Excellent Handling Skills at Bubbly Petz!

Welcome to Bubbly Petz!

Olive and Lucy recently visited Bubbly Petz for Lucy to get a skin analysis by groomer Desmond and for Olive to get her nails trimmed. Can we say, we are so impressed by Desmond’s dog handling skills!

Sisi says: I wanted to see if there was anything that could be done for Lucy’s itchy skin allergies. She always gets so freaked out and stressed out at any groomer or vet. When placed on the high table, Lucy usually tries to clamber off in panic, and as a result, leaving me with scratches all over. In fact, when she was on the high table at Bubbly Petz, I actually whispered to Vicky, “She’s gonna jump off…any moment now.”

But she didn’t! Desmond managed to keep Lucy on the table without any restraint or leash! Lucy was surprisingly calm and didn’t struggle very much. While Desmond checked her skin and ears, she stood still while keeping her eyes on me. Never before!

Desmond checking out Lucy’s skin.

Lucy looking calm while Desmond combs her fur.

I was very impressed and told Desmond I usually have problems keeping her still at home. Brushing her teeth or trimming the fur around her face is near impossible because I would need three hands! One to hold her down, one to lift her lips and the last to brush! I was even more impressed when he showed me how to brush her back teeth and she didn’t even flinch.

Getting her teeth brushed.

This usually requires more than one pair of hands plus a leash (or two!).

After we were done, Lucy lay on the floor and took a dog nap. Usually after visits to the vet or groomers, she cannot wait to leave and pulls me to the door. I guess she liked Bubbly Petz! She was rewarded with a toy ball from the shop!

Vicky says: Olive has fearful aggression and is reactive to people, so it has been a real challenge to bring her to get her nails trimmed over the last two years. She needs to be muzzled either at the vet or groomer – whenever she is handled by strangers. When I heard that Desmond doesn’t use any restraints, I was very skeptical, and extremely worried for his safety. In fact, I offered Desmond the muzzle I had brought for Olive and said I would feel much safer if he used it!

Firstly, Desmond took the time to let Olive sniff him, and he fed her some treats. He was calm and un-worried.

Then, he went ahead to hold her firmly and cut her nails, as I was stuffing treats as fast as I could into her mouth!

   

Olive has NEVER been able to be examined or have her nails cut without a muzzle, so I am extremely impressed at Desmond’s confidence and handling skills! Several times, Sisi and I clutched each other or shared panicked glances when he went to hold her or examine her paws, when she could easily snap at his face.

When Desmond went to have a closer look at Olive’s paws, my heart jumped and I’m sure I also heard Sisi’s heart pounding harder!

We highly recommend the grooming services at Bubbly Petz for how Desmond was able to read our dogs’ body language and handle them with ease and confidence. Lucy and Olive are not easy dogs to manage, and yet he did an amazing job with both of them. Fearful or nervous dogs would really benefit from the positive methods which Desmond advocates.

These two got some goodies from the store for being such good girls!

Bubbly Petz also has a pet store which sells ethical, cruelty-free and planet-friendly products.
Address: 266 Joo Chiat Road, Singapore 427520
Opening hours: Mon, Wed, Thu, Sun 10:00am-7:00 pm; Fri-Sat 12:00pm-9:00pm; closed on Tue
Contact number: 63486872 or 96563786

See our previous post on the Bubbly Petz grand opening here.

Olive & Muddy check out Bubbly Petz

Last weekend, Olive and Muddy made a date to head down to the Bubbly Petz Grand Opening.

Where are the bubbles? We don’t see any!

They liked the sound of an eco-ethical (cruelty-free and recyclable or biodegradable products) pet store and cage-free, restraint-free and open-concept pet grooming studio, which is what Bubbly Petz is. Helmed by Desmond Chan and Suar Shi Min, Bubbly Petz advocates humane handling techniques of animals and the need to improve animal welfare standards in Singapore.

