Sandy Paws Self-Service Dog Wash

I have been to several different groomers for my 2 year old Golden Retriever; Jeff from Sandy Paws has been the only one that has actually shaved her coat and she actually looked gorgeous, whereas the other places I have brought her to, have literally butchered her coat to where she had shave lines all over her, along with shaving all the way to her head and stopping making her look like she just had a bowl cut!
This particular visit was my first time coming here, I brought 2 pups with me; Lola (golden retriever) and Bella (boxer). I called because I had missed their morning scheduled grooming appointment that was somewhere else and was scrambling trying to find one that will take them both on such short notice. Jeff fit my 2 pups in at 3pm and they were ready at 5pm. Where as all of the other groomers took literally all day!
I was very pleased when I came to pick up my babies; Lola looked gorgeous; as I stated above this was the only time in 2 years that I was pleased with her shave. Bella looked gorgeous too; since she’s a boxer, theres not much to her coat. But I was pleased all around.
1) Jeff was extremely wonderful with my pups!
2) Lola the Golden is very skittish and she didn’t want to stay (it reminded me of my children when I use to drop them off at daycare (I was sad) BUT I trusted Jeff from the very beginning. Lola being skittish does a lot better with Bella along, so when she saw Bella get up on the table (on her own, not forced at all) and sat down all prim and proper waiting for Jeff to do her nails, not only did that make me feel comfortable but it also showed Lola she doesn’t have anything to worry about.
3) Jeff is extremely fair with prices; all the other groomers I have taken them to, were all $ 60 and higher and Jeff did the best job out of all of them
So…with all that I have said, I WILL be back and I think everyone needs to find out for themselves instead of reading the bad reviews and have an opinion from the beginning and not go at all.

The owner wants to write back and defend himself. Say I spoke to him, and slander because of a discription I gave not knowing if there are other employees who work there. I know what I saw, and as I didn’t leave right away I wanted to see what was happening in the back, hence peeking around the corner. We never spoke sir, I would never want to speak to you, especially after what I saw. I understand it can be trying after washing a cat, and then they urinate. The cat was probably scared by the way you were treating it. I know how to handle a cat when bathing it. The way YOU were handling it, by the so called «scruff» as you say was in a mean and uncaring way. I posted this on a public forum to let people know what I saw. What I saw was true, you may try to sugar coat it… but from the tiniest animal, to a large animal they deserve to spoken for if harm is being done. I have seen other reviews posted about this place and mishandling, so you can see I am not the only one who has ill feelings towards the way you conduct your business.

I have been taking my dog to Sandy Paws since I moved to Bradenton 2 years ago. I do the self wash and then Jeff trims her nails with a Dremel tool. He is very careful and really good with my overly nervous dog. One time, she did bleed from being ground too short and he quickly applied the material to stop the bleeding and did not continue until it was stopped. In response to one review, i have heard Jeff speak sternly to dogs he was grooming that would not cooperate, but never have I seen him mistreat any animal. I would not call him gentle, but never abusive. He just does his job. I have seen many dogs sit and cry like they were being killed when no one was touching them. Most dogs just don’t like being confined in a strange place and let everyone know. I would give 5 stars if the wash tubs were kept clean but basically you need to clean yourself before you wash your dog. Then again, he would have to hire another person full time just to do that job and would charge more than the very reasonable $ 10 for the self wash so I am fine with it.

What a wonderful place! We brought our black lab there to give him a bath. They have everything there you need; the tub, shampoo, towels, and blow dryers. Staff is very kind and helpful. Another perk is that it’s inexpensive. I HIGHLY recommend this facility!

If you are planning to take your dog there to bathe him yourself, then this place actually gets 3 stars. You can use the grooming tools, bathing facilities, towels and driers, and the price is very reasonable.
The problem is, while I was there bathing my dog, I witnessed the owner mistreat several other dogs that were entrusted in his care for a grooming session. He was very rough with the dogs, and displayed no sympathy or remorse when he hurt them and they screamed.
He cut a small dog’s nails so short they bled; then held a dremel tool on the freshly cut nail for so long that the poor dog was Unilocaling in pain and the dremel was smoking. (Anyone who uses a dremel on a dog’s nails knows you have to move it very quickly from nail to nail, not HOLD it in one spot, because of the intense heat generated.
I also saw him blow-​dry a tiny, TINY dog with the powerful salon dryer, and he held the blower an inch from the dog’s face for so long while the poor dog kicked and struggled to free itself from his grasp. No Unilocaling in this situation, the dog simply could not breathe.
I watched as another woman brought her two dogs in for grooming and the dogs had been there before; you could see the 2 dogs cower and hunker in the corner because they didn’t want to stay.
I’m sorry; I really wanted to like this place, and it has great potential; but someone needs to teach the owner/​groomer that dogs have FEELINGS. He shouldn’t be allowed to handle pets until he realizes how much he hurts them.
I had to leave and will never return, because it made me physically sick to observe this abuse. I couldn’t help but wonder how much worse would he be if I wasn’t in that room with him?

My fur baby (Odie) and I were having such a wonderful time at the dog park in Bradenton & saw a flier for self service dog wash, near the water bowls. Which I thought was a very clever place for advertising, since that area was very muddy from all the slobber and water. After the dog park I noticed how brown my black lab mix was looking. So I called in and luckily they were open on a Sunday!!! My buddy got to have a warm sudsy bath and my bathroom stayed completely hairless!!! The owner, Jeff Little even gave us natural ear cleaning solution to clean his ears and around his eyes. Everyone was happy especially Odie!!! Check them out… they have great prices and are very friendly. We’ll be back soon!!!