Is something actually wrong with your pet? Grooming is not the right answer to a medical problem. If your pet has a wound, a hot spot, an ear that smells or is painful, a lump, a limp, a rash that is spreading, is scratching itself raw, or is in any distress, see a veterinarian first and come to us afterwards. We will happily groom around a healing problem once a vet has seen it, and we will tell you honestly when we think something needs a veterinarian rather than a bath.
Deep clean and deodorising is $45 and exists for one specific situation: a dog that has rolled in, stepped in, or otherwise found something a normal bath was never going to touch. Skunk spray, drain water, mud worked deep into a coat, a dead animal on a walk — all of it gets the same approach, which is a degreasing shampoo used in more than one wash rather than a single stronger one, because grease and strong odour sit in a coat in a way ordinary dirt does not.
The face is the part that takes the most care, since it is usually where the worst of it landed and it is also the part with eyes in it. We wash the body first, then work on the face separately with a soft cloth and a shampoo diluted more than usual, keeping the eyes protected the whole time rather than rinsing over the top of them and hoping for the best. A dog that is clearly distressed by having its face washed gets a break and a slower approach rather than a rushed finish.
Skunk is the case people ask about most, and the honest answer is that nobody removes it completely in one wash. Most owners see the great majority of the smell gone by the time they collect their dog, with what is left fading over the following week or two as the coat continues to air out and grow. We will not promise a single visit will finish the job, because that promise would not be true; if the smell has not faded as expected after a week, /coat-conditioning.html may help the coat recover, but the smell itself is simply a matter of time.
What actually happens during a deep clean
More washes, more time, and particular care around the face.
The degreasing shampoo
We use a stronger, oil-cutting shampoo than the one used for an ordinary bath, because skunk spray, drain water and ground-in mud are oily by nature and an ordinary shampoo mostly just moves grease around rather than lifting it out. It is still rinsed thoroughly rather than left to sit longer instead of being washed properly, since a heavier shampoo left on too long can itself leave the skin feeling tight and dry.
More than one wash
A single wash rarely finishes the job on a coat this dirty, so we plan for at least two full washes and sometimes three, checking the coat and the smell between each one rather than assuming more is always better. The number of washes is judged by what we find on the coat, not decided in advance, and it is reflected honestly in how long the appointment actually takes.
Face work, done carefully
The face is washed separately from the body, with a softer cloth, a more diluted shampoo, and constant attention to keeping the eyes protected, since this is usually the area that took the worst of whatever your dog found. If your dog will not tolerate having its face washed on a given day, we stop that part rather than push through it, and tell you honestly what we could and could not get to.
The dry, and why it takes longer
A deep clean coat is hand-dried the same way every dry is done here, but it usually takes longer, both because the coat is more thoroughly wet from repeated washing and because a slower dry gives the last of an odour more chance to lift as the coat airs. Nothing here is rushed to hit a shorter appointment slot. A dog that needs a break partway through the dry gets one, the same as at any other appointment.
What we cannot promise
We do not guarantee a specific result, a specific smell level, or that your dog will be completely odour-free by the time you collect it, because that is not something any groomer can honestly promise after one visit on a strong smell. What we can promise is a proper degreasing wash, careful face work, and a straight answer about what it achieved.
The skunk conversation, specifically
The single most common reason this service gets booked, and the one with the most predictable — and most misunderstood — outcome.
Why one wash is never enough
Skunk spray is an oil that binds to hair and skin rather than sitting on the surface the way ordinary dirt does, which is exactly why water alone barely touches it and even a good shampoo needs more than one pass to lift the bulk of it out. This is chemistry, not a reflection of how hard anyone is scrubbing.
What to actually expect at pickup
The honest, ordinary outcome is that most dogs leave here with about ninety per cent of the smell gone, noticeably better than they arrived, but rarely completely neutral up close or once the coat gets damp again from rain or wet grass. That is not a sign that anything went wrong with the wash — it is simply what one visit, however thorough, actually achieves.
The rest fades over time, not over washes
What remains after the appointment mostly fades on its own over the following one to two weeks as the coat airs out, sheds a little and continues to grow, rather than through another deep clean booked a few days later. A second appointment too soon on the same coat rarely achieves much beyond what time was already doing. Patience does more here than a repeat visit.
Why we will not promise more than that
About ninety per cent gone the same day, with the rest fading over the following fortnight as the coat airs and grows, is the truthful answer, and it is the one we give every time rather than a more flattering number that would not hold up by the time you got home. We do not promise to remove skunk odour in one wash, because nobody honestly can.
If the smell does not fade as expected
If a week or two pass and the smell has not noticeably improved, or if your dog is also scratching, has red or broken skin, or seems unwell, that has moved beyond a smell problem and into a question for a veterinarian rather than a second deep clean booked here. We will tell you honestly if that is what we think we are looking at.
Booking a deep clean
What to tell us, and what it costs.
Tell us what your dog found, if you know
Skunk, standing water, something dead, or simply mud worked in deep are treated slightly differently in terms of how many washes and how much face work we expect to need, so telling us on the phone helps us book the right length of appointment rather than guess and run over. It also means the right shampoo is already out and ready before your dog arrives.
