Bentley & Bear Holistic Dog and Cat Grooming

01/06/2026

🌙 Bedtime Brain Teaser 🐾

Before you scroll off to sleep... how many grooming-related words can you spot? 👀

Bonus points if you find them all without squinting. 😆

Pop your score in the comments ⬇️

And if you're reading this from bed... no judgement. I am too. 🤍

N’night!

31/05/2026

Self-Care Sunday 🤍

As someone who spends most of the week caring for everyone else’s pets, I’ve learned that self-care isn’t always about doing more.

Sometimes it’s about noticing what’s already here.

This morning has been slow. Coffee in the garden. A little sunshine. A chance to sit still for five minutes and listen to the birds.

The diary is still there.
The messages are still there.
The to-do list is definitely still there.

But for a little while, they can wait.

Animals are brilliant at this. They don’t rush to fill every quiet moment. They rest when they’re tired, seek the sun when it appears, and enjoy what’s right in front of them.

There’s probably a lesson in that for all of us.

This afternoon the garden will be full for a certain someone’s birthday BBQ 🎂🌿 but for now I’m enjoying a quiet corner of the day.

The world keeps talking.

The animals keep living. 🤍

Wishing you all a gentle Sunday, whatever that looks like for you. 🤍
Caroline x

27/05/2026

A little non-grooming post 🤍

Some of you know that outside of grooming, I’m also a bit of a bird nerd. 😄🐦

Still obsessed with the Merlin app! If you haven’t got it… get it.

We’ve had a small group of jackdaws visiting the garden recently which isn’t unusual here, but this one kept catching my eye. Of course, unlike most people who’d just go “oh look, a funny coloured crow,” I immediately launched a full wildlife investigation instead 🤓 The white speckling is called leucism — a partial loss of pigment in the feathers.

Jackdaws are actually incredibly intelligent little birds. Very social, very characterful… and VERY messy nest builders. They made one in the porch of my old house and we found evidence of them trying their luck in the chimney stack here at The Bell when we first moved in.

Anyway, I thought he was too special not to share. ✨

27/05/2026

This is why you’ll more often than not find my grooming table at its lowest setting.
Or me on my hands and knees on the floor. My knees hate me and so does my back nowadays but the dogs are happier so… ❤️

26/05/2026

Hello from someone who has returned from Menorca straight into a UK heatwave… somehow it’s hotter here than it was there. ☀️😅

Sadly, I did not bring the pool home with me. However, I did return to the luxury of air-conditioning in both my bedroom (which explains the miraculous good sleep) and, more importantly, the groom room too. 🐾❄️

A little reminder that during very hot weather, your pet’s safety and comfort always come first. If you feel travelling may be too much for your dog or cat in these temperatures, please just WhatsApp me and we can rearrange appointments where needed.

Bathing and drying temperatures will also be kept cooler and adjusted appropriately throughout the day to keep everyone as comfortable as possible.

Thank you as always for your patience whilst I catch up after my break — everyone who messaged whilst I was away will be hearing back from me today once I sit down with the diary and a very necessary iced coffee. 📔🧊☕️

Caroline

20/05/2026

Six years ago today, Bentley & Bear officially opened its doors… and honestly, I don’t think I could ever have imagined where this little business would lead me. 🩷🐾

To the clients who have embraced a gentler, more emotionally aware approach to grooming alongside me — thank you.

The ones who understand that grooming isn’t just about the finished haircut, but about trust, patience, comfort and emotional wellbeing too.
The ones who celebrate the tiny wins, support their pets through the harder moments, and allow me to work in a way that always puts the animal first.

That support has helped shape Bentley & Bear into what it is today.

And to my wonderful peers… the groomers, educators, behaviour professionals, veterinary professionals and more recently lovely collaborators I’ve met along the way — thank you too.
For the conversations, encouragement, shared learning and support within an industry that can sometimes feel lonely. I’ve learned so much from being surrounded by people who care deeply about animal welfare and emotional wellbeing.

The messages, recommendations, reviews and kindness over the years have carried this little business further than I could ever have imagined, and I never take any of it for granted.

Thank you for allowing me to do work that I truly love every single day.

And of course… thank you to Bentley & Bear themselves, the two bulldogs who unknowingly changed the entire course of my life. 🤍

Happy 6th Birthday, Bentley & Bear. 🐾

Today I’ll be celebrating a little differently — with a gentle potter around a market here in Menorca, followed by a celebratory toast this evening to six wonderful years of Bentley & Bear. 🥂

With much gratitude to you all for being part of my journey.

