Whiskey Shears

04/02/2025

I hope this message finds everyone well. I wanted to thank all of my clients for their support and past patronage. I will be partnering with Sit Means Sit (Belair) to open a 1on1 grooming shop on May 1st! You all have made this possible. While this is amazing news, I have decided, after much deliberation and number crunching, to discontinue dog walking and petsitting through Whiskey Shears. Housecall grooming will also be reallocated to Mondays and Tuesdays only.

I will be sending personalized messages to my regular dog walking clients and consistent petsitting clients. As I will still be providing overnight care (8pm-8am) through Bel Air Aupair upon request from those of you (and your pets 😊) that love me so much! (www.belairaupair.com) I wanted to still be available for some sort of care for the majority of you. This was the only reasonable way to achieve that. I will absolutely answer any questions you may have, provide info for other walkers/sitters in your area that are in my circle of people I know, and support you and your pets along the way!

Housecall grooming will be reserved for those that have difficult pets or difficulty themselves. I started the housecall to help those that couldn't find another way to have their pets groomed. The 1on1 grooming will be appointment based, cage free, and essentially the same scenario that occurs in your home but without having to set up each time. No other dogs but those in your household, if you usually help with your pup being groomed you will be able to do the same in the shop. This was the best way to help as many dogs and owners as possible with the grooming journey.

Again thank you all for your support and I hope this next chapter in my story will be successful in helping as many pets as possible. ♥️🐾
Paige
Whiskey Shears

03/07/2025

To clients or anyone struggling with tear stains, distilled water only (no tap or filtered) and blueberries (about 6-10 per day)

02/14/2025

How can you not just love those faces ❤️🐾 Happy Valentines Day!!

10/03/2024

Pups for days!!

09/21/2024

If you don't know, or haven't been educated by a professional on how often you should get your dog groomed, just google it! The first AI generated answer is correct and backed by multiple veterinarians and shelters. I'll share the gist of it here!

"The frequency at which you should groom your dog depends on a number of factors, including your dog's breed, coat length, and type of coat:

Breed
Dogs with short hair, like Dachshunds, Pugs, and Boxers, need less grooming than long-haired dogs.

Coat length and type
Dogs with long, thick fur may need to be groomed every 4–6 weeks, while dogs with short or fine hair may only need to go every 8–12 weeks. Silky-haired dogs need to be brushed and combed every day, and trimmed every 4–8 weeks. Curly-haired and wire-haired dogs need to be bathed and trimmed every 4–8 weeks.

Environment
Dogs that spend more time outdoors may need to be groomed more often due to dirt, bugs, and pollen.

Budget
You should consider how much you're comfortable spending on grooming. You can talk with your groomer and veterinarian to determine the minimum number of grooming appointments your pet needs annually.

Consistent grooming is important for your dog's health and can help prevent matting, knots, irritation, and infection."

I can also list a few general rules for you:

- Brushing! Even for short haired haired pups like labs to long fluffy doodles, every dogs needs brushed at home! They make brushed for all hair/fur types. If you don't know what works best for you, ask your groomer! Short haired dogs like labs, pitbull terriors, and German Short-haired Pointers need a good brushing 1x a week. Double coated breeds need brushing 2x a week. The type of brush will differ depending on the size and fluffiness of your pup. Anything poodle/doodle/oodle 😂 needs to be brushed AT MINIMUM every other day. Most groomers will tell you to do every day. The more the better! That being said there is proper brushing technique! We want you to use the brushes in the correct way to make sure you aren't damaging hair or your pup. If you don't know, please ask!

-Bathing! Everytime your pup gets a bath at home they need to be thoroughly brushed. If brushing doesn't happen after drying, then extra shedding, knotting, and matting occur. We don't want that and we don't want our pups to be uncomfortable because of that. How often you should bathe your pup is up to you! If your pup is mostly inside and doesn't play much outside or roll around, you can do every 8 weeks. If they do get fairly dirty or stinky quickly, you can bathe as frequent as every 2 weeks. As your groomer what types of shampoo would be best for your pup! We have all the secrets!

-Your groomer wants to work with you! Every dog needs to see the groomer. Even if you bathe at home. Even if you trim at home. Every pup needs to see a groomer. We are an extra set of eyes to catch medical issues you haven't seen, we give a deeper clean for the bath, we are educated in skin health and what will work best for your dog, we have learned the art of dog behavior and can guide your pup in the right direction for how they should behave for this experience, and it is a very crucial socializing experience for your ever learning pup (all new smells, sounds, and experiences).

