Community Corner
Canton native shares everything from the hottest pet fashion trend to the art of washing a cat without getting in a cat fight.
Mera McKenna, Patch Staff
Mera McKenna, Patch Staff
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CANTON, MI — Does your dog need a day of beauty? Paging Maximillion Groomers! Owner Nikki Stehley just opened a store front location (4203 Old Canton Center Road, Canton) to accommodate her growing - and barking/meowing - clientele.
The Canton native graduated from Canine School of Cosmetology, and originally started grooming out of her house. In less than two years she had 800 clients and expanded operations to hire a receptionist, then a groomer, then another groomer and the place quickly turned into a zoo. Literally. So six months ago, Stehley moved operations to an actual shop.
Stehley took a time-out from grooming to share a few things we should know about the grooming industry:
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1. Don't wash your dog before you take them to the groomer. Stehly: "I hate when people feel that their dog is dirty and wash them before they get here. Grooming is our job. We want to wash pets."
2. For fashion-forward pups, stencils are the latest fashion pet trend. Stehley: "We're promoting stencils for the holidays. You can get a bat or pumpkin for Halloween. Stencils are like a temporary tattoo and rinses off in the bath. We're going to get into doing sports for the Detroit Lions and Tigers. People can tailgate with their dog."
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3. Every groomer is different. Stehley: "A lot of people have bad experiences with groomers. Some grooming places rotate between doing a few dogs at a time, then the dogs stay there for five hours. We're more like a hair salon and it's a positive experience start to finish. You make an appointment, and there's no waiting. Quicker wait times make dogs happier. There's also no cage drying. We want to make sure the dogs are calm entire time they're here. Pets here are treated like our own pets."
4. There's no such thing as a difficult breed to groom. Stehley: "Every breed is different. Every dog is different. That's why people like us. No dog is the same."
5. OK, so how difficult is it to groom a cat without getting in a cat fight? Stehley: "I love cats. If they're scared we'll put a towel over their head and cut them so they can't see where they are. It's like tricking them. We've had some cats that don't like it. Give me twenty minutes. Once they realize everything is OK we can get the job done. There hasn't been a cat I haven't been able to groom."
6. Pets should have a regular grooming schedule. Stehley: "Cats can go every three to six months. Dogs with hair can go six to eight weeks. Hair doesn't shed. Dogs with fur shed. They can come every eight weeks."
7. Groomers are used to unusual requests. Stehley: "We've clipped birds. We do rabbits and guinea pigs. With rabbits you can't get them entirely wet. Put the dryer on them and their hearts start beating so fast and will explode. So we wipe them off and trim their nails. I'll groom all animals. Give me a snake and I'll try it!"
8. One surprising thing people don't know about the grooming industry? Stehley: "This business has such a bad rap. Every groomer is different and a lot of them don't know what to do. It hurts the business. It's not a negative place. It can be a positive place and we want our dogs here to like it. When we lose a client it's like losing a friend. Some places are like an assembly line. That must be traumatizing for the dog.We give our dogs and cats positive attention. That's what I want."
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