Grooming survey, need help!

Im going to go bankrupt when i get my little girl.. omg they have such cute stuff! lol i need to be stopped! my cart is already up to $500.. im definetly NOT going to check out! lol

1- Where do you live, state wise?
Ontario

2- What type of dog/breed do you own?
American Cocker Spaniels

3- What do you get done? Is it just a bath, or is their scissoring/style done?
Cocker cuts, Cider in summer gets poms on her feet, everything else shaved

4- If it is scissoring/style, what gets done. Is it scissoring/style or is it just a shave? Smudge is in a full show cut, hand stripped back, Cide's lower legs/feet get shaped.

5- What do you get charged? I know this might be a bit personal but it would help me know the average price per state.
Only groomers Cider ever went to were for a full shave. Petsmart wanted to charge 65 minimum for a cocker here though.

6- Are you happy with your groomer?
Somedays Others I wish she'd do nails more often

7- If you are happy with them, can you give me a reason why? Example, is it the location, the type of salon, efficiency?
Nice to be able to trim up dogs when I feel like it, no wait time and be able to change their style if I feel like it and get what I want

That's all for now, I'm sure I might get other questions popping up later. I know some of you groom your own dogs at home. Can you tell me why, is it because of cost, bonding with your dogs or any other reason.

Cider ended up with $750 dollars worth of surgery after an oops at the groomers. Lady was nice, paid for it felt horrible.. but after that I started experimenting at home. After getting Smudge and wanting to try showing him, I got serious and got better tools. Now I can have what I want at least on cockers pretty worry free. Cheaper in the long run as a starving student.. And I can fix them when ever I feel like it, even if it is sooner than I'd want to pay to have them neatened up.

1- Where do you live, state wise?
Fairfeild County Connecticut.

2- What type of dog/breed do you own?
2 chinese crested
3 long haired chihuahuas
1 cocker speniel

3- What do you get done? Is it just a bath, or is their scissoring/style done?

ruby (crestie), shes a powderpuff kept in a pony cut, so shaved body, and some tidying by hand scissoring on the feet, tail and mane as well as a good bath, condition and blow dry.
jasper: good bath, moisturize and when hes older mabe a little trimming of the head fluff, hes a hairless and requires more skin care than grooming.
the wowies: a good bath, brush and dry with a solid sani-trim and some trimming of the pants, these guys get an anal gland check and expression if needed too.
the cocker: kept in a short cocker cut her gets bath, blowdry, shaved down the back, with a lighter short skirt. Shaved under the arm pits and on the belly/sani-trim.
each dog also gets nails, teeth, ears.
4- If it is scissoring/style, what gets done. Is it scissoring/style or is it just a shave?
See above.

5- What do you get charged? I know this might be a bit personal but it would help me know the average price per state.
depends on the groomer, theres 3 in town. (we use G3 occasionally, but i do most of the grooming myself now...) these groomers are all within 3 miles of each other.
Ruby (full cut/style) g1: $85, g2: $75, g3: $60
Jasper (just a bath and nails ect): g1: $25, g2: $20 g3: $10
the wowies (sani, nails ect) (EACH) g1: $50, g2: $50 g3: $30
Charlie (cocker cut) g1: $80, g2: $75, g3: $65

6- Are you happy with your groomer?
Groomer 3 is a great woman small shop, very one on one, no cages ect, we still use her if i cant get there to get the dogs done ect...
But i usually do it myself.

7- If you are happy with them, can you give me a reason why? Example, is it the location, the type of salon, efficiency?
location was convenient (right in the down town area) and she kept things very personable...not to mention she got VERY excited at the idea of grooming a crestie when i took her in for her first pony cut! lol.

I enjoy doing the dogs myself its just fun for me...but with as many as our family has its just more cost effective for me to do it anyway.

as a side note, FFC CT is known for being a "rich" area, things tend to be highly priced here.COLOR]

Oh my goodness, MP, I'm so sorry that happened so Smudge, poor little guy! I can see an accidental little nick on a rare occasion but that just crazy. Sadly we have a another groomer in town, if you want to call her that, whom I've gotten many of her clients dogs because of that same reason. I don't know how she's still grooming.

Foxy, funny you mention about your groomer being excited to groom Ruby. I was supposed to get a powderpuff today, it would have been my first as they are not very common around here, and I was very excited. But he was just there temporarily and got adopted out yesterday from and lady in Connecticut, of all places. I thought of you when the owner mentioned that to me.lol She had another dog, a mix, who also needed to be groomed so I had a chance to talk about her PP.

Thank you all for these infos, they are all so informative! Keep them coming!

Another thing I thought of.

If you are going to have people working for you, make sure they are honest with the clients always.

I understand a groomer is working on a moving object and accidents happen but I want to hear from the groomer before I leave what happened... I dont want to find it when I get home and have to wonder what happened.

