Lori Marcin, owner of Soggy Dog Grooming, believes grooming should be fun for the dog, rather than a cause of fear or stress. “We’ve seen so many puppies since the pandemic. We love to let them play so they love coming into the shop. That’s how we want them all to be. Comfortable, not scared,” she said.
She knows the constant noise and commotion in the busy shop can be a source of fear and anxiety for some dogs, and she and her staff work to make it a pleasant experience. “Some will always be nervous, but it makes me happy when they are excited and happy to be here.”
Lori has been grooming dogs since 1990. She came to Colorado 20 years ago and worked in Boulder. During the pandemic, she began working at Soggy Dog in Evergreen and purchased the business from the previous owners a year ago.
Soggy Dog has four groomers and three bathers. All the groomers are professionally trained and certified. “We all (even our bathing staff) regularly attend continuing education in order to stay current on the science of skin and coat care, as well as on the latest dog grooming trends,” said Lori.
While all the local groomers here are great, she added, most of them are one-person shops, which means they have to book appointments well in advance. “We prefer advanced booking as well, but with our larger staff, we have a little more flexibility to get dogs in,” she explained. “We have grown by leaps and bounds in the past year, averaging 20 dogs a day in the shop.” That’s a lot of dogs!
Along with full grooming, Soggy Dog offers Bath and Brush (a mini spa day and trim that includes shampoo, conditioner, blow dry, brush out, nail trim, ear cleaning and finishing spray) as well as a la carte extras such as nail trim or grind, teeth brushing, de-skunking, and matted coat treatment. “We also offer comfort grooms for senior and disabled dogs. We basically tidy them up as much as we can, not worrying so much about how they look as getting them clean and comfortable,” Lori said.
Lori is in the process of getting certified in skin care for dogs. Skin issues can result from autoimmune disorders, allergies, poor grooming, genetic disposition, or other causes that can lead to rashes, itchy skin, hot spots or hair loss. Treating these problems quickly and effectively can make a huge difference in the dog’s (and its owners’) quality of life. She is successfully working with a lab whose hair is growing back after five years of no hair, and another dog with hair loss due to an autoimmune disease. Soggy Dog uses products from Iv San Bernard, a leading European manufacturer of animal care products from Italy.
In addition to all the puppies, Soggy Dog cares for a lot of doodles, which have become extremely popular. Doodles are tricky to groom because their combined breeds give them a combination of two types of coat—one that has an undercoat that sheds, and one that grows without an undercoat and doesn’t shed. Doodle coats are highly susceptible to matting since the undercoat doesn’t get blown out, and Lori says this is the biggest problem they see. “Bring your dog in when you first start to see tangles. They just get worse,” she advised.
Lori enjoys working with all types of dogs, and she and her staff are well-versed in every breed. She especially enjoys the difficult ones, though. “You can see how it really helps the dog,” she said.
She is also impressed by how much people here love their dogs. “Saturdays are our slowest day. Everyone is out with their dogs doing stuff so the dogs aren’t available.”
The hardest thing right now in the grooming industry, Lori said, is that there are too few groomers nationwide for the number of dogs. “There are lots of inexperienced groomers around who learned from YouTube. There is really a lot more to grooming than people realize. It’s important to understand medical issues and temperament. You have to know what you’re looking at, how to take care of each dog. Experience is really important,” she said. “There are safety protocols. Equipment is sharp and the dogs don’t stand like statues. One of the things I pride myself on is that everyone on my staff is experienced, careful and really kind to the animals. Every groomer can tell you stories of working with people that are not so kind. Our place is one you can really trust with your pets.”
Soggy Dog is currently located in Bergen Park at 32156 Castle Court. The rapid growth of the business has prompted a move to a larger location with a better layout just a few steps away at 32175 Castle Court in the Evergreen Animal Hospital Building. The move will take place in January.
Hours are Monday-Friday 8 am-5pm, Saturday 9 am-until they’re done. To learn more or schedule an appointment visit soggydoggrooming.com, email [email protected] or call 303.670.7885.