What to Expect at the Groomers
In general, different groomers offer varying versions of a full groom. The typical services included are bathing and blow-drying, nail trims, ear cleaning, brushing with a slicker brush, and a full-body haircut.
Anal gland expression is also available at the request of the owner. Here’s how a regular session turns out:
Expect the whole experience to be one that’s foreign to your dog. Here, your pet will see new tools, dogs, and people. They will hear sounds that may be frightening for them.
These may stress them a lot, so it is vital to make yourself aware of possible triggers that can make your pet’s grooming experience a disaster.
Being prepared for stressors will also allow you to give your groomer a head’s up on the possibilities of your dog acting up. Just in case, you can teach your groomer calming strategies or techniques that may help ease your dog’s tension.
Furthermore, it would also be helpful to visit grooming salons to see which one you think will best suit your dog’s needs. Not all grooming shops will have the quality and type of services you demand. Scout your area first for the best one and found out which shop dogs and their owners prefer. Once you’re ready, visit the grooming salon days before your grooming schedule booking.
If your dog is particularly nervous, introduce your pet dog to its groomer. Also, allow your dog to become familiarized with the sights and sounds at the dog grooming salon. You can also simulate the sounds and sensations of hair and nail clippers using items you have at home.
With regards to hair drying, you must make sure also to ask your groomer if they use cage drying techniques to dry a dog’s coat quickly.
If you’re not familiar with what this is, it’s precisely what the name denotes – a cage used for drying. If you’re not comfortable with this idea, you can ask for other options, or choose a salon that doesn’t make use of such.
Upon returning for your double coated dog/double coated breed at the groomer’s, be sure to tip the person responsible for your pet’s newly washed and pleasant-smelling coat. Pet grooming service is a challenging and physically taxing job that deserves handsome rewards.
Not only must the groomers show patience and kindness to the different dogs they meet, but they must also handle unpredictable situations that might even put them in harm’s way. Giving your groomer a tip says you understand the demands of their job and that you value the tender love and care they have shown your fur baby.
Related Topic: Dog Owners Must Know: How Often Should You Deworm a Dog
What Factors Influence The Pet Grooming Time?
Pet makeover involves bathing, cutting, trimming, de-infestation of coat, spa, and beauty treatments. Professional pet groomers spend years learning grooming techniques. Their first and foremost priority is to make your pet comfortable in the salon’s environment. Therefore, it may be time-consuming since any hurry burry can injure your pet. Furthermore, if your pet has behavioral issues, a groomer slows down the makeover process to avoid any mishap.
Several factors influence the pet grooming time. Let’s have a look at the common ones.
The grooming timing can be more or less depending on the services you need for your pet. For instance, a simple bath or nail trimming will take 20 to 30 minutes. However, a complete grooming package will take 3 to 4 hours.
Some pets enjoy grooming while others have fears with water and the sound of clippers or scissors. Some hate a blow dryer. If your pet sits calm and allows the groomer to do his job, the grooming process will take less time. However, if it creates havoc at the groomer’s table, it may take more time than you expect. Sometimes accidents and injuries can happen no matter how hard the groomer tries to be careful. It will prolong the grooming process since your pet’s health is the priority of every pet salon.
Often, the groomers that handle one pet at a time have a long queue of visitors. That’s why you may need an extra one to two hours to wait until your turn.
Besides regular grooming services, if you want extra beauty and spa treatments for your pet, such as hair coloring, nail paints, hair styling, relaxing baths with essential oils, it will need more time.
Some pet breeds have long coats while others have short. It also influences the grooming time since a long coat requires extra care while trimming. Certain breeds have a fur type prone to tangles and knots. If you don’t comb them regularly, it will take more time to de-tangle at the groomers’ place. Similarly, the pet size matters a lot since a smaller animal needs less time bathing and trimming.
Some factors that influence how long it takes to groom your dog:
Given all this, don’t forget to tip your groomer if they did a good job. You can see our article on how much to tip your groomer if you are unsure about how much.
How to Cut a Dog’s Hair? BASIC GROOMING Tutorial
Naturally, being that there are tons of different types of dogs, there are also different amounts of time that it would take to groom a dog. For example, a little short haired well behaved Duchshund would take no time next to a full grown playful Rottweiler that won’t stand still and is constantly trying to get away from you. But in short, expect a grooming session to last around 1 1/2 hours.
There are services that can do the job in less time, they’re called express services and can be sorted out ahead of time. There are also minor services that groomers offer such as trimming nails that take less time compared to the full service of a groomer. In cases of quick fixes, dog owners are allowed to stay and watch as their best friends are tended to, but it is preferred that owners stay in the viewing areas as opposed to the grooming kennel or the bathing area. This rule is actually a safety measure for your loved one, so it would be best not to argue and let the professionals do their jobs.
Some dog owners wonder how come a one and a half hour grooming session takes 4 hours before they can come and pick up their pets. This happens in cases where lines are being served and it’s not your dogs turn yet. Groomers are able to groom more than one dog at a time, but it is done in a sequence that while one dog is drying under a dryer, another is being washed, and yet another is having his nails cut. But this doesn’t mean that your dog will be ready sooner, it is just effective time management on behalf of the groomers.
Other cases of longer time consumption occur when a large dog with a thick coat of hair is getting a haircut. That dog needs to be bathed first, even if the hair is about to be cut, just like a human’s haircut treatment at a salon. Think of it this way, if you force a clipper blade through the thick coat of hair of your dog, it would actually take twice as long and worse, the cut will appear unprofessional. The groomer would likely have to repeat the entire process and double the amount of time it would take to groom your dog.
Another road block with time is when groomers are unsuspecting of parasites. These fleas and ticks need to be treated immediately; there is actual urgency in the matter and it is one hundred percent essential to hand pick each and every tick off of their bodies until there are none left. If a dog is returned to their owners with parasites, this would be an awful sign of the groomers service, and could cause further injury to your recently groomed puppy.
Though the process of grooming seems rather mechanical, there are also inevitable time consumers that come into play when you least expect it. Some are in the form of a ringing phone, others in the accidents that pets sometimes have when they need to go to the bathroom but don’t know where it is! Groomers take dogs out on potty breaks, but as they say, accidents still happen.
So there is no clear cut answer as to how long it would take to groom your dog, but we know that when you have them groomed, they are part of a professional work force of capable professionals who are the best at multi tasking and know how to get the job done in the quickest time possible, even if it seems they’re taking forever. It must be known that the first priority of any person involved is the safety, well being, and health of every pet.