One of the talks we attended was by trainer Kristina Setiabudy, entitled “Life Skills for Enjoyable Grooming”, whereby we learnt how to use clicker training to desensitize dogs to having their paws handled or targeting our hand to get them into a the desired position instead of manhandling or manipulating their body. Once the treats were brought out, Muddy and Olive got interested in the learning 🙂

Muddy volunteered so he could earn some treats from Kristina while Olive cheered him on!

What impressed us is the passion of Bubbly Petz to educate pet owners on making informed choices for their animals and the environment, and the care that goes into choosing the planet-friendly products they sell – these include biodegradable poop bags and plant-based or organic foods. The Furry Tales can’t comment on the grooming services yet, but be sure that we will be following up on this next! Olive and Muddy have already requested to go back.

Congrats, Bubbly Petz, on your grand opening! (Back L-R: Desmond, Tanya, Vicky, Shi Min. Front L-R: Muddy, Olive)

Bubbly Petz is located at 266 Joo Chiat Road Singapore 427520. Tel: 63486872 or 96563786 (Desmond). They also do house calls – where grooming is done in the comfort of your own home.

YAY Tanya and Muddy won 3rd place in the lucky draw! Muddy can’t wait to try out the vegan treats and tea-tree oil shampoo!

Lulu’s Instant Slimming (a.k.a. Grooming by Awesome Pawsome)

Contributed by Vivien Chin
Recently, Lulu had been getting comments on her disappearing waistline. She’s been described as fluffy, big-boned, generously proportioned, full-bodied, etc. Being a “fluffeh” dog makes Lulu sluggish. Being “fluffeh” also makes her drool. On a hot day, Lulu assumes her other identity: Droo-Lu. Her drool beard can reach a staggering 12 inches to the ground. This makes everybody squeal and run from her. It also makes her mama highly embarrassed.

Lulu is looking a little “big-boned” here.

Concerned about her image and how hot it must feel for Lulu, her mama decided to do something about it. She called in Awesome Pawsome‘s Ian Wong, the miracle man for instant weight loss. His other job is a pet groomer. Ian does his magic at your home. He and his assistant, Pauline, were very professional. They set up on the balcony and got to business straight away.

Tails are wagging, pets are bragging!

Off with the fur!

It’s getting breezy behind.

Ian and Pauline were gentle with Lulu, although it does help a lot that her mama conditioned her to being held by her muzzle. Usually, Lulu hates getting her nails clipped. Ian was able to do it so smoothly and quickly that Lulu hardly noticed it.

Oh no! I be a Chinese Crested Dog now!

Magician Ian and his beautiful assistant transformed Lulu the Great Pyrenees mix into Lulu the Chinese Crested Dog.

No, dis be not awkward at all. Carry on scrubbing me there.

Lulu had her nails clipped, ears cleaned, and fur shaved down to about half a centimetre, by request of her mama, and a good scrub down. Usually, it would take 15 minutes just to get her coat completely soaped. After the shave, it took less than 5 minutes to soap, scrub and wash. No kidding!

Lulu Liberated.

No more drool!

After her haircut, Lulu has a bounce in her step and she doesn’t drool as much. She must feel really good to shed that thick coat of fur. Rolling in the sand does not cause her mama’s blood pressure to be elevated anymore.

Fan-tastic Lulu.

Lulu’s haircut is so fabulous that it has inspired many dress designs. Notice the lush head of hair, clean close-shaved body of the model below, and the flowing fluffy tail resembles Lulu’s hairstyle?

Dress inspired by Lulu’s haircut.

If this kind of fashion is your thing, you can get this outfit at Etsy. The designer has an “interesting” selection. But hey, we can’t control who gets inspired by us.

The fluffy train is obviously inspired by Lulu’s tail.

Brides have also asked for Lulu wedding dresses. If you like this Lulu-inspired wedding dress, you may purchase it here at aliexpress.com.

Even famous people are also going for the Lulu Look.

Celebrity Charlotte Dawson wants to look like Lulu.

Ian did a fantastic job with Lulu and we were very happy with the results. If you need instant slimming or just regular pet grooming for your doggy, call Ian at 91171087. You may also visit his Awesome Pawsome website to get more details.