Experienced, Qualified Dog Grooming services - now salon based in Great Lumley 🐾
(18)
🐶 Two weeks of woofs 🐶
It’s been another busy couple of weeks at the shop. Mainly littlies through the doors at the moment. But a few bigger boys and girls in there to balance us out.
Everyone has been very good and feeling much cooler for the warmer weather 😎
Unfortunately I also received the sad news this week that it was time for Dizzy Bichon to go to the rainbow bridge. A sweet older lady who was always a pleasure 🩷 🌈 🪽
UPDATE
☀️ Just a few weeks until I have a week off. I’ll be away Sunday 25th August and be back Tuesday 3rd September. Amanda will be open for her client appointments as usual 😊 ☀️
❌ Still unable to accept new clients ❌ contact Amanda 07939399522 for appointments at The Dogroom or I can recommend Shona at The Barks in Fencehouses
❗️FULL FOR AUGUST. Next available appointment Mid September.
Pre-booking appointments is the only way to guarantee your appointment. Some clients book for the year all the way to Christmas (yes, it’s coming 😩)❗️
‼️CANCELLATIONS AND NO SHOWS will be given my next available appointment which is currently about 6 weeks time. Fortunately these are uncommon ‼️
I am no longer able to squeeze more dogs in as I am already working incredibly long days and compromising my health. I am currently working with Tendinitis in my right wrist due to the repetitive nature of the job not having time to properly rest. I have had to make the decision to limit my days to a certain number of appointments until I can find a solution
Amanda is able to accept new clients - you will need to contact her direct for this.
Please let us know if you can’t make or don’t want your appointment. If you let us know we can get someone in off the waiting list. If you want to move an appointment back then we will be able to ask others if they’d like to switch dates.
This is our livelihood and business. Last minute no shows or cancellations mean we lose out on money and may struggle to pay overheads and bills!
As always, thank you all for your continued support 🩵
🐶 Weekly woofs 🐶
A bit late with last week’s visitors!
It was a very long, very warm week in the shop last week 🥵. The dogs all coped so much better than I did.
They all left clean and fluffed, and able to stay clean with the lack of rain - win win!
Broly finished the week the way I felt!
🐶 Weekly Woofs 🐶
It’s been a busy week this week. Finishing with a slightly calmer Saturday!
The warm weather has seen lots of summer cuts. Hopefully summer has finally arrived as I’m sick of soggy feet and muddy dogs after walks 🤞🏻
I’m super busy the next couple of weeks and I’m on holiday at the end of August. I only have a few appointments left before the end of August.
Hoping everyone has a lovely weekend ☀️ 😌
🐶 WEEKLY (or Monthly) WOOFS 🐶
It appears I’ve been rubbish at keeping up to date with photos. I can’t believe it’s been almost a month without putting photos of the lovely dogs that have come into the salon.
June and July have been hectic so doing anything besides grooming dogs has been difficult!
Anyway, here are lots of lovely faces 🥰
🏆 🐶 DOG SHOW 🐶 🏆
I’ve been sorting out the prizes for the dog show this morning. Sneak peak of all the bags filled with the rosettes, treats, and special goodies for Best in Show and the runner up.
Who is going to be the next winner of the Lumley Dog Show Trophy? This has been kindly passed on and sponsored by Wm Mcivor & Son. The winner will have their name engraved and get to keep the trophy until next year!
We hope to see you there 👀
On Saturday I’m helping to organise a dog show for the Lumley Festival. It’ll be nice to give something back to the village and while it’s only planned to be small and a fun dog show, I’m hoping there’ll be a good turnout.
Amanda will be in the salon for part of the day as she has dogs booked in but I have no spaces for appointments (other than the couple I have booked around the show).
The festival will be on the field behind the Community Centre.
Entries open from 10:30 and judging starts at 11am
There are rosettes and small treat prizes for those placing 1st - 3rd in each class.
Each first place dog and handler will go into a Best in Show class at 1pm. There will be an extra rosette and prize for Best in Show and Reserve Best in Show 😊
🐶 Weekly woofs 🐶
Another busy (and warm 🥵) week. Including the many faces of Chip and the many tongues of Bam 🤣
Finished the week off with a dog show with Broly and Peanut. Both boys did quite well even though it was quite warm!
I’m back in tomorrow and Tuesday but on holiday from Wednesday until Tuesday 2nd July 😊
🐶 Weekly woofs 🐶 (last week)
I didn’t get a chance to upload photos of the lovely dogs I got to see last week because on Saturday as soon as I finished work I drove 2.5 hours down to Lincolnshire for a dog show on Sunday.
