We take the utmost care throughout the grooming process to ensure the health, safety & welfare of your dog. However, Hair of the Dog will not be held responsible for any pre-existing conditions or problems found during the grooming process. It is very important that you make us aware of any health condition or allergy your dog has or has had in the past.

We will always bring to your attention any problem we find whilst grooming your dog, such as teeth condition, skin, ears, lumps, bumps, abrasions, fleas and will advise a trip to the vet where applicable.

We will assess your dog upon arrival for behaviour, weight & handling. We will use this time to bring to your attention any areas of the coat that we feel are too matted to be brushed out or in an area it is not safe to do so. In the case of a matted coat we will clip them short for the welfare of the dog.

The Animal Welfare Act (2007) states that “All animals are to be protected from pain, suffering and disease”.

Dematting is a painful and distressing procedure and will therefore not be carried out by Hair of the Dog. Where we consider the coat to be severely mated, the coat will be shaved off with clippers, using the longest blade we can safely glide through the coat without pulling or snagging. The blades are usually a 7F which leaves the hair 3mm long or a 10F which leaves the hair 1.6 mm long. This is not a painful procedure but will leave the coat very short. Your dog may look very red in places and/or, it may even bleed. This happens because very matted coats cause the blood under the skin to stop circulating (imagine someone twisting & twisting your own hair, not only would this be very painful but it would also stop your blood circulating in that area of your body.

When a severely matted coat is clipped off, all the blood rushes back up to the surface of the skin which causes the redness. This doesn’t last long and soon settles. In case of bleeding we will apply a natural anticeptic (Leucillin) to the area or aloe vera spay to calm the area.

The groom may not look perfect however, it is more important that the matting is removed and the dog is comfortable. There is usually a £10 fee on top of the groom, this covers sharpening of blades and extra time incurred.

Hair of the Dog reserves the right to cease to groom a dog if it deemed that to continue would cause stress or injury to either the dog or the groomer. If the grooming session is becoming too stressful for the dog, we will discontinue and offer to book in on the following day, where practical.

We often take before & after pictures of the dogs we groom and use on our social media and for advertising.

We will never share your personal information without first seeking your permission. We do not share your information with any third parties and it is locked away in a cabinet overnight.

We would ask that you make sure the front door is closed behind you before we open the gate to the salon. This is to ensure no dogs escape!

You will be given an estimate of how much the session will be based upon his/her coat condition on the day. Puppies price will increase as they grow.

Extra charges are for matted coats, if we discover fleas during the groom or the dog is difficult to groom due to behaviour. £10 per condition.

If you need to cancel an appointment, please let us know as soon as possible, you will get a text reminder 24 hours before your allotted appointment.

Failure to attend an appointment will result in a 50% charge of the missed groom before we can book you back in. Future grooms will require a 50% deposit.

If you are 15 minutes late for your appointment, we may have to re-schedule.

We would appreciate it if you could collect your dog within half an hour of us calling you. Please do not call before we phone you. This is very unsettling for the dog & if the groom is not finished your dog will be sent home as he/she is.

Late collection, unless pre-arranged, will incur a fee of £7.50 per half hour