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Tuesday 9am - 5pm Wednesday 9am - 5pm Thursday 9am - 5pm Friday 9am - 5pm Saturday 9am - 4pm

http://www.dogretreatspa.co.uk/

The Dog Retreat Spa, 3 Old Hall, Off Venables Road, Northwich (2026)

02/08/2026

It’s OUR BIRTHDAY!! (Well, yesterday was, but we forgot to post)

Our salon opened its doors 6 years ago now, and has survived covid, and lots of ups and downs in our personal lives but we are so proud of what this business has achieved over the years!

Over 12,000 individual grooms
2 Business Awards
Appearance on TV
Survived 2 full maternity leaves

We are so thankful to all of you for supporting us, using our services, interacting with our posts, recommending us to family, friends and strangers, and for trusting us to groom your dogs!

Here’s to many more years of success, and happy dogs ahead🩷

20/07/2026

Venables Road is now closed off for a couple of weeks 😬

Business is open as usual, if you want to park on Waterman’s Carpark, you can still get onto the carpark but only from Lidl end, and you need to enter the carpark from the ‘out’ opening.

Please bear in mind that there may be some extra traffic to take into account when coming for appointments, so please bear this in mind!

20/07/2026

🎈 Happy 1st Birthday!! 🎂

It’s an absolute pleasure to have Ellie working alongside us in the salon, I’m sure you all know and can see what a talented and caring person Ellie is! Starting a business is the hardest but most rewarding experience, and she’s absolutely smashing it 🐶🐾

Here’s to many more years of success ahead 🩷🥂🍾

30/06/2026

This stunning girly had her first big girl groom recently, and she is an absolute superstar!!! Willow has been coming to us regularly for her puppy grooms, and she’s such a confident, calm and relaxed girl 🩷

✂️🛁🧼

29/06/2026

I’ve been slacking on the cute puppy pics recently, sorry!!

Here are a handful of the BEAUTIFUL doggos that I have had the pleasure of grooming recently ❤️

Everyone give some love to:
Dylan
Vala
Dave
Lunabelle
River
Hamish
Angel
Ralph
Sweep
Minnie & Bunny
Archie

🐾🐶

24/06/2026

🐾 Why you should never brush your dog’s coat completely dry — and what to use instead

This one is going to change how a lot of you brush your dogs at home — and if you’re regularly brushing on a dry coat, there’s a good chance you’re causing damage you can’t see yet.

What happens to the hair shaft when it’s dry?

The cuticle is the outermost layer of the hair shaft and serves as a protective barrier against physical, chemical, and environmental damage. Anything we do — washing, brushing, drying, de-matting — can cause damage to the cuticle, leading to hair breakage, split ends, and dullness.

When a coat is completely dry, there is no lubrication, no slip, and no give. Brushing a dry coat can pull and tug at knots and mats, causing unnecessary discomfort — and can lead to breakage and damage to the coat, especially in longer or more textured coats. Over time this results in a dull appearance and contributes to hair loss .

The friction from a brush against dry hair makes it more prone to splitting and creates static — which in turn attracts dust and debris back to the coat, making the problem worse.

But you shouldn’t brush a soaking wet coat either

This is where it gets nuanced — because the advice isn’t simply “brush wet.” Hair is technically at its weakest tensile state when it’s saturated with water. Water breaks the hair’s hydrogen bonds, making it more elastic but also significantly more prone to breakage. When a dog’s coat is wet, the cuticle swells and the hair becomes elastic — cleansers and excessive water can further soften and weaken the hair, leading to increased breakage if brushed aggressively at this stage.

Brushing a wet coat can also worsen tangles by tightening them — turning a loose knot into a compacted mat that’s far harder to work out.

The sweet spot — and what to use

The answer is neither completely dry nor soaking wet — it’s lightly damp, with a spray conditioner applied first. Leave-in conditioning sprays contain conditioning agents such as oils, proteins, or silicone derivatives that smooth the hair shafts, reduce friction, and mitigate static — making the brush glide through the coat rather than dragging through it.

Show coat specialists and experienced groomers have used this as their golden rule for decades — never brush in a dry coat. Clean, well-conditioned hair is demonstrably less prone to damage, and the difference is visible in the long-term condition of the coat.

The process is simple — lightly mist the coat section by section with a good quality leave-in spray, then brush through. You’ll immediately feel the difference in how the brush moves, how much resistance there is, and how much more comfortable the experience is for your dog.

What we use:

Every dog that leaves us has been finished with a leave-in conditioning spray as standard — it’s part of why their coat feels the way it does when you pick them up. And we’d always recommend continuing that at home between grooms.

