Ruff Cutz Dog Grooming is a pet groomer on Miro Street in Merrilands, New Plymouth, holding a perfect 5.0 Google rating from 12 reviews and keeping a Facebook page as its online home. Good dog grooming goes beyond a tidy haircut — a full session should cover nails, ears and a careful look at skin and coat. The real work, as regulars know, is matting: it forms fastest behind the ears, under the collar and in the armpits, and once a mat tightens against the skin it can't be brushed out, so some dogs come home in a shorter clip than expected. A few minutes of brushing between visits, on a steady four-to-eight-week rhythm for most coats, does more for a dog's comfort than any single appointment. It helps, too, to mention sore spots or a nervous streak before the clippers come out. A well-reviewed groomer in suburban Merrilands is a handy find for New Plymouth dog owners.