toofarnorth Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Cavnrott...I understand about not wanting your dogs to be there for ages. The groomer I take my boy to always wants to keep him for at least four hours, and thats only for a wash and blow dry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fleuri Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 I used to pay $62 for a Mini Schnuazer clip 9 years ago This also included pick up and delivery. I bought Oster clippers and did a one day course to learn to groom and clip him myself. Though he looks far from having professional clip. It looks good enough to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackiemad Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 i'm happy to pay $65 for my mini schnauzer to be clipped to exactly how i like him. there are other places in my area that charge $60 but they decide what they want to do with his tail and they scissor off his moustache in a choppy way. i love my groomers, especially as my dog has a real fear of water. whilst i don't think he enjoys the groomers i trust these people and they actually know what they're doing, they take pride in their work and always tell me how he was and how his coat and ears are looking to them when i pick him up. so i reckon $50 for a clip, scissor, wash, blow-dry, ear pluck, nail clip and general skills that you provide i an absolute bargain! i tried doing my boy myself once, got hair everywhere and it was hell. i hated it with a passion. i love brushing him, i don't mind bathing him but clipping and scissoring was not fun so i'd prefer to pay someone to do it. it is a hard job and i don't envy you guys AT ALL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fleuri Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 i'm happy to pay $65 for my mini schnauzer to be clipped to exactly how i like him. there are other places in my area that charge $60 but they decide what they want to do with his tail and they scissor off his moustache in a choppy way.i love my groomers, especially as my dog has a real fear of water. whilst i don't think he enjoys the groomers i trust these people and they actually know what they're doing, they take pride in their work and always tell me how he was and how his coat and ears are looking to them when i pick him up. so i reckon $50 for a clip, scissor, wash, blow-dry, ear pluck, nail clip and general skills that you provide i an absolute bargain! i tried doing my boy myself once, got hair everywhere and it was hell. i hated it with a passion. i love brushing him, i don't mind bathing him but clipping and scissoring was not fun so i'd prefer to pay someone to do it. it is a hard job and i don't envy you guys AT ALL! I have to agree the professional groomer that use to groom/clip my boy did such a wonderful job, he always looked ready for a show but both me and my boy enjoy the grooming time together. So me grooming him is here to stay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parkeyre Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 My Australian Shepherds are washed, dried, groomed, tidied around ears, feet, pants and have their teeth cleaned for $60 each. I drop them off and pay there. They bring them back to me all clean and happy. In saying that; i live fairly rural, 400kms from the state's capital city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danielle Posted February 4, 2011 Author Share Posted February 4, 2011 To be honest I sometimes wonder why I even do this for a living and then I get clients like one I had today, brand new client, Pomeranian who's never been groomed, dog initially quite scared, dog warmed up and loved the grooming process, then client picked up puppy and was over the moon! She said her dog has never looked so good. Made my day! These are the clients that you live for, people who compliment your work and are so overjoyed to see how pretty their dog looks. It makes you feel like all the blood, sweat and tears are all worth it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rysup Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Today was on of those days when you wonder WHY you do it!! Every single dog came in a matted mess. Where I work the full works is $75 for a small dog. We never shave off unless they are that bad you have no choice, or they request it. Plenty of people will complain that its too expensive, but for the finish they get, I think its worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fleuri Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 To be honest I sometimes wonder why I even do this for a living and then I get clients like one I had today, brand new client, Pomeranian who's never been groomed, dog initially quite scared, dog warmed up and loved the grooming process, then client picked up puppy and was over the moon! She said her dog has never looked so good. Made my day!These are the clients that you live for, people who compliment your work and are so overjoyed to see how pretty their dog looks. It makes you feel like all the blood, sweat and tears are all worth it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 When you say shave off, what do you guys mean exactly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlc Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 (edited) When I say shave off I mean 10 blade. Not long ago one of Coopers brothers went to the groomers and when I seen him initially I didn't recognize him, not an ounce of fur anywhere. Edited February 4, 2011 by tlc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
