n this episode of Discussing Dogs in the D, Christine sits down with Mary, Director of Operations at Pedicured Pet Nail Specialists, to talk about the evolution of a Metro Detroit business that’s redefining pet nail care. From its humble beginnings as a one-man mobile service to a trusted presence in pet stores across the region, Pedicured has built a reputation for safe, low-stress nail trims for both dogs and cats. Mary shares the unique origin story of the company (including a love story sparked by a puppy visit), how their innovative handling techniques reduce anxiety for pets, and why proper nail maintenance is essential for a pet’s health, mobility, and overall well-being. The conversation also explores their expansion into multiple locations, the introduction of house call services, and the importance of creating positive, fear-free experiences for animals—especially those turned away elsewhere. Christine also highlights listener feedback from a previous episode and teases an upcoming discussion on breed restrictions, rounding out an episode that blends education, community, and a shared love for animals.
Find Peticured on the web:
https://peticured.com/
Socials:
https://www.instagram.com/peticured/
https://www.facebook.com/peticured
For scheduling:
https://peticured.com/clinic-sign-up
Hey friends, welcome to Discussing Dogs in the De podcast where Detroit's dog lovers come together. Hi, I'm Christine and whether you're a rescue volunteer, a pet parent, a shelter supporter, or just someone who can't pass a dog on the street without saying hi, you're in the right place. Let's talk about all things dogs and how they change our lives and how we can possibly change theirs.
00:00:21 Speaker: hey guys, welcome back to the podcast. I have Mary here from Pedicured. I want to interview her today about just the business, but if you can, let's open. Tell me about yourself, Mary. Thank you. Thank you very much for having me. I'm so glad you're here. I am Mary, I am the director of operations for Pedicured Pet Nail Specialists. We provide a highly precise professional dog and cat nail trimming around metro Detroit. We've been in business for about ten years now. We just had our ten year anniversary. Happy anniversary. Ten years. Ten years. That's incredible. Yeah. From just, a small little one man shop, to now five technicians, across metro Detroit. That's amazing. so you started off not in stores. So tell me about a little bit about that. Yeah. When pedicure started back in March of twenty, twenty sixteen, Glenn had essentially a very large, very bright teal van. It was, a house call pet nail trimming. So before you get into all that, maybe we should discuss Glenn. Glenn. The man Glenn is he is, you know, the the face of pedicure. Truly. He started this company back in twenty sixteen. everybody knows Glenn. They do. He's super human, too. He is. everybody asks for him all the time. he was the, he was really the, the only person in pedicured for years. So if you came to any of the in-store clinics, if you had him come out to your house for a house call, nail trim, you saw Glenn. he is essentially the man, the legend. Yes he is. so he had this van. So he had this van, started off as house calls and, and one of the things that he did one day was just pop into the premier pet supply over in Rochester Hills and Rochester and Auburn. Yeah. talk to the owner there and said, hey, I've got this company, got this idea. How about I do nail trims in store for your customers, right? And, that's actually how I met him. I had just adopted a new puppy. He had black nails. I was terrified to do the nail trims myself. It's so stressful, too, because you don't want to hurt them. I don't want to hurt them, I. I did not know what I was doing, before joining Pedicured, I was in IT program management for seventeen years. dog and cat nail trimming was not. That is so funny that that translates to like having this business. Yeah. Well, I mean, it project management and program management, I always say is, was very similar to herding cats. So I at least have some of the animal experience. That sounds about right. Yeah. Sounds about right. just driving by, the store one day I saw the, the very large teal van in the parking lot and it said pet nail trims. And I just popped in. and you're like, I'm in, I'm in. I was sold, immediately he was able to, get the nail trimmed on, on the puppy who was just, covering his face and kisses. and just kind of rolling with it. So about a year and a half later, yeah, we got married and a few years after that, I joined pedicure. You met because of your puppy. We did. Oh my gosh, that sounds like a whole other podcast episode we need to do. You and Glenn and your love story with that gear. Absolutely. So you, you popped in, you had your, your puppy's nails trimmed, and then you guys met and then now you're running this business with him. You left your job. Yes, I did. I left my, my job. I used to work for Oakland County. Yeah. left