Hello! Thank you for taking the time to explore Desert Bloom. My name is Malissa and I am the top dog here at Desert Bloom. I see my dogs as my extended family and that means that they live in my house and are my pets.  My dogs live with me, my husband John and my two teenaged daughters Rita and Nina. We own and operate a family run grooming salon in Mesa Arizona Poochini Pet Salon.  I always start my puppies with a positive grooming experience at six weeks old in my salon. They get baths and haircuts and I continue to get them accustomed to the whole grooming routine while they are with me. I bring them into the salon daily at six weeks to keep them well socialized to many different sights, sounds and smells. My salon is next door to a physical therapy office and this is great for socialization since the patients often come over to play with the pups. This exposes them to crutches, wheel chairs, canes and other things that puppies wouldn't normally see. Socialization is very important to me since pups that aren't exposed to lots of stimuli tend to be shy or afraid of new things. My puppies are home reared, whelped in my bedroom and then moved out into my living room when they are weaned from their mom. All my puppies get tons of attention lavished on them and they are always happy and well adjusted when they leave me.   I am a member of the Arizona Professional Groomers Association and also on their board of directors. I am also a human and canine certified and licensed massage therapist. My dogs benefit from this skill more than the humans do in my life :)

I have been raised around dogs my entire life. My parents still breed and show and are very involved in their breed clubs. I was a junior handler and have attended hundreds of dog shows as an exhibitor through out my life.  I no longer have the time to show dogs, but my love of dogs has not diminished. I now strive to produce wonderful, happy, healthy family pets. They may not be the exact breed standard (my mini cockers are too small to show) but they always have a great temperament, full lush coats, clear eyes and healthy bodies.

I offer all of the families that purchase puppies from Desert Bloom a lifetime of support and experience should any difficulty arise.  I stand behind my breeds 100% and only allow my pups to go to their new homes once they are health checked by my vet to be sound and solid.  I offer a health guarantee on all my puppies for one year, to be free of congenital defects.

We are not a kennel, although for registration purposes I call myself Desert Bloom Kennels. NONE of my dogs are housed in a kennel building. They are all house pets and have free reign of my home. All of my dogs ARE crate trained. They each have their own crate where they eat their meals, get special treats like soup bones or carrots. The reason for crate training is simple. Dogs are den animals, they like to have somewhere they can go to get away from everything and everyone once in a while. It is a true blessing when you have a party or company over and you can give your dog a nice juicy bone and have them rest in their crate with out having everyone trying to avoid stepping on a dogs foot.  I highly recommend crate training new puppies for the first year of their life. They need to understand that they have their own space in your home just like you do.  There is nothing wrong with having your pup snuggle up in a nice warm fleece blanket with some toys  while you are trying to get some housework done, or a restful sleep. This is pertinent to house breaking as well.

I always welcome questions you may have about my dogs so feel free to email or call me. Thanks again for your interest in Desert Bloom and enjoy the site!