A good leave-in spray doesn’t need to be expensive — but it does need to be used every single time you pick up a brush. Not occasionally, not when the coat looks dry — every time. Your dog’s coat will thank you for it over time, and so will your groomer. 🐾✂️

Here are some professional quality conditioning that we can personally recommend below, for all different budgets ⬇️

23/06/2026

🐾 Is it time for a nail trim? Here’s how to tell…

It’s one of those things that’s easy to overlook — but your dog’s nails can actually tell you a lot if you know what to look for.

The easiest test? Listen.
If you can hear your dog clicking across a hard floor, their nails are already too long. That sound means the nail is making contact with the ground before the pad is — and that’s where problems start.

Watch how they stand.
Nails that are too long push the toes upward, which throws the whole foot out of alignment. Over time this affects posture, puts pressure on the joints, and can cause a lot of discomfort — especially in older dogs.

Take a look at the nail itself.
When your dog is standing naturally, their nails shouldn’t be touching the floor. If they’re curling, touching the ground, or starting to grow around toward the pad, they’re overdue.

Don’t forget the dew claws.
These sit higher up on the leg and never touch the ground, so they don’t wear down naturally. They’re the ones most commonly forgotten — and the ones most likely to curl round and grow into the skin if left unchecked.

As a general rule, most dogs need their nails done every 4–6 weeks — though it varies by breed, age, and how much time they spend on hard surfaces.

If you’re unsure, feel free to drop us a message — sometimes it just takes a quick look! 🐶✂️

22/06/2026

🐾 Something we do in summer that most people don’t know to ask about

The difference between an average groom and a great one usually lives in the details. The quality of the products used. The extra steps that don’t get mentioned. The things that are done not because a client asked, but because it’s the right thing to do for the dog.

One of those things — during the summer months — is Artero Block.

Dogs and sun damage — it’s more real than most people think

Most people are aware of the need to protect themselves from the sun’s harmful effects, but very few think about the need to protect their pets. Sunburn in dogs is caused by prolonged exposure to UV rays, leading to inflammation that damages the skin — and repeated sunburns can cause skin cancer in predisposed dogs.

Despite the protection provided by their coat, dogs are sensitive to UV rays — especially in areas where there is little or no hair, such as the nose, outer ears, and belly, where the skin is finer or less pigmented. A recent clip or the presence of areas devoid of hair can also significantly increase a dog’s sensitivity to UV.

That last point matters — because every dog that leaves our salon has just been freshly clipped or trimmed. Their coat is at its shortest. Sending them out into a summer’s day without any added protection just doesn’t sit right with us.

What Artero Block actually does

Artero Block is a professional UV protection spray used specifically on the coat. It’s not a suncream — it works differently. It provides high-capacity protection against UVA and infrared ray damage, preventing coat burning, colour fading, dryness, and cuticle damage. Enriched with Acai Berry Oil, it applies quickly, absorbs beautifully, and leaves the coat with a wonderful finish.

Think of it like a heat protection spray before blow-drying — a layer of care that protects the coat long after your dog has left the salon.

Why we include it as standard

We could easily skip this step. We don’t — because every decision we make, from the shampoo in the bath to what goes on the coat on the way out the door, is made with your dog’s health and wellbeing in mind.

The details matter to us. That’s just how we do things. 🐾✂️

05/06/2026

(Coat Health Part 3)
🐾 Why you should never use human shampoo on your dog 🧴

It’s one of the most common things people do without thinking — they’ve run out of dog shampoo, the baby shampoo is right there, and it seems harmless enough. But there are some really important reasons why human shampoo — even the gentlest versions — genuinely isn’t suitable for dogs.

It starts with skin structure

Human skin has 10 to 15 layers in the outer protective layer of skin. Dog skin typically has only 3 to 5 layers. This structural difference that affects everything. Thinner skin means ingredients — helpful or harmful — pe*****te far more easily and deeply. Dogs also have much higher hair follicle density than humans, creating more pathways for chemicals to pe*****te the skin. What sits on the surface of a dog’s coat doesn’t just stay there — it can get in.

💥 The pH problem

Dog skin is naturally neutral to slightly alkaline, sitting at a pH of around 6.2 to 7.4. Human skin sits at around 4.5 to 5.5 — meaningfully more acidic. Shampoos are formulated to match the pH of the skin they’re designed for, which means human shampoo is significantly more acidic than a dogs skin requires.

When you use a product with a significantly different pH, the protective layer ontop of the skin is damaged — leaving the skin exposed to bacteria, viruses, and yeasts that the natural barrier would normally keep in check. Do this repeatedly, and you start to break down one of your dog’s most important lines of defence.

When you use an acidic human shampoo on a dog’s neutral skin, it disrupts the natural bacterial balance — potentially leading to overgrowth of harmful bacteria and fungi. That’s how a seemingly harmless bath can contribute to recurring skin infections over time.

* What it does to the coat itself

Human hair has 7 to 10 protective cuticle layers wrapped around each strand. Dog hair has just 3 to 5 — making it more permeable to both beneficial and potentially problematic ingredients, and more vulnerable to damage from aggressive cleansers.

