So by a sanitary haircut, what that means is we're shaving a little path for the pee and poop to come out. So, cleaning up the rear end. Many dogs will get so much hair over their rear that they'll get poop and urine stuck in there. It can cause a skin infection. It can be a mess, and of course, that's uncomfortable for them. So we want to make sure it's a clean, healthy environment in the rear end. So, sanitary trim is just shaving that hair off.

That's a good question. So we recommend starting when they're puppies because they're getting used to everything at that point. So make it a very positive experience, even just having them chew on the toothbrush; put a little toothpaste on there. You can put a little toothpaste on your finger and then wipe that on their teeth, making sure that it's not wrestling time. You want to make it fun for them. You can give them a treat afterward. That's okay. Make sure they're in a comfortable position. So getting them used to just the handling first before you're brushing every single tooth is important. And then once that's going well, and it seems like they're taking to it, then you can move on to working on the spots you want to work on. But the whole thing from start to finish should not take you more than 30 seconds. You don't need to be in there for two minutes as we do for us. It should be quick, in and out. Just get the job done and don't make it a big, scary thing.

Tooth brushing is a critical task. We recommend you brush your dog's teeth every day, but there's a tiny percentage of people going to do that. So I'll be honest, I can't even do that for my dogs. But have your goal be at least three times a week. If you can only do it once a month, honestly, don't waste your time. You're not helping them. You need to get in there regularly so that you can remove plaque. Once plaque turns into tartar, you can't brush it off. So that's where they need a complete scaling anesthetic dental, and it takes about three days for plaque to turn into tartar. So that's why brushing every three days is so imperative.

And then, as far as how to brush your dog's teeth, we recommend flavored toothpaste made for dogs. My dogs love the poultry-flavored one, but it's important that it has an enzymatic action. That means it's going to do some good even if you are only smearing it on the tooth. It's going to work on that plaque buildup, and then getting your toothbrush in there with some abrasive action is even better. There's a video on our website that shows you exactly how to do it, and I demonstrate how to do it, but starting with the canine teeth is an essential part. We have a little model here that shows the teeth. The canine tooth is the big fangtooth, and most dogs get tartar right at the gum line of the canine tooth. So focusing on that upper canine on both sides, and then if that's going well, you can move on to the back teeth or the cheek area. Another really common spot is this upper fourth premolar, so right at the gum line in those four spots. The right and left canine and premolar are the most critical spots.

Well, you'd want to know what's the daily schedule. So how often are they let out? Is it cage-free or not? You might want to take a tour of the facility. We're happy to show you our facility anytime. You'd want to ask about feeding schedules; if your dog usually’s going to eat three times a day, we recommend that they stay on that regimen. Try to keep it as smooth of a transition as you can. Ask what their emergency policies are. So what happens if my dog gets in a fight? Where will you take them? What veterinarian do you use? Ask those types of questions. And then are they able to provide care should they have a problem? Are they able to medicate the animal or change a dressing or things like that? You need to know what to expect should an emergency arise.

So if you board them here, our vets are on staff seven days a week. Now, we aren't here overnight. We're not a 24-hour facility, but if something goes wrong while we are here, the doctor's two steps away, and we're going to intervene. As far as an outside kennel type of situation, they have hospitals that they work with and wouldn't hesitate to take them to an emergency facility if needed. Of course, that would be a car ride. They would contact you and make sure you were okay with that. Yeah, I haven't had any problems with local facilities not reaching out if there is an emergency. So you just have to ask—what is the plan? What happens if my dog gets diarrhea or gets cut or gets in a fight or things like that? It's wise to know.

So sometimes, we do need to put these dogs on medication while they're here. They're just too stressed. They're barking all day long or jumping up and down in their cage. They might even get diarrhea from being stressed. So we recommend giving them anti-anxiety medication. And obviously, the doctor's going to prescribe what they think will work. And sometimes, there's some playing around with the dosing to find what works best for your pet. But yeah, they mustn’t be stressed the whole time. That's not good for anyone, and we don't like watching them like that.