As longtime pet owners and pet lovers, we couldn’t help but notice that the typical grooming shop would take our family dog behind closed doors for service from groomers who often had inappropriate or very little training in an industry with little to no government oversight or regulation. When we picked up our family dog, usually many hours later, our high-energy dogs were many times exhausted and stressed.

Co-founders John Kanski, Winn Claybaugh and Gary Ratner have collectively combined 100 years experience as both beauty salon and cosmetology school owners—we knew we could use this knowledge to create a different model, a better pet and pet parent experience.

Founded in 2018, Salty Dawg Pet Salon “pets differently” with a unique, service-centered culture inspired by the “Be Nice” culture found in the Paul Mitchell Schools network. Our transparent and stress-free environment lets pet parents feel good, knowing their pets are having an amazing experience. Our expedited process lets licensed hairstylists and barbers build on their previous training in scissor cutting, clipper-over-comb technique, and knowledge of hair texture, skin, and nail conditions to become competent and confident pet stylists.

Ultimately, our goal is to produce the same experience a human has in a beauty salon for the family dog. We also discovered that bringing the “Be Nice” culture to the grooming experience makes the shop environment so much fun!