With knowledge gained from the many books he reads about dogs, passionate dog groomer, Benci Szluha from Jeffreys Bay, is always willing to go the extra mile while grooming by checking every centimetre of the dog’s body to identify health issues and the overall well-being of the animals.
His love for dogs began at a young age since his mother, Rosa Szluha, was a dog fanatic with many dogs in the house and a bookshelf filled with all things related to dogs which he loved reading.
“I’ve always loved animals and admired their innocence. I understand their language, and they tend to understand mine, so I can’t help but feel a connection to them,” said Szluha.
From the knowledge gained in the books he read, he began grooming his Yorkshire Terrier, and he quickly learnt the techniques needed to correctly groom his dog.
Since then, Szluha has continued to groom dogs on a part time basis, but it was only after he moved to Jeffreys Bay from Limpopo at the end of 2020 that he decided to use his skills to establish Total Grooming.
“I give haircuts and baths, but I go a little further by identifying health issues, training and well-being of the dog,” said Szluha.
He said while grooming he can examine every centimetre of the dog’s body to look for any skin conditions, infections, injuries, parasites, and other conditions.
“I believe that a groomer is also the first line of defence when it comes to health issues,” said Szluha.
He said he initially began providing dog grooming services from a Wendy house which he converted into a grooming station and provided his clients with the option to drop and collect their dogs or have their dogs groomed at home.
Szluha quickly discovered that most clients preferred that he groomed their dogs at their homes.
“Grooming at the client’s home, I am also able to reveal and discuss any health issues or conditions that I may discover immediately after I find them,” said Szluha.
“It is also better for the dogs, especially older dogs, to be groomed where they are comfortable and relaxed rather than being taken away from home to a fast-paced ‘shop-style’ environment.”
Szluha said he was not a qualified veterinarian, but he has done a lot of research on dogs and when he is unsure about a specific issue, he ensures that he reads up about it.
He said one of his clients recently noticed that their dog had trouble with his vision and the veterinarian insisted that the dog had gone blind.
Two weeks later when Szluha visited the dog for a grooming appointment he found that the dog’s tear glands were blocked.
He then cleaned the dog’s eyes, and the dog could see again.
“It is important for dog groomers to be able to identify health problems that the dog might have trouble with and advise the clients when to take their dogs to the veterinarian before a problem escalates,” said Szluha.
He said it is important for dog owners to arrange for grooming regularly and not to wait until the dog looks as if they need to be groomed.
“Dogs that haven’t been groomed for a long time take considerably longer to groom, and with these dogs the priorities and focus of the grooming is different to dogs that are groomed regularly,” said Szluha.
He said dogs which sleep in bed with their owners should be groomed monthly while other dogs’ grooming schedules are dependent on their breed, environment, and age.
Szluha also advised his clients to regularly check all areas of their dog’s body to ensure that issues are quickly identified.
Since he began providing grooming services to dogs in Jeffreys Bay, he said that the support from the community has been great with him being fully booked two weeks after he began his business.
“I would not be able to have this business without the support from the community, whether it is additional financial support, word-of-mouth referring, or just a good review on Facebook,” said Szluha.
- For more information, WhatsApp Benci Szluha on 082 737 7020.