Humans produce significantly more natural skin oil than dogs. Human shampoos are designed to remove this heavier oil production. When used on dogs, they over-cleanse and strip away the minimal natural oils dogs actually need to maintain a healthy coat and skin barrier.

A good dog shampoo should promote the proper production of natural oils in the skin and allow these to flow freely across the skin to keep it moist and elastic— and close up the scales on each individual hair shaft so it reflects light and stays clean. Human shampoo actively works against all of this.

What you’ll see if you keep using it

The effects aren’t always immediate, which is why people assume it must be fine. But over time, the signs build up — dry, flaky skin, persistent itching, a dull and brittle coat, and in some cases recurring bacterial or yeast infections as the skin’s natural balance continues to be disrupted. The distressed skin barrier also leads to increased water loss from the skin — resulting in dry, flakey, itchy skin.

What about baby shampoo?

It’s the one people reach for most often, because it feels mild and gentle. But mild for a human infant is still formulated for human skin — and human skin, as we’ve covered, is fundamentally different in structure and pH to a dog’s. Even baby shampoos are designed for the very different requirements of human skin and don’t account for the needs of a dog’s coat and skin at all. Gentle doesn’t mean suitable.

The right shampoo makes a real difference

A properly formulated dog shampoo isn’t just a safer option — it actively supports the health of your dog’s skin and coat. At The Dog Retreat Spa we select shampoos specifically matched to each dog’s coat type and skin condition — because what goes on in the bath is the foundation of everything that follows during the rest of the grooming process. Get it right, and the results speak for themselves. 🐾✂️

04/06/2026

(Coat Health Part 2)
Why do different coats need different shampoos? 🛁

A shampoo isn’t just a cleanser — depending on its formulation, it can add moisture, add volume, make a coat heavier and silkier, repair structural damage, support skin health, or deep clean right down into the follicle. Using the wrong one for your dog’s coat type can actively work against the finish you’re looking for.

Here’s how some of the key types differ:

Moisturising shampoos are formulated with ingredients like colloidal oatmeal, aloe vera, glycerin, and coconut oil. Vitamin B — commonly found in oats — pe*****tes deeply to deliver moisture, while vitamin E nourishes the skin and helps detangle the coat. These are ideal for dry, brittle, or damaged coats — or breeds prone to skin sensitivity. They add softness and suppleness without weight.

Volumising shampoos work differently — they coat the hair shaft lightly to lift and separate, giving the coat more body and texture. Dogs with wire coats, such as terriers, need volumising shampoos particularly to assist with hand stripping, as a coat that has been softened is far harder to strip correctly. Using a moisturising shampoo on a wire coat actually works against the coat’s natural structure.

Strengthening and repairing shampoos often contain keratin — the same protein that makes up hair, skin, and nails — which works to smooth the hair shaft, reduce frizz, and repair structural damage to the coat, making it stronger and less prone to breakage over time. Keratin however is only effective when high heat is used to help bond it to the hair shaft.

Deshedding shampoos are formulated to pe*****te the undercoat and loosen dead hair during the bath, making it far easier to remove. These formulas support a healthier coat and help keep excess fur manageable — using omega-rich plant oils, aloe, and oatmeal to moisturise the skin while supporting the coat’s natural shedding cycle.

Whitening and brightening shampoos use optical enhancers and proteins to bring out natural coat colour — particularly useful for white or light-coloured coats that can yellow or dull over time. Often these are blue in colour, just like the blue shampoos you can buy for blonde hair humans, the blue particles sit in the hair shaft and dilute the yellow tones of the hair.

Medicated and yeast-support shampoos go deeper still — targeting specific skin conditions with active ingredients like Piroctone Olamine, which works to reduce yeast and dandruff while essential oils like peppermint, eucalyptus, and rosemary provide a gentle, therapeutic cleanse.

What this means in the salon:

At The Dog Retreat Spa we don’t use the same shampoo on every dog. A cocker spaniel with oily, yeast-prone skin gets something completely different to a doodle with a dry, brittle coat, or a double-coated breed coming in for a de-shed. The shampoo selection is a decision — not a habit — and it’s one of the things that separates a thoughtful groom from a conveyor belt one.

If you’ve ever wondered why your dog’s coat looks and feels noticeably different after a professional groom than after a bath at home, this is a big part of the answer. 🐾✂️

We stock a small range of shampoos in the salon (the ones we use), drop us a message or pop in if you’d like to know more about them! 🐶

The Dog Retreat Spa

02/08/2026

20/07/2026

20/07/2026

30/06/2026

29/06/2026

24/06/2026

23/06/2026

22/06/2026

05/06/2026

04/06/2026

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Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm
Saturday	9am - 4pm