This has happened numerous times to my pets with past groomers and I have left them each time. Not because it happened, but because they didnt have the decency to tell me themselves.

very true! even if the nail was bleeding a lil bit because of a nail clip, i want to KNOW. what gets me mad is not that it happened but that groomers never told me and i had to find it out myself

I agree, PM. That's one thing I worry about with someone working for me. I may place values on certain things and my downfall is always assuming the others feel the same as I do. Open policy is an up-most importance with me, that way I know exactly how they feel and how to approach different circumstance, either it be with the grooming style of the dogs behavior.

I also have an open door, if client wants to stay with their dogs they are more then welcome.

Yes, that can be a problem. But I think most workers would hide it for fear of their job... so as long as they know that as long as it was a true accident, you are behind them, they will be more likely to be honest as well.

Thats great! You have no idea how hard it is to find a groomer that allows this. One place I went to had the grooming tables behind a window and they would face the dogs away from you if they caused a lot of commotion with you their but YOU still knew what was going on... thats fine with me... but I always wonder with the ones who will not let you stay... something to hide?

The downside of having the owner there is that I'll talk the ears off...:rofl1: I work alone so I end up talking to the dogs quite a bit so when I have someone staying with them it's nice to talk to a human too....you can ask Mericox...lol..I've groomed Kiba and Stryder before and loved having her there too.

1- Where do you live, state wise?
Northern Virginia

2- What type of dog/breed do you own?
Schnauzer mix

3- What do you get done? Is it just a bath, or is their scissoring/style done?
In the summer we have him clipped, she probably uses a #7 blade, trims his ears and his tail, and his head a little. In the winter we just get a bath/brush trim.

4- If it is scissoring/style, what gets done. Is it scissoring/style or is it just a shave?
Um, see above question?

5- What do you get charged? I know this might be a bit personal but it would help me know the average price per state.
$50 plus tip. I think its quite reasonable.

6- Are you happy with your groomer?
Quite.

7- If you are happy with them, can you give me a reason why? Example, is it the location, the type of salon, efficiency?
She's close by (only 8 minutes away), and I can usually have Benji groomed and back home again in an hour or 2. Plus she's nice and she does a nice job, and is helping Benji to tolerate grooming better each time.

1- Where do you live, state wise?
Virginia

2- What type of dog/breed do you own?
Pembroke Welsh Corgi

3- What do you get done? Is it just a bath, or is their scissoring/style done?
nail clip/grind and trim fur between paws

5- What do you get charged?
I think it was about $15?? I used to go to groomer place for bathing,when adult age,Palette was charge about 30-40 dollars(bathing,ear cleaning,nail clipping)

6- Are you happy with your groomer?
yes

7- If you are happy with them, can you give me a reason why? Example, is it the location, the type of salon, efficiency?

With nail trim/fur trim on the paw,I do not need to make reservation. That is plus.

> I know some of you groom your own dogs at home. Can you tell me why, is it because of cost, bonding with your dogs or any other reason.

My reasons are
1.cost saving
2.dog do not need to stay in groomer place for 5-6 hours from start to finish,and less stress for dogs
(when I used to go to groomer and drop off at about 2pm,we needed to back there again about 7pm or so)

I do nail trimming myself too but occasionary I visit groomer place and get the nail done with fur trimmed. It is better for my dog to visit people other than us and drive with us and smell/sniff different smell on lawn etc.so,we go there now and then.

1- Where do you live, state wise?
Kansas

2- What type of dog/breed do you own?
Australian Shepherd

3- What do you get done? Is it just a bath, or is their scissoring/style done?
Bath/blow out, some styling

4- If it is scissoring/style, what gets done. Is it scissoring/style or is it just a shave?
I haven't taken him in a long time, but I get his pads scooped, trim around his feet, trim his hock feathers. He should have some scissoring on his ears but I love his little "dredlocks"

5- What do you get charged? I know this might be a bit personal but it would help me know the average price per state.
I honestly can't remember because it's been years and I got an employee discount

6- Are you happy with your groomer?
With one of them, yes. She's been doing this for years and knows how to listen to client wants. The other lady I used didn't really understand what I was asking for but didn't say so and I got Sawyer back with his pants trimmed up, his chest trimmed and she didn't touch his ears. I don't request her anymore. But really, Sawyer is such a wash n' wear dog the only reason I'd go back now is to get a Shed-X done and then I'll keep up on the rest. I do most of his trimming and stuff here at home anyway.



7- If you are happy with them, can you give me a reason why? Example, is it the location, the type of salon, efficiency?
See above.

As to wondering what goes on at groomers, when I had given Virgo to that Indiana family, I had given her a really good bath before hand, did her nails and everything. She was always FANTASTIC for me. They told me they took her to their groomer for her bath and nails a few times. When she came back, she was extremely uneasy to be up on a table, hated having her nails done and it took a few baths before she would relax. I haven't the faintest clue as to what the groomer did to her, but I was NOT happy.

