Vale Park Animal Hospital offers grooming services sure to get your tail wagging

At Vale Park Animal Hospital, grooming is about more than fresh bows and fluffy haircuts. The hospital offers full-service grooming, but the focus goes beyond appearance. It’s about health, behavior, and creating a positive experience from the moment a pet walks through the door.

The hospital offers grooming services for both dogs and cats, including baths, haircuts, nail trims, ear cleaning, and de-shedding treatments.

Grooming services are offered in tiered packages to fit a variety of needs. The basic package includes either a bath or a haircut. The silver package features upgraded shampoo and conditioner, with the option of teeth brushing or nail dremeling. The gold package includes the upgraded shampoo and conditioner, along with both teeth brushing and nail dremeling. For pets with heavy shedding or double coats, the Furminator package is designed specifically for de-shedding and keeping thick coats healthy and manageable.

However, according to Holly Owens, a veterinary technician and groomer at Vale Park, the heart of the program is rooted in something deeper.

“A lot of what we’re doing is client education and promoting the health and well-being of their pets. It’s more than just focusing on how great they’ll smell and look afterward. It’s also about the behavioral work and making sure it’s a Fear-Free environment for them,” Owens said.

Vale Park is Fear-Free certified across the board, with assistants, technicians, and client service representatives all cross-trained in the approach. While Fear-Free certification is not required in the grooming industry, Vale Park’s owners choose to ensure their entire team is trained and certified.

“We want to make sure that when pets are away from home, they are as comfortable as possible,” Owens said. “We want to make sure that it’s a happy visit for them. We’re really promoting positive reinforcement for them. We try to go above and beyond to take care of not only the physical aspect of the pet and the services that we’re doing, but also to make sure that they’re happy while they’re here and feel comfortable.”

Sometimes that means offering treats and affection. Other times, it means slowing down and allowing a nervous pet to warm up before reaching for a paw.

“It makes all the difference for our pets,” she said. “If they come in fearful, it’s hard to try to move forward with the services and make it a positive experience for them. We do our very best to make sure that they’re comfortable with us. Being Fear-Free, we’re assessing the pet and what their behavior is showing us. If they are shaking, nervous, or not accepting food, those are things that we’re paying attention to. We’re going at the pet’s pace.”

That approach often includes giving pets breaks, adjusting the pace of the appointment, and focusing on long-term comfort instead of rushing through a service.

“We’re not trying to focus on rushing them through,” Owens said. “It’s about making sure that they feel comfortable with what we’re doing.”

Client education, Owens said, is something Vale Park intentionally prioritizes. Groomers take time to walk owners through coat care, tools, and techniques so the work continues at home.

“We’re doing as much client education as we can,” she said. “We’ll pull up a brush or comb and show them exactly what they need for this coat. We also demonstrate techniques, like line brushing — brushing from the skin all the way to the end of the coat.”

Those conversations are part of building trust. The more in-depth Owens can be, the more owners understand that their pet’s comfort is the priority.

“Your pet is my priority — I’m speaking on behalf of your pet,” she said.

Regular grooming appointments help reinforce that positive experience. Most pets are scheduled every six to eight weeks, though some breeds with more intensive coat needs come every three to four weeks. Puppies often visit every two to four weeks to build positive associations early.

“They each have their own personality,” Owens said. “We’re meeting the pets when they come in for their first visit and assessing their behavior, getting as much information as we can from the owner — what their favorite treats are, how they did on the car ride over. Taking all of those factors into consideration is a really huge part of what we’re doing.”

Many pets also come in for maintenance services rather than full haircuts. Seasonal weather changes can impact shedding, especially for double-coated breeds that may not need trimming but benefit from undercoat removal.

“We see pets on such a regular basis that we get to know them and their owners,” Owens said. “There’s a lot of just trying to contribute to that human-animal bond.”

Vale Park even offers paw care packages and pet-safe nail painting for owners looking to add a fun touch.

Grooming at Vale Park is also connected directly to the hospital’s medical team. With veterinarians on staff, groomers can quickly consult a doctor if concerns arise — an added layer of safety for elderly pets, those on medication, or animals with heart conditions or seizure disorders.

The care doesn’t stop with dogs. Cats are welcome, too. Long-haired or elderly cats — particularly those with medical conditions — often benefit from grooming services ranging from baths and nail trims to full haircuts or sanitary trims.

“We get to see amazing animals every day, and we get to have conversations with the clients and be a part of their day to help take care of their pets,” Owens said. “It’s a very rewarding experience for us.”

For more information or to book a service for your furry friend, visit them at valeparkah.com.