Beauty Care For Sydney Dogs

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31653, 13 April 1968, Page 2

Beauty Care For Sydney Dogs

(By

MERLE NOWLAND)

SYDNEY.

Dogs are now getting the full beauty treatment in Sydney. They have their own salons, the most popular of which is the “Dandy Dog” in fashionable Paddington.

Run by the wife of a veterinary surgeon, Mrs C. Sykes, this salon has not needed to advertise since its opening was an* nouriced in suburban newspapers. It is now always booked at least one week ahead. Its client dogs come from throughout the metropolitan area, including the North Shore suburbs, in Which there were already a number of well established canine grooming parlours. The clients range from St Bernards to more humble fox terriers. Many of the dogs have regular bookings once a week, fortnightly or monthly. Mrs Skyes said they accept the “Dandy Dog” staff as old friends, and greatly enjoy the treatment given to them. Long Trip One Maltese Terrier was recently flown from Broken Hill, 700 miles away, to receive a shampoo and grooming. Mrs Sykes, who was somewhat surprised that an owner would go to so much trouble to improve the appearance of her pet, collected the dog from the airport one evening and kept him overnight at her own home. The next morning he went to the “Dandy Dog,” and that afternoon was sent home. The dogs get the whole treatment, which takes from one to three hours depending on the size of the dog and condition of its coat. It includes bathing, shampooing, clipping and general grooming. The clients are bathed in i two human-type baths labelled

"his” and “hers.” with a variety of shampoos being used for different coloured customers. From the bath, the dog is lifted out wrapped in towels. (It is not permitted to climb out itself, and this applies also to St Bernards, which require two or three to lift them.) Placed on a padded stand, : the dog is then dried with an , electric drier, before being handed over to an expert clipper. In addition, the dogs have special attention given to face, feet, tails, and ears. The cost ranges from $5 for shampoo and clip for a toy dog to $lO for a large matted dog’s full treatment. Nails Varnished There are also extras, such as nail varnish. While most regular users of the wide range of pet nail polishes available are poodles, there is one Sydney bulldog which has its nails painted red every fortnight. Were most doting owners women? I asked Mrs Sykes. No, a great many were men, she said. Customers were often left at the “Dandy Dog” by their male owners on their way to work in the morning, and collected on the way home. Most of the owners were extremely fond of their dogs. Sometimes the pets took the place of children in their owners’ lives, she said. The nail polishes and shampoos were on sale but the secret of a well-kept dog is in the grooming, and above all the clipping. Mrs Sykes believes that a great deal of the popularity of her salon rests on the fact that she employs highly-trained and qualified clippers. There are no training cen-

tres for dog clippers in Australia, and all but one of those working at Mrs Sykes's salon received their training in Europe or England. The other clipper was trained on the spot by the European staff. Dog Clothes Other services are available through the salon, including a pet photographic service, and the purchase of a range of dog’s top fashion clothes—gay jumpers, coats, mackintoshes and boots. There are also numerous jewelled collars, and travelling and sleeping While the “Dandy Dog” is recognised as the “ultimate” in pet care in many respects, there are other dog salons in Sydney, 360 pet supply shops, and many kennels and motels which specialise in personal diets and inner-sprung mattresses. It is not all for dogs. Cats, fish and birds also come in for their fair share. There are more than 100 varieties of pet food on the market, selling at prices ranging from 7 cents for a 6oz can of cat food to 34 cents for a 11b packaged dog’s dinner. Strangers wandering into a Sydney pet supply store could be pardoned for thinking they were in a butcher’s shop, when finding hygienic trays of steak (horse and kangaroo), mince and brawn arrayed in refrigerated cabinets. Pet Food Commonwealth statistics published recently showed that for every $lOOO spent in chain stores, $8.70 went on pet foods, compared to $8.85 on baby foods. The statistics also showed that for about three million pets in Australia, 50.8 m lb of canned dog food, 10.9 m lb canned cat food and 15.8 m lb of dried foods were produced last year. Besides basic foods there are the candies, ranging from chewing gum for dogs to special tit-bits for fish. Toys range from squeaky plastic pups for lonely dogs, to figures of divers to keep fish company in their tanks.