Pantops Pet Salon & Spa
Charlottesville's Professional Dog Grooming

I’ve been in the dog business for 31 years now and believe that I understand a good bit about dog ownership.  I figure we see an average 15 dogs a day or better.  For 25 years, that was 7 days a week for 5,475 pet encounters a year.  Do the math and I’ve handled or witnessed the handling of about 169,725 dogs to date.  This only includes my experiences in the environment of boarding and grooming but couple that with owning plenty of my own dogs and that’s quite a knowledge base to draw on!

However, I don’t rely solely on my own experience to make claims about dog behavior.  I would like to share with you several sources I frequently use as research to validate my opinions before I say them.

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Archived from “The Paw Report:”  Issue #4, October 

There are several breeds that we don’t groom including Rottweilers, Chows, and Siberian Huskies.  I did not make the decision to deny these dogs arbitrarily.  In fact, I groomed all breeds for a full 25 years (even groomed cats too).  It was a difficult decision—saying no to a customer means I don’t make the money, a situation I couldn’t afford when I was starting my family.  I’m in the business to groom dogs so why would I say “no” to these dogs–not just an impossible individual dog, but entire breeds?  Why, after 25 years did I finally say, “That’s enough!  I quit!”

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Click the “Library” link in the bar above.  Once there, all of our articles can be accessed by category or via the search to your right or in the archive section.  You can learn more about our grooming process, training, health, and more.  We even have a section of breed profiles including examples of their hairstyles.

Communication is key for us so we encourage you to utilize the blog ability to comment, question, and suggest anything that’s on your mind so our library can continually evolve and be something both enlightening and entertaining for you!

Below you will find permanent articles that include our central Q&A area and our most recent articles will be posted under these.

We recommend 4-5 hours, at least four, and for larger dogs with thicker coats we definitely need 6—so it all depends on the dog!  Some dogs are small but have a lot of hair that can add time to brushing and drying while Brownie our Mastiff friend may be large but her coat is so easy to clean that it takes us less time to do her than to do a smaller dog.

Some dogs dislike certain aspects of grooming too so we like to make certain that we have the time to work slowly and carefully with them.  If you ever need an early pickup we recommend calling to reserve your spot in advance and ensuring that you arrive as close to when we open that day as possible so that we can get started immediately on your dog.
 
We may take longer than other grooming shops because we prefer to give dogs breaks between parts of grooming and we also like being on time so we give ourselves breathing room in case anything unexpected comes up—and it usually does!

~Jenna

Just about anyone who has visited us has first been met with our overly-friendly mascot cat, Dodger (fully named “The Artful Dodger” by the SPCA). He lounges across our counter (or any available lap) paying little heed to the dogs going in and out of the shop all day. When he’s not lounging, he’s doing his best to get in everyone’s way but he’s such a softie, how could anyone mind that (unless they’re allergic to cats and unfortunately some of our customers are!)

Dodger loves sniffing in purses, receiving petting or chin scratching, and he’ll make sure to head-butt you or rub up against your hand if he doesn’t think he’s getting enough attention. We love Dodger and so does the rest of our community. He’s such a relaxed and loving boy that we’ve had people come from outside of town just to see him! He’s been sponsored in SPCA articles and often the first question our customers ask is, “Where’s Dodger?” Sadly, this is a question we were asking ourselves just a month or so ago.
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You can request a grooming visit by sending us a request via our online form. Please be sure to give us accurate information so that we can contact you and accurately care for your pet. Feel free to specify any special requirements in the comments section.  Schedule an appointment today!

 ”The Paw Report” is our newsletter, sent only through email, which includes grooming tips, dog-centric activities, a Q&A section and more!  To recieve “The Paw Report” click the subscribe button below and then go to your email program and add our email address to your contacts to ensure delivery. We’d love to hear suggestions for articles.

Click the link below to read more about Online Appointments:

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 It is not fair to a puppy to bring him to his first visit at 12-16 weeks of age without some coaching at home. In order to figure out how to train your dog for grooming, an understanding of what is expected of him as an adult is necessary.

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The grooming process usually takes two or three hours–most of it requiring your dog to stand still and, at times, on three legs while one is being trimmed or brushed. As dogs get older and often arthritic, this process can eventually cause stress and discomfort. If it is determined to be too stressful we, of course, will stop. As dogs enter this phase of life, here’s what you need to do:

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On September 16th, Jen and Kate attended a weekend grooming seminar at the Hershey Lodge in Hershey, Pennsylvania, taking several classes to improve their grooming skills and knowledge. At the trade show they were introduced to the latest in grooming tools designed to get out alot of coat, which reduces shedding and allows the skin to breathe better. Our goal is to attend and participate in some form of continuing education at least once a year, providing you and your pet the best and most professional grooming staff possible.