speed in which her hair grows, I'd be suspicious that she's campaigning to return again soon. Being the dog mom to a hyper Maltese-Yorkie, Nora is my little tomboy dog and I am the mom who occasionally feels it's a brilliant idea to perm hand trim her dogher's hair. Thanks goodness PetSmart grooming is there to help me clean up my mistakes! Book your dog, or cat's, Spring grooming appointment now online or in store- and host a Pretend Play Salon with the kids while your fur-child gets pampered!

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What Daughter Says: When your labrador starts looking like a labradoodle, trust PetSmart grooming to return your pooch to normal

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of PetSmart . The opinions and text are all mine.