What Is Bow Tie’s PETCHECK™ Wellness Scan? (And Why It Comes With Every Groom)
Every Bow Tie groom includes a PETCHECK™ wellness scan — a structured, nose-to-tail visual observation that your groomer performs while grooming your dog. It’s included at no extra charge, and it’s one of the things new clients are most surprised to learn about.
The Short Version
While your dog is being groomed, we’re also looking — closely — at what’s going on with their skin, coat, ears, eyes, paws, and overall comfort level. At drop-off, your groomer shares a brief summary of what they noticed, along with any recommendations worth passing along.
It’s not medical. It’s not a diagnosis. It’s a trained groomer’s set of eyes doing what trained groomers naturally do: noticing things.
The difference with PETCHECK™ is that we’ve made it a consistent, structured part of every appointment rather than something that happens only if something is obviously wrong.
What We Actually Look At
When we perform a PETCHECK™ scan, your groomer is visually assessing:
- Coat and skin — dryness, flakiness, irritation, hot spots, or anything that looks like it’s changed since last time
- Ears, eyes, and mouth — odor, redness, discharge, excessive tearing, visible inflammation, or significant tartar buildup
- Paws and nails — splitting, overgrowth, pad cracks, or tenderness when handled
- Parasites and allergy indicators — fleas, ticks, lice, excessive itching, licking patterns, or hair loss in specific areas
- General comfort and mobility — how the dog moves, responds to being handled, and holds their body during the groom
None of this requires special equipment. It requires attention — and we’ve been doing this long enough that we notice changes quickly, especially in dogs we see regularly.
Why Mobile Grooming Makes This Work
With Bow Tie, it’s your groomer, your dog, and the van — no other animals, no shared space, no waiting. That one-on-one environment isn’t just calmer for anxious dogs. It also means your groomer can pay attention in a way that a busier setting makes harder to do consistently.
Regular visits reveal what daily life hides. Grooming appointments happen every four to eight weeks for most dogs, which often gives us a window into changes that owners don’t notice at home. You’re with your dog every day. Gradual changes can be easy to miss. We see your dog on a schedule, and we’re looking at their skin and coat up close.
What We Do When We Notice Something
If we spot something during PETCHECK™ — a lump, a patch of unusual skin, ear redness that’s new, a paw that seems tender — we’ll mention it at drop-off.
What that looks like in practice: “I noticed his left ear was a little red and had some odor today, which wasn’t there last time. Might be worth having your vet take a look.” That’s it. Not a diagnosis, not an alarm. Just a flag from someone who has been paying attention.
For more serious observations — persistent bleeding, open sores, signs of a parasite infestation, or anything that looks urgent — we’ll tell you clearly and recommend you follow up with a veterinarian.
PETCHECK™ is observation-only. We are groomers, not veterinarians. We don’t diagnose, and we don’t treat. What we do is look carefully, tell you what we see, and let you decide what to do with that information.
A Note on What PETCHECK™ Is Not
We want to be clear about this because we’ve seen other services use “wellness scan” language that implies something more clinical.
PETCHECK™ is not:
- Electronic monitoring of any kind
- A measurement of vitals, heart rate, or temperature
- A substitute for veterinary care
- A diagnostic service
It is a structured, visual nose-to-tail assessment performed by an experienced groomer during the course of a regular appointment. That’s the right way to describe it, and we think it’s valuable precisely because it’s grounded in what we actually do.
The Three-Step Process
The way PETCHECK™ works in practice:
Step 1 — Quick Check-In When we arrive, we ask about anything you’ve noticed recently: scratching, changes in behavior, areas you want us to pay attention to. This takes two minutes and helps your groomer know where to look more carefully.
Step 2 — Nose-to-Tail Review During the groom, your groomer performs the full visual assessment. Your dog is being handled from head to tail anyway — PETCHECK just means we’re doing it with intention.
Step 3 — Verbal Summary at Drop-Off When we bring your dog back to the door, your groomer shares what they noticed. If everything looked great, they’ll say so. If there’s anything worth flagging, they’ll tell you plainly.
Why We Don’t Charge Extra for It
Because it shouldn’t be an add-on. It should be what a good groomer does.
When we started Bow Tie, we formalized PETCHECK because we wanted every client to know it was happening consistently — not just when something was obviously wrong, and not just for dogs we’d seen a dozen times. Whether it’s your dog’s first appointment with us or their fifteenth, they get the same level of attention.
The fact that it’s included at no charge isn’t a marketing detail. It’s just the right way to groom a dog.
What Clients Notice
The feedback we hear most often about PETCHECK™ comes from clients who say something like: “I had no idea, and Helen caught it.”
An unusual lump during a routine groom. Ear irritation that had been building for a few weeks. A paw that was bothering a dog who wasn’t showing obvious signs of discomfort. These aren’t dramatic stories — they’re just what happens when someone is paying close attention over time.
We’re not trying to be your dog’s veterinarian. We’re trying to be the kind of groomers who notice things and tell you.
Available Across Our Service Area
We bring PETCHECK™ to every appointment across Frisco, Plano, McKinney, Prosper, and The Colony. Every package — Bath & Brush, Trim & Tidy, and Cut & Style — includes the scan.
We’re always happy to talk through what to expect. If you have questions about PETCHECK™ or anything else, the best answer is usually a conversation. You can get a quote or take a look at our services to get started.
Every Bow Tie groom comes with a complimentary PETCHECK™ wellness scan.
We serve Frisco, McKinney, Plano, Prosper, and The Colony. Ready to book your dog’s next appointment?