Peanut and Broly compete in Hoopers (a bit like agility) and local shows are few and far between, so we often have to travel quite a way. Anyway, they did very well!
Looking at the weather, it’s looking to be getting a more summery with less rain so hopefully everyone will start to have cleaner dogs when they go for walks as I know I’m sick of towelling off wet dogs every time they come in from playing in the garden in the rain (Broly!)
Next appointment is middle/end of July although I think most dogs on a schedule are planned in. Amanda may have some availability on Saturdays.
Also a reminder that next week I am on holiday from Wednesday 26th. I’ll be back in on Tuesday 2nd.
Have a lovely week everyone!
🐶 Weekly Woofs 🐶
It’s been a long, six day week. Made better by lots of lovely furry friends.
It’s been lovely to have lots of dry dogs coming into the salon too - hopefully the dry weather sticks around!
As of next week, the salon will be closed most Mondays. If I’m off the end of the week, I may work the Monday - so don’t worry if you have a Monday appointment booked in 😊
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
🐶 Weekly woofs 🐶
Another busy week, finishing off with a sunny Saturday ☀️
From 6.5 months to nearly 16 years - and everything in between 🩵
I’m currently full for June so please if you can’t/don’t want your appointment please let me know asap so I can offer it to someone else.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone 😊
🐶 Weekly woofs 🐶
Another busy, 6 day week at the salon this week.
Even Broly got a well needed bath, which was immediately ruined by the rain 😵💫 ☔️
I hope everyone has a fantastic bank holiday 😊
🐶 Two weeks of dogs 🐶
It’s been a hectic 2 weeks. It’s been warm which means a lot of dogs getting hair cuts to keep them cool 🥵
Just a reminder that I’m still booking 4-6 weeks ahead. If you can’t make an appointment, please let me know as soon as possible.
Currently my books are closed for new clients and I can’t accept anymore clients for Saturday appointments.
Amanda is still accepting new clients but she is currently away for a couple of weeks.
I am able to recommend other local groomers who may have availability.
🐾
In case anyone is noticing their dog being a bit weird. This post is by a fantastic and knowledgable lady.
Worth considering if you have a super sensitive dog.
Solar storms and how it may impact your dogs.
Scientific studies have repeatedly demonstrated that dogs are sensitive to geomagnetic changes.
Currently the earth is experiencing a powerful solar storm. It's effects on our dogs should not be underestimated. Especially our sensitive working dogs who are bred to have a heightened sense of direction. Dogs who are anxious or nervous may experience exacerbated symptoms. Dogs are sensitive to even small changes in the earth's magnetic field, this current storm is big and disruptive.
Epileptic dogs and people may be affected. There is a huge body of evidence relating to solar storms and seizures, have a little Google, there's too many relevant bits of literature to post here.
What can you do? Dogs are at increased risk of becoming disorientated in new environments, keep them on lead, in sight, have a heightened awareness of where they are. For dogs who rely on their sense of direction for work such as sheepdogs working hills, search and rescue dogs, tracking dogs, hunting dogs and trail dogs, it might be worth evaluating putting off any work where a dog may get lost. This is not me being a f***y either, I've already heard of a couple of normally savvy dogs becoming lost and disoriented in the north of Scotland, out of character for them.
In humans existing mental health conditions can worsen temporarily, particularly conditions caused by or associated with trauma, where your integral ability to orientate becomes distrupted and makes you feel unsafe, increasing anxiety and hypervigilance. This change in your presentation can also impact your dogs.
Just something to be aware of. As much as it sounds like hippy woo woo nonsense, I can assure you, it's a thing.
"the idea that animals can detect Earth’s magnetic field has traveled the path from ridicule to well-established fact in little more than one generation. Dozens of experiments have now shown that diverse animal species, ranging from bees to salamanders to sea turtles to birds, have internal compasses. Some species use their compasses to navigate entire oceans, others to find better mud just a few inches away."
https://pubs.aip.org/physicstoday/article/61/3/29/413382/Magnetoreception-in-animalsDetermining-how-animals
(Google stock image)
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259472878_Dogs_are_sensitive_to_small_variations_of_the_Earth's_magnetic_field
❌ 📖 BOOKS TEMPORARILY CLOSED 📖 ❌
Unfortunately after looking at my diary, due to an overwhelming number of new enquiries and being fully booked 6-8 weeks ahead I have had to make the difficult decision to temporarily close my books to new clients.
