Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By Ayanna Eckblad

The arrival of summer can be a challenge for owners of dogs with long fur, however, a new dog grooming business has opened in the area recently and caters to dogs of all shapes and sizes.

The Styled Dog LLC is a new dog grooming facility in the Albert Lea area that does full grooms, nail trims, deshedding and more. It has been open to the public for one week.

The owner of The Styled Dog, Erin Lonneman, has worked in dog grooming for about four years. She has an animal science degree from North Dakota State University. While living in South Dakota she was asked by a friend if she would be interested in learning how to groom dogs. She accepted and has been loving the work ever since.

“I have a really good time connecting with animals,” Lonneman said. “That one-on-one quality time is something that I worked really hard to establish.”

Lonneman and her husband moved to the Albert Lea area two years ago to be closer to family. She works at the Freeborn County Historical Museum, Library and Village as the programs and experience manager but wanted to get back to working with dogs.

“I’ve just always wanted to be my own boss,” Lonneman explained. “There’s something about dogs, that even if they don’t know you, they just see you for who you are. There’s no preconceived notion, they don’t care… what your clothes are labeled as, they don’t care what kind of house you live in. They just judge you for you. And they’re just really wholesome.”

She began offering dog grooming a few months ago for pets of friends and family. For a year she has been remodeling an outbuilding on her property and successfully transformed it into a dog salon.

Comfort for the dogs was the most important thing Lonneman considered when designing the layout and equipment needed for The Styled Dog. Right now the facility has a large grooming table, a walk-in shower for large dogs and a steel grooming tub for small dogs. It also has a small kennel room for nervous dogs to decompress while they wait for their owners.

Lonneman also tried to make the building appealing to humans. She said dogs respond to their human’s energy and can sense whether a person is comfortable in a certain setting.

“That was really important to me,” said Lonneman. “That the dogs felt comfortable coming in, and people also felt comfortable bringing their dogs in.”

She added it can be intimidating for people to bring their dog to a new place.

Lonneman wanted The Styled Dog to be a space that was friendly for all kinds of dogs, including large breeds. She explained it can be difficult to find a dog groomer who accepts large dogs because the process can be more physically taxing than with small breeds.

Lonneman said her favorite part of her new role is connecting with other dog owners in the community.

“There’s been a really great response. People have been excited we’re here, and people have been super nice, too so it’s been a lot of fun.”

Lonneman said even though a dog might not enjoy the grooming process, knowing they will leave feeling more comfortable, happier and healthier is its own reward. She also said every breed of dog comes with a unique physiology and grooming challenge.

Lonneman is hoping to eventually make the front of The Styled Dog building a dog boutique with natural dog treats, accessories and care supplies.

“Definitely excited for that, hopefully in the near future,” she said.

The Styled Dog is located at 25789 705th Ave in Alden. The location itself is outside of Manchester but has an Alden mailing address.

Dog grooming appointments can be scheduled by calling or texting Lonneman at 507-391-3633.