# Groomer appointment lengths



## sophieanne (Feb 4, 2014)

Hi..I totally agree with you. I don't want my dog sitting in a cage all day..he doesn't do it at home so I'm not going to let him do it for a grooming appt. I like you found someone who sets an appt time then says to pick him up in about 2 hours. If for some reason they are running behind they will call..but that's rare.


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## Maggie'sVoice (Apr 4, 2018)

GoldenTucker said:


> I was curious if the majority of people here that use groomers have no problem dropping their dogs off in the AM and picking up in the afternoon? aka your dog may spend all day in a cage for no reason, ugh.
> 
> I personally hate this seemingly common situation with groomers and have found a place near us that does appointment based so I drop him off and pick him up 1-2 hours later but I only do baths and the occasional feet trimming. Bear has quite a different coat (different lines than my other Golden, Tucker) and really needs his ears trimmed and eventually other feathering which I'm hesitant to do with this place. The few times Ive had them trim up Tuckers feathering they go overboard and its choppy. They're super sweet but not Golden experts.
> 
> Our breeder recommend a seemingly great groomer near us who has impressive AKC showing history etc but he operates out of a vet / boarding place and they ONLY do drop off at around 8am and pick up sometime around 3/4pm and said they “will walk the dogs during their time there” (which is also the opposite thing I want, a stranger taking my dog out and out with other dogs I don't know). Am I crazy? Is this the norm? Do other people have no issues with this?





Totally agree. This is why I started grooming my own dog. It's probably why a lot of people learn to groom their own dogs actually. I learned to do ears, feet, tail (easy) and legs and chest. I really don't do much with the pants and flags (just a trim with thinning shears to keep them neat) or the chest much other then use a stripper knife enough to make it lay nice and flat. I've heard to many crazy stories about dogs left at groomers. So I don't do groomers either, at all anymore in fact.


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## Goldens&Friesians (May 31, 2014)

I am a professional groomer. It is not at all uncommon to have dogs dropped off in the morning and picked up in the afternoon. The reason this happens is for practicality. Many groomers do not receive an hourly wage, but are paid on commission-the more dogs we do, the more money we make. For myself, I tend to work slowly and methodically and when I used to work at the vet clinic I also tended to be assigned the scared dogs because I took the time to go slow and be patient-so I generally only groomed 3-5 dogs a day. You absolutely do not make enough money to make a living grooming so few dogs a day, but I feel that is all I could do and still do a good job (plus my husband is blessed with a good job so I do not absolutely NEED the income-some groomers DO really need the income because it is their only source of income). Unfortunately, that is the reason why some groomers do a horrible job because they are only concerned about money and take no pride in their work, or else they just need the income so badly they can't take the time to do well even if they want to. Anyway, having all the grooming dogs dropped off in the morning allows for a more efficient bathing and drying process-we can get all the baths and blow dries done in the morning, and then start on the haircuts/brushouts. Generally, I would start my pick up times at 1 in the afternoon, and then go hourly after that; I would also call the owner as soon as the dog was done so that if they wanted to come pick up earlier they could. We would leash walk the dogs outside, individually (so not multiple dogs out at once) at least once during their stay. And just for your knowledge, it takes me an average of 3 hours from start to finish (including bath and completely hand drying) to groom an average golden-thicker coat takes longer, unruly dog takes longer, scared or aggressive takes longer. I am slower than the average groomer though, but it still gives you an idea of how long the dog is actually being worked on (lots of people are surprised by how long it can take). Yes they stay in crates (small dogs) or runs (large dogs) for their own safety-we can't let a bunch of strange dogs run around with each other because a fight could break out. Also, for older dogs or dogs with issues walking or standing for long periods of time-I think they appreciate some down time to lay in a crate or run after their bath/blow dry and rest before they have to stand on a table to be groomed. 
Anyway, just an insider's thoughts.  If you are really concerned about the time, talk to the groomer and ask if she can give you a call as soon as the dog is done-don't pressure her to rush, but just say you would love to come get your dog out of their hair as soon as she's done. (And trust me, we groomers all have a few dogs that we actually want to get out of there ASAP-like a certain yappy little Yorkie I'm thinking of right now! lol! or that Cocker who poops and pees on himself every 5 seconds no matter how often you take him out!) 
I now work out of my house around my full time mom schedule so things are totally different for me now with regards to how I groom-I'm generally only doing one dog in a day and I could go weeks in between bookings; so now my clients just get called when their dog is done and they come pick up when they can-the dog stays in my house loose if they are well-behaved.


