How fast are you grooming your dogs??

[cabumblebee]

Okay here is my question....How fast are you grooming your dogs and are you doing it the correct way??
I keep hearing and reading about how many dogs people do a day and I am amazed. How can someone groom 12 dogs a day???? I dont think I am the slowest person in the world and I know I am not the fastest, but it takes me a good 2 hours to do a miniture poodle in a puppy cut. That includes thoroughly brushing it out, cleaning the ears and plucking them, trimming the nails, pre-cut, bath, fluff blow dry, and finishing with final trim and scissoring the top, tail, and legs. I call that a good groom. Is everyone doing this and how much time does it take you? It takes me 3 hours at least to do a standard poodle and that is if it is in good shape.
I understand that some people have help to do bathing and such, but just what is it taking you on average to do a complete groom?

[RoosMom]

Depends

The way you groom has ALOT to do with how much time it takes you. It's not just skill, it's the right products and equipment, and knowing how to put it all together. I did 9 groom dogs today- got the first one in the tub about 8:30, finished the last dog at about 2:45. No hand scissors, no huge hairy dogs. I did two Westies, four Schnauzers, and three Scotties. (Gee, guess what I specialize in? ;-) )

I never pre-clip anything anymore, everything goes straight into the tub. I've also been doing this for a couple of decades, so I can take a dry, brushed out Scottie that comes in regularly and finish it in about 20 minutes, if my subject is behaving.lol

I HATE being rushed, but to me being faster isn't about doing a quick, sloppy job. It's about doing things in a way that makes things faster and easier, without sacrificing quality. Oh, I don't have a bather, either. Other people can do more, but 8 is my real comfort zone, 10 and I'm stressed- over that, no one should even try to talk to me. <G>

[JJk]

I had the same question before, but I decided not to think about speed anymore. As long as my income is good enough, why worry about others' speed ? However, there was a similar thread about speed on the old board, and I got some good tips from others' posts. Now I only pre-cut and pre-brush when it is necessary, and I found it saves tons of time without pre-cut a dog before bath.

[Verna C]

How fast are you grooming

My times used to be real similar to yours. It depended on the length and the amount of scissoring. If the dog isn't too overgrown, you can avoid the preclipping. It saves time and if you use your blades on clean hair, they last longer. When we went mobile I started using a CLIPPER VAC wow what a difference. Half the time or less with most dogs. Also towel dry thoroughly before you HV. This will save alot of time and electricity. Good luck

[fernie]

Thank you

I know alot of groomers that say the same thing. I can only manage to get 5- 6 dogs a day done at the most and that is a very long day.

[pamperedpups]

How long have you been grooming?

Edited.

[DAPER DAWG]

I take an hour to an hour and a half for smaller breeds wth simple strips #4 and shorter. At least two hours for standards but most of ours get a simple strip and short topknots sometimes I get done in an hour and a half. Whenever I can get away with it I try not to pre-clip just right into the tub and this as saved me at least 20 minutes on a lot of dogs. I iike to allow 2 hours for extremely difficult dogs such as airedales who hate to be touched but it doesn't always happen cause I don't do my own scheduling. It depends if you are a new groomer or have been at it a while I am going on two years now but still like to take my time and get it right and sometimes the people you work for try to push speed more than anything else but it just makes you and the dogs more stressed that way. A mini- poodle can take me from an hour to an hour and a half for a puppy cut especially the little dancers. I don' think I would ever want to do 12 dogs a day that is why I passed up a job I went for. I didn't want to feel rushed constantly. Lots of things happen that you can't foresee. Dogs act up, Dogs poop all over after the bath, A simple bath turns into a strip because of matting. I reall like no more than six groom dogs a day and even if those are scheuled too close together or too many difficult dogs it can be too much.

