We recommend you do not take your pet to see the solar eclipse. They might get fearful of all the people, noise, and any other events that might happen just like in the 4th of July or New Year celebrations. You can always give us a call at 786-461-2327 for pet sitting and have peace of mind.

If you prefer to stay at home, you will be able to watch the solar eclipse live here.

One thing is for sure, we can’t wait to see wild life doing some unusual behaviors like birds preparing to sleep, frogs getting out and start singing, or even bats flying.
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Let’s enjoy this wonderful experience safely! 

NBC and Telemundo owned stations are teaming up again with hundreds of shelters across the country to host "Clear the Shelters". It's a nationwide pet adoption drive to help find loving homes for animals in need.

If you want to adopt a rescued dog we recommend you take this quiz first to get some clarity on what kind of dog will work best for you.

When Fido starts to smell it’s time for a bath, right? STOP!! Let me tell you that before I learned how to groom dogs I didn’t know I had to do a check-up first. This 5 steps inspection before the bath will help you discover any condition that might require medical attention and a cheaper vet bill (Alleluia!)

You can do this check list in whatever order you’ll like but I prefer to start from the top to the bottom. Let’s dig in: 

Ears. Your dog's ears also help maintain it's normal body temperature by radiating excess body heat so we have to take care good care of them. Ear infections are one of the most common illness in dogs. It might be because they got wet, or your dog is allergic to its surroundings, or even bacteria. The most common red flags for an ear infection are: 

• When your dog scratches its ears, shakes its head or there is an odor coming out of them
• Redness or swelling.
• A lot of black/brown ear wax in the ear canal.
• Look also for fleas and ticks. The top of, inside, and under the ears, these are their favorite places to be among others that we’ll review later on. When fleas infest your dog's ears they may cause them to look dirty, like a sprinkling of black pepper flakes in and around your dog's ears.

         Grab some tweezers, put alcohol in a jar, and lot’s of bravery (at least on my case, I hate this things) and remove them
         as follow: 

1. Grab the head of the tick with the tweezers to remove it. Do not grab it by the body because it will break off and leave the head stuck in your dog’s skin causing irritation and infections.
2. Place the tick in a jar. Make sure that the tick is submerged in the alcohol and can’t get out of the jar.
3. Put the lid on the jar and leave them there for a day or so.
4. When you are sure they are all dead, you can throw them in an outdoor trash can.

Eyes. Find a brightly lit area so you can take a better look to their eyes. They should be clear and bright. These are signs that something might be wrong with them:

• Mating around the eyes, if they have long hair.
• The pupils are not equal in size.
• There are tearing, discharge or any crust in the corners.
• Finally, gently roll down your pet’s lower eyelid with your thumb and look at the lining. It should be pink, not red or white.
• WebMD, a digital magazine provides more information about dog’s eye care here 

Snout. Meaning nose, gums, and teeth.
1) Nose- If your dog's nose runs, the mucus should be clear. If your dog’s nose has bubbly, thick, yellow, green or even black mucus, see your veterinarian ASAP.
Also, if it’s cracked, has scabs or sores, they may have a skin disorder.

2) Gums- Problem gums can produce powerful odors. Lift the mouth flaps and look at gums. Red, swollen gums may be infected.

3) Teeth- It doesn’t matter if you clean their teeth or not. These are your red flags to go and see a vet:

• Change in eating or dog chewing habits
• Pawing at the face or mouth
• Excessive drooling
• Misaligned or missing teeth
• Discolored, broken, missing or crooked teeth
• Yellowish-brown tartar crust along the gum line
• Bumps or growths within the mouth
• DO NOT use regular human toothpaste for your dog. They include fluoride which is extremely poisonous for them. You can find toothpaste formulated for dogs at pet stores.

Coat and skin. A healthy coat should be shiny and smooth, not brittle, matted, or coarse, and healthy skin should be supple and clear, not greasy, flaky or bumpy. 

Also, check the body for fleas and ticks. Other favorite body parts of this parasites are under his legs (armpits), belly, chest, tail, between his toes and pads of his feet and the front of the neck and chin.

