As long as I've been grooming there has not been a week that goes by with out me hearing someone tell me "My dog/cat has short hair. He/She dose not need to be groomed". This statement cannot be further from the truth.

 Yes your furry may have short hair or even possibly none at all. There still is no way to negate the fact that all dogs & cats need and must be groomed.

The actual process of grooming involves more than a hair cut. In fact, cutting the hair is the last of many steps in the over all experience. There are a number of procedures that are included which define a complete groom. When a pet enters into a salon it is processed through as many as 8-10 procedures. When preformed in a single session this experience makes up a professional groom. The cutting of the hair such as a "Puppy cut or breed standard cut" is a totally separate process and it is defined as "styling".

The grooming session entails:

Step One- The groomer/pet stylist runs a visual inspection of the pet in order to determine what type of services or products that will be needed. In this step the stylist would check for issues in relation to the overall health of the pets skin and coat. This includes seeing if the pet has ticks, fleas or other parasites. This information is important as it will effect the groomers discussion with the client in what shampoo's, conditioners or special treatments he/she may use on your pets skin or coat.

Step Two- Cleaning of the Ears. Every pet’s ears are cleaned with a specially formulated ear solution. This is done in order to remove any excess dirt, wax, moisture and or bacteria that can cause ear infections. 

Step Three- Flushing the eyes. The pet’s eyes are cleaned with an eye solution before and after they are bathed. This is done to remove any dirt and irritants that may have gotten into the pets eyes.

Step Four- Brushing the teeth. Teeth are brushed in attempt to prevent the build up of tartar and plaque that can cause premature tooth decay.

Step Five- Cutting the nails. Pet’s nails are cut and filed to appropriate length. Proper length of nails is important. It provides comfort and stability to the pet while walking or running.

Step Six- Dematting (If your pet has hair). Dematting removes all of the knotts and tangles within the pet’s coat. Without the removal of the matts the groomer could not comb or style the hair.

Step Seven- Bathing. The appropiate shampoo is selected based on the condition of the skin and coat. Refer to step one.

Step Eight- Apply Conditioner. Conditioner and/or moisturizers are also selected based on information obtained in Step One. Regardless of whether your pet has long, short or no hair at all, they still need to be bathed to rid them of dirt, dander (dead skin cells) and bacteria. Pets also need to be conditioned. Conditioning in conjunction with moisturizing restores the proteins, vitamins and minerals that were removed during bathing.

Step Nine- Blow Drying. In this step the groomer uses a force dryer (a large dryer that blows warm forced air) to dry the pet, remove dead skin cells (that have not fallen off during bathing) and also dead parasites.

Step Ten- Styling of the hair. This only applies if your dog or cat has hair.

In conclusion, eight out of the ten steps apply to a dog with short or no hair. Only the process of dematting and styling are left out. Grooming is a system of maintenance that offers a level of comfort and functionality to both you and your pet. Its plays an important role in the sum of their health and well being.

The answer: yes. All dogs & cats need to be groomed.