my job because really we were growing. We were growing to the point where Glenn could not do everything on his own, right? In terms of, the staff and, and really wanting to provide nail trims across metro Detroit, right? We, we needed to grow in order to do that. I, I really wanted to step in and help that growth. you are in all of the premier pet supplies now. back then Premier Pet Supply was only like four or five stores. So you you grew with them. We grew with them. Yes. The, the owners of, of Premier Pet Supply have been absolutely amazing partners and they are, they're amazing supported us, you know, over the years. I know that they, see the value of pedicured and really healthy nails for dogs and cats and want to provide that service to their customers. Well, it benefits them, you know, to have you guys there because then it brings people into the store too, you know? But also like the safety and all the things. We'll get into that in a second. Yeah. Like just how efficient you guys are at that. you are now in every so premier pet supplies fourteen locations now, which is wild. That's correct. And you're in all of them. We are in all of the premier pet supplies, you know, throughout the week. some locations have multiple days per week that we have nail trim clinics. we're also in approximately, seven other locations around metro Detroit. So I know that you go to Barkside. We do go to Barkside, Barkside, Detroit, and Barkside Southfield. Okay. So where else can they find you? They can find us at Wax to Whiskers in Ann Arbor. Oh, wow. All the way out there to Washtenaw County, Washtenaw County. Yeah, we've we've we've got all the counties around metro Detroit. we also have two locations in Oxford. We are at, healthy dogma, which is a freeze dried dog food company. Yeah. based here in Michigan. And then we are also in harvest time farm market, which is also in Oxford. Oh that's cool. Yeah. Paw paws market, which is in Waterford. Yep. Mhm. Oh, excellent. So that's a lot of locations. Wow. Yeah. And I know that they can go to your website, right, to see where you're going to be. You have like clinics, right? Yep, yep. We've got we have weekly clinics. some of them are monthly. The bark side is going to be a monthly clinic first and second Saturday of the month. Okay. but all of that information is on our website. There's maps, so you can see the location that's closest to you. so we've got the maps out there. We also have an online queue for same day sign ups. So it's always convenient. They know that they have a slot to, to get their dog's nails trimmed. Yeah. So we don't take appointments or advanced reservations. Oh, gotcha. Because we want it to be easy for the customers to get in and not have to plan ahead of time. So if there's a day that you want to come in, I can guarantee that you're going to be able to sign up that day. Gotcha. So they sign up, they come in and you guys have a queue where you text them, right? Yeah, absolutely. So we do work on a lot of what we would call maybe dog reactive dogs or maybe dogs that are anxious So we utilize the online queue system as a way to give each pet enough time and attention and space for maybe other dogs or cats that might be coming in as well, so that they have dedicated time with the technician. that we don't have other dogs around that may be adding, to any stress or anxiety that they have. Gotcha. Okay, you have all these clinics, they come and they go. Tell us about if I were to set an appointment and come in, what's that process? So they go to your website or are they, do they sign up? How do they sign up? Yeah. So the, each of the clinics are same day signup. So when the clinics are open, that's when you can sign up for service. Once it's open, it'll show you how many people are on the queue, what the estimated wait time is. Okay, so you can sign up when it works for your schedule. Okay. and then after that, once you sign up, we send you a text message, confirms that you're on the list. It also sends you a link to your personal signup page so you can see where you are at any given time. And then once you become third in line, we text you to let you know you are now third in line. You've got a half hour to get to whatever location you're looking to go to that day. Okay, that way if you have a cat, the cat is not in the carrier for an extended period of time. If you have an anxious dog, the dog's not much in the store. Yeah. So your cat, you're not sitting in your car for an hour waiting for your appointment. Cat's getting even more stressed. The cat's getting stressed, or even, the dogs. I know there are some dogs that maybe don't love car rides. maybe some dogs don't love the nail trim. in general. So we want to make it as quick and easy as possible for for the pets. Oh, yeah. That's amazing. And then they come in, they get their nails trimmed and then it's, you know. Yeah. Come and get your nails trimmed. Have a great day. Exactly. Buy a treat. You know the pub for for the nail trim. I love that. Yeah. Reward them. Oh, yes. you don't want them, constantly coming into the pet store and this is what they're, know that this was a good experience. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And we always encourage all the owners, if regardless of your dog's behavior in history with nail trims, if your dog is motivated, high value treats, bring them in. It's always going to help reward, reward. Exactly. you have the nail wagon too. We also have the nail wagon. Yep. So the nail wagon just started this year. Okay. it is our official house call vehicle. So you are going to people's homes. We are back into. We're back into house calls. Yep. So is that a huge part of your business now, or is it or people mostly coming to your nail clinics? Oh, we are mostly still the in-store clinics. Okay. the the nail wagon and house calls. We're, we're ramping up demand what kind of people are doing the house calls versus coming into the store? Is this even more reactive? Are you finding it these dogs that are just too stressed to come into the store? It's any combination. It doesn't really matter. Yeah, it doesn't really matter. Sometimes it's just convenience factor. Gotcha. definitely an element of it, especially if you have multiple pets, if you've got three, four dogs, that's a lot of wrangling to get them into the store. So if you have a vehicle or you know, an individual that comes to your house to do the nail trims, it's a lot more convenient. Okay. Same thing with cats. You know, it's going to be a little bit easier to, to for some, especially the cats, right? I mean, not all cats are like yours where you can take them anywhere. I mean, like your cats were so good when you brought them in for they are, they're like, they know what they're doing. They know what they're doing. They just chill. Yeah. They've been not all cats are like that at all. So I have to say, I, I do photos of premier pet supplies. And I remember when it used to be only Glenn I would see. And then you have all these technicians, but every once in a while I'll pop into a store and there is Glenn again. He is right there. Do you sometimes fill in too and do the nail trims? I do not fill in. No, it's just Glenn. It's just. Glenn. and it's important we find it important and Glenn finds it extremely important for him to continue to work with the animals. I mean, that's why he started started pedicured in the first place. He wants to be hands on and work with the animals closely. He loves them. you know how many how many jobs are out there that you get to hang out with puppies and kitties all day long? No, I know I absolutely love my job that it's all about animals and it's about relationship with people and their animals or pets or whatever. And it's, it's a really, it's a cool job, isn't it? Is, it is, I mean, it's hands on and you get to, you get to meet all kinds of, different personalities with the dogs and the cats coming in, you get to build that relationship with them and build that bond. I have had people tell me that they haven't been able to take their pets anywhere else. For nail trims. And that is because like. However, the system that you guys have. Because you have a bench. Yeah. Tell us about like so when dogs and cats come in, there's a different process for trimming both of their nails. So tell me about cats. What do you do when they come in and you trim their nails? how do you manage that? Because cats, I mean, they're cats, right? Yeah. Cats are going to be cats. the cats must come in on a carrier. All cats do need to come in inside of a carrier for safety, for their safety, for everyone's safety, right? we a lot of times will ask the owner for assistance with getting the cat out of the carrier. especially if you know, the cat doesn't go out very often. We want somebody familiar, to help them out of the carrier. And then it's a quick handover to us. sometimes they'll just be on our lap. We're able to complete the nail trim on our laps. Sometimes they need a burrito. We'll wrap them up in an apron or a towel, to quickly do the nail trim and then it's right back into the carrier. Yeah. Gotcha. So for dogs, when they come in, you know, sometimes they're anxious wiggly butts. Sometimes they're they they just pancaked. How do we manage that with dogs? So we have a specialized station that we use for all of our dog nails. I see them there. There it is. It's a custom built station. It's designed by Glenn. That's amazing. The third generation, I patent pending or. No, not quite. I would love to, but, but we utilize a grooming table and we also have the, the structure itself, we call a rack. but it's our overall station. There's a hydraulic lift grooming table. It's electronic lift so smooth, you know, up and down movement for the pets. we utilize two points of contact for restraint. Okay. We're going to clip into a harness. Always a harness, never a collar, never groomers loop. Gotcha. that's for the pet safety, you know, one hundred