I appreciate this may be frustrating for people looking to book an appointment but as a one to one groomer, I am limited in the number of dogs I can groom.
Amanda will still take on new clients on a Saturday at the moment so you can contact her on 07939399522.
However, she is also booked up for a few weeks in advance.
Going forward this also means I am unable to guarantee appointments for dogs who come on an ad-hoc basis. Dogs who are on a set schedule (e.g. come ever 4/6/8 weeks), I will be able to try and work out the next few appointments.
Also revised general opening hours from 1st June. I still work on appointment only basis but as a guideline:
Monday - closed
Tuesday - 9-6
Wednesday - 11-7
Thursday - 9-5:30
Friday - 9-6
Saturday - 9-5:30
Sunday - closed
As always, thank you to all clients for continued support 🩵 🐾
🐶 Weekly woofs 🐶
Busy week with lots of hairy beasties!
Lottie wins the award for most impressive beard this week 🤣
Just a reminder that I’m full for May 🐶 🛀 ✂️
😌 🐶 HOLIDAY 🐶 😌
The salon is now closed until Monday 29th April.
I’m off for a week so all messages will be replied to once I’m back. I may open messages but please don’t think I’ve forgotten, I’ll message everyone back as soon as I’m back to work.
Also PLEASE NOTE I’m nearly full until the week of the 20th May. I have some provisional appointments I need to check but it’s highly unlikely I can squeeze in last minute dogs or change appointments if you’ve forgotten to attend.
It may get to a point soon where I temporarily close my books until I get used to the schedules of new clients.
I’ve become extremely busy in the last few months which is fantastic. And while I’d love to take every new client on, I’m mainly a one person business and there are only so many hours in the day!
🐶 Weekly woofs 🐶
Lots of dogs groomed this week on my last week before some time off.
A very busy week with lots of lovely dogs. Including poor Ralph who really doesn’t like the dryer, so we sit on the floor to make it a little bit more comfortable for him. Easily one of the biggest dogs on my books, but definitely not the most fearsome!
🐶 Weekly woofs 🐶
Busy busy bees in the shop this week.
Some lovely new faces this week. All being very brave and well behaved.
Lots of regulars too who are always a pleasure, although Elvis found his haircut a bit too much for a Monday morning and Jordi was not feeling having his photo taken 🙈
Just a reminder that I am full for this week (unless I get any cancellations) and the salon is closed from 22nd April for a week.
Hope you’ve all had a lovely relaxing weekend 🐾
🐶 Weekly woofs 🐶
Another busy week back after the Bank Holiday. Some very familiar and some brand new faces 🩵
A reminder that I’m currently full until the end of April, and I’m off from 22nd-29th April!
🐶 Weekly woofs 🐶
Happy Easter 🐣
I hope you’ve all had a lovely bank holiday (if you’ve managed to get some time off), and a lovely relaxing Easter Sunday.
It may have been a short week but it was not a quiet one. Lots of lovely pups passed through the door for baths and trim ups.
⛔️ 🍫 Remember to keep your chocolate and hotcross buns out the way of your dogs this Easter as chocolate and raisins can make them really poorly 🍫 ⛔️
Although I’m sure they’d be very happy with some of the leftovers from an Easter Sunday roast - The Dogroom dogs will be looking forward to some Lamb and veg when they go to grandma’s later!
I’m back to work on Tuesday so will reply to messages then 😊
🐶 Weekly woofs 🐶
Lots of very adorable boys and girls this week 🥰 it’s been a busy week. Finished off with a day to Harrogate for a Hoopers show with Peanut and Broly where they both did very well!
❗️APPOINTMENT ANNOUNCEMENT ❗️
1. When booking an appointment, please make sure you can make the appointment at the time you book. If you are more than 15 minutes late this has a real impact on my day and knocks back onto the dog after you. Which isn’t fair on me, or them, especially if that dog needs extra time or a one to one space.
2. NO SHOWS - This is SO frustrating. If you book a space and then don’t turn up for the appointment, I’m unlikely to be able to fill it that last minute. Which means that I don’t get paid.
I still have rent, utilities, and personal bills to pay. If you know you can’t make an appointment then please tell me.
I’m going to be signing up to a booking software that allows me to send out reminder texts 48 hours ahead of time. This will give you time to cancel.
I am going to have to change my policy on no shows. I’ve been fortunate that my clients have all been fantastic and I’ve never had to deal with this. But moving to the shop has seen no shows become more regular.
So now, I’ll be offering a 3 strikes policy.
if you no-show to an appointment you will be required to pay a 50% deposit before I can secure your future appointments.
