Puppy Package
Puppy Package
Puppy Grooming in Columbus, Ohio — First Groom Package
Your puppy’s first grooming experiences shape how they feel about grooming for the rest of their life. Designer Paws Salon’s Puppy Package is a gentle, positive introduction designed for puppies under 5 months old, available at both our Upper Arlington and Westerville locations.
What the Puppy Package Includes
The Puppy Package introduces your puppy to every part of the professional grooming process in a low-pressure, encouraging way:
- A warm bath with puppy-appropriate shampoo
- Gentle blow drying to get them used to the dryer sound and sensation
- Brushing and combing to familiarize them with being handled and groomed
- Nail trimming — one of the most important early habits to establish
- Ear cleaning
- Introduction to clippers and scissors — we let them hear and feel the tools without doing a full haircut
- Salon environment exposure — sights, sounds, smells, and the presence of other dogs
Why Early Grooming Matters
Puppies that start grooming early develop a familiarity and comfort with the process that makes every future appointment easier — for them, for you, and for their groomer. Puppies who skip early grooming often develop fear or anxiety around baths, nail trims, and clippers, which can turn routine grooming into a stressful ordeal as they get older and stronger. Starting young with positive experiences prevents these problems before they begin.
Requirements and Timing
The Puppy Package is available for puppies aged 8 weeks to 5 months. Your puppy must have at least their first set of vaccinations before their first visit (rabies vaccine required by 6 months). We recommend booking your puppy’s first appointment as soon as they’re eligible — the earlier they start, the more comfortable they’ll be.
Use It as Often as You Like
The Puppy Package can be repeated as many times as you want before your puppy turns 5 months old. Frequent visits are encouraged — the more often your puppy visits the salon, the more relaxed and confident they’ll become. Many of our clients bring their puppies every 2 to 3 weeks during this window.
What This Package Does Not Include
The Puppy Package is focused on positive exposure, not styling. It does not include a full haircut, breed-specific trim, or significant body hair reduction. When your puppy is ready for their first real haircut, we’ll transition them to our full dog grooming service at standard pricing.
Book Your Puppy’s First Groom
Give your puppy the best start. Book a Puppy Package appointment online at either our Upper Arlington or Westerville location. Let us know your puppy’s breed, age, and vaccination status when you schedule — we’ll handle the rest.
Puppies start off with two premium shampoos and a conditioner with their bath. The first shampoo is a deep cleanser and the second is a color enhancer. The conditioner helps to make their fur soft and fluffy for their cuddle time with mom or dad.
We use a hypo-allergenic and tearless face wash to get their little noses clean. Pup's faces are more sensitive and this face wash is designed to be especially gentle.
We towel dry them to get most of the water off. They feel very secure and sit still when we bring the towels out.
We then introduce the dryer. If they get too excited we have happy hoodies to help keep them calm.
We introduce the brush and they get a thorough combing and brushing out. This gets them all fluffled out for their groom and is usually what mom and dad's love the most.
Next up is the mani and pedi aka toe nail trimming time.
We introduce the clippers for the first time on their paw pads and sanitary area. This helps them get accustomed to how the clippers feel for their adult hair cuts.
We slowly introduce scissors around their feet. They're usually very curious and want to check out what's happening.
We give them a nice face trim so the pups can see their loving mom or dad. We finish up by giving them a bow or bandana to give them something stylish to walk out the door with and a spritz of a nice smelling cologne.
Testimonials
We were surprised to walk into a beautifully decorated (classy doggy décor) reception area. The area did not smell like dogs. The receptionist remembered all that we had talked about on the phone the previous week. When we met the groomer, she was knowledgeable about the cut out dogs needed. We have one wired haired dog and he needs a special type of combing (which I wasn’t aware of from any other groomer who has taken care of him). She told us it would take several groomings to get him back to his original coat. We are were thrilled to know this can be done.
Thomas A.
-Angie's List
I always hesitate to give a place five stars. I hesitated over the four stars rating, but couldn't think of anything I would like done differently to raise it to five stars. I have taken both my dogs here, and had a great experience. From scheduling to check-out, everything is run very efficiently and my dogs look fantastic. The price is very reasonable. They actually listen to what you want and go over things very thoroughly with you. I have one dog that sheds a ton, so I had the furminator package done on him. It's been three months, and the shedding is still under control. When I brought my other dog in, they checked and said he didn't need it. It is so refreshing to have someone who is honest and doesn't try to over-sell. We will never go anywhere else!
Traci P.
-Yelp
Misty @ Designer Paws Salon is an incredible human being as well as an Excellent Groomer! She has taken care of my baby for years and along the way taught me so much about caring for my dog. She so caring & compassionate towards her clients. I can not say enough about her or Designer Paws Salon♥️🐶