Tiny Pet Salon

Tiny Pet Salon is a first-person pet grooming game. You take muddy pets from the window to the bathtub and grooming table, do each job by hand, then return them through the window. Each pet rates your work out of five paws.

Groom each pet

Rub away the mud with a sponge and rinse off the soap with a sprayer. Dry the fur with a towel or hair dryer, brush it until it shines, and clip the nails on each paw; you can turn pets around to reach their backs.

Each pet arrives with an order ticket specifying the requested jobs, shampoo scent and color. Finish the look with a bow, bandana or party hat, placing it wherever you click.

Pets and regulars

Pets have different personalities. Ticklish ones wiggle while you groom them, and pets that dislike water may jump out of the tub and run. Some arrive extra muddy, while fluffy pets need twice as much brushing but tip more. You can calm any pet with a dog biscuit from the treat jar.

Happy customers return as regulars, often requesting the same look as before, and their photos appear on your wall. The salon also has a little black cat named Nori, who purrs when you pet her.

Run your salon

Spend your tips on gear upgrades, including a faster sprayer, a hair dryer and a rubber duck that keeps nervous pets in the bath. You can also buy seasonal decorations, from a ducky parade and party bunting to twinkling fairy lights, a fish tank and a front-yard fountain.

The salon stands on a sunny town corner. Cars stop at the crossing for pets, neighbors stroll by with their friends, chimneys puff and butterflies drift over the flower boxes. The windows look out on gardens, shops and a park across the road.

Days and Pet Shows

A season lasts 20 days. Daily activities include brushes, bows, scented shampoos, nail trims, a hat parade, dress-up days and busy rushes; each day also has a goal that pays a bonus. The Summer Pet Show takes place halfway through the season, followed by the Grand Pet Show on day 20. Ratings from the day's customers earn you a medal and a rosette for your wall.

After the season, the salon stays open for as long as you like, and the Pet Show returns every few days for another chance at gold.

Three ways to play

• Relax: There is no timer. Pets arrive one at a time and wait as long as you need.
• Frenetic: A line forms outside and pets get impatient, but each groom pays 30% more.
• Desktop: The salon appears in a small window in the corner of your screen. A pet rings the bell every few minutes, and you click to open the salon.

Key features

• 11 kinds of pets, from puppies and bunnies to a polar bear and a tiger.
• Bows, bandanas and party hats in three colors, plus three shampoo scents.
• A 20-day season with daily goals and two Pet Shows, followed by free play.
• 19 achievements.