Is it true you close at 3 O'clock?

Yes and no. Our hours vary with our appointment schedule.   When we are finished with all the appointments for the day we do close then. Late appointments can always be accommodated with advance notice.  Sometimes with none. I run the shop with my husband helping.  We have three young children so if our appointments for the day can be finished up by 3pm when we need to leave to be home for our kids, we take in one car and both leave together.  If a client calls with a last minute request for a 2 or 3 o'clock grooming it is nearly impossible for us to accommodate them without great personal sacrifice.  With just one days advanced notice it's absolutely our pleasure to to help you if appointments are available at the requested time.  The latest we usually accept appointments is 3:00pm.

Do you take walk-ins?

We are happy to take walk-ins if time is available. Honestly, it rarely is.  Because of the way we run our shop, giving each dog individual attention from the time they come in to the time they go home, and being able to get them out in 1.5 to 2 hours for small breeds, and 2 to 2.5 for larger breeds, walk-ins can throw a wrench in that process if we have a heavily scheduled day.  We will not accommodate a walk-in if it means putting our appointment dogs behind in getting home.  We hope you understand that and would want your dog given the same attention. 

Why do you need me to pick up my dog right away?

Again, the way we run the shop, we count on dogs coming in at an appointed time and being picked up in a timely manner.  We try to keep the number of dogs in the shop at one time to a minimum.  It keeps the stress level down for them. As one goes home another comes in. It's our pleasure to keep your dog longer if necessary, but please try and let us know when you book your appointment so we schedule accordingly. 

My dog only needs a bath. Why can your price be higher than for a haircut for the same breed?

Cutting off hair is easy. At least until the dog is shaved a few times.  Blow drying a double coated dog for two straight hours is not.  We hand dry every single dog that comes in.  On a double coated dog like a Golden Retriever or a Siberian Husky, Alaskan Malamute, Newfoundland, Pekingnese, Pomeranian, any dog that throws those clumps of hair in the spring, the blow drying process makes all the difference.  Putting a dog in a cage to dry and brushing it out afterward, as most grooming shops do, is no better than what you can do at home.  In addition, if you read the fine print,other shops only offer 'shed less' treatments for an hefty additional fee.  At K-9 Klips a shed less treatment is given on every  double coated bath and brush dog for FREE everyday.

I wanted to have my shedding dog shaved why don't you recommend that?

We will shave a dog, with exception of the purebred labrador retriever, if the owner absolutely wants it done. 

However, on a double coated dogs like the ones mentioned above it's just not a good idea to shave them.  These dogs have two separate and distinct kinds of hair.  The outer coat, which is protective, and the undercoat, which is insulating and is the coat they shed in spring.  When you shave them, especially repetitively, it destroys the outer protective coat, and causes the under coat to grow in thicker.  The coat almost never grows back correctly either and you get a dog that looks clumpy and unkept all the time. In addition  the two coats often grow back intertwined and it becomes impossible for the under coat to shed out naturally.  When the dog is re-shaved the coat will sometimes come off in one piece.  It is not healthy for your dogs skin for this to happen.  In our wet climate if your dog is outside for any length of time at all, and their coat is compromised from being shaved, the outer coat is no longer protective and allowing water to roll off your dog, and the undercoat acts like a sponge, meaning your dog is wet and cold with no way to dry out quickly.  Imagine yourself diving into a lake in winter fully clothed with a coat on and trying to dry out without taking them off. 

A better choice for the double coated dog is a bath and brush out.  As mentioned above each dog in our shop is blown dry completely by hand.  We have super high powered commercial blow dryers that literally blow that shedding undercoat right out of the dog.  Imagine driving your car at 300 miles per hour and all that air that is displaced coming out of a 2 inch hole (I'm no scientist, but that's my best guess, it's VERY strong).  That's what our dryers do.  In addition we also complete the shed less process on every dog for FREE.  And truth be told even if we do shave your dog it will still shed, it will just be shorter hair. 

Here are a couple of double coated dogs that have been previously shaved.  On the two large dogs on the top, their coat is literally coming off in one piece.  The two smaller dogs are before their repeat shaving to show how the coat grows back differently.

In contrast here is a double coated dog, a mix of the two small breeds above who has never been shaved. See the beautiful texture of her coat?

Do you offer military, senior  or multiple dog discounts?

Sorry, we don't.  Our prices are the lowest prices  around already.  We like to think we offer a fair deal to everyone.  We do offer frequent customer  discounts for dogs coming in every three weeks or more often. Being a service industry, it takes us just as much time to groom three dogs whether it's at once or separately so we are just unable to offer multiple dog discounts.  There are always exceptions to the rules, so it never hurts to ask us, just please don't be offended if we say no. 