If you no show twice, you will be required to make full payment up front before an appointment is secured
If you repeatedly no-show, I will not be willing to rebook.
I appreciate things happen but I’m going to do everything I can to reduce the likelihood of this happening.
3. Cancellations. I currently don’t have any plans to charge for cancellations just yet if it is more than a couple of hours before your appointment. For example if you have an 11am appointment but you let me know at 8am, I am more likely to be able to find someone to be able to move forward/move from a cancellation list. The more notice you can give me though, the better.
If this becomes a real problem then I may have to change this.
As always, thank you for your support 🩵
🐣 🐰 April Appointments 🐰 🐣
April appointments are below as I’m full until the end of March
1st-7th
Full
8th-14th
Saturday 13th (Amanda) - 9am, 11:30am, 2pm
15th-21st
Saturday 20th (Amanda) - 9am, 11:30am, 2pm
22nd-28th
SALON CLOSED - Holiday
Full 29th and 30th
📞 07512926590 / Message to secure an appointment as they won’t hang about!
🐶 Weekly woofs 🐶
Lots of hairy but gorgeous beasts through the door this week. We even saw some sun this morning, could it be the start of spring!? 🤞🏻 🌷 ☀️
🌟 Weekly woofs 🌟
While the world watched Crufts and all the gorgeous dogs strutting their stuff, I had the pleasure of grooming lots of gorgeous dogs. Including one young man who actually went to Crufts for his debut Championship show!
Here’s to another week of hair and gorgeous dogs 🐶
🌟 Appointments 🌟
Many of you will have seen in passing that finally the shop sign was put up this week. This means people not on social media finally know where we are!
Thank you for all the lovely comments. The dogs on the sign are my personal dogs - the Dogroom mascots who many of you may have met at least one of them.
The sign does mean that I’m getting more enquiries - which is fantastic! But as I’m currently almost booked until the end of March, I have decided to take on some help to open up some more appointments on a Friday. This means there may be another dog in the salon when you come in but if your dog needs one to one, this can still be accommodated and dogs from separate households won’t be mixed for safety.
For those wanting to pop in to speak to me, I do lock the door when working with dogs for safety as I’m very aware we open right onto a busy main road.
I’m working on getting a doorbell installed so when I’m drying a dog I can hear when people are at the door.
My next appointment is Friday 22nd March for anyone interested in booking an appointment.
Amanda is still renting a table on a Saturday and has a couple of appointments for 23rd March. I unfortunately don’t have much space to take on any more Saturday only appointments at the moment so if you can only come on a Saturday then Amanda will be your best bet!
We hope to see you soon ☺️ 🐩 🐾
🧖♀️ 🐶 Spa Upgrades 🐶 🧖♀️
I’m looking at the possibility of offering add on’s to grooms later in the year.
Everything your dog needs would still be included in a basic groom. Bath, dry, brush out, clipping/scissor trimming, ears cleaned, and nails clipped - that won’t change.
The upgrades are for those who want to treat their dog to a little extra luxury in their grooms.
But I’m looking at offering things like brightening facial scrubs, mud treatments to soothe skin, deshed, or condition, premium shampoos (such as colour and coat specific shampoos), extra conditioning treatments, paw treatments, and also a specific treatment that can help with sore/irritated skin.
I may also look to offer Ultrasound teeth cleaning, although it is likely this will require your vet’s permission as dental health is a tricky thing to deal with. As a groomer, I don’t feel it is my place to decide if the teeth (and gums especially) are healthy enough to be cleaned. Sometimes vet dentals are required and then ultrasound cleaning is a great preventative.
If there are any other add on treatments you would be interested in then let me know!
Once I’ve got everything organised I might even be looking for some models to give some feedback on the different treatments!
Keep an eye on the page for updates 👀
🐶 Weekly Woofs 🐶
Only a few dogs this week, mainly from yesterday.
A lot of the photos I take are never perfect looking, that’s because the camera never lies and I often end up tidying up more after taking photos as I see hairs I’m not happy with that need adjusting.
Just one problem with working with dogs 🙈
🐶 Weekly Woofs 🐶
Lots of fluffy beasts in this week. It’s been a very hairy week, but at least the sun is starting to shine!
The salon is closed until 2nd March when Amanda will be back in the shop. Any messages and calls will be returned when I’m back to work.
Hoping everyone enjoys the rest of their weekend!
