Whether you are a groomer or you take your pet to the groomer, there is one thing everyone can agree on: the more calm the pet, the better. Even more important, keeping a pet’s coat healthy and treating skin issues during and after grooms can help the pet associate grooming appointments with feeling better. But, as a groomer, how can you make that possible? After all, if a dog has hot spots or skin irritations, it can be hard for everyone involved.

CBD can help make grooming appointments flow smoothly and can give pets relief from common skin problems — leading to happier pets and owners. When pets and their owners are happy, groomers are happy.

CALMING AN ANXIOUS PET WITH CBD

No matter how calm your dog may be at home, there are just some places that send dogs into a tizzy. Vets, grooming, and boarding can be just a few of those places. Anxiety can manifest in various ways in dogs, including aggression, excessive barking, shaking, and compulsive licking (to name a few). 

All of these symptoms of anxiety can make the groomer’s job difficult (ESPECIALLY in cases of aggression). No matter how amazing your grooming team is with dogs, some dogs just don’t naturally relax at the groomers.

CBD oil, specifically CALM from CBD Dog Health, can offer a natural solution for anxious pets being brought in for a groom. At my grooming shop, Beautify the Beast, we keep a house bottle, which, with the permission of the pet owner, we use to calm down overly anxious dogs. Not only does it make the groomer’s job easier, it gives the pet parent a chance to see how it works in their pet. The dogs do not mind the taste, and for the most part, it is easy for groomers to administer.

CBD oil has naturally calming properties, which will relax the animal without potentially dangerous sedatives. There are no negative side effects, and no risk of overdose, making CBD an ideal way to keep pets relaxed during their grooming sessions. When the dog is more calm, the groomer can safely do their job. Additionally, a calm dog makes it easier for groomers to be extremely thorough during the grooming process.

CBD FOR SKIN

Dogs can lead rough-and-tumble lives. Skidding on concrete can cause dry, flaky paw pads, and constant digging in grass can cause exposure to allergens and bugs. While this is adorable, it can make grooming a nightmare. 

Dogs with allergies, hot spots, and painful skin may not like being groomed as baths and clippers may hurt those spots. Moreover, dogs who have skin tumors and cysts may be more sensitive while being groomed, giving new challenges to the new groomer. But, if the groomer is able to successfully provide relief from those painful areas, the dog will begin to associate the groomer with the feeling of relief, which can improve the grooming experience for everyone involved.

Using natural shampoos can help keep irritations on dogs’ skin from further irritation. I always look for products made with honey, ginger, and vitamin E when dealing with dogs who have skin that is easily irritated.

CBD administered topically can not only improve dry skin on paw pads and elbows, but can shrink tumors, heal cysts, and resolve hot spots and allergies. For allergies, hot spots, and troublesome areas on the skin, I recommend SOOTHE salve from CBD Dog Health. This salve contains 150 mg of full spectrum hemp CBD, and also contains ginger essential oil, aloe, carrot seed oil, Vitamin E, and honey. Combined, these ingredients provide all natural relief that groomers and dogs will both love. After you shave a heavily matted dog, it leaves their skin pink and irritated from the constant pulling from those mats. After the groom, apply Soothe all over and the dog will no longer be pink by the time the owner comes to pick up.

REMEDY from CBD Dog Health can provide relief from painful tumors and cysts, and contains 150 mg of hemp CBD as well as coconut oil, CBD hemp oil, frankincense, eucalyptus, peppermint, and arnica essential oils.

At my grooming shop, we offer to rub paw pads and elbows with NOURISH from CBD Dog Health, which provides soothing moisturizer to dry elbows, bellies, and paw pads. NOURISH contains coconut oil, shea butter, and Vitamin E.

You can use a salve on the skin and it is absorbed quickly enough into your own hands that you can apply the salve and then pick up your shears and continue grooming.

 For more holistic pet tips, visit www.angelaardolino.com or www.cbddoghealth.com.

About Angela Ardolino

Angela Ardolino is a holistic pet expert who has been caring for animals for over 20 years and operates a rescue farm, Fire Flake Farm, in Florida. She is also the owner of  Beautify the Beast,  a natural pet salon and shop. After getting her certificate in Medical Cannabis Biology and Therapeutic use from the University of Vermont School of Medicine, she founded CBD Dog Health to provide high quality, all-natural medical cannabis products designed specifically for pets. Angela has seven dogs, Odie a 12-year-old mini-schnauzer, Nina an 8-year-old Doberman. Jolene a 7-year-old mutt, Maza a 7-year-old mutt, Rhemi an 8-year-old poodle, Potato a 15-year-old shih-tzu, and Miss Daisie a 15-year-old black lab, plus 4-10 more at any time she is fostering or boarding. She uses Full Spectrum Hemp Extract on all her pets at her rescue farm every day, and has since 2016. She is a member of the Society of Cannabis Clinicians, the Veterinary Cannabis Association and has trained hundreds medical doctors and veterinarians about the therapeutic uses of medical cannabis on animals. Visit www.angelaardolino.com for more information.