Winter PSA

Just like people, animals need physical and mental activity, and good hygiene to

look and feel their best.  Keeping up with your furry friend’s grooming needs along

with healthy socialization and enrichment activities is always a challenge and

winter poses even greater obstacles.  Kedron Valley Boarding, Grooming and

Daycare is here to help and it all starts with offering free evaluations for both their

Pop-in Daycare Program and Grooming.  

Let’s start with Hygiene. There is a bit of a misconception that we can relax our

grooming regimen in the winter to allow our dog’s winter coat to get longer,

thicker… warmer.  Dogs do benefit from a long and/or thicker coat in the winter

but maintaining it can become challenging for pet parents as it often requires daily

maintenance to prevent matting.  Matting occurs when the undercoat tangles and

knots, pulling on the skin causing skin irritation and in severe cases can even cut off

circulation.  Longer hair may appear normal while the matting beneath becomes so

tight and widespread that when assessing your pet’s fur, the matt itself can be

mistaken as skin.  Brushing out matts is painful for your pet and should never be

done with scissors as getting beneath the matt may be hard and identifying skin

difficult.  Doing so often results in cutting the skin and a trip to the veterinarian for

stitches. Brushing the matts out may cause your dog too much pain and the only

alternative would be to clip them out with clippers at skin level.  Minor matting in

small areas can be brushed out or trimmed if necessary while maintaining the

length of the remainder of the coat but this time of year, it is not uncommon for

groomers to have to remove matting in large patches – a process called pelting. 

Regular bathing by a groomer and at home brushing routines that addresses your

pet’s entire body with the correct brushing tool for your dog’s type of coat is the

best prevention.  Other helpful hints are making sure your dogs are dried

completely after they get wet, that feet are trimmed short and collars removed

overnight to reduce the risk of moisture buildup, hair loss and matting beneath the

collar. 

Our Groomer, Mary Bovaconti, is noticing an increase of matted dogs coming in

recently so we would like to offer a brief, free evaluation when Mary will assess

your dog’s grooming needs with you so you understand your dog’s coat type and

what your dog requires for the healthiest coat possible.  Should you choose to

bring your pet for grooming, after Mary grooms your dog and has an even better

idea of what you are working with for their coat condition and pup’s temperament

and tolerance of the process, she can then go over tools and practices you can do

at home between grooming and a maintenance schedule to reduce the risk of

needing to clip matts down the road.  If you are interested in exploring this

opportunity, please call or email us. You may expedite the process by logging in to

our website at KedronBoarding.com and click on the Customer Portal tab to create

your personalized profiles for you and your pets.

With colder temperatures, slippery conditions and shorter days, dog parents

increasingly report high energy, difficulty redirecting, and poor behavior –

basically, Cabin Fever sometimes lasting well past your bedtime.  Keeping up with

both physical and mental activity are important for our pet’s overall health.

Reduced activity in the winter can also cause weight gain which can contribute to

illness and injury.  With Covid19, many dogs have had minimal or reduced

socialization both with both people and other dogs which contributes to fear,

aggression or simply undesirable behaviors both at home and when out in public. 

Kedron Valley Boarding, Grooming and Daycare has two daycare programs. Last

fall, we eliminated our waiting list by creating the Pop-in Daycare Program.  To

ensure we have room at our facility to meet the boarding needs of our community,

we announce our availability on Fridays of open daycare spaces for the upcoming

week.  The Pop-in Daycare dogs may fill these slots on a first come, first serve

basis.  Our amazing groups of pups spend several hours in the morning and

afternoon enjoying supervised play in our 3 outdoor play yards alternating with

indoor play when weather requires.  Activities include ball play, tug of war, Frisbee,

chase, pool time in the summer, and special holiday events. During quiet time from

noon to 2pm the pups, recharge and take a nap. If they need extra mental

stimulation, for a small fee, we offer frozen Kong treats during our break time. We

offer full- or half-day Daycare options to meet your needs or budget. 

Public dog parks can be a great way to consume energy, but daycare offers many

advantages dog parks cannot. Daycare programs like ours evaluate newcomers’

behaviors and cues before any social interaction occurs. Our regular dogs are

vetted for safety, play styles, and set the standard for the yard. Pop-in clients,

especially those with younger puppies, benefit from learning how to properly

interact with other dogs, ask for play, and create healthy relationships. Daycare is a

highly supervised environment which minimizes the risks posed at unknown dog

parks.

If you are interested in exploring this opportunity, please call or email us. You may

expedite the process by logging in to our website at KedronBoarding.com and click

on the Customer Portal tab to create your personalized profiles for you and your

pets.