I'll fill this out for Bailey

1- Where do you live, state wise?
New York- Long Island

2- What type of dog/breed do you own?
Rough Collie

3- What do you get done? Is it just a bath, or is their scissoring/style done?
Bath, blow out, style

4- If it is scissoring/style, what gets done. Is it scissoring/style or is it just a shave?
I liked to keep him clipped short but still collie looking(it was easier for me to manage), I also had the fluff on his rear legs by his tail clipped off--that was just messy bc he was ill. During the summer I had him clipped down to about 1/2 inch. He would get WAY too hot if I didn't... but I liked him to have a little bit of hair to cover his skin.

5- What do you get charged? I know this might be a bit personal but it would help me know the average price per state.
I've had prices that range from $60-100. The place I liked the best, and finally ended up using was around $70.

6- Are you happy with your groomer?
When I finally found her, yes I was.


7- If you are happy with them, can you give me a reason why? Example, is it the location, the type of salon, efficiency?

I'll tell you why I liked my particular stylist and why I disliked others.

The one I liked:

She would come out to take the dog from me herself. We discussed what I wanted done, she made suggestions, answered any questions I had, and was very pleasant. She also asked me about my dog, his personality, allergies, medical problems, anything they should be aware of, etc...

For my first appoitment, she asked if I would like to have an early one so that I could take a tour of where they do the bathing, grooming, and keep the dogs. I did, and everything was neat, clean, orderly and new...

She scheduled her dogs so that they were done when they came in, not they sat there for hours till it was their turn. Now I know other people would drop their dog off in the am and pick it up later... but she had no problem with me comming in at noon, her grooming Bailey and then me picking him up at about 1:30-2. I never liked the idea of Bubby sitting in a crate in a strange place with other dogs.

She seems to really love dogs, and was very gentle and caring.(this was my baby so I want to at least feel that I'm leaving him with someone who's going to baby him... not yank him around bc he's their paycheck.

Reasons why I left other groomers:

I left Keeda and Bailey at the groomer close to my house. They had the dog crates in a place where you could see them from the "store" part. Keeda was laying down in her crate when she spotted me and let out a quick bark. The groomer working on the table by her crate screamed "Shut up" and KICKED the crate Keeda was in. I took my dogs and NEVER went back.

Bailey had an early afternoon vet appoitment. I only had 1 day off that week, and while on the phone with the guy I explained all this too him. I actually wanted to make an appoitment for the following week but he assured me Bailey would be done early. I just had to make sure he was dropped off by 9am. I was getting him shaved for the summer. He knew Bailey was a rough collie too. When I got there, they told me I could pick him up at 2pm and wrote it down on the sheet. Reminded the man about the conversation we had had on the phone earlier that week(yes I know it was the same guy... the way he talked was distinctive), that Bailey had a vet appoitment, etc.. I also told him I needed Bailey to be done no later than 1pm. He said he would call me if he was done early. When I went to pick Bailey up at 1, the guy said he told me 3pm. Meanwhile I'm looking at the sheet that say's my dogs name along with MY full name and 2pm. I reminded him of the WHOLE CONVERSATION WE HAD 2X already. He handed me the phone and said, "well do you want to call your vet and reschedule." I didn't get out of there until 2:30 and WITH a wet dog!!!

There was another woman who cancelled and rescheduled my appoitment 3 times. Bailey would get groomed monthly... and I only had 1 day off a week... so when she called the 4TH TIME to reschule I told her I would go elsewhere. Bailey wasn't groomed because of that for TWO AND A HALF MONTHS!

Then there was the general, watching the yanking around of my blind, sick, arthritic dog after his leash was RIPPED from my hands...

As for the actually grooming... the girl I liked wasn't the greatest groomer... but Bailey wasn't a show dog, so I would keep going back to her just because I felt that she actually cared. He got better cuts at most of the other places... I'm not picky about how he's cut though. I just like him to look clean.

1- Where do you live, state wise? IN

2- What type of dog/breed do you own? Labrador

3- What do you get done? Is it just a bath, or is their scissoring/style done? Bath sometimes, nails clipped, ears cleaned, foot fuzz cleaned up, teeth breushed

4- If it is scissoring/style, what gets done. Is it scissoring/style or is it just a shave? N/A

5- What do you get charged? I know this might be a bit personal but it would help me know the average price per state. If we do the bath along with everything else it's like $35 or so...

6- Are you happy with your groomer? So far, yes.

7- If you are happy with them, can you give me a reason why? Example, is it the location, the type of salon, efficiency?I like that they do not insist on me leaving him there the entire day like other places I've called do. He's there for no more than 2 hours. They also had no issue with showing me their facilities, etc.

I would like to add something about bandannas though. I think that it is better to ask the owner *first* whether or not it is OK to put a bandanna on the dog. For dogs that are prone to eating non-edible things, a bandanna can be a serious problem if the dog were to get it off while not being watched. I know that the groomers cannot have an eye on him the whole time he is crated, so I always make it *very* clear that he is to have *no* bandanna.