So we deposited Mr. Pringlepaws behind her doggy gate, and set off for a coffee at habitat :) Unfortunately, Habitat was uncharacterisitcally full that day, and we soon found ourselves edged out of our beloved little Habitat by the overcrowded atmosphere and 45 minute wait time, and back where we started - at Little Black Paws. Thankfully, they do leave a table and two chairs right outside their grooming area, where we settled ourelves with a coke to wait. Pringles was just on the other side of the glass looking at us :) The long wait enabled me to make several observations that will probably ensure that I return next CNY (Pringles' fur, you must understand, is quite short, hence he doesn't really need the trimming.... and his human friends do have the other essentials like nail clipping/anal gland expressing down to almost an art.
Things I loved about Little Black Paws
- If you're one of those anal owners who get paranoid over grooming places where you can't look inside, well this one's trimming area is exposed :)
- The waiting area isn't a cage, it's a fenced up area with the proprietress. This was very important to us and our 20kg baby... since he was caged at his first grooming session.
- It was CLEAN. As someone who was once caught on video telling someone else to "clean between the tiles" of a bathroom, it is clear that I am discerning and have high expectations of cleanliness when I'm not the one doing the cleaning. Little Black Paws is still new, and I did see the groomers meticulously sweeping up the fluffy fur when they were done with the trimming. The dry and wet area is also separate, which is more than I can say for some other grooming places.
- A pretty skilled groomer - I must admit that I asked for a light trimming because I feel like this is the most difficult. The groomer must make the dog's natural hair look cute, and Pringles' fur is quite coarse. So I figured I wanted to get the most bang for my buck by asking them to make him look cute while keeping his length - no hiding behind puppy cuts! But I am impressed - alot of the weight is gone, but all his volume remains. Maybe should get him to cut my hair next time...
- The groomer isn't exactly loquacious, and the proprietress may be brisk (but that may be more the result of choice of words than anything), but they had a genuine love for dogs, and were generous with their advice. On a related note, our first visit to Little Black Paws was sans Pringles - we were having a post-dinner walk, and we dropped in just for the aircon (yes we are guilty). We ended up having a chat, where she talked so much about Great Life dog food, pitching it against other dog foods she'd encountered, we just felt compelled to buy something; anything from her. (Yes anything except the dog food, because the two brothers need to do independent research and get additional opinions before committing to a dog food. Pringles is more meticulously loved than some babies I know.) X's second visit was to purchase Great Life, and our third visit was Pringles' grooming session. And what does this teach you? To only sell things you're passionate about - the ROI can be so high....
- No surcharge for CNY! THANK YOU LBP. Much better than the stupid nail place near my house who wanted to charge me 50% more (i.e., $18/nail) for nail art.
- And on a more comforting note, the place did not smell like synthetic flowers.
Other place we liked but didn't do in the end!
- Sopra Ginza - a Japanese import - they do SUCH lovely cuts of animals! But at such a premium, I wasn't going to pay them to do it on a boring golden retriever.
- Stormville - this guy apparently rescues dogs. It's near Sun Ray cafe, but they are fully booked for 2014. For the record, I called in late dec/early jan. Seriously. How many dogs are they grooming??
And.. the ones that were just meh...
- k9 kulture - this one was professional and large, but we didn't return simply because I do try to support small, local businesses because they tend to be more passionate. Oh and also, it appeared less clean than LBP. Heh.
- Marine Pet Image - This one's a "meh" ONLY BECAUSE they returned pringles to us looking like a sweet little boy. A saccharine stench smacks you in the face once you enter the shop, and dyed poodles run around amok, yapping. If life were a comic, then little speech bubbles bearing the names of synthetic chemical compounds would be floating around the frame. Think "Paraben", "Sodium Laureth Sulfate", "Fragrance". And in a bad way. They do claim to be certified groomers, but I realize he is a golden retriever......... so it doesn't matter. Plus I did not like how they caged Pringles up. Okay for small dogs I guess, but I think you can do cheaper, or just go all the way and live it up at Sopra Ginza :) Go big, or go home!
