Is there a resource online for finding a groomer locally? I've tried searching Yelp.com, but very few hits came up on our area. I have an 11-week-old Cocker Spaniel who is going to need a trim here in a while.
Her vet does have a groomer in house, but I was also curious about the prices. Wash, condition, dry, cut, clip, brush, trim nails, ear cleaning, anal glad expression for $30 USD now as a puppy and $55 as an adult. Is this reasonable?
Find a Groomer
Moderators: emmabeth, BoardHost
Re: Find a Groomer
Converting that into UK prices it seems about right, unless grooming is drastically cheaper in the US..
Right now though, don't worry so much about finding a groomer as about getting pup used to the things that will happen at the groomers.
Get her used to standing on a table, having ears, eyes, mouth, lips, paws handled. Get her used to lying flat on her side on a table too, and standing with her butt facing you, and having paws held and nails checked.
The easiest way to do this is pop her up on a table [I NEVER let my dogs jump up or down from a table, this way they never assume they can just jump up themselves], have one person giving her at first an almost constant stream of tiny little tasty treats, whilst the other one examines paws/eyes/nails/ears etc.
Just aim for a minute or two up there and a few seconds on each area, with LOTS of praise. You could also get her used to a variety of brushes, nail clippers, hair dryer et [careful not to frighten her!], just the sight of them, brushes touching her, the sound of the dryer - again all in really short sessions and with lots and lots of treats.
Ideally, I would get her used to being bathed by you, groomed by you - the trimming on an Am. Cocker is a bit beyond the pet owner DIY job [I have Tibetan Terrier so no trimming required!], but everything ELSE is perfectly within your capabilities and it will drastically reduce the time she spends at the groomers and the cost if shes JUST going in for a quick tidy up and a trim.
Unfortunately a lot of peple get coated breeds thinking that the groomer will do ALL the grooming, and sure they may be able to do so but the dog needs brushing every day or every couple of days, doing it every six weeks means mats and tangles take much longer to fix and the dog is stood on the table for much more time.
In addition, no matter how good the groomer it really does increase the risks of something unpleasant happening to your pup [something scary, someone dropping something loud, a groomer nicking her or pulling hair or getting annoyed at her] whilst you are not present, which should be avoided at all costs. So the best thing to do is learn as much as you can yourself - you need'nt spend out on expensive gear, a human salon quality hairdryer, some brushes and a grooming table would come under $300 [probably under half that! if you shop wisely] - and treat the groomers as the 'back up' to keep you on the right track rather than relying on them soley to take care of all grooming needs.
Sadly a lot of people DO rely on groomers to do the whole lot, and where this occurs I unfortunately see dogs that carry around mats for weeks that the owner has NO idea are there, becuase they never learned to groom properly, because they figured the groomer would take care of it all. By the time they realise tahts just not realistic, the dog is often a pain to groom because hes hurting and scared, and freaks the owner out when he growls or bites them.
Groomers are also limited in what they can do when they only see a dog every six weeks or so and little to no groomign takes place in between times - often people just cannot have the dog cut the way they want as it needs to be clippered off short every time!
Right now though, don't worry so much about finding a groomer as about getting pup used to the things that will happen at the groomers.
Get her used to standing on a table, having ears, eyes, mouth, lips, paws handled. Get her used to lying flat on her side on a table too, and standing with her butt facing you, and having paws held and nails checked.
The easiest way to do this is pop her up on a table [I NEVER let my dogs jump up or down from a table, this way they never assume they can just jump up themselves], have one person giving her at first an almost constant stream of tiny little tasty treats, whilst the other one examines paws/eyes/nails/ears etc.
Just aim for a minute or two up there and a few seconds on each area, with LOTS of praise. You could also get her used to a variety of brushes, nail clippers, hair dryer et [careful not to frighten her!], just the sight of them, brushes touching her, the sound of the dryer - again all in really short sessions and with lots and lots of treats.
Ideally, I would get her used to being bathed by you, groomed by you - the trimming on an Am. Cocker is a bit beyond the pet owner DIY job [I have Tibetan Terrier so no trimming required!], but everything ELSE is perfectly within your capabilities and it will drastically reduce the time she spends at the groomers and the cost if shes JUST going in for a quick tidy up and a trim.
Unfortunately a lot of peple get coated breeds thinking that the groomer will do ALL the grooming, and sure they may be able to do so but the dog needs brushing every day or every couple of days, doing it every six weeks means mats and tangles take much longer to fix and the dog is stood on the table for much more time.
In addition, no matter how good the groomer it really does increase the risks of something unpleasant happening to your pup [something scary, someone dropping something loud, a groomer nicking her or pulling hair or getting annoyed at her] whilst you are not present, which should be avoided at all costs. So the best thing to do is learn as much as you can yourself - you need'nt spend out on expensive gear, a human salon quality hairdryer, some brushes and a grooming table would come under $300 [probably under half that! if you shop wisely] - and treat the groomers as the 'back up' to keep you on the right track rather than relying on them soley to take care of all grooming needs.
