How long to groom?

[Toni-UK]

OH took Ruby to the groomers today at 10.30am.He asked what time should he come back for her and the groomer said to give her a ring around 1.30pm to see if Ruby is finished.  
She only used to take 2 hours to groom and i don't know if it's because she is taking on more and more clients or what   but i feel 3 hours is too long.

OH was peed off as he is self employed and to lose a mornings work on top £40 grooming charge plus £10 diesel round trip isn't good for us.

I wondered how long other peoples groomers take? or if any groomers have any thoughts  

Ruby is bathed,dried and clipped off but leaving feathering and ears.

Edited to add -i must say,after snoo mentioned about her groomer "brushing out" Ruby is thoroughly brushed out and tangle free when she is dropped off so that shouldn't add any time.

[Jane57]

First couple of times Riley took about 1hr 45 mins , However the groomer is getting busier and busier and last time she said she would ring and he was about 2 hours and 10 mins.
He has the same , bath, trim and blow dry. Costs £28

[Snoo]

Clover's mobile groomer took three hours this first time but that was mainly because I was watching and we kept talking and discussing bits of Clover's coat! She said it normally takes a couple of hours max to brush out, shampoo, rinse, dry, and do the trim up/clippering. The groomer only has one dog there at a time to concentrate on. Another groomer I know of, based at a veterinary surgery, has several dogs in at once and keeps them all there in separate cages all morning until the last one is finished. That's why I have the mobile groomer as I don't like the thought of my dog hanging around in a cage! I paid £35. 

[Mrs Pepper]

Up until recently I used to take Pepper to a groomers round the corner from me. She was very good but took about 3 hours the first couple of times and then 4 hours on the last time.

I felt this was far too long (and expensive at £40) so last time I had it done at the in-house dog groomer where he goes for his doggy day care and they took about 1 1/2 - 2 hours. OK - the finish and detail wasn't quite as good but most people wouldn't notice...

[Ninasmum]

It does sound rather long Toni    Do you know what type of dryer the groomer is using?  just wondering if thats why it takes 3 hrs 
If i shampoo, dry, cut/clip mine then it does take about that long but thats because i only have a hand held hairdryer    (blaster on my wish list).  The hand held dryer does add at least another 30 mins to the session.  I tend to bathe them the day before i groom them now (the backache kicks in faster nowadays  ).  Although i do tend to be quite slow, unless i'm really pushed for time. 

Years ago when i used to take them to a groomer she would normally take about 2 hrs, although i say that loosely because 9 times out of 10 they were never ready when i arrived to collect them.    I never used to think about it at the time but she had one of those awful 'microwave' looking dryer's    & she did tend to have at least one other dog waiting.  I remember her saying she worked on a sort of 'conveyor belt' system  with one dog in the dryer whilst clipping etc the other dog.  You can understand why i do my own grooming now. 
Another thought is if the groomer is a 'one man band' they also have to take phone call's etc which can hold them up    I know that doesn't help you or any other customers when you have to get to work & it is annoying. 

[Neon]

Most of the groomers round my way offer a collection and delivery service.  I've used two over the years and one takes about 3 hours (she usually has another dog there as well) and the other 3-4 hours and doesn't always have any other dogs at the same time.

Both of them have separate rooms at home that they use, so no big salon with lots of dogs in.

I pay £27 or £30, depending on which one I use and this includes collection/delivery.

Toby isn't clipped much as I use a Coat King, they only need to tidy up his ears, feet, face, neck and legs and bath him.  He rarely has many knots when he goes, but they do remove the ones he does have and he gets a nail trim if he needs it.

[elaine.e]

3 hours sounds like a very long time . Does your groomer have more than 1 dog there at a time?

Louis goes to a Cocker breeder and groomer about every 3 to 4 months, William every 4 months, and in between I do them myself. Louis is a mix of hand stripping, some scissoring and a little clipping. William is mainly clipped. The groomer baths them as well as grooming them and takes about one and a half hours to do Louis, sometimes two hours to do William because he takes a long time to dry even though he has less coat than Louis. I pay £25 for Louis and £20 for William.

