Julia The Groomer

02/11/2025

Did you know that non-veterinary pet care professionals in Canada are NOT regulated?

Your dog groomer, dog walker, doggy daycare, dog trainer etc are not required to have any education, training or qualifications to work in pet care.

Folks who have been criminally charged with animal abuse, folks without any insurance, folks without any pet first aid, behaviour or physiology education, are walking training grooming your pets - because there is absolutely no one checking in on them

Facilities have no safety requirements - you could easily be leaving your pets at a facility with no trained staff, no insurance, no fire sprinkler systems etc. There are no safety or cleanliness standards for facilities

Thankfully, the city of Toronto is reviewing this deficiency, which could lead to some form of regulation that the industry desperately needs

Tomorrow, the city is holding a meeting to discuss, and you can participate! Register at the link below to listen in and even contribute if you have anything to say

Can’t make it to the meeting? That’s okay - they’ve made a survey to collect your thoughts and concerns! You’ll find it under ‘how to participate’ in the link below!

Let’s stand up for our beloved pets who don’t get to tell us what they experienced when we pick them up. Let’s take all of the footage of abuse that we see online seriously, and take action. Let’s stop this industry from being the wild-wild-west, with regulation!

The City of Toronto is reviewing the business licensing and zoning rules for pet establishments that work with and/or keep live animals on their premises. This could include businesses that offer grooming, training, daycare, or the overnight boarding of animals. Reviewing these rules will help estab...

12/12/2024

How cute are these new Groomer Humour button badges!!! 💜

12/11/2024

I know what you need because I’ve been there. After over a decade of grooming, I’ve gone off the rails and become a full-time marketer, and I’m here to help YOU market your business with better branding!

Stand out online and in your neighborhood with a variety of customizable branding and marketing services at affordable rates

You can check out my work at www.giuliabotanica.ca or on Instagram .and.marketing

12/11/2024

I know what you need because I’ve been there. After over a decade of grooming, I’ve gone off the rails and become a full-time marketer, and I’m here to help YOU market your business with better branding!

Stand out online and in your neighborhood with a variety of customizable branding and marketing services at affordable rates.

You can check out my work at www.giuliabotanica.ca or on Instagram .and.marketing

12/11/2024

Oh cr*p! 😳

11/21/2024

08/22/2024

✨ What to look for in a groomer! ✨ Please help me in my mission to raise the standards of pet care, by SHARING this post!

👏🏻 When pet owners know better, pet owners will demand better 👏🏻

It’s a pet care professional’s responsibility to educate, certify and insure themselves. The industry is unregulated and there is no one policing or watching groomers, and there are no requirements to enter a career in pet walking, boarding, daycare, training or grooming.

It is a pet owner’s responsibility to vet their pet’s care professionals, follow their advice, and stay on a humane grooming schedule so their dog is accustomed to the groomer, accustomed to the process, and does not develop any matting that can cause discomfort, pain and even injury.

Your groomer should be an expert on canine hair styles and techniques, but we know that humane and qualified handling, safe products and a clean environment are of more relevance than the hair style or styling techniques.

Please choose a groomer who is qualified and compassionate, over a groomer who delivers fabulous hair cuts but has no education in canine behaviour or handling.

You may have to commute far when you find the right groomer for you, and that’s ok. You chose a dog that needs hair cuts, and this is what that looks like. Monthly trips to a great groomer!

Know that being educated, and working with dogs from an up-to-date-scientific approach, is new age in the pet care industry. In the pet grooming industry, continuing education is more often limited to hair cut style and technique, with little to no emphasis on health, handling, cognition and behaviour.

Fortunately there are so many online and in-person courses, seminars, and certifications accessible to pet care professionals including groomers, so finding a groomer who is qualified and continues to engage in education is difficult but not impossible!

Everyone’s views of what humane treatment of an animal is, exist on a sliding scale - find pet care professionals who’s approach to working with your pets aligns with how you feel animals should be treated 🫶🏼

11/16/2023

Good morning from this great lookin fella!

10/31/2023

I haven’t posted in awhile and this seems like the perfect post to break a long streak!

Please do not email me casually saying that no one else will groom your dog because ‘they say he needs to be shaved with a 50 blade and it’s not safe’, and ask me what I’d charge

I am of the unpopular opinion that sugar coating reality does a disservice to the dogs we pledge to prioritize

I don’t hesitate to use language like ‘severe’, ‘unsanitary’, ‘inhumane’ and ‘neglect’, because these clients are adults who made irresponsible choices

How many times is a customer told they need to get their pet groomed more often, before the situation shifts from ‘they just don’t know better’ to ‘they’re not choosing better’?

