Spend any time in Teddy’s Dog House, 3906 W. Ina Road, Suite 204, and beyond the buzz of clippers and the barks of the clients, the vibe is one of peace.
It’s not by accident. Owner Julie Kuever-Emery has spent years cultivating that sense of a quiet, calm spirit. She feels it’s better for her, her employees and, most importantly, the dogs she works with.
“(The dogs) pick up on your vibes,” she said. “If you’re stressed or nasty, the dogs pick up on that and react to it. (It can make them) fearful or anxious.”
There are many dog grooming salons around town. What differentiates Teddy’s Dog House is the collective experience of the groomers and their deep love of animals. They understand their furry clients are more than just four-legged creatures — they’re family members. There is no shouting at them or each other. No one uses rough language, and everyone works as a team.
It’s surprising how artistic dog grooming is. It’s part of what brought Kuever-Emery to the job. She always loved animals and art.
“I grew up with dogs my whole life,” she said. “When I got into my 30s, I really wanted to try a new vocation and career. I knew I was very artistic, but I loved animals so much. What could I do to bring the two together? That’s when I found grooming.”
Kuever-Emery said grooming is literally like sculpting, only with dogs; clippers and scissors are her tools of choice. The bonus is it’s a lot of fun, too, she said.
There are only a couple of ways to become a dog groomer. One is to go to school (Arizona has one in Phoenix). The other is to apprentice in a shop, which is what Kuever-Emery did in 1983 (she’s a proud 72 years old) in San Diego. She opened her first grooming business in 1985.
In her experience, “a lot of times if you’re an apprentice in a shop it’s almost better than going to school because you see firsthand what working in a grooming shop is like,” she said.
On the day of this visit, three doggies were getting bathed and/or clipped and groomed.
This was doggo Louis’ first visit to Teddy’s Dog House. His mom is Melissa Ferez. Louis stood still, a belly band keeping him from falling off the table at his grooming station. Each workbench is equipped with a belly band, a belt-like strap that goes around at the back of the belly and helps keep a dog safely on the bench.
Louis remained calm as his bangs and ears were trimmed. However, as soon as groomer Liz Von Kornya started on his nails, Leeann Johnston had to come over to help. Between the two of them, wriggly Louis’ nails were trimmed. It doesn’t seem like it would be such a hard job, but Kuever-Emery said many dogs hate having their paws touched and manipulated.
Von Kornya has been in the grooming business for about 30 years, 26 of those with Kuever-Emery. She talked about what it takes to make it in this very niche industry.
“In order to be a successful groomer you have to have a passion deep in your soul for dogs and I think you also have to respect your boss, believe in what they’re doing and also be a team player,” Von Komya said. “It’s very important that we all work together as a team.”
Right next to her station is Nikki Garcia’s decorated workbench. With about six years’ experience but only six months at Teddy’s, she is the newest groomer. Garcia learned to be a groomer with PetSmart, where the training program in grooming is thorough. She finds that grooming is the proper amount of immersion into a dog’s life for her. At one time, she dreamed of being a veterinarian, but her involvement in a dog’s life would have gone much deeper. At Teddy’s Dog House, she can spot some problems, but doesn’t have to do the hard stuff — like the tough choice to put an animal down.
“This is a nice, in-the-middle involvement,” she said. “There are a lot of times, too, when you have older dogs where you’ll say, ‘Did you notice that they’ve got this lump here?’ Or they’re limping on this foot and the owners are like, ‘No, I haven’t.’ Then it turns out that that’s actually something that was wrong with the dog that they would have never known about.”
Kuever-Emery is also very concerned about safety.
“If a dog comes in and they’re really difficult, you muzzle them because safety is No. 1,” Kuever-Emery said. “Safety for the dog, safety for the groomer.”
She added that in all the decades she has been in business, no one has gotten seriously bitten.
Additionally, the groomers work as a team. If someone needs help with clipping nails, for example, another groomer or bather will come to help out.
“You don’t find that in a lot of shops,” Kuever-Emery said. “Groomers are left to fend for themselves and struggle with a difficult dog. I don’t like that, I don’t believe in that.”
On another workbench, cute, innocent-looking, snowy white Bella the biter, was being groomed by manager Brooke Volmering. Although she is an experienced groomer, she still approaches Bella with trepidation. However, experience tells her that “you can’t show it and let them know,” she said. “A lot of times I’m just going to see what’s going to work. I want to find out what triggers her. What’s the thing that bothers her the most?”
In Bella’s case, it’s touching, so Volmering put a muzzle on her and used that as a way to angle Bella’s head so she could trim and clip properly.
Volmering was aided in her task by Johnston, who is a bather now, but is training to become a groomer. It’s a job she has looked forward to learning for a few years now.
“My mother was a dog groomer and it’s just been a dream of mine since I was a little girl,” she said. “She owned her shop when I was a little girl and I helped her out quite a bit. I was finally able to get into it as a career just a few years ago. Because of the pandemic, I was able to leave my other job.”
Johnston also loves dogs. She loves the challenge of working with biters like Bella. It gives her satisfaction to build trust and give the pups a good experience.
“I love working with difficult dogs like Bella,” Johnston said. “Once you gain the dog’s trust, you can really make a bad dog better. I love making a better grooming experience for the dogs.”
“A lot of times, all the dogs need is a little extra attention,” Volmering added.
Some shops are unable or unwilling to give that extra time.
What should a dog parent look for in a grooming shop?
“One of the first things, you walk in and it’s open,” Kuever-Emery said. “You should be able to see what the groomers are doing up front. You should be able to go to the back, see what the bathers are doing. Nothing should be hidden.”
It’s a red flag if management does not let customers see the back.
Another thing to look for is if the groomers are compassionate. Dog parents want to make sure there is no abuse, no rough handling or hitting of the dogs.
“I’ve seen it,” Kuever-Emery said.
Also, the place should not smell. That is an indication of unsanitary conditions.
It comes down to this at Teddy’s Dog House: the clients — the pups — and their comfort come first.
“Here it’s, ‘Do whatever makes the dog comfortable,’” Garcia said. “That’s the first priority and I really like that.”
Kuever-Emery agrees.
Teddy’s Dog House
3906 W. Ina Road, Suite 204
520-744-1965
teddysdoghouse.com
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday
8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday