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## GoldenTucker (Jun 27, 2012)

Goldens&Friesians said:


> I am a professional groomer. It is not at all uncommon to have dogs dropped off in the morning and picked up in the afternoon. The reason this happens is for practicality. Many groomers do not receive an hourly wage, but are paid on commission-the more dogs we do, the more money we make. For myself, I tend to work slowly and methodically and when I used to work at the vet clinic I also tended to be assigned the scared dogs because I took the time to go slow and be patient-so I generally only groomed 3-5 dogs a day. You absolutely do not make enough money to make a living grooming so few dogs a day, but I feel that is all I could do and still do a good job (plus my husband is blessed with a good job so I do not absolutely NEED the income-some groomers DO really need the income because it is their only source of income). Unfortunately, that is the reason why some groomers do a horrible job because they are only concerned about money and take no pride in their work, or else they just need the income so badly they can't take the time to do well even if they want to. Anyway, having all the grooming dogs dropped off in the morning allows for a more efficient bathing and drying process-we can get all the baths and blow dries done in the morning, and then start on the haircuts/brushouts. Generally, I would start my pick up times at 1 in the afternoon, and then go hourly after that; I would also call the owner as soon as the dog was done so that if they wanted to come pick up earlier they could. We would leash walk the dogs outside, individually (so not multiple dogs out at once) at least once during their stay. And just for your knowledge, it takes me an average of 3 hours from start to finish (including bath and completely hand drying) to groom an average golden-thicker coat takes longer, unruly dog takes longer, scared or aggressive takes longer. I am slower than the average groomer though, but it still gives you an idea of how long the dog is actually being worked on (lots of people are surprised by how long it can take). Yes they stay in crates (small dogs) or runs (large dogs) for their own safety-we can't let a bunch of strange dogs run around with each other because a fight could break out. Also, for older dogs or dogs with issues walking or standing for long periods of time-I think they appreciate some down time to lay in a crate or run after their bath/blow dry and rest before they have to stand on a table to be groomed.
> Anyway, just an insider's thoughts.  If you are really concerned about the time, talk to the groomer and ask if she can give you a call as soon as the dog is done-don't pressure her to rush, but just say you would love to come get your dog out of their hair as soon as she's done. (And trust me, we groomers all have a few dogs that we actually want to get out of there ASAP-like a certain yappy little Yorkie I'm thinking of right now! lol! or that Cocker who poops and pees on himself every 5 seconds no matter how often you take him out!)
> I now work out of my house around my full time mom schedule so things are totally different for me now with regards to how I groom-I'm generally only doing one dog in a day and I could go weeks in between bookings; so now my clients just get called when their dog is done and they come pick up when they can-the dog stays in my house loose if they are well-behaved.


Thanks for all that inside info! 

I totally understand how it benefits the groomers to have them all there first thing in the morning and then decide what dogs they want to do first and so on. This is how we had my childhood dogs groomed and etc. But I would gladly pay more money to have my dogs in and out in 1-3 hours than in a cage for 8 hours  I guess i'll have to weigh the pros and cons and see how Bear's coat develops with age. Thanks again!


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## GoldenTucker (Jun 27, 2012)

Maggie'sVoice said:


> Totally agree. This is why I started grooming my own dog. It's probably why a lot of people learn to groom their own dogs actually. I learned to do ears, feet, tail (easy) and legs and chest. I really don't do much with the pants and flags (just a trim with thinning shears to keep them neat) or the chest much other then use a stripper knife enough to make it lay nice and flat. I've heard to many crazy stories about dogs left at groomers. So I don't do groomers either, at all anymore in fact.


You're right and I knew someone would be about doing it myself haha. i haven't had the courage to try again myself since Tucker was about a year old but that was over 7 years ago now. I didn't do a terrific job lol. My right shoulder is pretty messed up from years of working with reactive large breed dogs walking and training and it absolutely kills me to have to do baths these days, not even figuring in a blow dry which is like 98% the reason i use a groomer now. they need the blow dry so much (for tucker's recurring hot spots and basic shedding / coat purposes). Maybe ill suck it up and invest in some grooming tools at home and look into blow dryers and see how my shoulder takes it one dog at a time now that i have two. Thank you!


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