That should take you a while. Use a comb to help you out but nothing will compare to your hands when trying to find these creatures. You might end up finding none or an infestation. Either way you have to bath your pet with flea and tick shampoo, either for prevention or before removing the parasites (it would be easier this way).

You can find an awesome guide on how to remove ticks of your dog on WikiHow 

Nails. Make sure to leave a space between the quick (vein and nerve that feed their toes). Usually, you don’t have to clip the nails on the rear legs but some genetics will add extra toes called dewclaws to them. They tend to have little bone or muscle structure in most breeds. It is normal, although not biologically necessary.

There is an Italian study that says this extra toe is due to a mix between a wolf and a dog, you can read more about it here.     
If this nail doesn’t have a contact with the floor, you have to clip it constantly to prevent to grow and start curling between the toe and the leg (no funny business). A vet can remove this if it doesn’t have a bone connection and if the dog is not older than approximately 5 years old.
  
Also dogs may suffer from extremely brittle nails, or have nails that slough, peel, or chip away excessively. Most nail or nail bed disorders can be resolve in a relatively short amount of time. Pet MD, digital magazine has an amazing article about this here

That is all folks!
You are a smart and loving owner who wants what it’s best for your pooch so I hope these tips expanded your vision on proper dog grooming at home. Let other owners into this secret technique and share this content with the world.

What would you like to learn next? Click that "Comments" bottom and let me know! 

Cesar Millan recommends checking your dog’s coat because it is one of the best ways to gain insight into your dog’s condition, be it physical or emotional. On this tutorial, you will learn how to cut the tail of your Bichon Frise, or any other long hair dog for that matter, at home. When I found out how easy this technique was, I couldn’t believe it!

For this easy dog grooming technique you will need:

• A long haired dog.
• A dog comb.
• Scissors.

First we need to know a little breed history. See Animal Planet’s Dogs 101:

They tell us that their intelligence and characteristic smile won them the French Monarchy’s hearts. They can easily adapt to hot or cold weather and are a family favorite even though it is a high maintenance dog. Don’t forget about their lush, double coat that makes them tolerable to people with allergies too.

According to Modern Dog Magazine the first Bichons arrived in the U.S. from France in 1956. The popularity of the breed in North America today is quite an achievement. This breed ranked 26th in American Kennel Club (AKC) registrations in both 2002 and 2003.

Full AKC recognition of the breed was achieved in 1973, with breeders and supporters pushing successfully to have it included in the Non-Sporting group instead of the Toy group.

Even though you should be taking them at least twice per month to a groomer, you can help the process (and your pocket) by brushing their hair with a slicker dog brush at least once a week and some easy maintenance styling like cutting their tail so it won’t get matted.

You will use the slicker dog brush only for the body and do it from the bottom to the top to give them a spongier look. The regular dog comb will be used on the head, the ears, and the tail.  
Here is a tutorial on how to stylish your Bichon Frise’s tail:  

1. Start brushing the tail with your comb. Do it from the beginning of the tail up to the end. As if brushing your own hair.
2. Start spinning the hair down to the tail’s tip.
3. From the tip, keep on spinning the hair up to an inch. You can measure it with your thumb.
4. Grab your scissors and start cutting a curve.
5. Let it go and brush the tail one more time.

How about it? Remember that practice makes perfect! This will also work on any dog with long hair on their tail. Their face is a touchy issue that I would recommend leaving it to a professional. We have special tools (a curve scissor and techniques) to give them the right look so we don’t poke an eye out.

The Bichon Frise is known as a high maintenance breed, which means that there is a lot of grooming needed. Their hair, like our hair, never stops growing. On the Bichon Frise Club of America’s website you can find some other tips to groom your pup at home.

This breed should be bathed and groomed with scissors at least once a month. It is okay to bathe more often and many owners schedule this to be done every two weeks. It is important that the dog is first brushed free of any knots or mats because wetting those mats will make the knots even tighter. This applies to any long hair breed. If you bathe it at home, use a shampoo for white dogs and rinse thoroughly.

