The Reality of Pet Grooming: Understanding the Demands of Grooming Small Pets

Two cavoodles huddled together after their full groom with Lush Pet Care

Many pet owners think that grooming a cat or a dog is a quick and simple process (within one hour?)

A lot of pet owners think that grooming small pets should be quick and simple, as long as the pet is cooperative. But unfortunately, that is often not the case.

In truth, pet grooming is a very time consuming, physical as well as stressful job that requires much skill and years of experience to do a proper job.

In order for Pet Groomers to groom pets safely, and as efficiently as they possibly can, a groomer must plan their work days.

This requires careful scheduling of appointments for the day.

This also includes cat grooming for some pet groomers.

There are so many different types of dog and cat breeds, and types of coats, groomers must limit the number of pets that comes in each day.

How long each groom takes depends on many things.

~The breed of the pet

~The condition of the coat.

~ What the pet owners require or expect to get done

~The temperament of the pet

~Quirks of the pet (especially with its nails or with water in the bath)

A number of factors can cause a Pet Groomer to run behind schedule and take longer to groom your pet.

~ Clients arriving late for their appointments 

~ Excessive Phone calls by clients asking about their pets

~ Couriers at the front door

~ A severely matted pet

~ An aggressive or fearful pet

~ Having to stop and clean up messes (pets that are not toilet trained)

If you are wondering why pet groomers do not answer their phones when you try to ring them, it is basically because they are in the middle of washing your pet, clipping their nails or style cutting their faces!

So sending them a text message would always be the better choice.

Most Pet Groomers don't want to keep your pet away from their owners any longer than they need to. The average Pet Groomer can groom up to 5 pets in a day depending on their skill and experience.

Pet Groomers work with sharp grooming tools, on a live animal so gentle, careful grooming takes time and a lot of patience. Not all pets will stand still on the grooming table for long periods of time. So a skilled and experienced groomer should be able to tell when to give the pet a break.

Most of the time, pets would rather get off the table to have playtime!

If your Pet Groomer gives you a time that they expect to finish your pet, they are hoping for a day that is smooth running. However, smooth running is not always the case!

That is why many Pet Groomers ask that you wait for their text message to let you know when to pick up your pet.

Please do not just walk in the front gate before READY time.

As a matter of fact, it would make it almost impossible for the pet groomer to finish your pet as soon as it sees you. The excitement would be too great for the pet who will just want to climb all over their owners thinking that its time to go home. The pet groomer will have no chance of finishing your pet then.

So please be understanding when your Groomer tells you that they are running behind schedule.

Champagne Ragdoll after his deshedding process with Lush Pet Care

There are several different ways that groomers may schedule their days.

Some Groomers may schedule all of their pets to come in at one time in the morning so that they can work through the day without having to stop occasionally to take in another pet.

Groomers who schedule this way tend to keep the pets for most of the day.

Usually the first pets will be ready to go home between 2 or 4pm.

This type of scheduling works well for pet owners that have to leave their pet at the groomers all day while they are at work.

Some groomers schedule their clients sporadically throughout the day.

This way the pets do not need to stay all day.

Pet owners that don't like their dogs to be gone very long should choose a groomer that schedules this way.

If you are a pet owner that wants your pet groomed as fast as possible, you would want to find a groomer that grooms only one dog at a time, or a Mobile groomer that will groom your pet right outside of your house.

Expect to pay higher grooming fees for Pet Groomers that groom only one dog at a time, and come to you in a Mobile Grooming Van.

Because they are only grooming one dog at a time, they are not able to groom very many dogs in a day.

This causes their grooming prices to be higher in order to cover their overhead.

There is also the convenience of coming to you, the cost of fuel and other vehicle road and transport costs.

It takes a special type of person to become a Pet Groomer or a Pet Daycare person.

They have a strong love and care for animals.

They would like to be there for your pets when you cannot be available.

They are there to help your pets look and feel good.

However, they are also only Human.

They can have good days and also bad days, where everything seems to go wrong.

So be patient with your Groomer. They can make it look easy, but what looks easy is most often not.

Cavoodle puppy after his second puppy groom with Lush Pet Care

Groomers also require pet owners to be completely transparent with them at first meeting and assessment of your pet.

This will allow them to be aware of any quirks to look out for whilst grooming is being carried out.

1. For example, if your pet has any aggression with its paws or nails being touched or clipped

2. If the pet has a huge dislike for water or being bathed

3. The pet has not been desexed

   
   

Full Transparency is required by Groomers before the start of the first grooming process to allow your pets and the groomer a better and more pleasant experience with one another than if they were not told about these quirks beforehand.

Skilled and experienced Groomers can better handle the situations before they occur.

So it is imperative that pet owners be outright from the start.

Pet groomers work extremely hard for 8 to 12 hours each day. They only get to take a break of 5-10 minutes only for a quick bite to eat once or twice a day.

So when it comes to cancelling or rescheduling an appointment, please be mindful that cancelling or even rescheduling your appointment an hour beforehand does not allow your groomer to replace the appointment at last minute. Please do not be cross with them if penalty fees need to be incurred before they can accept your next appointment.

A bit of courtesy and respect goes a long way for both the pet owner and groomer who can only try their best for you and your pets.