Dog Grooming Woes!

[areias]

That's good, I'm glad she worked out for you.

I prefer a small grooming salon versus petsmart-you can get a better relationship going, I think.

[jenluckenbach]

Half of the places have answering machines instead of real people! What kind of business is that?

I believe MOST grooming shops (that are not inside a pet store) tend to be closed on a Monday. (therefore, answering machines.) We are among those, our work week is tuesday thru Saturday,, so to get a 2 day weekend, we have off Sunday and Monday.

[critter crazy]

I believe MOST grooming shops (that are not inside a pet store) tend to be closed on a Monday. (therefore, answering machines.) We are among those, our work week is tuesday thru Saturday,, so to get a 2 day weekend, we have off Sunday and Monday.

Makes perfect sence, just like a barber shop!

[areias]

Hmmm, okay, yes that makes sense. Thanks for the info.

[ramanth]

Does anyone get their dogs groomed at Petsmart?? If so how good a job do they do???

I have and like others have said, it can vary.

There used to be a woman that worked at the PetSmart grooming and she did phenomenal service and I'd call ahead just to schedule Kia with her.

When she left, the times I've taken Kia, they either barely trim or don't trim her nails at all, it looks like they never brush her after her bath (her hair would be sticking up at weird angles), or she comes back to me still damp.

So I haven't been back since. The local Petco is the same.

I think I'll need to find a smaller more personal grooming place.

[elizabethann]

I'm glad you found a groomer. I don't like PetSmart myself.

Please take before & after pictures of the big pup so we can all see.

[critter crazy]

I'm glad you found a groomer. I don't like PetSmart myself.

Please take before & after pictures of the big pup so we can all see.

I will try to remember!!

[Freedom]

Hey Maggie, it sounds like you found a good set up, at least for a try. That's great.

I am looking for groomers for the first time in my life. It's been interesting. (A bichon isn't nearly as challenging as a Saint!)

You may find this link interesting:
http://www.bichonfriseusa.com/
Half way down on the left column are two topics related to this: Choosing a Groomer, and Find a Groomer. They give some clues of things to look for and to ask.

My first problem was that, based on those info topics, none of the 4 groomers I went to interview passed!!!!

My next problem was that Sugar has allergies, which we traced to something the groomer in Ohio used (while she was in foster care.) I tried the Bichon Bubbles (formula is also from that website I gave above) and NO MORE ITCHING! So my vet suggested that I find a groomer who would let me bathe and dry her at home, then just take her in for the trim. HA! Another bunch of "No, we don't do that here," reponses. PetCo told me it was corprorate policy, they HAVE to do the bath there.

Late last week I was in PetSMart and a woman came in with a Havanese (relation to the Bichon) and was taking him for his trim. He was all fluffy and a little bit damp. So we chatted. The person she uses at that PetSMart lets you bathe at home and bring the dog in just for the trim.

Now get this: the woman told me if she had the entire process done the dog had to stay there for 4 or 5 hours. A little 8 pound Havanese for that long??? For just the trim, it was a "while you wait" about an hour, and you could comment as the groomer worked! She had been taking her dog to this specific groomer at this specific PetSMart for 3.5 years, since the dog was a puppy. She never had them do the bath, as she didn't want her puppy there that long; initially he wasn't even potty trained and she figured it was a good bet he would "go" while he was there.

Just what I was looking for! I have no idea how good the trim will be, but then I am new to this and likely won't know a bad cut anyhow, ha ha.

And yes, the good ones I learned you have to book a few weeks in advance. It is like being a client at the beauty parlor.
Sandra

[critter crazy]

Hey Maggie, it sounds like you found a good set up, at least for a try. That's great.

I am looking for groomers for the first time in my life. It's been interesting. (A bichon isn't nearly as challenging as a Saint!)

You may find this link interesting:
http://www.bichonfriseusa.com/
Half way down on the left column are two topics related to this: Choosing a Groomer, and Find a Groomer. They give some clues of things to look for and to ask.

My first problem was that, based on those info topics, none of the 4 groomers I went to interview passed!!!!

My next problem was that Sugar has allergies, which we traced to something the groomer in Ohio used (while she was in foster care.) I tried the Bichon Bubbles (formula is also from that website I gave above) and NO MORE ITCHING! So my vet suggested that I find a groomer who would let me bathe and dry her at home, then just take her in for the trim. HA! Another bunch of "No, we don't do that here," reponses. PetCo told me it was corprorate policy, they HAVE to do the bath there.

