Great Yeldham dog grooming

10/02/2025

Good morning, everyone.

I have a very sad announcement to make.

After 17 years, the time has come for me to hang up my scissors 😥 I will be sadly closing Great Yeldham Dog Grooming at the end of March.

I will be taking early retirement due to ongoing health issues ❤️‍🩹 I love what I do, and I have kept going for as long as possible, but from now on I really need to prioritise my health.

I have loved grooming all your wonderful pups over the years, and I will miss you all very much.

If you have an appointment booked with me between now and the end of March, I will do my very best to honour it.

Thank you all so much for trusting me with your precious pups, and I wish you all the very best with your new groomer.

Sallyann x

23/12/2024

I would like to wish all of my wonderful customers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 🐾

Thank you for continuing to trust me with your precious fur babies 🙏
This year has not been an easy one for me and your support and understanding has been amazing throughout ❤️‍🩹🙏🐾

May the festive season be filled with lots of Glimmers for you and your pups ❤️

Love Sallyann x

31/10/2024

If you have children around your dogs Family Paws Parent Education is an excellent resource to help keep everyone happy and safe

It’s Halloween today, Bonfire night next week and Christmas just around the corner and we will most likely have lots of family and friends visiting

Even if your dogs are used to lots of people and children 🐶 this can be a very stressful time for them - understanding your dogs body language and how they tells us they need space 🙏 or are not happy in any given situation is a life skill that every parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, brother and sister should have

Be the one that understands and advocates for a dog when they cannot ❤️x

Please share Family Paws Parent Educators to friends and family to help increase safety and decrease stress for everyone

One of the most important aspects of what we do here at Family Paws is help provide accessible resources to dog trainers, veterinary professionals, parents, medical and professionals and so much more!

We strongly believe that education empowers and our goal is to increase safety and decrease stress for all family members through education and realistic expectations.

Each time you like, comment, save and share you help others to become more dog aware which helps us achieve that goal! 🐶

You never know who your share might reach!

Thank you for helping us create Dog Aware Generations! 🐾

31/10/2024

Happy Halloween everyone 🎃

I would like to wish the wonderful Mr Dexter a very happy 11th Birthday Day 🥳

No tricks for you today young man 🎃 definitely treats all the way 🐾

Sending love and hugs from your auntie Sallyann x

09/10/2024

What makes a pet groomer a great one??
Humanity over vanity ❤️❤️❤️ and putting the dogs needs first 👍

So what if one eyebrow is just a little longer than the other! 🤪 Your dog doesn’t care and I’m not going to push them beyond what they are comfortable with, just so that I can fix it!

Your dogs comfort and wellbeing should always come before how good they look 👀 👍

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01/10/2024

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Tag an Awesome Positive Reinforcement Professional!

🐶🐶🐶

⬇️⬇️⬇️

18/09/2024

09/09/2024

I use food a lot, but there is a big difference between using food as a reward and using it as a Lure
Using food as a lure can result in conflict and its something I would never recommend

Forcing a dog to ‘face their fears’ and taking away their control over their own movement is probably not a good idea as the risk of creating a negative learning experience becomes very high.

Luring a fearful dog with food can sometimes work out fine and can sometimes help a dog realize that an object is safe, but it can also create feelings of inner conflict and some dogs will suddenly startle. I would never advise anyone to lure a fearful dog into meeting other animals (including humans) as this can become very risky. Once the food has been eaten, the dog may freak out in being too close and suddenly react with defensive responses.

