Currently the States of Indiana, Kentucky, Florida and South Carolina only requires pet owners to have the rabies vaccine for their pets. Therefore this is our only requirement or a Titer test to determine pets’ vaccine levels. Due to not being a daycare or interaction with other pets we do not require vaccines for flu or kennel cough.
Currently the State of Indiana only requires pet owners to have the rabies vaccine for their pets. Therefor this is our only requirement or a Titer test to determine pets’ vaccine levels. Due to not being a daycare or interaction with other pets we do not require vaccines for flu or kennel cough.
Please visit our “Request Appointment” page to request a grooming appointment. This is merely a request and someone from our customer service team will contact you about schedule your pet’s appointment. If you are a first-time customer with Smoochie Pooch, we will not confirm this appointment without speaking to you first.
Our grooming prices are based on various factors including breed, size, behavior, condition of coat, length of coat, and length of time between visits. We will provide a quote over the phone; however, we cannot guarantee that will be your exact price at the time of service. Our groomers will provide an accurate price at the time of your appointment.
Pet grooming services are not like cutting human hair. Our customers don’t sit still. Often pets haven’t seen a groomer in 4-6 weeks or longer and we cannot predict the amount of time your pet will require when scheduling an appointment. We estimate for the salon 2-3 hours, and our mobile grooming usually takes 1 hour for most breeds. Goldendoodles and large double coated dogs will take longer for grooming. If you have multiple pets, your appointment times will also take longer. Our team will send you a confirmation text or call as soon as your pet is ready for pickup!
At Smoochie Pooch we believe that your pet should receive the best care possible. We hand dry almost every pet start to finish, but there are occasions where you pet must be kennel dried due to behavior or temperament. Our kennel dryers are non-heat and blow the ambient air from the bathing room into the kennel of the pet. We also monitor each pet during the kennel drying period and pets are generally in the kennel dryer for 15-20 mins.
While we will not tell you no to this, we have found that many pets do far better when their owner isn’t present. Owners are not permitted in the grooming areas or in the mobile vans however due to safety procedures. If you choose to stay and watch don’t mind our horrible singing or dancing!
Due to offering mobile services, which we consider express, we do not offer express grooms in the salon. Your pet will take the allotted time just as every other pet. You may schedule for the first appointment of the day for your groomer. Fort Wayne is the only salon currently offering Express Grooms
Congratulations on your new addition to your family!! We look forward to building a bond with them. We normally will start our services at 10-12 weeks. This would include bath, nails trimmed, ears cleaned out, brush out, and if necessary, trimming of the face, feet, and potties. We also offer this at a discounted price as we want your new puppy to get to know us. We will not provide a haircut on your puppy until they have reached 6 months old. You may take advantage of the puppy pricing until that time as often as you would like.
When you make an appointment, we set aside a block of time with a groomer specifically for your dog. Because this time is “yours”, we ask that you reserve the time with a credit card. Please see our cancellation policy in the event of a last-minute cancellation or re-schedule.
Our highly qualified groomers are not paid hourly or salary, but rather given a percentage of each pet their style. Therefore, any last-minute cancellation has a large impact on his/her paycheck. Therefore, it is our policy to charge a fee up to the full price of the visit for cancellations or re-scheduling with less than 24-hour notice. Please see our credit card policy.
Pets get matted. It happens! For this reason, we strongly recommend a schedule based off your pet’s coat, and the desired length. Our groomers can help you determine what is best for you! Mats can be painful for your pet. It is entangled hair that is pulling tighter and tighter on the skin with each passing day. Sometimes we can brush out smaller matting, or spot shave depending on location. In the instance your pet is heavily matted we must do the humane option and that is to shave your pet down. He/she will be short often, as we must shave under the matting. There is a fee for dematting of $1/min of either brushing out mats or having to shave severely matted pets. It is never our desire to shave a pet down as we like them cute and fluffy just like you!
At Smoochie Pooch only gentle grooming practices are used. This means that if a dog is being difficult or trying to bite while being groomed, a second person is called in assist in your pet’s grooming. We are always very honest with our clients regarding their pet’s behavior.