2 St Elvins Place
Chester-le-Street
DH34JW
| Monday | 8:30am - 6pm |
| Tuesday | 8:30am - 2pm |
| Wednesday | 8:30am - 6:30pm |
| Friday | 8:30am - 6pm |
| Saturday | 8:30am - 5pm |
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So when I’m not spending time with all my lovely fluffy friends (although I’m sure some of them would not consider me a friend unfortunately 🙈) I spend some of my weekends stood in a field, training and now competing in Hoopers. Last weekend we travelled to Catterick to spend the day with other crazy dog people. We all travelled miles to spend 5, 30 second stints in the competition ring, having fun and hopefully bagging a rosette. This run was our last of the day. We didn’t make any mistakes so we got a rosette for getting a Clear Round - unfortunately there were quicker dogs on the day but Peanut loves it so much that it’s just nice to spend time doing something he enjoys. We did get Eliminated on two of our other three runs though, so it wasn’t all perfect 🤪 Activities like Hoopers, Agility, Rally Obedience, Flyball etc are all great things to try with your dog to do something together. While I don’t offer training for these - I know people who do so I can recommend if anyone is keen to get involved in something with their dogs. I never thought I’d compete with other people for a ribbon but these things happen!
So, on my one day off a week, dogs still dominate the day. Peanut goes to Hoopers training. Hoopers is similar to agility but there is no jumping or climbing obstacles. The handler and dog work together to navigate an ‘obstacle course’ of hoops, tunnels, and barrels working at a distance. Because there is no jumping and really tight turns it is inclusive for all dogs and handlers. Young dogs, old dogs, dogs with physical issues. You can just train for fun or if you’re competitive, you can enter competitions - we have one coming up at the end of the April 🤞🏻 For now, here’s a bit of a snap shot of what Hoopers is like! Peanut gets rewarded with some tasty treats at the end of his run 😋
This young man also had a lovely time doing some of his favourite things this week. Running, peeing, digging, and getting treaties!
I wanted a dog for a LONG time. I was the typical child with a dog at the top of their Christmas list every year. Fortunately my parents (and Santa) were sensible enough not to give into that request.
When I was 16 we decided to get a dog. A crazy Labrador called Buddy. I did everything wrong with him but he was loveable and full of fun. Unfortunately we lost him in an accident when he was just over a year old. Because of that, I decided I wanted to make sure no-one else went through that and diver head first into the world of dogs.
I started out training as a groomer before finding my passion with training. We rehomed a little 5 year old poodle in 2011. That’s him on the right. Jasper is nearly 14 and has been with my through nearly my whole career so far. He’s been a patient and willing participant in training and has given me a love of Poodles - they such an under-appreciated breed. While grooming, I also started helping out at a local training class, Have A Good Dog, who I still help now. Working with Vicky massively increased my love of training and also taught me how to be a great trainer (to be great you have to learn from great people after all). At the same time I started my Foundation Degree in Canine Behaviour and Training. I graduated in 2015 with the Top Student of the year award (this was partially thanks to Jasper!)
In 2015 we introduced our second dog to the family. The little Bichon in the middle. Jovie challenged me in ways Jasper never had. She is fun-loving and affectionate, but she has sensitivities and finds a lot of things a little bit frustrating and likes to bark about that.
In 2016 I packed up and moved to Yorkshire to work for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People. I have a huge love for this Charity and the work they do. I have dogs still out working with recipients and that fills me with pride every day. I also started my BSc in Canine Behaviour Management. I graduated in 2018 with a BSc (Hons). Five years hard work paid off.
In 2018 I also decided it was time to head home to good old Durham. I accepted a Part-time job at the RSPCA with the idea of starting Wag On alongside that. But I got so engrossed in work that Wag On got pushed to the side. While working at the RSPCA I fostered our third dog. He’s the goofy looking one on the left. He’s loving, fun, and willing but had some SERIOUS separation issues when we first brought him home. God the noise that such a small dog could make. I also started my MSc in Applied Animal Behaviour and Training. I hope to graduate this year!
In 2019 after a wrist injury I decided I needed to throw myself into the business. Wag On was truly underway. I wanted to offer something that I would like for my own dogs so I decided to offer solo walking for the nervous, the reactive, or the people that wanted their dog to have all the attention. Things took off pretty quickly. We also were finally able to adopt little Peanut so he’s now a permanent member of the family.
While I’m still walking and love my little family of dogs, I’m now ramping up with the training side of things. This is to help people get on the right track with their training to help avoid some of the heartache and problems that I’ve experienced and helped others through too.
Visit the website for more information on services or get in touch to find out how I can help!
Foxy dog walking day care services
Fox Pond
