Pet Care Tips

Our Blog

Expert tips and advice for keeping your furry friends happy, healthy, and looking their best.

A groomer parting a doodle's coat with one hand and brushing the exposed row down to the skin with a slicker brush
Grooming Tips

Brushed Every Day and Still Matted? Line Brushing Explained

If the top coat looks perfect and the mats are still there, you are brushing the surface. Here is line brushing, and the comb test that tells you the truth.

Lillian Ruff Pet Spa
The Lillian Ruff Pet Spa storefront at 835 Portion Rd in Ronkonkoma, where boarding and daycare are based
Long Island

Long-Stay Dog Boarding in Ronkonkoma: Weeks or Months

Two weeks, a month, a whole winter — what a long boarding stay in Ronkonkoma actually looks like as a routine rather than a countdown.

Lillian Ruff Pet Spa
A small white Maltese standing on a grooming table with a freshly trimmed short puppy cut
Breed Specific

Maltese Grooming in East Northport: Long Coat or Puppy Cut

Keep the floor-length coat or commit to a short puppy cut. What each choice asks of you at home, and why most Maltese sit at the low end of our published weight bands.

Lillian Ruff Pet Spa
A goldendoodle standing on a grooming table at the Lillian Ruff salon in East Northport while a groomer combs through its coat
Grooming Tips

Matted Dog: When a Coat Brushes Out and When It Gets Clipped

The honest version: how to tell a tangle from a mat, when a matted coat can still be brushed out, and when clipping short is the kinder call.

Lillian Ruff Pet Spa
The Lillian Ruff Pet Spa grooming salon storefront at 16 Laurel Rd in East Northport, New York
East Northport

Mobile Dog Grooming vs. Our East Northport Salon

The East Northport salon's honest side of the mobile-versus-salon question, including the cases where we would tell you to book the van instead of us.

Lillian Ruff Pet Spa
A groomer brushing out a dog's thick coat at a grooming table
Seasonal Care

A Month-by-Month Dog Grooming Calendar for Long Island Dogs

Coat condition tracks conditions, not the calendar. A whole-year plan for placing baths and haircuts around Long Island winters, humid summers and tick season.

Lillian Ruff Pet Spa
The Lillian Ruff Pet Spa grooming salon storefront on Laurel Road in East Northport, New York
East Northport

Nervous or Senior Dog? What Happens at 16 Laurel Road

If your dog has been turned away or had a groom cut short, here is how we handle nervous and older dogs in East Northport, including when we stop.

Lillian Ruff Pet Spa
A goldendoodle before and after a bath, full dry and brush-out at the East Northport salon
Seasonal Care

Mud Season: Keeping a Dog Clean Through March on Long Island

Where mud really ends up on a long-coated dog, why letting it dry works on some coats and mats others, and a doorway routine that saves your floor and the coat.

Lillian Ruff Pet Spa
A young puppy standing calmly on a grooming table at Lillian Ruff Pet Spa in Ronkonkoma, New York
Puppy Care

New Puppy in Ronkonkoma? Your Four-Month Checklist

New York wants a license and rabies at four months. Which town issues it, when to book the first groom, and the vaccine clock daycare and boarding run on.

Lillian Ruff Pet Spa

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