Dog Stylists, Inc.

05/27/2026

Years ago I read an article about effective advertising and communicating with clients. One of the key points was avoiding the use of the words "No" and "Not." That being said, I do my darnedest to keep these in mind when posting about stuff relating to my beloved salon and its clients. This has been a very weird time lately, so here are some positively stated thoughts. I have already mentioned the credit card 3% charge issue, so I will reiterate: in order for me to refrain from raising prices on everyone, I must pass this cost on to clients. It is a very tiny amount. A mere pittance for every individual client, a burden for me when I have to pay the entire amount every month. Yelling at me, trying to bargain, glaring at me, and scolding me for being unwilling to eat the fee after you have just told me about your vacation and travels to visit the grands and you have yet to grace your hardworking stylist with any gratuity whatsoever will most definitely earn you the opportunity to learn what you have lost the next time your baby has a butt crumb.

If you must partake of Peruvian Marching Powder, please dispose of your baggie corner at home rather than in my lobby. The shop kitties just had to pick up a white chip.

If you must partake of the Sticky Icky, we can smell it on you and are unwilling to accept any excuses for why your pet is a mess or offer you a hardship discount.

If you would like an appointment, please leave us a message. We always check messages and respond as soon as possible, once we have tended to all of the immediate concerns, cleaned up messes, checked in the clients standing in front of us, and mixed our shampoos. It is exceedingly difficult for us to accommodate clients who call 18 times in a row (yes it has happened) but refuse to leave a name or message, and it tends to make us stubborn. Voicemail is your friend. Remember, leaving a polite message falls under exhibiting exemplary client behavior.

Barking orders at my employees is verboten. That will also earn a client the opportunity to learn nicer manners at another less patient salon.

:)

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05/01/2026

Security cameras are your friends, y'all.

03/23/2026

Who likes gardening? Who likes humane, organic pest control? People ask us all the time what we do with the hair we shave off the dogs. Well, if it's dirty and we don't feel like washing and drying a full coat that's going to be removed anyway, we preclip the dog and save the hair in a bag. We give out bags of dirty (though not peed on, poopy, or infested) hair so our clients can repel deer and bunnies without nasty chemicals. Just stuff it into old pantyhose to keep it from blowing away. 😁🐇🦌

03/13/2026

Here we go again. A couple of new clients have complimented my business and said we are awesome and loving and need to charge more. Just when I think we need to do just that, something catastrophic happens and my beloved clients find themselves in terrible straits again. They are losing their jobs. They are losing their homes. Their pets need care but the clients are counting pennies to buy gas and food and health care, so what do we do? At Dog Stylists, we do what we always do: schedule a few extra dogs, look for ways to save money, and take care of our precious clients. Money is a tool, not our god, and we will all be fine if we take care of each other.

01/11/2026

What some people do not seem to realize about my business is that it is a service, and there is an exchange. You bring a pet to me in reasonable shape, ask me for a reasonable service, and I offer you a reasonable price. If you bring me a dog with bad behavior and in not great shape, then dictate what you are willing to pay for a particular style, do NOT ream me out for what we are able to do within those parameters then go changing the rules on me. Your dog was matted. You did not do a great job brushing. I didn't expect my pro groomer to spend an hour fluffing out your waddy designer mutt with a nightmare coat for free when your attitude led me to believe you had no desire to pay for that extra time, despite your claim after the fact. It's hair. It's ten times thicker than yours and will grow back with a vengeance. I'm too old and tired for nonsense, though my hair belies my age.

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12/03/2025

Now that we have survived the Turkeystravaganza that is Thanksgiving, we have entered the Predictable Lag of the first 2 weeks of December. This is a really good time to schedule your holiday appointments, when things are a little more relaxed and your dog will get more individual attention. Waiting until the last minute will result in despair, fierce competition for our coveted appointment spots, and higher possibility of ridicule and extortion. Don't forget to get your dog's cleanliness and aesthetic on your list of must-dos. 919-489-9364

09/19/2025

In case anyone wonders where we stand, we are a safe place. Love you. ❤️

09/06/2025

And then we get clients like this, who don't speak English but are thoughtful enough to write us a sweet note thanking us for taking care of their babies. This lady is so cute and gives me the warm fuzzies. 🥰

09/05/2025

Dun, dun, dun, another one bites the dust.... We had a full day of appreciative clients, a grateful charity, and lots of tips, but one person managed to leave a bad taste in everyone's mouth with an absolute hissy fit over a couple of dollars. Why is it that the people with the luxury cars and all the goodies for themselves have the biggest tantrums over a tiny amount of money to get really superior service on their "bougie" toy dogs?! She was rude, she argued, she didn't tip (natch), and she had us using language afterwards that would embarrass a sailor. As I have said, we are trying to keep our prices reasonable for our struggling clients, and we don't gouge our clients who are clearly better off, but fer cryinoutloud do NOT insult us by berating us over a piddling couple of bucks before roaring off in an $80k car. We will happily replace you with someone whose mom taught her some manners.

07/08/2025

If you come into my salon smelling like the sticky icky and you give me a bunch of contradictory instructions, don't come back 3 hours later smelling even stronger and griping that you aren't happy with the haircut. You can take your skunky self elsewhere and try that with someone way less patient. 😜