My dog just needs a bath why is the price so much for something I can do at home?

In addition to a bath, your dog also gets it's ears cleaned, it's nails trimmed, anal glands expressed if needed, a de-shed treatment, and if it's a trimmed breed it gets it's feet trimmed, face shaped up, and sanitary trim.  There is no such thing as just a bath at K-9 Klips.  Plus the mess is on us!

This coonhound came in for JUST a bath.  This was the third pile of hair this big we got out of him.

I am used to leaving my dog at the groomer for 4-5 or more hours for a complete groom.  How do you get it done in just an hour and a half?

You've been duped. It just simply doesn't take that long to groom a dog.  As has been mentioned, we work on each dog as it comes in.  We hand blow dry, and only work on that dog until it is done.  An hour an a half is what it takes to complete a groom on a small dog from start to finish. You can count on 2-2.5 hours for a cocker or big dog.  An additional half hour is sometimes needed if we've run into mats or fleas on a particular dog and we're running behind.  Most other shops bring in a lot of dogs at once so they have multiple dogs to work on at the same time and they are put into a cage to dry, while the next dog is being worked on.  Ours is a different, and we think better, way of doing things. If you're told that a grooming just can't be completed correctly in that amount of time call any mobile groomer and ask them how much time it typically takes for your breed.  I guarantee it will fall into our time frame.  Mobile groomers work much like we do, one dog at a time.  They just cost a lot more.

Speaking of mats, will you remove them?

Absolutely, if the dog is our regular customer, and it is brought in on a frequent basis (at least bi monthly), mats are removed at no extra charge, unless there are extenuating circumstances like burrs, or frequent bathing at home without the mats being removed (this tightens the mats) or the dog is constantly in a harness or sweater.  If a dog is brought in after what is obviously months without a grooming and it would be painful to try and brush them out, the dog will be shaved.  We are very good at mat removal with no trauma to the dog or their skin. If  we spend over the 1.5 hours it takes to groom a small dog there will be a very minimal de-matting fee, usually five dollars.  Honestly anything that would cost beyond that isn't worth putting the dog through in my opinion.  Hair grows back.

Why should I get my dog groomed in the winter, doesn't their fur keep them warmer?

Yes, of course more fur will keep them warmer.  However, when that fur (or hair depending on your dog) is matted, it no longer serves it's purpose.  I cannot think of one breed who regularly gets a haircut that would not mat in our wet weather if allowed to grow out the entire winter.  Grooming doesn't mean shaving.  We can leave any length of hair you desire on the dog (providing it's in non-matted condition) and being mat free will help keep Fido warmer.  In addition, in our very wet climate, short isn't a bad thing.  Using my analogy above, imagine getting soaked in the rain in your clothing.  Would you not take it off to dry out?  Of course you would, staying in your wet clothes would make no sense.  Ditto that for longer hair on your pooch.  Some length is good, too much length and Fifi is wet all day.

Flea Policy

Ugh. Fleas.  If we see fleas on your dog it will automatically get a flea bath.  We can't be blowing live fleas around in the shop to hitch a ride on someone else.  If it's the first time we've seen fleas and there are less than 20 to deal with it's free.  If your dog is crawling with fleas the charge will be an additional 5.00 to 10.00 dollars more (depends on size, amount of coat, and number of fleas to clean up).  Repeat offenders are also charged at that rate. 

We kindly ask that you don't wait to treat your dog AFTER we've groomed it.  The topical medications are not affected by a bath if it's been at least 24 hours since application, so please do everyone a favor and bring Fido in flea free.

  We'd rather not deal with fleas if we don't have to.  It takes a lot of clean up to make sure we aren't spreading them and puts us behind in getting doggies home.  

We HIGHLY recommed not using Frontline or Frontline Plus.  Most of our customers on topical meds that come in with fleas are using Frontline.  While it does seem to kill fleas that are on the dog at first it seems to only be working for a week or two before needing to reapply it.  Our recommendation is Revolution.

If you're wanting to come in for just a flea bath, you and Fido  would be better off getting a topical medication which will kill the fleas for at least a month.  Our flea bath will only kill what is on the dog at the time.  It does nothing for when they get home and there are still fleas in the environment. If you just want to kill what is on them, it's cheaper and easier to get a Capstar pill from the vet.  It starts killing within an hour and kills for 24 hours.

Vaccination Policy

All dogs and cats are required to be current on rabies vaccinations.    Other vaccinations are up to you and your vet.  I want you to feel comfortable with your protocol.