Grooming Prices

[cheryl & oliver]

I have been taking Oliver to be groomed like every other month since he was a tiny pup, and he loves to go to the groomer. Today I did not pick him up, my husband did, and he paid them $70.00 for the grooming. Now the last time I took him, it was $65.00 and because it takes a good deal of time to do Ollie now, he weighs 67 lbs. now and is quite tall, I don't think this is really a lot? Am I wrong? But right now with out business the way it is, this might be too much for me....He gets bathed, hair trimmed on face and all around body and under feet, around the rear, and around the underbelly and his ears. He looks so great, I really hate to say anything about the cost, but it keeps going up everytime I take him lately. Do you think it is wrong if I say something to them? I have used this groomer for a lot of years with my other dogs. I am just wondering what you guys pay when you take your dogs for grooming....Thanks, Cheryl

[Nugget's Family]

The last time I took Nugget (she got the same treatment as Oliver....but she weighs 50 lbs) it was $85.00. I bought my own grooming supplies that week and have been doing it myself ever since. Just couldn't justify that $ every 6-8 weeks (I'm a stay at home mom)
I love grooming her and she looks great, if I do say so myself! :-)

Susan

[cheryl & oliver]

thanks Susan, I am totally inept with grooming, lol, but maybe I can try to do some of it, and put that grooming off for a little longer

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

I pay $58 for Lucy and she is 63 lbs. Although it's been a few months since she's been. We go again on Monday. But Sophie is 48 lbs and costs the same! I get them scissor cut as well vs. with the clippers. Did he possibly have some matts this time that took her a little longer? Or possibly it was just a new year, new price. Looks like they would have explained though. I don't see anything wrong with asking. I have to say though that with all the horror stories we have heard on here, if you like her and she does him the way you like I'd be tempted to stick with her as long as you can afford to!

[cheryl & oliver]

Thanks for the response, I am going to talk to them I think the next time I bring him in...

[cheryl & oliver]

bery true, and I love the way he looks when she does him, so maybe I will talk to them, and see what the new charge was for. He was not matted at all...maybe New Year new price...Thanks for responding

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's always going to be more expensive in a metropolitan area & suburbs than in a rural area or small town. And Jane is correct that it's based on size and breed (type of coat) too.
Your groomer may have raised their prices the first of the year...a lot of salons do that. If a dog is matted, they may add an extra fee, too.
In my area (suburbs of Chicago) a basic grooming for a standard doodle runs $75- $100 ...and Petsmart is one of the highest. But for Jack I only pay retriever prices, since he sheds and doesn't ever get trimmed. It's $36 for a bath, ears, anals, nails, & blow dry...including the bandanna. No cutting, shaving, or trimming of anything except nails and a "sanitary".
One of the few positive aspects of having a doodle who sheds!

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Cheryl, It seems that prices are varied according to area of the country. There was a discussion on here or in the Grooming Group, not sure which, that discussed that. As for doing it yourself, you are already ahead of the game with Oliver liking being groomed.
That was my biggest obstacle with learning myself, getting Murphy to sit still for any length of time. He's a year old and just recently will tolerate a whole cut at one time. Used to take me 2-3 sessions over a few days. So if you don;t have the time to invest in learning it yourself or teaching Oliver to stay still,(which he probably already does well), then the $70.00 is a deal. I would still ask them about there pricing structure so there are no more surprises.

This first picture is of Murphy after a short haircut this summer.
However, the money that I have spent on a clipper,($100) attachments ($20)and some scissors,($30) has saved me hundreds(($400-500) this past year as I do some maintence trimming at least once a month, and he always looks exactly like I want him to. He's never a tad too short after having just been groomed or a tad too long waiting between grooming appointments. Like Goldilocks, HE'S JUST RIGHT!!!

This is Murphy's trim in Nov. Don't have a Dec trim picture yet.

Hope that helps.

[Pat & "Tucker"]

Sue - Murphy looks greeaaatttt- what ## blades do you use. I 'd love to try trimming Tucker more myself , I do my lille Yorkie but I'm afraid I'll mess Tucker up. Do you have a grooming table? You should do a video for us so we can all learn to do such a nice job.

My groomer charges $68- 78 depeniding on the work time.

[Joe R.]

Our groomer base charge is $50.00. If they have some matting she'll add a dematting charge for the time involved. Usually not more than $10. I don't mind it though because the first 4 groomers I took Gus to wouldn't take the time to work on mats and would just shave him. We also take Gus and Lilly every 6-8 weeks.

[Leslie and Halas]

We're in a smaller town, and I pay various prices for Halas (mini F1). If he gets a full groom, with a haircut and everything, which I've only done 2 or 3 times so far, it's $55 or maybe $50. If it's face, feet, and fanny, which is a bath, brushing, and trimming up some areas, it's $40. If I just take him in for a good brush out, it's only $20. I don't think it would hurt to ask about the price. They may have just raised prices, or they may charge various fees for certain things, and maybe they did something extra this time that they didn't do last time. If that's the case, you can find out what it is, just to decide if you want it every time or not. It's also possible that they don't have a good feel for what to charge for a doodle, so they just sort of guessed, and they guessed different each time. I think the 2nd or 3rd time I took Halas in, they asked what they charged me the last time, because they couldn't remember off the top of their heads. I think they just didn't really know what category to put him in or how to price him. Halas also acts as the groomer's bodyguard, so I think I should get a discount for that. He grumbles at anyone that gets too close to the groomer while he's being groomed, including cars parking right outside the building that he can see through the window. If Halas is in his kennel, and another dog gives the groomer trouble - pulling paws away, making noise, basically anything besides sitting nicely to be groomed - Halas uses his big dog bark to tell that other dog to behave! Maybe I'll start a discussion on that to see if any other doodles act that way about their groomer. He's very possessive of her.

[cheryl & oliver]

well u certainly do deserve a discount, Halas is working while he is there, lol....Ollie loves to be groomed, and they get such a kick out of him, he just lays there, and rolls over and enjoys all the attention...when he sits she tells him paw and he gives her his paw to be brushed and nails clipped, too funny, they call him the male diva of the shop, lol...they have about 12-14 doodles that they do there, I saw one of them today, and he was a huge goldendoodle named Sam..He must have weighed well over 100 lbs, but he was gorgeous...And he was so sweet...There are 6 groomers where we go, and two of them do all the doodles that come in...They seem to know what they are doing when it comes to grooming doodles, of course I like the way they look, but maybe it is just my opinion...The shop is called Shaggy Dog...

[Tante & Jordan & now Annie!]

I was once quoted a price of $125 for a Labradoodle.I felt that was crazy so I called from work to see how much a poodle would be....$70! Needless to say Jordan was not going there.
I now groom Jordan myself,I am so happy I do. She is good and lets me do everything.