Your satisfaction is very important to us! If you notice something at pick up, they can often take care of it for you prior to leaving the facility. If you notice something after you leave, we ask that you give us a call within 24 hours so we can arrange a time to tweak the groom while it is still relatively fresh.
Hand stripping involves plucking the dead hair by hand or with the use of a tool rather than clipping or cutting the coat. This results in a coarser hair texture, which is the “correct” method of grooming for most terriers and spaniels. The process takes more time, the cost is higher, and the dog will need to come in regularly every 2-3 weeks for ongoing maintenance. When making your appointment, please inform us that your dog requires hand stripping, so we can book them in an appropriate time slot with the correct stylist.
Our Shed Relief Treatment utilizes a 3-step bathing process with extra brushing and carding of dead undercoat to reduce shedding. It boosts the health of the skin and coat while reducing shedding and allergens by over 50%! This is followed by a blow-drying session and simultaneous brushing to further eliminate excess coat. Once dry, our professional pet groomers utilize specialized grooming tools to significantly reduce hair buildup. Your pet will shed more significantly after the Deshed Treatment due to the loosened hair follicles. Shedding will subside in 24-48 hours.
These are scent sacs found right under your dog’s tail. Some dogs empty them naturally, some do not. Please consult with your veterinarian whether they recommend we express them or not. Most dogs do not have an issue with their anal glands, and for that reason we do not include it in our service. If your pet has an ongoing issue or you notice something, please advise your grooming at your appointment to look for you.
Our groomers are most often very busy with regularly scheduled clients. We do not offer same day appointments for new customers as well as any customer who hasn’t been groomed in the last 12 weeks. Our team plans their day according to their schedule in the morning and we do not want to disrupt the flow. If you have an emergency, please call at 219-286-3608 and we will do our best.
To maintain a proper/manageable coat for non-shedding breeds, such as Poodles, Bichons, Shih Tzus, Lhasa Apsos, Goldendoodles, you should have your dog groomed every 4-6 weeks. If they are kept shorter you can extend a bit to 8 weeks. Breeds that have short hair can typically wait 8-10 weeks, however the more often you get your pet groomed the less shedding you will have as the coat stays hydrated.
We are not a daycare facility. We groom by appointment only. Grooming by specific times allow us to provide specialized attention to each of our clients and minimizes the amount of time your pet will spend in a kennel. This reduces their stress level. We will work with you for your schedule, if we are notified at drop off. We request you arrive on time for your appointment. Arriving late puts our team behind for the remainder of the day. They have stopped what they are doing in anticipation of your arrival.
We require appointments for all grooming services. We plan and schedule our days according to breeds and groomer capacities. Walk-ins are permitted for nail trims, however. If you are planning to come later in the day for a nail trim, we ask you call first to make sure a groomer is still working before coming.
In our salons, all pets are kenneled when our groomers are not working on them for the safety of your pet, our team, and other pets in our care. The last thing we want is a dog fight. We have found in other salons that when pets room they tend to pee everywhere also. We provide a clean, sanitized salon, and roaming pets make this challenging throughout the day. Your pet is monitored while in our care and our team will notify you if we see any problems. If your pet does not handle the kennel well, we suggest our mobile grooming service. If your pet barks habitually and will not settle down in the kennel you will be asked to pick up immediately after your grooming is complete. This is mandatory as we do have neighbors at all our salons.
Every pet we care for gets one-on-one treatment and care. When arriving to your home, we spend time talking to you, playing with your pet and then grooming your pet. We don’t know on most days what all this looks like. You may have concerns today that you wish to talk longer to your groomer. Your pet may be matted and require additional brushing this visit. You may be a first-time customer of our mobile service and we don’t know anything about you or your pet yet. There is also travel time between customers. While we try and minimize this as much as possible, construction, accidents, and weather can play a large role in taking longer. If we are ever going to miss our arrival times our team will call and make you aware of this. If we arrive at your home and no-one is home, we will wait 15 mins before leaving. You will be charged for the appointment.
We are a family-owned pet grooming business serving Florida, Indiana, Kentucky & South Carolina. Our trained and skilled professionals provide the highest quality service and care in the pet industry.
