What really lies behind the price of your dog's grooming?

🐾 What do you get for your money?

1. The first stage – getting to know your dog

On the first visit we open a client card.

I write down important information that may affect the care of your dog – food allergies, health condition or age, for example.

On every later visit I always ask whether anything about its health has changed since the last one.

A consultation is also part of the visit. Together we talk through how to groom your dog, what will suit it and, above all, what may be best avoided given its coat, age or health.

2. The hygiene stage – because it is not just about looks

I bathe your dog and choose the products according to its coat type and the coat's current condition.

Then comes thorough drying and combing out.

Hygiene care also includes:

• trimming the nails,
• removing overgrown hair between the paw pads,
• tidying the coat around the genitals, the anus and the eyes,
• removing dirt and excess hair from the ears,
• tidying the coat in the groin and the armpits.

If during the groom I find an attached tick or, for example, an embedded grass awn, I remove it.

3. The styling stage – the groom itself

Only now does the grooming of the coat itself begin.

I groom your dog to the look you want – to its breed standard, to its coat type or to your wishes.

Depending on the dog and the result you want, I use clippers, scissors, stripping tools and other professional equipment.

Every dog is a little different. That is why a groom is never a “carbon copy”, and each one needs an individual approach.

4. The final stage

As soon as your dog is finished, I call you.

At my place it has its own little apartment ready 😊

Clean water, a cushion and a toy. If it will take a treat, it can have a small reward too.

When I hand your dog back, I also tell you about any changes or findings I noticed during the groom.

These might be, for example:

• a lump or a wart,
• a scratch or another small change to the skin,
• an attached tick,
• a reddened ear canal,
• a torn or damaged nail,
• or other changes that may not be visible at all under an ungroomed coat.

You will of course know about most of them. But some can be practically impossible to spot under a thick or long coat.

And then you are off home. ❤️

And what do I get for the price?

You may have wondered at some point how much of the price of a groom actually stays with the person who grooms your dog.

Because the price of the service is not the same as my pay.

I am self-employed, so out of my income I pay for things such as:

🏠 The premises

• the salon's rent,
• insurance for the premises,
• energy and water,
• and in the warm months, running the air conditioning for the whole salon.

🧴 Products and consumables

I regularly buy everything the care requires – shampoos, masks, conditioners, detangling sprays, powders and other grooming products and working supplies.

✂️ Professional equipment

The salon's equipment needs looking after and regular servicing.

That applies, for example, to:

• clippers,
• scissors,
• dental tools,
• the hydraulic bath,
• the grooming tables
• and other equipment.

🧹 Hygiene and cleanliness

I buy cleaning and disinfecting products and make sure the salon is cleaned regularly.

Looking after the premises also includes preventive pest control.

🦴 Little treats for the dogs

Even the treats are not a given.

They are bought with the dogs who visit the salon in mind, which is why on the first visit I also ask about any food allergies.

🌸 And the surroundings, too

The salon is not just a workroom.

I want both the dogs and their owners to feel at ease in it. That is why I also look after its furnishings, decorations and overall atmosphere.