Never forget:

• Human shampoos are the wrong pH for a dog and leaving soap in the coat will be harmful to it and may affect their skin.
• Massage your dog before and after grooming to keep them calm and make it a great bonding activity.
• Remember you are the boss! Never give up in the middle of the process for a little winning or “he is not keeping still”. They are curious and if you haven’t done this before, they want to know what is going on. It would get better with time. You need to be persistent, not only will they behave better, they will not have matted hair and the groomer bill will go down too.  
• Take them for a long walk. If you tire them down first, it would make your dog grooming easier.

What if your dog doesn’t like to be brushed?        
1) You can tie your dog to prevent it from biting you, especially if it has knots on its tail. Every dog has an area they don’t like to be touched. The first massage will help you find these areas and once you know them, try to touch them in some other times so they get use to it.

2) You should always look out for their warning signs: 

• Their ears will be back and their tail will get in the middle of their legs.
• They will give you an intense and intimidating look with their head down. 
• They will lick their lips and show their teeth.

3) In time, you can feel these mood changes. You can modify this behavior with your energy (as weird as that sounds) you have to keep calm, do not get angry at them because they don’t understand why you want “to pull on their hair”. Let them sniff the comb and the dead hair that falls out of them as a distraction.

4) If you feel things are getting out of control, stop immediately and try it again later and so on until they associate the brushing with a pleasant experience. 

5) Only give them a treat when they behave the way you want them too.


​That is it for today. Share the pictures of your dog’s tails in our Fan Page, and why not even your cat?

Call me crazy but I believe in a world were owners and pet groomers can live happily ever after because we both want the same thing, a happy and healthy dog or cat. This is my first tutorial on how to groom your pet at home and live to tell the story. If you want to see more, you can find them here.

Are you having trouble grooming another area of your pup? Click that "Comments" bottom and let me know! 

​As Cesar Millan will say: “Dogs don't rationalize. They don't hold anything against a person. They don't see the outside of a human but the inside of a human.” So when they see you are being extra careful getting the towel to the bathroom, they can feel you are nervous about something and based on past experiences, be sure that hell will break loose. 

Call me crazy but I believe in a world where owners and pet groomers can live happily ever after because we both want the same thing, a happy and healthy dog or cat. I will be making a series of tutorials on how to groom your pet at home and live to tell the story.

What are you having most problems with? Let me know in the comments below and I’ll be happy to put together an easy to follow tutorial for you as soon as possible.

You can also search through this list:
Grooming a Bichon Frise 

Welcome! If you have dropped by here, it is because you are looking for pet advice, right? Aren’t you tired of others judging you how to take care of your pet but do nothing to tell us why things are some way or another? On this blog, you will find from the most common questions up to the very deep topics about how to take care of your pet. It doesn’t matter if it is a dog, a cat or a snake!

I am an advertiser who has had the joy of living with animals her whole life and finally found something to talk you about. I just moved to the U.S.A and let me tell you something, things are much more expensive here than in Costa Rica (where I was raised… I originally come from Peru, but that is a story for another day).

Even though the U.S.A is pretty expensive, the greatest thing I have found so far is preventive medicine and pet insurance. Teeth wipes, brushes, cat/dog ear drops and eye drops are available to you on the supermarket and if you don’t find what you are looking for there, what can’t be found at Amazon, right? There are companies like H&M who give you the benefit of pet insurance (yes, really) and lots of products that will help you become a better pet owner. There are low-cost clinics, special programs, and even memorial funds for pet owners.

I want to share my discoveries and how to use them with the world because I know many people who love animals but think they are too expensive and are missing the joy of having one by their side. Yes, it is possible for you to keep your pet happy and healthy and we are going to learn how together.

The most important thing that you must know about me is that I have 4 dogs in Costa Rica and I’m working very hard to bring them here with me. In time order they are:

They are my precious rescued dogs. I became a dog groomer (for obvious reasons) so that I am able to understand the owner’s point of view. Who wants to get bitten by your own dog? That doesn’t sound right. But as a responsible pet groomer, I want to teach you how to prevent that and how to prevent most common sicknesses from happening.

Feel free to share your story and your questions to help others become better pet owners!

Now I want to know:   
Do you have a dog, a cat or a nontraditional pet?