Your local groomer!!

09/10/2024

Hi all! From this point on, I will only be answering text messages! It is the easiest and most convenient way that also ensures I get notifications. All other forms of communication will not recieve a response unless automated. Said automated response will have instructions to text me. That being said, I am 1 person. I do not answer messages at the drop of a hat. I am running around ALL DAY LONG just as you. Sometimes from 5am-11pm. I am blessed whrn im not working 12-16 hpur days. I will get back to you as soon as I can and always within the week.

08/29/2024

Chloe ❤️🐾 Before (1st 2 pics) and After (last 2 pics)

04/23/2024

In between the hectic craziness of everyday, I get to enjoy time with some pups!!

04/16/2024

Please donate!

We know we ask for a lot of help from our community, but this time we're asking for help FOR our community. Our pet food pantry is completely empty. We just gave out the last bag of dog food to a person in need and don't have anything to give the next person who turns to us for help. Our pet food pantry helps keep pets fed when their owners fall on hard times. It gives owners some piece of mind and it keeps animals from being surrendered to shelters. We know how hard it is out there for folks right now and love to be a resource for our community.
If you can pick up a bag of food (dog or cat) and drop it off to the shelter, you'd be a hero! Any size, any brand, and price! We can use it all to help our pet loving community. 💖

Amazon, Chewy, Instacart, Shipt, etc. can be sent to 2208 Connolly Rd Fallston, MD 21047

We set up a Pet Food Pantry Amazon list here: https://a.co/8KNhQXA

If you're able to make a monetary donation, you can label it "pet food pantry"
https://app.etapestry.com/hosted/HumaneSocietyofHarfordCoun/OnlineDonation.html

Here are other needed items: https://a.co/43IkPY0
Chewy list: https://chewygivesback.prf.hn/click/camref:1100ldeGu/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.chewy.com%2Fg%2Fthe-humane-society-of-harford-county-inc_b65478192

04/01/2024

CLIENT: How much will it cost to groom my dog?
GROOMER: $225 dollars.
CLIENT: That’s too expensive for grooming a dog!
GROOMER: How much do you think it should cost?
CLIENT: $80 max! It’s just a simple grooming job!
GROOMER: I can’t do the job for so little.
CLIENT: Dog groomers always want to make a huge profit!
GROOMER: I’m sorry you feel this way. Why don’t you groom the dog yourself?
CLIENT: But, but, I don’t know how to do any of that.
GROOMER: For $95, I can teach you everything you need to know to groom your dog. You can then use $80 for the grooming, and you’re still saving $100. Plus, you'll gain the knowledge and experience for next time.
CLIENT: Deal!
GROOMER: Great! To start, you'll need grooming tools like clippers, a ton of blades, snap on combs, scissors, thinners, combs, brushes, table, arm, loop, blow dryer, ear cleaner, nail trimmers, quick stop, mixing bottles, happy hoodie, towels, shampoo and conditioner. (Did I miss anything 😜)
CLIENT: But, I don’t have any of those tools and I can’t buy all that for just one grooming session!
GROOMER: Okay. I can rent you my tools for another $35. You're still saving $.
CLIENT: That's cutting into my savings, but I'll rent your tools.
GROOMER: Perfect! I'll come by on Saturday and we can start.
CLIENT: Wait! I can't do Saturday. I only have time today.
GROOMER: I'm sorry, I only teach others on Saturdays. I have to prioritize my time and my tools need to be in other appointments during the week.
CLIENT: Okay then. I'll sacrifice my family’s plans on Saturday.
GROOMER: Right, me too! Oh, I forgot. If you're going to groom the dog yourself, you need to buy grooming supplies before your appointment. There's a high demand nowadays, so your best bet is to get to the pet store early before other pet owners get there.
CLIENT: AT NINE IN THE MORNING? On Saturday? That's too early for me. I don’t even have a car!
GROOMER: I guess you'll have to rent one. By the way, do you have someone to help you hold the dog while you groom?
CLIENT: You know what? I've been thinking. Probably it's better for you to groom the dog. It's better to pay you to do the job right and not having to go through all that hassle.
GROOMER: Good thinking. Sign here and let me get to work.

This is the truth. People are not just paying for a service; they are paying for knowledge, experience, tools, time, sacrifices, and other factors you bring to the table. Housecall grooming is even more because I come to you. I set up shop each time. Latch and key is an option so you don't have to be anywhere or lift a finger at all. Dog grooming is a luxury because owning a dog is a luxury. Respect and appreciate your animal caretakers. You don't know all that we do.