percent. And then we also utilize the rear belly band. Oh, that'll wrap around their rear end. We'll use that to help, you know, with gentle restraint for the dog keeps them lifted. Yeah. Keeps them lifted. Keeps them from Pancaking. that's really the, the two points of contact that we use for, for restraint. Now the animals still have some freedom of movement around that table. Yeah. A lot of dogs do not respond well, from being held very tightly. That's a lot of the struggles that other either grooming shops or veterinary offices have with nail trims. Is that additional handling? Okay. Most of the time it's not needed. and the dog is going to, to resist that. So they do better with less. Exactly. Less is more. Okay. Yeah. Less handling the better. That's interesting. you utilize nail trimmers and Dremel, right? Yeah. So we are almost exclusively a Dremel shop. It's that grinding tool. It's going to grind the nail down safely, smoothly. So we're able to get the nails shorter, smoother overall. We're able to remove some of that excess keratin that a clipper will not be able to use. Clippers in general are not as safe. They're not as effective. Okay. you run the risk of cutting into that soft tissue in the quick, the quick. Yep, that's going to hurt the dog. We don't want that. The only time we utilize clippers on dogs are for very young puppies. Sometimes they don't have the patience to to go through a Dremel nail trim. Oh I gotcha. So very young puppies. And then if there's excessive length, we'll do a very conservative trim with a clipper. But we're always going to move in with the Dremel to get the nails to where they should. Oh, I can see that. And you can see that you've got space. clip a little bit and then grind it down. Absolutely. Yeah. Because if it's in some people, they just don't know when they get a pet. That nail trimming is necessary. I find that so interesting. When I meet people for photos that the like the grooming or even like my dad has a standard poodle. The, the need for, you know, constant grooming. how often do we need to take this dog for a nail trim? So people don't even know. Yeah. So what do you recommend for people? I know it's different for every dog, but it is different for every dog. It's based on genetics, but it's also based on activity and it's based on, you know, that genetic is both the keratin growth and the shape of the nail, the nails that have a lot more curve. You're going to probably be a more frequent nail trim session than if they have more of a straighter growth. Okay. we recommend most of our customers are between six and eight weeks. Oh, okay. We have some that can go as long as twelve weeks. Maybe those are the more active dogs that are running a lot or they're doing a lot of digging, whatever it is. A lot of activity that is maybe naturally is natural abrasion for the nail. Yeah. but one of our dogs, he runs with us all the time. Oh, he's already, he's constantly grinding him down. He is not his gait. Seriously. He, he needs a nail trim every six to eight weeks because his gait and the style of walk that he has, he's not, having that full range of motion where it's grinding the nail down. So even though he's active, he is still every six to eight weeks. Yeah, I fostered a dog probably twenty years ago. It's just a funny story. not not that active. we never needed to trim his nails for some reason, he was either chewing on them or, like, I don't know, it was the weirdest thing ever, but you just don't know, you know? But it's good to have them bring them into you. You consult with them and you let them know like, I think this is going to need a trim sooner than later, right? We can always provide what we would, our best guess, based on what we're seeing and what kind of activity level the owners are telling us about. But there are ways for you to make that determination at home by yourself. Yeah. Gotcha. So what we always tell our customers is that if you think your dog needs a nail trim, put them on a flat, solid surface, you know, relaxed position, feet flat on the floor. Oh yeah. Glenn told me this once. Okay, but tell me. Okay, if there is clearance between the nail and the floor, they do not need nail trim. They are in an orthopedically safe zone. Okay? If the nail is touching the floor, it is time for nail trim. Okay. And so tell me why. Because I know he explained this, like if it's touching the floor or even if it's starting to curl and it's it's lifting, what can that do to your dog? So cat even yeah, the nail of, that paw grows out of the last bone in the foot. Okay, so it's connected to that last bone. Yeah. So as it continues to grow and it pushes on the surface that your dog is standing on, it's going to push the paw and push those toes in that bone up. It's going to be uncomfortable for the dog. Yeah. It's not going to be orthopedically safe for the dog. But it can also impact their mobility and their posture, especially with things like walking up and down stairs