Dog Grooming
DG9-K9 believes in grooming being a positive experience for your dog. Positive grooming experiences are helped by owners looking after their dog’s coat through regular brushing and combing. Matted fur is very uncomfortable for your dog and sometimes painful as it pulls on their skin when your pet moves around.
Grooming a dog with matts can be extremely sore and could also result in damage to your pet’s skin. Trying to brush out a coat full of matts is also a painful experience for your dog, and greatly extends the time on the grooming table which can be challenging for your pet to manage.
DG9-K9 is happy to give advice about taking care of your pet’s coat, however, believes in pain free grooming so will therefore not brush out a badly matted coat to, ‘save some,’ so a good hairstyle can be given. If an owner wants their pet’s hair to be cut into breed standard styles etc. they need to be able to maintain the coat at home effectively in between grooms. DG9-K9 will be happy to have a conversation with owners about what is needed to achieve this.
DG9-K9 believes in pain free grooming, so badly matted pets will be cut down short to reduce risks, pain and discomfort for the dog.
DG9-K9 reserves the right to refuse to cut a returning badly matted dog.
Sometimes a pet may arrive with fleas. DG9-K9 will complete a cut if fleas are found during the groom, but will charge extra to facilitate deep cleaning of grooming equipment. If noticed before the groom, owners will be advised of the situation and asked to reschedule the appointment for when the infection has been treated and cleared away.
DG9-K9 will work with owners and their dogs on grooming if aggression is a difficulty. This can be over a period of time to try and resolve an aggression displayed through anxiety around grooming. DG9-K9 will muzzle an aggressive dog if needed, and owners should be aware that there is never going to be a ‘perfect cut’ where dogs react with aggression to the grooming process.
Late arrival’s may be charged for the time and / or may be turned away due to schedule of grooms.
No shows, will also be charged the full price of the groom and the cost added on to the next grooming visit, especially when there has been no prior notification of this.
Dog Boarding
When owners go away on holiday or even just for a couple of days, they want to know their dogs are warm, fed, walked, safe and secure. They also like that their dogs are in a more homely environment with all their needs met.
At DG9-K9 we strive to make the dogs feel settled and content, to enable their owners to have peace of mind whilst they are away.
Some of our boarders are working with their owners on training and behavioural support and at DG9-K9 we maintain any routines, structures and boundaries they have been working on, so that all of the hard work is maintained during their stay.
Some of our borders are not in a position to mix with other dogs for a variety of reasons. At DG9-K9 we are able to accommodate these needs and still provide comfort that might not be available in other environments.
Our boarders stay in purpose built indoor kennels which allows every dog to have their own space if needed. We rotate our visitors in and out of the kennels throughout the day and night so all visiting dogs have the opportunity to be out and about with us in our home and garden environment. All dogs get daily walks appropriate to their individual needs and levels of fitness and when agreed and safe to do so, can get an opportunity to socialise with other dogs whilst out and about. This includes with DG9-K9’s own dogs.
Most dogs settle in this environment and absolutely love their holidays at DG9-K9. Unfortunately, DG9-K9 is not able to take boarders with separation anxiety as the rotation of them with other dogs throughout the day, can cause the dog to become anxious and stressed, which may also make other boarders feel anxious, too. Sometimes owners do not know that their dogs have separation anxiety as they are always with them in the home and do not hear them barking when they are out. DG9-K9 encourages every owner to practice being away from their dogs in another room, whilst in the home with them, to enable their dogs to learn to be by themselves.
A necessary skill for times of emergency etc.
We also like to test dogs for a little while, who haven’t stayed with us before. This is free of charge and helps to identify if your dog has anxiety that is not known about.
DG9-K9 has boarding paperwork to be completed prior to your pets stay with us, and it is important to be answered honestly to ensure your dog’s needs are properly met whilst you are away.
Day Care
Per Day
£15/Per Day
- Drop off 9:30am -10:30am
- Pick up 5pm
Overnight Stay
Per Night
£20/Per Night
- Drop off 9:30am – 10:30am
- Pick up 9:30am – 10:30am
- Dogs collected after 12 noon on pick up day
will be charged a day boarding fee. - Flexible arrangements can be discussed.
Dog Training & Behaviour Support
DG9-K9’s mission is to improve owner’s relationships with their dogs as DG9-K9 believes well-mannered, trained dogs have happier lives. We are positive about dogs and people; building trust and respect between you and your dog through training and individually tailored behavioural support, when needed.
All attending the classes must be on the on-line class first, before attending in person in the hall… to get them started in the training process!
Obedience classes:
We provide several different levels of obedience training, based on a progression of abilities from one stage to the next. We like to keep our class size small, as this provides the best opportunity for learning and support, so places always need to be booked as there are limited spaces.
Basic / Beginner Obedience:
This is for dogs of all ages, including puppies after they have had their second injection. In this class we focus on finding what motivates your dog and how we can use this motivation to help build on learning basic commands, build a relationship between you and your dog, and start to develop the trust between you. We also start focus work and begin the extremely important lesson of recall with your dog. The commands we learn in this class are primarily heel, sit, down, sit stay, down stay, focus work and recall.
Intermediate Class:
Your dog must be good at the commands of basic obedience before moving in to Intermediate level or you will be setting you and your dog up to fail which will lead to feelings of frustration and disappointment. This class builds on previous commands and introduces some new ones, with lose lead walking, distance work, recall and more focussed work with distractions. A greater understanding of how we communicate with our dogs both verbally and through body language will develop and you should begin to understand how your dog responds. The commands are expanded in this class to include; marker and release command, place, heel position, loose lead walking and dog following, left turn, right turn, recall, extended time basic commands, distance, distraction, duration, verbal commands and signalling and increasing levels of focus.
Advanced Class:
All dogs in the advanced class will have been through the Intermediate stage. Advanced work with our dogs includes off lead, distance, place, and group work with the other dogs and their owners. Advanced classes are a lot of fun, very challenging for you and your dog and extremely rewarding, especially when other dog owners are saying, ‘I wish my dog was so well behaved!’
Puppy Class:
Puppy classes are for pups up to 20 weeks. The main aim of these sessions are for our puppies to get the opportunity for safe socialisation, and for us to get an idea of our pups temperament and to start to look t basic obedience and manners and how to avoid some of the problems we can create for our new friends.
1 to 1:
We come to the comfort of your own home to work with you and your dog to learn basic obedience and manners, both in the home and wider environment. We offer non-judgmental support to help you resolve behaviours and establish a good bond with your dog. Each session lasts 1 hour and a program of support can be tailor made to meet the needs of you and your dog. We have a flat rate charge for the hour support with variations on this cost depending upon location.
Prices
Training is £30 for a 1hr session
You can book more than the 1 hour.
You can book half-full days.
Half days are 4hrs hours for £100
Full days 8hrs for £180.
The price depends on your postcode. This means the travel time and fuel money is included in the price.
Or you can come to Stranraer which is the hourly cost.
Basic Obedience Classes / Training Classes:
These 6 week courses are £60 including tea and coffee and a biscuit. and are based in the Stranraer Millennium Centre
Classes in the Millennium Centre are NOT included in the price of the On-Line, This is separate!
