Looking for someone to groom my boyfriends dog... LOL

[Raggs]

Well my boyfriend has a Lab Akita mix that is almost 3 yrs and has never had a bath. He loves to run into ponds and rivers and get wet but he hates to be sprayed with water. He's the biggest mush of a dog if anyone has read my posts about him on the other board. I tried to do him myself but he kept jumping out of the tub. So yesterday I walked into a grooming shop to inquire about how much it would be. First off I was turned off by the smell. It was horrible. It smelled like something died. It was filthy, looked as if it hadn't been cleaned in years. This is a busy shop, it's hard to get into them. The windows were are murky, the cages had about an inch of dirt on them, the floor was brown but you could see spots of white, the color it's supposed to be. I figured, they were really busy that day and hadn't had time to do any cleaning, so I thought I'd look past the smell. Then I started talking to a groomer and they wanted to charge me and arm and a leg for the dog. $55 for a bath and brush. He has the Lab coat, I told them that. It was outrageous. And she said, that's where the price starts. For a dog his size and coat my shop (who caters to rich people) charge way less. Then they don't like it if anyone stays. They have this huge grooming area (a lot more than they really need) and this itty bitty front area. More than 2 people wouldn't be able to stand up front, that's without dogs at their side. So I said no to that place.

Then I called another groomer close to me and they were really nice, the price they would charge is a lot less. They told me (without asking) that I could stay and watch for as long as I wanted and I could also bring him by first for him to meet them. Rambo is a little shy of strangers sometimes. Just talking to them on the phone made me wonder what their shop looked like. It's in a high end area so it can't look that bad.. LOL... It can, I'm hoping it wont.

[Fur Elite]

Sounds like to me that first shop knows how to run a business....is busy, hard to get into and they charge something we would all like to make. Maybe you caught them on a "dirty day" or maybe they are dirty and smelly, but they must do something right.

[diemonster]

Wow, I'm amazed that first shop would get any business.. much less be busy! I think you used your insticts just right, and hopefully this second shop will be what you're looking for. Let us know how it turns out!

[diamienono]

SHAME on you for sending your boyfriends monster to some other groomer. I hope you tip well lol

[sheilabgroomer]

Becky, I don't understand why you don't do your BF's dog at the shop where you work?

[astrordog]

First of all the shop sounds filthy. But, you think $55 for an Akita-Labx is high? I get $20 for a short haired dach. I don't allow anyone to stay and watch, the dogs are done in shifts, and it takes me a lot longer, since the owners want to "help". You also stated he jumped out of the tub when you tried bathing him, and he hates being sprayed with water.
Your b/f decided to get the large breed hairy dog, it's not the grooming shops fault. He should expect to pay x amount of $.

Is this a test page and you're waiting to see people's responses like on the old TV show Candid Camera?

astrordog

[pamperedpups]

Edited.

[misscatahoula]

If the dog is filthy, large and nutso in the tub, I'd probably charge the same as grooming shop A. Too much wear n tear on my body when the big guys are wild. But my grooming area is very clean and smells nice. If you're ever in Sask. I'd be willing to give him a try,lol!

[pamelapreib]

Raggs, you can do him in my trailer if you want. I keep it in my drive, and I know you work in the PC area. I'd like to meet you anyway. We can do him together, as long as you promise not to sue me ha, ha. That's about what i'd charge for a lab, which includes my mobile fee.

[Dawn125]

I'm with the majority. $55.00 didn't sound at all out of line to me either. I work in a pretty high priced salon as well, I guess. However, about 95% of our customers are repeat customers and we rarely get any complaints about prices.

[Raggs]

I would charge that too if someone had explained that to me. But all I got out before she gave me a price was that he was a Lab Akita mix with a coat of a Lab. I didn't even get to tell her yet that he had never been bathed before. I don't want to do him at my work. If he doesn't see me he's fine but if he sees me he barks non stop and the other girls there told me to never bring him back unless I left the building.. LOL.... I planned on paying a lot and planned on tipping a lot as well. But $55 and they didn't even know about him yet, that's way to much. I told the other shop that I called all about him, how he had never been bathed yada yada and they quoted me $35-$40.

When I did try to bathe him I was also 7 months pregnant and just wasn't going to deal with him so I didn't even try to stop him from jumping out of the tub. No way in heck was I going to try to catch a 100# dog. He'd probably be fine now but I just don't want to deal with it.. I feel so bad dropping him on another groomer but at least I'm honest and am upfront about him. One of the groomers asked me if he had the attitude of an Akita. I said of course, he's a big baby and loves people, but can be a little shy at first. I've never had a nasty Akita, I know there out there, but I haven't come across any. Then she asked me if he bit, he hasn't that I know of, he can be mouthy and he's a dog so he can and will bite if he wants to. He barks at strangers and acts like he's ready to kill but if you keep walking up to him he'll start wagging his tail and will start kissing ya. He's a dog, they are unpredictable. I'm not going to say no, because what if he does decide to bite, then I'm a liar. If I say yes, they'd probably muzzle him or something right off.

