It is completely up to each individual owner whether to vaccinate or not. At Pooch-Haven we believe that the kennel cough, which is an air born virus, can be contracted easily almost anywhere. A dog with the virus can pass it along to any dog, whether they are at the groomers, the park, the store or even the vet. The virus is not caused by grooming salons nor boarding kennels. In our opinion, as long as the dog’s immune system is not compromised, there is no reason why their body should not be able to naturally ward off the virus. If your dog picks up the virus, you may need to investigate why their immune system is perhaps not responding as it should naturally do.

No, your dog will not pick up any fleas from our salon. Flea eggs, larvae & pupae survive in the soil, in animal bedding and in carpeting as well as upholstery. After eggs have fallen off of the host’s body onto such surfaces, it then takes anywhere from 2 days to 10 days for those eggs to hatch. We do not have any carpeting nor keep animal bedding in the salon. This eliminates the environmental conditions required for flea eggs to survive. We have a strict cleaning and disinfecting routine at the salon to prevent the spread of any bacteria, fungus, disease or any type of potential irritant to anyone’s pet. We do our best to ensure that any potential hazards are removed from our environment immediately to protect your pet as well as our staff.

Got a new puppy? Here are some tips to enhance their grooming experience:

• For a "tidy up", new puppies should be brought into the grooming salon at 3 months of age. This ensures that they've received all their shots.
• A full grooming is not recommended until 4 months of age. This is especially important for breeds such as Shih Tzu's, Bichons, Schnauzers, Malteses, Yorkies, etc,.
• It is important to touch your puppies all over but especially their paws and ears so they can get used to being handled.
• It is important to socialize your puppy as often as you can in an effort to prevent any behavioural issues later on.
• Brushing and combing your puppy is very important especially for long coated breeds. Brushing is not enough. Combing with a fine-toothed metal comb is recommended.