She only ever has one dog there at a time and when making appointments books the correct amount of time for each dog. I think that helps because it means she doesn't usually have overlaps of one dog being unfinished when the next one arrives.

[Toni-UK]

I don't know what kind of dryer she uses Wendy but what i do know is that she also uses a "conveyor belt" system with a few dogs on the go as it were.
She has just moved to larger premises and i'm wondering if she is just taking on too much  

Ruby shakes and trembles when she realises where she's going and it's not that i think they are unkind to her she is just the type of dog that doesn't like having *stuff* done to her and i think it would be unsettling to find someone new again  

The groomer also has a trainee,and i *think* a young person who does some of the bathing.

Mel-I have seen mobile groomers around that will park their huge grooming van right outside your house but i don't know anyone that has used them.

She only ever has one dog there at a time and when making appointments books the correct amount of time for each dog. I think that helps because it means she doesn't usually have overlaps of one dog being unfinished when the next one arrives.

This is what i think the problem is,she is covering herself for time as she has several dogs in with her.
When OH gets in tonight i will ask him how many dogs were there when he collected Ruby.

[Neon]

Mel-I have seen mobile groomers around that will park their huge grooming van right outside your house but i don't know anyone that has used them.

Toni, I don't personally know anyone who uses them either but I'm sure Snoo has posted that she has used one with Clover (sorry Snoo if I'm wrong).

[LinziS]

Mel-I have seen mobile groomers around that will park their huge grooming van right outside your house but i don't know anyone that has used them.

Toni, I don't personally know anyone who uses them either but I'm sure Snoo has posted that she has used one with Clover (sorry Snoo if I'm wrong).

I use a mobile groomer for my 2...and yes she does come and park her huge van on my driveway . She just gives us her elecrtric cable which we plug into the house. Both girls get a hydrobath with aromatherapy treatments...cut and dried...nails trimmed if required and I pay £25 each. Usually takes about 1 1/2 to 2 hours

[Toni-UK]

Mel-I have seen mobile groomers around that will park their huge grooming van right outside your house but i don't know anyone that has used them.

Toni, I don't personally know anyone who uses them either but I'm sure Snoo has posted that she has used one with Clover (sorry Snoo if I'm wrong).

oops sorry Mel,been to greedy with the Rose....hic              

[Snoo]

Mel-I have seen mobile groomers around that will park their huge grooming van right outside your house but i don't know anyone that has used them.

Toni, I don't personally know anyone who uses them either but I'm sure Snoo has posted that she has used one with Clover (sorry Snoo if I'm wrong).

No you are not wrong, Mel!  I did indeed post above that I use a mobile groomer - and I hasten to add that out of three different groomers I have tried now, she is definitely the best, though not the cheapest! Clover shook and quivered whilst being done, too, but I know, as I was there, that it was not through the groomer being rough or unkind - I'm glad I was able to stay with her as otherwise I might have thought the groomer had upset her if I saw her shaking!  The van is quite big, and it parked across our driveway, and the postie couldn't get into our front garden to deliver our mail so he got snotty with the groomer - rather than ask her politely if she would mind just edging the van forward a tad to let him get in! Stupid man,  he was not our regular postie I am glad to say!

[Jonnydog]

It usually takes Penny's groomer a couple of hours. I couldn't get an appointment with her recently so took Penny to PAH GroomRoom. They took two and a half hours and it cost £38 which I thought was a bit steep as I usually pay £25. Penny gets a bath and a tidy up of ears, feet and feathers, plus nails clipped and anal glands done.

[karendorman13]

Kol is usually 2-3 hours in the groomer but as he is so young they just do him little by little and he gets a cuddle in between and has a little nap but my groomer has 3-4 girls working and she is always busy and she charges £20 for a bath and tidy up and £26 for a full groom the groom room in our local PAH charges £49 which is just ridiculously expensive

[Toni-UK]

I have just found out the groomer had 3 other dogs in the room as well as Ruby.