Carina | Your Dog Will Love You Even More After This!

By Chelsea Keim // Place Coorparoo

What have you done for your dog lately? Seriously.

They’re gazing out at you with their puppy eyes as you go off to work, begging for attention.

Just like you enjoy a haircut, beauty treatment or massage, our pooches love to be pampered every now and then.

Carina’s As Slick as a Dog is a salon where your furbabies will be smothered with cuddles and treated like royalty, all the while coming home looking and smelling better than ever.

We sat down with the owner and dog-grooming pro, Robyn Hawke, where she shared with us, no matter what dog, long-haired, short-haired, big or small, no haircut is too challenging.

What got you into the dog grooming industry?

I’ve been entering dogs in shows since I was child back in the 70’s. I’ve had many different breeds of dogs over my life and learnt to groom for the show ring.

At the time when I was learning, pet grooming wasn’t very common. I was taught by the various masters of the breeds around Australia, as I used to travel from Rockhampton to Canberra and beyond.

Photo Credit: As Slick as a Dog Facebook

Within that network there was a lady who had a pet grooming salon in Brisbane. She taught me how to use clippers and scissors.

Throughout my life of showing dogs, I learnt about all the different types of breeds, so these beautiful animals have been a huge part of my life - pet grooming was a natural progression.

These days, I still show my dogs occasionally because this helps me to keep up with the grooming trends.

What’s the most common dog you’ve seen in the Carina area?

The most common dogs I see in this area would have to be the “Oodles” or Maltese Crosses.

Tell us about the grooming experience at Slick as a Dog

We try and keep the grooming experience at Slick as a Dog as a non-stress experience for the dog.

The staff are all like an extended family - we all joke and have fun with each other and the dogs.

We’re an open salon so nothing is hidden - the naughty, the excited and the cute are all there to see.

We all enjoy our work and have our special ways of doing things that has worked best for the dogs for many years.

What's the craziest haircut you’ve given a dog?

The craziest haircut would have to be when we were asked to make a dog look like another animal.

We do get a few lion requests, but the funniest looking would have to be the lamb.

We also get requests to make the dog look like other breeds or to have their hair coloured.

What is your favourite part of this job?

My favourite part of this job is the artistic side of it. I love to create, whether it be cute or “out there”.

I love meeting new puppies and watching them grow into adult dogs.

It’s a great feeling to be recognised by the dogs when they come in for their regular appointments. The way they greet us makes this job so rewarding.

Sometimes we get a dogs where the maintenance is long overdue and they’re in a bit of a state.

But the “thank you” we get from the dog after is priceless - it feels so good!

Even the ones that start off aggressive, (because removing large amounts of hair can sometimes be painful) are grateful and joyful at the end.