With love,

Caroline x

19/05/2026

Just in case you’re missing me… 😹

Here is my recent podcast with the lovely Rebecca and Dan from Atticus Academy of Animals

A great chat about what holistic grooming in cats is and how we can...

16/05/2026

Just a little note to let everyone know that Bentley & Bear will be closed next week while I take a short break to rest, recharge and refill my own treat jar 🐾

Messages will be replied to when I reopen on Tuesday 26th.

As someone who works closely with animals and emotions every day, I truly believe self-care matters in this industry too. To continue showing up calmly and compassionately for the pets in my care, it’s important that I occasionally pause and recharge myself too.

Thank you, as always, for keeping this little business so wonderfully busy and supported over the last 6 years. I never take it for granted.

Caroline x

15/05/2026

Counting down…

Over the last 6 years, certain pets have really struck a chord with me.

The sensitive ones.
The misunderstood ones.
The ones that look into your soul…
(step up, cocker spaniels).

Over the years, Bentley & Bear has become far more than grooming to me.

It’s become an emotionally attuned, behaviour-informed approach built around listening to what each pet is communicating, rather than simply working towards a finished groom.

One rescue dog taught me that anxious compliance and genuine comfort are two very different things.

It took four years of slow relationship building, careful observation and respecting her emotional threshold before she truly felt comfortable with me blasting out her thick wolf-like coat.

She taught me that patience matters more than perfection.
That going home slightly damp won’t harm a dog… but pushing a nervous system beyond what it can cope with might.

One show cocker spaniel taught me that some dogs arrive already knowing your soul and fully intend to sit directly on it.
Personal space? Never heard of it.

Some pets taught me humility.

That trauma sits deeply in the body.
That fear responses are not “bad behaviour.”
And that sometimes the kindest, most ethical decision is recognising when a pet simply isn’t emotionally safe enough for grooming in that moment.

One little cockapoo taught me that holistic care isn’t about rigid ideals or avoiding veterinary support at all costs.

For him, grooming without sedation simply wasn’t emotionally or physically safe.

And sometimes compassionate care looks like adapting the plan, involving the right professionals and putting welfare above opinion.

A Labrador reminded me that muzzles are not cruel if introduced positively.
They are safety.

In 6 years I’ve only used one a handful of times, but I will never judge a dog for saying “I’m uncomfortable” in the only way they know how.
I will always advocate for muzzle training your dogs ‘just in case’.

One little Westie still teaches me the importance of agency.

She lets me know when her nervous system has had enough processing for one session.

And guess what? I stop.

Because preserving emotional safety matters more to me than “finishing the groom.”

Another spaniel reminded me that low emotional thresholds require adaptation, not force.

My role isn’t to “push through.”
It’s to work within what her nervous system can comfortably tolerate that day.

Treats and games buy me a little more time.
Trust buys me the rest.

Somewhere along the way, I realised the pets teaching me the most were rarely the “easy” ones.

They were the ones asking to be listened to differently.

Bentley & Bear wasn’t built on perfect aesthetics.

It was built on trust, observation, patience and the quiet moments (generally on my sofa) where a pet realises they are safe.

*Pics randomly selected.

14/05/2026

Day 3 of reflection in the lead up to my 6 year Bentley & Bear anniversary. 🩷

When I first trained to groom dogs, my tutor (thanks Mollies Dog Grooming) casually mentioned:

“And some people even groom cats…”

I remember immediately saying,
“Wow… I’d LOVE to do that.”

The rest of the room looked at me like I’d completely lost the plot. 🤪

But honestly… that moment has totally stayed with me.

I also had my own beautiful Maine C**n called Hugo, who I absolutely adored (and miss more than words).
Like many cats, he taught me lessons too — including why scissors and cat matts should never mix. 🙈

My curiosity led me to study cat grooming further with an Australian grooming platform and the lovely Cat Grooming Education with Lexie alongside many more webinars, courses and far too many late-night deep dives into feline behaviour. 😹

Before long, the cats slowly started finding me.

And once I started grooming them, I was completely smitten.

The more I learned, the more I realised cat grooming could have a holistic approach too.
It was about trust, observation, patience and working with the cat in front of you.

I discovered lap grooming was very much my thing and, back then, I used to travel to people’s homes to groom their cats and started to introduce it in my home… the utility room was reserved!

And the funny thing is…
the thing everyone thought sounded completely bonkers back then has become one of the biggest parts of my journey.

Thank you for being a part of it 🩷