jumping. They're not able to, use their paw and with that full range of motion that they should be doing. Yeah, I'm just imagining a dog with the nails down and how it lifts and how that can actually even affect their spine. Absolutely. Like that's just so unsafe for them. Oh yeah. I didn't mean all that just came to my brain and I'm like, no way. so important for nail trims. very important, especially for older senior dogs that have arthritis that can exacerbate, you know, symptoms. Yeah, that would be awful. So let's flip I'm sure you have stories all the time that they tell you how incredible you guys are. Do you have any, fun stories that you could tell us about customers all of our technicians are great. And I think that's the, that's the best part of this job is we do get phone calls, you know, weekly daily from customers saying, you know, my dog has been turned away from the vet or been turned away from the groomers. I've heard this. It's not a positive experience for them. We go through, a few different steps to introduce the nail trim and build up their confidence, build up the dog's confidence in the nail trim because for us, it's a safe procedure. It is a necessary procedure. It's necessary. That's the most rewarding part to our technicians job, is being able to see that that continued growth and development and confidence build in the animal that you've seen. You know, at the first visit, compared to, you know, the sixth visit, I gotcha. Oh, that's cool. That's very cool. Yeah. Yeah. And you have you said five technicians. We have five technicians. Yeah. All. And they travel all over. Oh, yeah. They rotate through all of our locations. each of our technicians, I like to say they have a little bit of a following. We love to, to build those relationships between the pets and the technicians. And we want to continue to foster that. so if there's a particular pet that has a particular affinity to one of our technicians, let's keep that relationship going. Let's continue to make it a positive experience. Yeah. And I, and I, whenever I run into any of your technicians, when I'm in their stores, it's, you know, premier pet supply photos and it sometimes it's kind of hectic having photos and nail trims, but we work together and we figure out a plan And they're always so Accommodating the sweetest people. They're amazing. Yeah, and just wonderful kids. I say kids because I'm. I feel like I'm getting old, but they're just these young, you know? And even when I see Glenn, that guy, is he ever mad? He is like his. He is the most positive, happy, like nicest dude. And I mean, he's kind of suave and I was always a little intimidated. But once you meet him, it's like, you are so nice. Like and you run this awesome business and it's helping animals. Which reminds me, you guys have won so many. I was even thinking about this. So you're right now you're in the running for Hour is it our magazine? It's our Detroit. Yeah. Best of Detroit. Our Detroit magazine. Yes. So go vote for Pedicured. You are in the pet grooming category, correct? Yes. And so you've you've won this before, haven't you? Or second place. We've come in second place with Hour Detroit. Yeah. But you've won first place for the Detroit Free Press. Yes. For Wdiv vote for the best. Yes. You guys always come in first in the pet grooming? I mean, like year after year. How many years have you guys like Wdiv's been a long. That's a long run for you guys. Yeah. That's been we've, uh, we've come in first place a few times with them along with the Detroit Free Press contest as well. But that is truly a testament to our amazing customers who have supported us over the years that believe in us, that they've over you, they vote for us, and we appreciate that and all that. But the fact that you get nominated you have all of these people that are like, oh, yeah, no, no brainer. We're voting for Pedicured. And then to go to these award ceremonies and like, you guys are there first place. I mean, it's, it's amazing. It is, it's a really cool thing. the support, like I said, from our customers is just amazing from the community, what they believe in you guys, because it's, I mean, you're doing right by their animals, right? So is there any plan for growth? we truly believe in what we do in helping animals. And ninety percent, maybe even more. Most of the dogs, most dogs that will need a nail trim at some point in their life. And we want to be there to make it a happy, positive experience for them. So the more we can do that, the happier we are all going to be. It's what you know, our technicians wake up and want to do every day. We want to make those pets happy. We want to make them comfortable. we want to bring, our way of contributing, to the betterment of their lives. you would expand if a store. Okay. We're not going to say no. Yeah. I ask a lot of people that have been on the podcast, I would say I already know your story, but the, the animal that changed your life was probably your puppy. Do