The Dog Shack

The Dog Shack is a one-on-one dog grooming salon on Boram Street in Currimundi, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. It is run single-handedly by owner Nicola, who trained with award-winning Pooch Perfect groomer Shayla Knipe and her team, earning qualifications in bathing, grooming and animal behaviour across a range of breeds.

Because only one dog is handled at a time, the salon leans toward a calm, unhurried experience rather than a busy shop floor. A typical visit covers a warm spa wash with double natural shampoo and conditioner, a spa treatment, ears and eyes cleaned, a warm blow dry, brushing and combing, a hygiene tidy of the face, feet and bottom, and nails trimmed and filed, finishing with anything from a short clip to a longer style cut. Nicola has also studied the Asian art of teddy faces and rounded "mushroom head" finishes under Sue Wright at the Asian Fusion Dog Grooming Academy, and is certified in Pet First Aid through MedicPet. Her background in animal behaviour and her own Miniature Schnauzer, Willow, inform a patient, detail-minded approach that suits dogs needing a gentler pace.

The salon works with the coat it is given and is upfront about its policies, asking that curly-coated dogs arrive knot and matt free where possible.