My boyfriend wants to try to bathe him at home. I wont. Not without a dryer and I'm not going to stand around all day with my blow dryer and try to dry him. My b\f is always working when I'm at work, or he's house hunting, or he's watching my little girl so he can never bring him to my work and help me bathe him.

[Fur Elite]

All I can say is...how can we, as groomers, ever hope to make a fair wage when one of our own kind calls a price quote for a job like this "outrageous". I don't care if they hadn't been told the dog was never groomed before...the fact is, it is a largish dog, unknown to the shops and of questionable background and to properly groom it will take some time, supplies, and elbow grease...and if my own kind begrudges me to make a decent wage off of it, then go do it yourself. My question is this...were you planning on telling them about the behavior issues at all, or were you looking for a price quote and then saying "by the way"......sounds familiar, LOL.

[Grinch]

I'm with everyone else on the price, sounds fair for the never been bathed, hates being sprayed by water, and hair factor. Even if he has a lab coat I imagine the undercoat is pretty rough. Most well behaved labs I do are just a bit lower than that price. If that isn't a standard for you area, maybe they quoted you high because they didn't really want to do him. I know that we are weary of certain breeds that may not get along with other dogs because we are a no cage shop.

[Dawn125]

I would charge that too if someone had explained that to me. But all I got out before she gave me a price was that he was a Lab Akita mix with a coat of a Lab. I didn't even get to tell her yet that he had never been bathed before. I don't want to do him at my work. If he doesn't see me he's fine but if he sees me he barks non stop and the other girls there told me to never bring him back unless I left the building.. LOL.... I planned on paying a lot and planned on tipping a lot as well. But $55 and they didn't even know about him yet, that's way to much. I told the other shop that I called all about him, how he had never been bathed yada yada and they quoted me $35-$40.

When I did try to bathe him I was also 7 months pregnant and just wasn't going to deal with him so I didn't even try to stop him from jumping out of the tub. No way in heck was I going to try to catch a 100# dog. He'd probably be fine now but I just don't want to deal with it.. I feel so bad dropping him on another groomer but at least I'm honest and am upfront about him. One of the groomers asked me if he had the attitude of an Akita. I said of course, he's a big baby and loves people, but can be a little shy at first. I've never had a nasty Akita, I know there out there, but I haven't come across any. Then she asked me if he bit, he hasn't that I know of, he can be mouthy and he's a dog so he can and will bite if he wants to. He barks at strangers and acts like he's ready to kill but if you keep walking up to him he'll start wagging his tail and will start kissing ya. He's a dog, they are unpredictable. I'm not going to say no, because what if he does decide to bite, then I'm a liar. If I say yes, they'd probably muzzle him or something right off.

My boyfriend wants to try to bathe him at home. I wont. Not without a dryer and I'm not going to stand around all day with my blow dryer and try to dry him. My b\f is always working when I'm at work, or he's house hunting, or he's watching my little girl so he can never bring him to my work and help me bathe him.

After reading this post I might even up my price to $75

[doggiestlist]

After reading this post I might even up my price to $75

Im with you on that one

RAGGS
you were quoted a fair price for the breed itself.if you think about from the groom shops perspective on pricing groomers get paid a % of the total groom cost the remaining % goes to the shop for overhead which includes utilities ,shapoos equipment ect,not to mention taxes insurance ,comp,the list goes on and on .its not a huge profit margin once everything is paid out.
lets say your groomer makes 50% which is not always the case some groomers make less.your taking this dog to a groomer because you can't groom at home.which is basicly the cost of shampoo for you ..
now akitas no matter if its a lab coat ect this is still a large breed.would you be willing to groom this dog for less than 25 bucks for your time?I would not
..personally I would be wondering why the other shop charges so much less than the others .if the first shop had been imaculate would you have paid the base of $55? vs the lesser expencive shop? a busy higher priced salon should tell you something about them .and that would be a good clue that they are good groomers and dont always have the time to go though the place with a fine toothed comb and clean it well.it also tells me they are busy enough to concider hiring someone to do the cleaning for them .. Im not saying you were wrong to look elsewhere at all..but I do think selecting a good quality groomer should not be rated on price alone and we as a service provider work very hard for the % we do get.discounted groomers normally have the reputation of giving discounted workmanship.in other words you get what you pay for.