We’re all professional groomers who want the best for our
clients. We don’t want puppies or kittens placed into risky
situations, so why such a drastic difference of opinions? What
I discovered is that just like many other things in our industry,
we must adjust based on our own personal salon situations
and sometimes even rules/regulations of those we may be
employed by.
For example, my salon is private and books by appointment
with only myself, one other groomer, and a bather/cat
groomer. As noted with many of our polled members in the
same situation, it is quite easy to have puppies/kittens in
the first morning slots before any other clients come in. This
drastically minimizes the potential for the pet to meet any of
the diseases we currently vaccinate for. We suggest pups start
coming in at 8 weeks if they are already with the owner just to
get them used to the sights, sounds, and smells of a grooming
salon.
However, not all salons operate in this fashion. Some salons
have very busy clients who need to drop their furkids in the
morning and pick them up in the evening, or at the very least,
they have multiple drop offs at a time. There is nothing wrong
with this style of salon, there are plenty of clients who need
both types of services, not to mention in home and mobile
grooming** But what I did notice was that these groomers…
those who accept multiple pets at a time…. were the ones
who were more likely to suggest waiting until the pup is 14-16
weeks and had finalized all vaccinations.
People ask me all the time if I require vaccinations for my
clients and the answer is ‘no’. I do believe we over vaccinate
our pets, and I refuse to do it with my own. So, what kind of
hypocrite does that make me if I demand the very same of my
clients? But, how I run my salon gives me the opportunity to do
this without compromising the pup.
Included next, you will see the current suggestion of the puppy
vaccination schedule from the AKC (and some veterinarians
require even more parvo boosters than this!) as well as a
comparison to Dr. Jean Dodds, DVM, specialist in vaccinations
and immunization.
**Our poll included a very limited number of in home and mobile grooming salons