Is anyone else obsessed with taking cute photographs of their pets?

I feel like most of the photos on my camera are of dogs, mine and other people’s. I take pictures when I’m out on walks (like the one above) and I take pictures of them at home.

Then, when I groom a dog, I take at least one before picture and several after pictures. I run at least one after pic through an app I have that puts the image of the dog on a fun background. (The app is called Photo Room.) Here are the after pics from my latest appointments: Aasha and Skudz.

I also have a ton of pictures that I took of Annie’s first litter of puppies as I was spreading the news about their availability. Here are a few of those pictures.

I’d love to help you get some great pictures of your pups. So, let me know when we can get together for a photo shoot.

Sometime between 8 and 9 at night, Annie heads up the stairs and scratches at the door to my room. According to her, it’s time for bed.

If I don’t get up there quick enough, she barks a few times. A message for me to hurry up. (A message I don’t want the rest of my household to be disturbed by, so I do hurry.)

I open the door and she slips into her crate to snuggle in her bed. And I, the mother of two spoiled dogs, turns on the wave machine that we now share ownership of.

Cosmo, however, isn’t a ready for bed. He still has paper to chew, and maybe toys, if I can successfully redirect him. He also needs to explore out back a little more and, most importantly, he has snuggles to get. For he is as spoiled at Annie.

I’m not ready for bed that early either. So, Cosmo and I usually head back downstairs for a couple of hours. Sometimes I am productive, and sometimes I am not. Buts it’s time with my second puppy, that the first isn’t jealous about. I hope.

But it we’re not upstairs by about midnight, Annie comes looking for us. A determined mom who is training me as much as I am training her.

I actually get this question a lot. Most salons recommend you bring you pups in at least every 4 to 6 weeks. For some dogs this is for sanitary reasons. (They are dogs after all. And most of them love to play outside and get dirty.) For me, the answer to this question is about the comfort of the dog, and a reasonable degree of cleanliness for the dog and for the owner. (Wet dog just doesn’t smell nice.)

At the salon where I trained, there were several clients who brought their pups in weekly. But this had more to do with keeping them perfectly polished and exceptionally clean. (As opposed to the comfort of the dog.)

Part of the reason salons recommend you bring your animals in every 4-6 weeks is so that they can get used to being groomed. We’ve all seen dogs who hate all or part of the grooming process. Coming in often helps them become accustomed to the process so that it isn’t torture for them. (There is a lot you can do at home to help your dogs become accustomed to the grooming process- but I’ll talk about that in another post.)

I “groom” my dogs every three to four weeks- at a minimum. Occasionally oftener- specifically if they have gotten really dirty or really wet. I don’t like to groom them too often because their skin can dry out.

My rule (not counting those “oftener needs,” is that if the pup’s poop is starting to get stuck to their bum, it’s time for them to be groomed. And for my pups that is usually around 3 to 4 weeks.

But often times, especially in the winter when it’s cold, I will “groom them” by giving them a “Bath and Tidy.” For this service, the pup gets their nails done, their sanitary areas trimmed, the face cleaned up (especially around the eyes to help them see), and a bath with a blow dry and brush out to prevent matting. (Note: this does not include the hair cut or shave down that most people think of when they say their dog is being “groomed.”)

For some lucky breeds, a Bath and Tidy is all they will ever need. They might even just need a bath and their nails clipped. But for others, a Bath and Tidy between full grooms will help keep the matts at bay, keep them clean, and keep them warm during the colder months.

These are the four sweet pups I gave groomed today. They all got the Bath and Tidy service.

The top two- Chip and Oreo, will need full grooms in, hopefully, no more than four weeks. (We were going to do the full grooms today, but there just wasn’t time because of a last minute scheduling issue for their owners. So, we compromised with giving both pups a Bath and Tidy so that both could be clean and comfortable.)

The bottom two, Blossom and Murdock, will only ever need a Bath and Tidy. So, how often I see them will depend on how often their owners want them cleaned. Or how often their nails need to be clipped.