*copy and pasted 90% of this post*
*Pic of Bella the Sheepdog for tax*

02/08/2024

Sprocket is always happy to be a part of a photoshoot!

02/05/2024

01/31/2024

Keeping is natural puppy cut with Dory! She's still learning how to behave on the table and that's OK. That's why I offer the puppy program. 1 hour, every 2-4 weeks getting your puppy used to different aspects of grooming.

01/24/2024

Matting: What is it and what are my policies for it? ✂️🐾🤔

Matting is when a knot or a tangle has become unruly and unfortunately cannot be untangled. Usually when they are smaller they can be worked free. However, what this means is I will either cut, shave, or use dematting tools to get it out.

This images here show dogs (not mine or my clients) who have matting all over their body. That is why you will see a dog that is essentially naked.

Some groomers like to try and save the tail and the head/face. I DO NOT demat any dog that has more than 3 mats total. If it is larger than a quarter, most likely it is getting shaved.

To demat anything is extremely painful, for the dog and for myself. Not to mention the pain of the mat itself. Imagine someone pulling on your arm hairs, that is what a mat feels like all the time. Now imagine someone pulling on it with force over and over again trying to get it out with a huge knot in it. . . . . Not pleasant for anyone involved.

Dangers of Matting:
-hematomas
-bruising
-infections
-losing extremities like ears and tails.
-Hotspots
-scratches/cuts/clipper injuries because the matting is so tight even the shortest blades we have do not get it off easily.

To minimize the amount of matting I see and that your pups experience here are a few tips!

-Brush your dog, brush your dog, brush your dog. Below is a link for Line brushing. You will need a Slicker brush and a metal comb.

https://youtu.be/osruYq7xpMA?si=CLgz4xwtAsSc1YQm

-Please take the advice of your groomer, for some of you that is me, when they tell you how often to get your pet groomed. That range is usually between 4-8weeks. There are alot of factors that play into that time frame like the temperament of your pup, the size of your pup, the desired haircut you prefer, the amount of effort you put into maintenance in between grooms, age of your pup, the condition of the coat when we see your pup each time.
-The products you are using on your own time. Do you give your pup a bath in between grooms? Do you use detangler? Are you conditioning? All should be yes and you should ask your groomer what products to use because your pups skin and coat are important! We don't want flakes or itches or Hotspot etc. We will gladly help you or book you in for a bath in between.
-Shorter haircuts make for less matting. Alot of you love the scruffy doodle look. It's adorable! But the amount of care that goes into it is ALOT! We want cure pups but sometimes they aren't suitable for everyone's lifestyle. Anything above a 1/2in requires every other day brushing. Period. Anything above 1in requires daily brushing. Anything after 2in requires 2x a day brushing. Lol it is alot!

My Matting policies:
-3 strikes and your out: you have 3 appointments that I will tolerate any matting and educate you on how to minimize these occurances. Then if this isn't working we will have to revisit the haircut you're choosing and the length of time in between visits.
-matting fees: $15 for small dog $20 for medium dog $25 for large dog $30 for xl dog. WHY? So when experiencing matting on any dog there is extra work, it is hard on my body and its the only one i have, I have to rearrange the routine and sometimes shave 2x, when shaving 2x i am cutting on a dirty dog which is very hard on my equipment, my equipment has to work 2x as hard and therefore needs to be maintenanced more frequently, your pup might not like the process and get nippy or aggressive.
-it is very important that there is an understanding between pet parent and groomer that when a matted dog needs to be groomed there is the possibility of:
-groomer being bitten
-dog sustaining injury due to matting as listed above
-skin irritation because the skin can now breathe
- you being unhappy with the haircut because matted dogs do not recieve pretty haircuts.

Keep an eye out for the post on the proper tools to care for your pup!

01/20/2024

Snow babies!! Ty (bully) and Astrid (Newfie). Both are loving the snow! ❄️🐾

01/17/2024

Meet Reese or Pillow as his dad calls him. He's super sweet and loves his leisurely apartment lifestyle. This cold weather has him bundled up in blankees and assumingly running outside to potty quickly and running right back in. Pillow is very cute and a little spicey but we love him anyway! ❤️

01/15/2024

Hey everyone! Just want to remind everyone to get in your spring and summer dates as soon as possible! I have limited amount of overnights available and would like to get everyone covered. Please reach out to collaborate on what dates are available.