you have that one animal Would you say it's the puppy that brought you to Glenn? Yeah. So that dog is Oliver, that one. He really did change my life. He's not my first dog. I had a few dogs before him, a couple Chihuahuas. I can't see you as a Chihuahua. You had Chihuahuas? I did. Buddy and Louis. Oh. Oh my gosh. Named after Detroit pizza. Oh, girl. Okay. That's. That's so cute. Yeah, I will have to learn about them later, but. Okay. So you've always been a dog person. no. Start off with cats. Okay. Grew up with cats. Didn't get, dogs until I was in high school. but always loved pets. Okay. always had multiple animals in the house. Okay. And right now we have six. Okay. We've got three dogs, three cats. We have a full we have a full house. I don't think I've ever met any of your dogs, but I have met your cats when we brought them for nail trims. Yeah. That's cool. I think you've maybe met scooter. Oh, scooter. Yeah. You brought. Yes. You did. I did meet scooter. Yeah. Okay. He's our little chalky mix. He's our Chihuahua, Yorkie. his back legs are paralyzed. I bring him, to pedicure more frequently than than our other dogs. Okay. because he does have mobility issues, it's even more important that he gets regular nail trims. and we also utilize, I mentioned the, the harness and the belly band, for, for regular dogs, but we also utilize full body slings for dogs that maybe have mobility issues or senior dogs. it's going to support their full body. Yep. And so we use that for, for scooter. So you have three cats. Three dogs. Okay, give me their names real quick. Okay. Oscar. Oliver. Scooter. That's the dog. Yep. and then the cats are Nero, Iris and Max. Oh, my goodness, you got a full house? We do. And they're your children. I know they're our babies. Yeah, they're fur babies. Dogs are our kids, too. I really appreciate you meeting me and talking through, what you do with Pedicured. I appreciate you and all the things that you guys do and hopefully maybe we'll see some news of expansion soon. I don't know, I feel like you guys should be everywhere. So anyway, thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me.
00:22:44 Speaker: Before we wrap up today's episode, I wanted to share a few more thoughts. Mary mentioned they have locations all over Metro Detroit, and we will include a link to their website and locations in our show notes, so you can easily find the one most convenient for you with the times that they are available. One of the reasons we wanted to highlight Pedicured, though, is because of the work they're doing around safer handling, and their really unique setup. You're able to go view how they do the nail trims at any premier pet supply stores, you can even find information about Pedicured on the Premier Pet Supply web page. It is a different approach compared to traditional groomers or even pet salons, and it's designed to reduce the stress and make the experience safer I'm learning, more and more veterinary offices are moving away from nail trims or, sliding information to clients where they can find better places for nail trims. And this feels like a really great and safe alternative for pet parents who still need that type of service They also offer, convenient hours, multiple locations. And again, we'll have all that information linked in our show notes. And before we go today, I just wanted to tap into our listener mail. We received a message from Briana in Birmingham, who wrote in after our DNA testing episode and said, I ordered the embark test because I also wanted to get the age test for my foster dog Mama really fun podcast. I don't think the data set was accurate for the Toronto company. I think they intentionally set them as terrier because they wouldn't have a profitable. This is interesting, a profitable business. If they kept telling everyone their dogs were pitbulls and therefore illegal in Canada. And, you know, we'll get into an episode probably a couple months from now where we're going to talk about that and breed restrictions even here in Michigan. All over the US, where pit bulls and other breeds are banned in certain jurisdictions and certain cities. It's a really hot topic. Brianna, thank you so much for listening and for sharing your thoughts. We really appreciate it, we've got a little thank you coming your way from our friends at Premier Pet Supply. We've got some Michigan made goodies for you. We're going to send you a fluff and tuff plush toy. It's a their beaver called Troy. And we're going to send you some Beer city biscuits. that company is also Michigan out of Grand Rapids. Their we love Beer City biscuits and we're hoping to maybe get over that way and interview the women that founded that company. And they're technically a nonprofit. But anyway, I digress. Thank you all for listening. I appreciate all of you for tuning in and sticking through this whole episode. So for all of you that are still out there, thank you so much. stay kind, stay curious and give your dog a cookie for me.