So, for me, I would recommend a grooming appointment at least every 6 weeks. Sooner if your dog’s sanitary areas need to be cleaned up, or if they are a breed prone to matting, or if they get especially dirty.

But it doesn’t have to be a full groom.

And it doesn’t have to be torturous for your pup.

Remember, grooming them regularly (even if you choose to do some of that at home) will help them to have an easier time with the process. And that is the best reason to have your dog groomed regularly.

My sister and her family are in town, and they brought their two dogs, both Miniature Schnauzers. Bagheera, also know as Bags, is 11/12 years old. He is a sweet boy, but doesn’t particularly like being groomed.

Here is the after picture. He had some mats so I had to shave him down. So, he gets the Santa suit to stay warm.

Sweets is their other dog. He is two years old and was the inspiration for me getting my own pup, Annie. I even bred them this last summer. They had a little of four.

Sweets dislikes being groomed even more than Bags. But I was able to get him cleaned up. Here is his after picture. My mom grabbed an elf shirt she bought for Annie last Christmas. So, now he and Bags match.

I’m excited to share with you that I will be participating in the It’s Your Time program. It is a mentor program for women entrepreneurs run by the Inland Empire Women’s Business Center, and will help me as I work to develop Sunbeam Pups. I am loving working to help you take care of your furry family members and this program will help me be make the business a success.

I also know that I need the help and support of my friends and family. So, please let those you know with furry family members know that I am available for dog grooming, pet sitting, dog walking, veterinary visits, even pet photography and personalized pet art work.

My business phone is my cell phone: 1 (951) 707-9278. And my business e-mail is sunbeampups@yahoo.com. I even have a rough website up. That is where I share these posts. It is Sunbeampups.com.

In addition to these services I will be working (slowly) to develop a series of pet products. So, if you have any requests, please let me know. I would love your input as I research the type of products I should develop. I’m thinking about pet poetry, kids workbooks, calendars, art prints, ect. Maybe even leashes, or collars. So, please let me know what type of pet products you would be interested in. (The services are the focus right now, and my participation in It’s Your Time, but as I have time, I will work on these products.)

Thank you for your love and support.

Marley is thirteen years old. His owners don’t want to cut his hair too short, but we had a little too many mats this time. (And I don’t like to torture dogs by brushing them out if it is going to take too long and be too uncomfortable, especially with older pups like Marley.) Thankfully we didn’t have to go too short on the hair cut because that mats weren’t too close to the skin. Here is his before and after picture.

A few weeks ago one of my clients had to put down their 11 year old Newfoundland. Goliath was a sweet teddy bear, and I do mean ‘Bear.’ This huge boy was around 180 pounds.

I got some new markers and thought I would test them out on a picture from my camera roll. I found this one and wanted to remember the sweet boy, so he became my inspiration. It’s a silly cartoonish picture, but it was fun to make.

Meet Goofy. He belongs to a good friend of mine. Her family rescued him off the street when he was just a puppy. They think someone drove off to an area without houses and abandoned him. He is still a little nervous about grooming- and especially hates to have his nails trimmed, but he is a good boy. This is probably the fourth time I’ve groomed him, so he has gotten used to me for the most part. I love giving him a clean poodle face. And he looks super cute with the puff on top of his head. He definitely isn’t a full poodle, but based on his coat, I suspect he has poodle in his heritage.

This sweet boy was ready for a groom. It had been more than three months and his hair was super long. Thankfully, he wasn’t matted. He was a little wobbly in his feet, and not used to being picked up, so I had to be extra gentle with him at the end. But by that time we were friends and I was glad to have the opportunity to help him and his owner.

He needs to go to the vet, so I am hoping to see him soon. Did you know that I offer vet visits? I can take you and/or your pet to the vet for an appointment. Let me know if you need help with this.

Cosmo will be 6 months old on Sunday, can you believe it? He is very high energy, super sweet, and already 11 pounds. I love this little pup with all my heart. And I am soo thankful he pulled through from his bout with puppy strangles.