Offering space, time and social support is my preferred option. Having the freedom, time and space to decide for themselves whether or not to explore and allowing them to process information at their own pace can boost the self-confidence of a dog. Being there for your dog and offering social support can reduce stress and fearfulness. You can be your dog's safe space🥰

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05/09/2024

Dogs can and do find the grooming process scary - so it’s my job to counterbalance the scary (triggers) with enjoyable (glimmers) 😊

Every dog that comes to see me is an individual and I spend a great deal of time understanding what they find triggering about the grooming process and what they find to be a glimmer - these triggers and glimmers can change for your dog over time - for example as they get older, if there has been big changes at home, or if they are having health issues - therefore assessment and adjustment are always ongoing

Triggers can be - nails, feet, legs, faces, water, the dryers, clippers, scissors, etc

Glimmers can be - Free Work, T Touch, Music, Trust Techniques, Bucket Game, licky/snuffle mats, etc

By getting as many glimmers as I can into the grooming process, the triggers become less of an issue and more manageable 👍

Even the dogs that seem to breeze through the grooming process should have lots of GLIMMERS along the way 🐶 x

Have you heard of glimmers?

Glimmers are little events of safety and enjoyment that counterbalance triggers.

Triggers are usually events where your dog perceives danger.

Glimmers can make our dogs feel safe and help them to get out of the process of trigger stacking.

Glimmers can include:

Scatter feeding.
Snuffle rugs.
Learning something new.
Sitting and watching the World from a safe distance.
Engagement with you.

Anything that makes our dogs feel safe and cozy!

12/08/2024

I am closed today due to the high temperatures 😎

Hope you and your pups 🐶 are all safe and staying as cool as you can x

01/08/2024

30/07/2024

Recognising a stress response in your dog 🐶
It’s not just Fight or Flight 🥊🏃🏼‍♀️‍➡️

WHAT THE F?

Recognising stress responses in dogs.

Fight or flight are well known reactions to fear or stress, but these other “F” words are also important to understand and be aware of as they may not always be so obvious.

Freeze, Fawn, Fidget or Fool around are also responses to stress or fear and are also commonly seen in people.

Some dogs may have a genetic predisposition to one type of response while some react based on previous experience - what has worked for them before or what hasn’t. Some dogs have different reactions depending on the specific context.

Recognising and taking note of situations or circumstances where these responses are seen is important in understanding how our dogs are feeling.

When we recognise a fear or a stress response, we are able to intervene and advocate for our dogs.

25/07/2024

Grass seed post from a fellow groomer in the area - thank you for letting me share this Amanda The Fur Dresser x

Please, please, please keep checking your dogs for those pesky grass seeds 🙏

Please, please, please keep checking your dogs for those pesky grass seeds. I had this little terrier in at the start of this week and she had a scab under her armpit so it was eased out during a bath with antibacterial shampoo which revealed this hole and a lump underneath it. The owner was made aware immediately and a vet appointment was booked for the same day. This terrier lives out in the country side so loves doing what terrier’s do and having a good rummage in hedges so it could have been anything that could’ve caused it.
At the vets appointment it was flushed with saline but nothing appeared so a sedation appointment was made for the following day. Later that afternoon the owner gave it another squeeze and out came a lot of water plus the pesky seed and by the next morning the wound had closed up and dry.
The reason I’m highlighting this is because the dog had shown no sign of being in distress, not limping or trying to scratch or lick the area so the owner hadn’t thought to check, so if she hadn’t come to her regular grooming appointment it could’ve been a lot worse as the seed could’ve worked further into the body causing a massive infection and damaging any of her internal organs. Sounds dramatic but it does happen. Last year I had a little dog in that had been to the vets twice with a sore paw and was given steroids which had made no difference. Once I trimmed the fur away the poor little dog had a grass seed through his paw so I sent him back to the vet and he had to have anaesthetic to remove it. So if you just check your pets and brush them over to dislodged any of the pesky troublemakers. 🐾🐾🐾🐾

23/07/2024

Essex pawsome Dog Show

22/07/2024

Hope you have had a lovely weekend and Monday morning has been kind to everyone 🌤️

Today we have the beautiful Miss Tilly 💕

She is an F1 cockapoo, which means she is a first cross between a cocker spaniel and a mini poodle
In Tilly’s case the cocker spaniel is definitely her dominant personality trait - she is a really busy little girl 🤓

