HATFIELD — After being placed in the tub for a bath with lukewarm water, Barley, a bichon, gets shampooed and scrubbed all over by groomer Patty Murray, with crust and dirt from a recent camping trip coming off his white coat and from around his mouth and eyes.
Once out of the tub, a drenched Barley gets a bit of a massage and is then towel-dried with a towel taken directly from a drying rack.
“Every dog likes to be towel dried, that’s for sure,” Murray says.
Still damp, Barley moves to a grooming table. Murray places cotton in his ears to muffle noise and slips a scarflike hoodie over his head, then clips him to the table with a safety strap that keeps him still.
She fluffs out his coat with a dryer, then takes electric clippers to him, starting at his hindquarters and working forward to his ears, chin and cheeks.
An hour to 90 minutes later, Barley’s grooming is complete and he is ready to head on his way. Barley will be back in another six to eight weeks, once his owner, or parent as Murray calls those who bring their dogs and cats to Furry Cheeks Pet Grooming, schedules the next appointment.
Murray, of Greenfield, is a Fear Free-certified groomer who takes a gentler approach to grooming dogs and cats. She also offers nail grinding and teeth brushing.
“I want the dog to be comfortable, and I will work on behavior with reward-based treats,” Murray said. “The dog has to know how to be in the tub and to be comfortable with loud noises. It can be overwhelming for a dog.”
She will run the base of an electric toothbrush over a dog so it can get used to the vibrations felt when being dried and clipped. “That can do the trick on a lot of dogs and cats,” she said.
The biggest dogs typically pose the biggest challenges, she said.
The automated dryer is a trigger for many, which is why she tries to minimize the noise, keeping it quiet and peaceful. “The biggest thing for dogs is they don’t like the dryer.”
She also works with owners, encouraging them to either head out and return when done, or stay in the adjacent break room. “I need the dogs to focus on me, not their parent,” Murray said.
A lot of the dogs are for the first time being groomed, though some do come in as puppies to get used to the environment. Murray said it is a lot easier to work with a stressed-out dog than a cat.
“Sometimes it is too much for them the first time,” Murray said, adding that at times she may have to do the full grooming over multiple visits.
Murray has been grooming for 19 years, working at a number of salons and daycares in the region over that time. But what she found was that for many places, this work meant getting as many dogs and cats done as quickly as possible.
“I didn’t like how chaotic it was, basically,” Murray said. “One stressed-out dog can stress out another dog. That’s not really care.”
“Dogs and cats should get exactly what they need,” Murray said.
For the past year — she is about to celebrate her first anniversary at Riverview Commons, 131 Main St. — her business has been located inside a multitenant building just north of Hatfield center. She has outfitted the space so parents can wait and enjoy the snack and coffee bar.
Typically, Murray is able to do five or six pets a day, though larger dogs, like a Great Pyrenees, Newfoundland or St. Bernard, may require three hours, possibly more if they haven’t been to the studio previously.
She also offers heat therapy, wrapping joints by hand and using an infrared laser to help relax muscles. Older dogs with arthritic joints or injured limbs appreciate the warm towels, she said.
Murray wants to accommodate pets that may be aging or injured, pointing to a three-legged golden retriever that likes to sit the entire time during grooming, rather than standing on the groomer’s helper table.
Furry Cheeks Pet Grooming offers private appointments and puts the add-on services into the pricing, making the cost easily understandable to customers.
A haircut costs $60 to $65 for a small dog, $70 to $75 for a medium dog and $90 to $110 for a large or extra-large dog. Haircuts for cats start at $100 and can vary depending on the temperament of the cat. She is open Saturday through Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Go to https://www.furrycheekspetgrooming.com for more information.
“For the most part a lot of dogs are nervous, and so are cats” Murray said. “The main thing is any dog can come, and I’ll take it at the pace the dog or cat is at.”
“I want every dog to be treated first class,” Murray said. “I can’t imagine doing anything else; I love working with dogs.”