Always criticized for prioritizing the dogs and not holding back in being honest with clients…this is my caring face 😚

10/12/2023

Two weeks ago, we suddenly lost our sweet and salty boy, Greazy (aka Sucky Boy aka Bad Boy aka Little Bastardo)

Our home lost a big personality. I lost my little man

I’ve finally started to shift from anger to acceptance, and am able to look back over our lives together with gratitude and love

I never wanted cats, and here I am all f*cked up over a cat 😅🥹

10/11/2023

ISO one, just ONE way that de-matting a dog, benefits *the dog*…

*crickets*

So, why ya doin’ it?

09/19/2023

Your dog is a brilliant little idiot, not some domineering room mate seeking a constant power struggle

09/16/2023

Dogs have a 5x higher cancer rate than humans

Cancer rates in humans as well as dogs continues to rise

Cancer has begun to affect the young at the rate normally seen in folks over 50, and this data is the same for dogs

Veterinary medicine is not cheap. Unlike us human Canadians with health care paid for in advance by our tax dollars, canine cancer is costly

So, what is the true cost of feeding economically priced grocery store kibble? What is the true cost of conventional cleaning products in the home? Conventional pet shampoos?

A dog Walker is an expense that enriches my dog’s psychological life and increases his physical activity. What is the comparative cost of ignoring those needs?

Essential oils and incense and non toxic cleaning products and organic pet shampoos…sure, they’re costly, compared to their conventional peers. But what is the true cost of choosing otherwise?

We may not have the cure for cancer, but we have an excess of established medical science showing us quite clearly just what exactly CAUSES cancer. What is the cost of continuing to ignore this research?

09/15/2023

Slip lead placement 🙌🏼🫶🏼👌🏼🤌🏻👍🏻

07/17/2023

Uuuugggghhhhhhhhh….this discussion….🤣😅🧐🫣

YoU cAnT sHaVe dOuBLe cOaTeD dOgS oR tHeY’ll (insert dramatic warning here)!!

I’ve heard and read it all. The people who have shaved double coated dogs for forty years and never seen issue. The fur-is-insulating factoid. The photos of dogs with clipper induced alopecia symptoms (the hair never grows back) or the ones where the whole dang dog turns into one big ingrown hair

Shaving your double coated dog is not without its risks but yes, it can offer relief, especially for those poor dogs who belong to folks who make zero effort to brush out dead undercoat (isn’t it strange how some pet owners only care about their pets’ welfare when they’re arguing with you once a year? So weird…)

Anyways the one thing that stands out to me the most, with regards to shaving double coated dogs, is the one thing I never see pop up in these heated conversation…

The f^

07/04/2023

Dogs and gurus embody presence

‘Be here now’

Living in the moment ~ gurus preach it, but dogs are naturals

When you catch yourself in a thought loop of anxiety, worry or stress, be like dogs and gurus and zap yourself back into the present moment. We can lean into our senses to help us here ~ bring yourself back to the present moment by paying attention to what you smell, see and hear

You can also use your breath to anchor back to the present moment. Box breath is an easy to remember and powerful tool ~ breathe in for a count of four, hold your breath for a count of four, exhale for a count of four, hold empty for a count of four, and start again with another deep inhale for a count of four

If you find yourself doom scrolling, put your phone down and call to your dog to pull you back into the present moment ~ they’re happy to help!

If you find your blood pressure rising in response to the anticipation or memory of a tense situation, stop, and pet your dog

Dogs and gurus 💚

06/16/2023

How to show up for your dog’s grooming appointment

~ fed but not within two hours; you don’t want your dog to be hangry, but you also don’t want to risk stomach flipping or discomfort during handling or getting on and off table / in and out of tub

~ exercised but not exhausted; you don’t want your dog to be hyperactive when he’s expected to stand still around sharp objects for the next two hours, but you don’t want him to be cranky from exhaustion (don’t bug me when I’m tired, either, thanks!)

~ relieved; imagine trying to stand still for two hours when your bladder is going to burst!

~ on time (not early!); don’t forget about the standing still around sharp objects part ~ you don’t want to walk in and start a dog while he’s getting his face trimmed! And then of course we always want to avoid being rude and wasting your groomers’ time by being late (they may not even be able to groom your dog in the time remaining)

~ ignore the other dogs; especially if they’re on the grooming table! Please don’t fuss over the other totally adorable dogs in the salon, as we don’t want to get them all wound up 💚

06/14/2023

Good call on leaving the city ✨