On arrival she is always SO please to see me, and gets SO excited 🤗

Now grooming a dog while they are overly excited is not a good idea - the mixture of a wiggle dog and sharp objects is quite frankly dangerous, so I work really hard on calming her down before I even pick up a clipper or any scissors

We spend the first 10 to 15 minutes doing some Free Work 👍

Free work is an excellent way of calming down an excitable dog and it works very well with Miss Tilly - once she is ready she then goes into the bath for a deep conditioning shampoo and a relaxing blueberry facial - while she is all soapy I do a full body massage and continue with her relaxation process 👍

By the time she is out of the bath she is completely relaxed and ready to be dried - while some dogs can find the dryer scary 😧 Miss Tilly loves it 😊
During the drying process I continue to use TTouch massage, to further deepen her relaxation, before finally clipping and finishing off with scissors - feet, nails, ears and face

Her particular favourite during her massage is the Bai Hui point - it’s the go to feel good calming point 🤗 and Tilly loves it 🥰
I like to used small TTouch circles over the Bai Hui point ➡️ right between the top of the hipbones there’s a soft space on the sacrum and that’s “THE FEEL GOOD POINT”

I then end her session with a few pieces of sausage hidden around the groom room for her to find 😋

Give the Bai Hui point a try on your own dog - they will thank you for it 😊xx

18/07/2024

Jar of Pennies, Water Bucket, Bank Account or whatever you want call it 😊 make sure that your dogs wellbeing and happiness container 🫙 is as full as you can get it x

When their theoretical container is more than half full, everything becomes easier for your dog to cope with 👍 when it’s less than half empty, everything becomes more difficult for them to cope with 👎

How Full Is Your Dog's Jar Of Pennies??

Here at Canine Thinking, we measure your dog's wellbeing and happiness using a Jar of Pennies. Think of it as your dog's wellbeing bank account. Dogs with full jars feel well, safe, happy and content.... and offer fantastic beahviour, often without being asked! How amazing does that sound?

You can fill up your dog's jar with things your dog enjoys, that create positive emotions or enhance wellness. Things like enjoying a tasty dinner, playing, good sleep, being empowered by having choices, enjoying relaxed interactions, the fun of success in a game or training, doing dog stuff like chasing, digging, tugging, sniffing...

Stressors will empty the jar - they are things your dog doesn't enjoy or struggles with and they cause pennies to be spent from the jar instead. Being tired, hungry, cold, sore, itchy, helpless, worried, sad, bored, not listened to, overexcited, frustrated, anxious, lonely...

As our dog's guardians, it is our job to help give them what they need to keep their jar of pennies as full as possible, so we both get on and enjoy life together.

What does your dog enjoy doing, that will add pennies to their jar??

Tell us below 👇

16/07/2024

Why would you use physical or chemical resistances when you can use cooperative care 🤷‍♀️ it’s really a no brainier

In the early 1990’s I worked as a zookeeper and that’s were I was introduced to cooperative care 🐺🐅🐆🐘🦍🦧🦓🐫🦒🦛

And now I use it to help dogs with grooming anxieties 🐶

It’s cooperative care all the way here at Great Yeldham Dog Grooming 👍

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10/07/2024

Every single dog that I do is an individual☝️they each have different needs, likes and dislikes

Knowing their likes and dislikes is a very important part of my job 👍 it helps me make the grooming process more balanced and as enjoyable as I possibly can for each pup 🐶

For example - here is Miss Flossie enjoying a cheese 🧀filled snuffle mat - it’s her favourite thing 🥰

However, Mr Dexter won’t even look at a snuffle mat and prefers his cheese 🧀 hand delivered straight into his mouth 😋

Look at Dexters face 👀 isn’t he just the cutest 🥰

Both in this morning for their regular pampering session and both having their different needs, likes and dislikes taken into account 👍
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