Q. Most grooming salons I’ve taken my pet to in the past are set up to take in all the dogs in the morning and they get done around the end of the day. Why is your dog grooming salon set up by appointment?
A. Good question. That was the way it was set up in the salon I worked at before opening my own. All the dogs would be scheduled to come in between 8-9am and would leave between 3-5pm. I saw how hard this was on some of the dogs. Dogs would be anxious to come in to the groomer’s and they would be in there all day, most of the time in a kennel, shaking like a leaf. They would go home and the owners would report that they were exhausted and thirsty (dogs typically won’t eat or drink when they are nervous or scared) for that evening and sometimes even the day after. I decided that if I ever had my own place, I would not make the dogs be there all day.
Fast forward to today. I own Powder Hounds Grooming Salon and we book by appointment. We have a bather in there all day, along with 1-2 groomers. Each appointment typically takes about 2 hours, varying depending on size, type of hair, what each dog needs done, and his or her temperament.
Each dog goes into the tub as soon as they arrive, so there is no waiting around. As soon as they are done bathing, they are started on drying. Exceptions to this are for our senior extra large dogs, who will get a break so that they don’t have such a long standing time. Also, there are some dogs who do not like the high velocity blow dryers that we use, either on their whole bodies, or just around their faces, so we will put them in a kennel with fans on them. These are absolutely not heated fans, just regular room temperature air being blown on them. As soon as the dog is dry, they get groomed, which may include a brush out, feather trim, full haircut, nail trim, etc. When they are finished, we call or text the parent and let them know that Fluffy is all ready to be picked up.
We work quickly and efficiently and together as a team, to make the grooming process as easy on your pup as possible. This can make things more difficult for us as groomers, because we are checking people (dogs) in and out all day and we are working on a time schedule, so there is pressure to stay on schedule, but we do it for the love of our clients and the animals. I’ve never met someone who got in to grooming that didn’t love animals. We love dogs! And cats! And we want it to be the best experience possible.
I hope that helps you understand the process in our salon a little better and why I decided to go with appointments. Have any more questions? Send me an email at LKBarr26@hotmail.com or leave it in the comments.