becks Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Shave off is just what it sounds like, taken right off, usually with a 10 or 7F - all the hair is clipped off the same length without any extra styling except for trimming under the feet/plucking ears Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frufru Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Very unattractive LOL We get a lot of them here due to paralysis ticks - in fact locally people ask for a tick clip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisovar Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Very unattractive LOL We get a lot of them here due to paralysis ticks - in fact locally people ask for a tick clip. Common request here too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirty Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Its all well and good to say 'some groomers shave everything', 'only do puppy clips', etc but 99% of the clients we had wanted that. I once groomed the cutest little Poodle and did his feet and face properly and left a *small* topknot - well the clients complained and I had to cut it off! LOL! Our clients wanted a short clip all over so they didn't have to brush it or wash it until we saw it next time. What can you do? Oh and we used to charge $66 for a small-med dog clip, bath, dry, nails, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danielle Posted February 4, 2011 Author Share Posted February 4, 2011 That's fair enough if the client wants it kirty. But I was more talking about groomers who only know how to shave off or are too lazy to do otherwise. A lot of salons specialize in shave offs as they are quicker and therefore you can get more dogs in and out the door. Reminds me of a conveyor belt to be honest. I'd rather groom 5 dogs a day and be proud if the work I'm putting out than shave off ten dogs and feel crap about my work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halfthewords Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 When I first got Carl I searched high and low for a groomer willing to clip him (fear aggressive, big chunky boy) and finally found a lovely woman with one of the trailers. She came to me which I needed because there was no safe way for Carl to be in a salon without taking a hand off! She was excellent--required no muzzle (very gentle), washed, clipped, dried, cut his nails and did exactly as I asked (fluffy head/tail but short hair). I paid $70 for it. I live in a fairly wealthy area of Sydney so for her spending travel time on me, I was happy with that price! 50 is very reasonable. I would pay more than that if I ever had my dogs groomed professionally again. However Carl and Jag both need clipping way too frequently (like at least once every 5-6 weeks) so I taught myself. They look neat, and I do "shave" them off to a 10, the reason being a) we live in a high tick area and we have already had one incidence of paralysis with Carl, b) they both feel the heat, and c) it takes longer for the hair to grow back. I'm waiting to be flamed for shaving my Bichon Frise as much as I do. I do agree that 10 all over is unsightly--I leave fluffy heads, ears and tails, and I clip a lot of my friends' dogs as well as some rescue dogs. Someone must be happy with my 'work' at least... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danielle Posted February 5, 2011 Author Share Posted February 5, 2011 Htw - I don't think you will get flamed for shaving your own dog. If you are shaving him for a reason such as ticks then of course it's a reasonable thing to do. I'm talking about groomers who do it for a living. A lot of clients don't know that they can get a better job done so they keep being disappointed. Mobile dogwash groomers also concern me. Anyone can buy into a franchise and call themselves a groomer. Sadly a lot of dogs get injured this way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirty Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 (edited) We had a mobile trailer and no dogs were ever injured. Our clients were always very happy. My MIL had to do a grooming course when she bought the franchise. There are cowboys in any industry and in fact, several of our clients came to us after having bad experiences elsewhere (including SEVERE clipper rash, clipped too short, cuts on the dog, etc). You can be as trained as you like and still be crap. Edited February 5, 2011 by Kirty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bingo Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 (edited) I do my own 2 poodles that is, complete crew cuts no comb or anything really back breaking, if I were a groomer I'd have to charge a fortune just to keep my chiropractor happy. But generally from my experience if you've let them get out of hand they can charge like up to $70 each. Edited February 8, 2011 by bingo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danielle Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 Well I just had to charge $60 yesterday for a shih tzu X who came to me matted to the skin! This dogs coat had to be clipped off, there was nothing else I could do. I tried brushing him out with a les pooches slicker and also tried using my matt splitters but poor puppy started to yelp so I gave up. It took hours to do this dog, then I had to contend with the thousands of fleas on him. Literally, his skin was crawling with them! When I washed him the water ran red due to the blood from the fleas, I wouldn't be surprised if he is anemic. I wrote up a report for his owner explaining exactly why he had to be clipped off and also berated her for his condition. If he comes to me in that state again I'll refer her to someone else, I was in bloody tears yesterday while I had this dog, he was in agony. His legs were matted to his body so he couldn't even walk properly. When I got his coat off and bathed him he was such a happy little chap, he wouldn't stop licking me, it was like he was grateful to me. Poor little mite. I hate jobs like this, its very heartbreaking and emotional work sometimes. Oh well, at least he is comfortable now...until next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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