Late last week I was in PetSMart and a woman came in with a Havanese (relation to the Bichon) and was taking him for his trim. He was all fluffy and a little bit damp. So we chatted. The person she uses at that PetSMart lets you bathe at home and bring the dog in just for the trim.

Now get this: the woman told me if she had the entire process done the dog had to stay there for 4 or 5 hours. A little 8 pound Havanese for that long??? For just the trim, it was a "while you wait" about an hour, and you could comment as the groomer worked! She had been taking her dog to this specific groomer at this specific PetSMart for 3.5 years, since the dog was a puppy. She never had them do the bath, as she didn't want her puppy there that long; initially he wasn't even potty trained and she figured it was a good bet he would "go" while he was there.

Just what I was looking for! I have no idea how good the trim will be, but then I am new to this and likely won't know a bad cut anyhow, ha ha.

And yes, the good ones I learned you have to book a few weeks in advance. It is like being a client at the beauty parlor.
Sandra

Thats great that they are willing to work with you! I cannot believe that most places wouldnt, its not your fault she has allergies! geesh!! it should be a chioce just like at a salon, you can choose a shampoo, or not!
I am hoping the groomer areias found for me works, cause she is very close and she has her shop in her house which is nice, should make it to be calmer for the dogs.

[DrKym]

Freedom 2 things you can try ...I use a PetCo groomer and she is really wonderful. 1 bring the shampoo with (although I have brought goof in wet from a bath for them to dry brush and clip) and 2 Bring her in after yoou have bathed brushed dried at home and request a brush and clip no bath.

I did ask Mags if it was a company policy, she replied not to her knowledge, that she has a few others that are bathed at home, and one that gets a bath there and brushed out but goes home wet (not sure why and didn' think to ask )

[wolfsoul]

We are the only place in town equipped to do large dogs. We have stairs to the tub, and there are plenty of us who work there so enough people to help lift. We have plenty of large crates and an area to tie dogs too big for the crates (we have one newfie who just won't fit in a 600 crate!).

$65 is expensive for a large dog, unless it is matted -- atleast for our shop. We have two regular saints and charge almost $10-20 less, and we are a big shop We will also use their shampoo if they wish, though alot of the time the shampoo the owner brings in does not clean the dog, and the dog ends up having a poor haircut because the coat is greasy.

[Shelteez2]

At the shop I work at a Saint would start at $100. We charge $50 - $65 for goldens.

[Twisterdog]

Half of the places have answering machines instead of real people! What kind of business is that?

A BUSY one! I know my grooming shop is over-booked and under-staffed. I could easily keep four to six more employees busy ... I currently have two, besides myself. It is HARD to find a good groomer, and I'm picky. We barely have time to get the dogs groomed. If we stopped every two minutes to answer the phone all day long, we'd NEVER get a dog done! So, hire a secretary, you say. I'd LOVE to ... can't find one of those, either. Our county is experiening a huge boom right now, with way more jobs available than people to staff them. It's nuts. So, my customers get the answering machine probably more than 50% of the time. They leave a message, I call them back. Not a problem, obviously, since we're booked solid until March.

$66 is a good price for a Saint Bernard, IMO.

[areias]

A BUSY one! I know my grooming shop is over-booked and under-staffed. I could easily keep four to six more employees busy ... I currently have two, besides myself. It is HARD to find a good groomer, and I'm picky. We barely have time to get the dogs groomed. If we stopped every two minutes to answer the phone all day long, we'd NEVER get a dog done! So, hire a secretary, you say. I'd LOVE to ... can't find one of those, either. Our county is experiening a huge boom right now, with way more jobs available than people to staff them. It's nuts. So, my customers get the answering machine probably more than 50% of the time. They leave a message, I call them back. Not a problem, obviously, since we're booked solid until March.

Yes, I understand, I just called probably 4 places and they all had answering machines, and I just wanted a price.

Understaffed you are, and me looking to get back into the "kennel" field...hmm where in Wyoming are you? LOL

[wolfsoul]

At the shop I work at a Saint would start at $100. We charge $50 - $65 for goldens.

Wow, that's alot for over here. The shops here charge relatively the same amount. We start at $40 for a golden.

We are understaffed too LOL. We do between 40 and 60 dogs a day, and never make it out of work on time.