Same-day and walk-in situations
A skunk encounter rarely happens on a convenient schedule, so call the salon and tell us what happened — we will fit an urgent deep clean in around the existing book where we honestly can, though we cannot always promise the same hour, particularly at a busy time of day. Bringing your dog straight in, even before you call, is also perfectly reasonable.
What it is added to
Deep clean and deodorising can be booked as its own $45 appointment or added to a full groom, and we will tell you the combined total and the realistic finish time before your dog goes anywhere near the tub, the same as with every other service here. See /pricing.html for how it sits against every other bath we offer, and there are no hidden extras added at pickup.
Eyes and ears, checked as we go
Because the face gets more attention than usual, we also get a closer look at the eyes and the outer ears than a normal bath allows, and we will mention anything we notice there, good or bad, at pickup rather than only report on the smell. It costs nothing extra and it is simply part of how carefully this particular bath is done.
Why the coat sometimes needs a follow-up visit
A coat that has been washed hard two or three times in one sitting can come out a little drier than usual, and that is exactly when /coat-conditioning.html is worth booking on a later visit — a rinse-out conditioner and a longer dry for a coat that needs to recover its softness. We will mention it at pickup if we think your dog's coat would benefit.
Deep clean & deodorising in western Queens
For the dog who rolled in something — skunk, mud, drain water, worse. Multiple washes with a degreasing shampoo and careful face work, for $45, with an honest answer about what one visit can and cannot remove.
It starts the same way whatever you have booked: both hands over the whole animal before anything is switched on, so we find what is under the top layer rather than discover it halfway through. Then you are told the price and the finish time out loud, before you leave the building. If the coat turns out to be worse than it looked, we stop and call you, and you decide what happens next rather than finding out at collection.
Grooming is not veterinary care. Grooming is grooming, not veterinary care. This page describes a service we offer. It is general information, and it is not a diagnosis, a treatment or veterinary advice for any particular animal. We are groomers, not veterinarians — we do not diagnose, we do not prescribe and we do not treat medical conditions. If your pet has a wound, a lump, an ear or skin problem, a limp or anything that worries you, speak to a licensed veterinarian who can actually examine it.
How we handle your animal. We do not sedate animals and we never will — sedation is a veterinary decision made by a veterinarian, not a grooming shortcut. We use no heated cage dryers of any kind, and no animal is ever left alone with a dryer running. Every pet is hand-dried by the person grooming it. If your animal tells us clearly that it has had enough, we stop, and you get an honest conversation instead of a finished haircut.
Questions
Deep clean & deodorising — the questions we are asked most
Will one deep clean bath get the skunk smell completely off my dog?
Not completely, and we would rather tell you that before you book than after you collect your dog. The honest, ordinary result is about ninety per cent of the smell gone by the time you leave, with the rest fading over the following week or two as the coat airs out and grows. We do not promise to remove skunk odour in one wash, because nobody honestly can, however good the shampoo.
How is this different from a regular bath?
A regular bath uses one wash with an everyday shampoo; a deep clean uses a stronger degreasing shampoo across at least two washes, with extra time spent on the face specifically because that is usually where the worst of it landed. It takes longer, costs more at $45, and is built for a dog that found something a normal bath was never going to shift in one pass. A flea and tick bath, at /flea-and-tick-bath.html, is different again — that one is about what is living on the coat, not what it rolled in.
My dog rolled in something dead on a walk. Is that the same service?
Yes — mud, drain water, something dead, or a skunk encounter all get the same approach here: a degreasing shampoo used across multiple washes with careful, protected work around the eyes and face. Tell us what your dog found when you book, since it helps us plan roughly how many washes and how much time to set aside.
Will you protect my dog's eyes during the face wash?
Yes, and the face is always washed separately from the body for exactly that reason — a softer cloth, a more diluted shampoo, and constant attention to keeping the eyes clear rather than rinsing straight over them. If your dog will not tolerate the face wash on a given day, we stop that part and tell you honestly rather than push through it.
How much does a deep clean and deodorising bath cost?
$45, whether booked on its own or added to a full groom. That price covers a degreasing shampoo used across as many washes as the coat honestly needs — usually two, sometimes three — plus the extra time a careful face wash and a longer hand-dry both take. Nothing extra is added once the appointment is underway.
Can I bring my dog in the same day if it just got skunked?
Call the salon and tell us what happened, and we will do what we honestly can to fit an urgent deep clean into the day rather than make you wait for the next open slot. We cannot always promise a specific hour, especially if we are already busy, but we will never turn away a skunked dog without at least trying to find a slot.
Will the smell come back after the appointment?
A little of it can resurface when the coat gets damp again, from rain or wet grass, in the days after the appointment, which is normal rather than a sign the wash failed. The remaining smell genuinely fades with time as the coat airs and grows, not with a second deep clean booked immediately afterwards.
My dog's skin looks irritated after rolling in something. Should I still book this bath?
Tell us before you book, and we will look at the skin as part of the coat check before we start. If what we see looks like more than surface dirt — redness, broken skin, swelling or anything your dog seems bothered by when touched — we will say so plainly and suggest a veterinarian look at it before or alongside the bath, rather than wash over a problem we are not qualified to judge.
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Book an appointment
Call the salon with your pet's breed, weight and roughly when it was last groomed, and we will give you the price and the honest timing on the phone. Nails, ears and sanitary tidies are walk-in whenever we are quiet, and Saturday morning is a dedicated walk-in nail clinic.