Sadly a lot of people DO rely on groomers to do the whole lot, and where this occurs I unfortunately see dogs that carry around mats for weeks that the owner has NO idea are there, becuase they never learned to groom properly, because they figured the groomer would take care of it all. By the time they realise tahts just not realistic, the dog is often a pain to groom because hes hurting and scared, and freaks the owner out when he growls or bites them.
Groomers are also limited in what they can do when they only see a dog every six weeks or so and little to no groomign takes place in between times - often people just cannot have the dog cut the way they want as it needs to be clippered off short every time!
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
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nightsrainfall
- Posts: 331
- Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2011 9:08 pm
- Location: USA
Re: Find a Groomer
Asking other dog owners near you - even randomly, may help you learn about the places. The people with groomer-needing-dog breeds in my area that I know of found their groomer through word of mouth (many have the same groomer). The next city over has a PetSmart that has a grooming service that's around your prices, but most of us have either found out ourselves or been told they aren't the greatest place to go in this area (Frequently cuts nails too short, "accidentally" slices off skin tags even if warned about them, clipped an ear three times that I've heard, and other things... ). The local places here are few, small or part-time businesses, and far between so their prices are more along the lines of 75-200 USD, depending on your dog, what you all want done, and how long it takes. (I think there's only 3 groomers here in a 2 hour drive radius... 4 if you want to include PetSmart's services)
Doing it in house may be better in the long run, but I personally have no ideas about that. The people I know who take their dog to the groomer only do it every 6 months or so, or once a year for summer, and then try to do as much as possible in home if able. But these breeds are those that need the trimming and grooming. Like Emmabeth stated things can happen at a groomer, so asking about or asking if they have references (the local businesses seem to here) may help.
Doing it in house may be better in the long run, but I personally have no ideas about that. The people I know who take their dog to the groomer only do it every 6 months or so, or once a year for summer, and then try to do as much as possible in home if able. But these breeds are those that need the trimming and grooming. Like Emmabeth stated things can happen at a groomer, so asking about or asking if they have references (the local businesses seem to here) may help.
- Anna
"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole."
~ Roger A. Caras
"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole."
~ Roger A. Caras
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Blappy1215
- Posts: 20
- Joined: Mon Jan 17, 2011 1:47 pm
- Location: Bradford, Rhode Island, USA
Re: Find a Groomer
You can check with your better business bureau if you have one, also when you are at the dog park ask other dog owners.
"Don't worry honey right after the dog, your number one."
Elaine
Elaine
Re: Find a Groomer
i'm studying for dog groomer and if i were you i'd do everything emmabeth said, there's nothing worst than a dog that haven't been used to anything like bath, dryer, scissors.... for the groomer is bad but for the dog.... so the experience can be awful. we've got people that get their dogs trim every 3 months, there's also some people who brin their dog just for a bath (it's a golden) every 15 days (which i think it's too much, but anyway). if you're gonna take care of his hair at home twice or 3 times a year is enough, depending on how fast it grows and how shor you want, but if you don't have time i'll take him more times so it's not all a mess when you take him so the groomer can't do anything to get him all pretty.
about the price, i'd say is right too, i wouldn't go for cheaper unless you've checked that they do a good job, usually cheaper means they have a lot of dogs (usually coz they're not good enough so they low down the prices so people will go) and the results aren't as good as desire, and i've seen work of this people and believe me, i'm still learning, but i could do it better, so my advice is don't go for cheaper than that.
about the price, i'd say is right too, i wouldn't go for cheaper unless you've checked that they do a good job, usually cheaper means they have a lot of dogs (usually coz they're not good enough so they low down the prices so people will go) and the results aren't as good as desire, and i've seen work of this people and believe me, i'm still learning, but i could do it better, so my advice is don't go for cheaper than that.
Re: Find a Groomer
Oh, she's definitely used to being groomed! Her breeder started trimming her at three weeks old. She's fidgety like any (now 5 month old) puppy would be, but she's not terrified of it. And she's definitely getting more regular grooming than just the 6-8 weeks professionally. With as much stuff as she gets into, I'm bathing her about once every 10 days at home and doing her ears a little more frequently. When I bathe her at home, she actually likes being blow dried and having her ears cleaned, too. She still hates the slicker brush, but I do think I'm still learning how to use that properly.
As it turns out, I thought I'd found the perfect groomer, but instead of a nice puppy cut for my Cocker, she seems to have just been cut short all over and looks a bit butchered. To be honest, I'm gutted myself because I really, really liked this salon, but I might be looking around for Cocker breeders who do a little grooming on the side.
As it turns out, I thought I'd found the perfect groomer, but instead of a nice puppy cut for my Cocker, she seems to have just been cut short all over and looks a bit butchered. To be honest, I'm gutted myself because I really, really liked this salon, but I might be looking around for Cocker breeders who do a little grooming on the side.