[azoci]

Hi well, from what you describe you are grooming comfortably. If you want to step upi your grooming speed, there are a lot of things that can be done.
First of all, Keep a time log. Every 15 minutes. Boy it sure worked for my shop girls when we had time issues in getting client dogs out ...

put all tools out of site that you use only once a week, keeping tools out that you use every day. This reduces clutter and make it easier to find or grab tools that you use a lot.

Keep everything in it's place, put shear back, blades back in original spot, etc.

Limit your time at check in and check out.

Most groomers actually groom pretty fast, but time is lost on other things. Phone calls too are a pain, they break concentration.

Having a bather, doing more dogs than one at a time ( have one drying or 'resting' while you bather another, finish out one while another rests...)
You have to push yourself to save just 10 minutes on each dog you do, say if you do 6 dogs, that would give you time to do 1 more because you saved 60 minutes with those 6...

I did 2 Poodles, one mini, one toy...in about 90minutes, start to finish...left in # 1 body, #A skim legs and scissor, full round TB heads...my trick, bath together, rough together (take as much hair off before I bathed, since these dogs were clean) both dogs on table together, except for final finish, and yes, full scissor finish with a full top thin to smooth out. Gotta love those 28 tooth blenders! WOW...oops wrong topic.

Then did a Std. Poo in just over an hour, very dirty, #2 a/o clean face, taper tail, fuzzy feet. again, top scissor to smooth. You just have to push yourself to work faster.

[furrybestjob]

I'm mobile, so I do every dog from start to finish. I know that I am slower than most. I could be faster, but I guess I just choose not too. On the average I am usually at each stop for 1 hr 15 min. If the dogs are in good shape Goldens take me an hour, toy poodles take me 1 hr 15 min (although I do have one miniature that takes me 1 hr 45 minutes), a standard done with a 2 comb with hand scissoring of the legs, top knot, tail takes me 2 1/2 hours (and I don't charge enough), shih tzus and llhasas take me 1 hr 15 minutes if clippered, 45 minutes to 1 hr for trim only, Cockers take me about 1 hr 45 minutes (I only groom 2 so far). Bichons take me 1 hr 1/2.

I don't think you should be concerned with your times. They seem far out of the ballpark. Everyone does groom at different speeds and that's OK. The important thing is to be happy with your finished product.

[kaitash]

Most people when they say they do 12 dogs in 1 day have a few dogs that are bath only. Labs, Beagles, Goldens. Most of these people also have a bather. Yesterday I did 13 dogs. 6 were bath dogs with light trimming. These dogs take about 20 minutes to finish. Remember I have a awesome bather who takes care of the ears, fluffing and some brushing. Most of my clients also get easy haircuts, but they get good haircuts. I can finish a shih tzu or a schnauzer in about 20-30 minutes, if they are in good shape. Miniature poodles about 45-60 minutes. All of these dogs are getting the works. Ears, nails (grinded in most cases), fluff dry, haircut, bows and/or scarfs. Cockers take me longer usually about an hour. Standard Poodles, I only do 2, take about 1 1/2 to finish.

I never precut unless the dog is a cast. This saves a ton of time and wear and tear on my equipment and body. I also don't dematt for more than 10 minutes.

Everybody is different and has there own way of doing things. This is what works for me. Now I don't do this many dogs everyday. Usually about 8, but Saturdays are always different. I couldn't do it everyday or I would burn out real fast. A good bather makes all the difference in the world.

[k9stylist1968]

For me it depends on the individual dog.... MOST of my small dogs (shih tzus, maltese, toy poodle) take between 45 minutes and an hour straight through. I can get some Yorkies done in 35 minutes.... And I have Bichons that take 45 minutes (gets done every 2 weeks) and others that take an hour and a half.... THEN you add in the dogs that don't get done more than every 3-4 months; they can take 90 minutes or more....

With the right mixture of dogs ("regulars", well-behaved, all smallish or smooth-haired, no problems standing), I can comfortably do 12 dogs in 8 hours (no assistant). But there are days, too, that I'm doing well to get 6 dogs done in 8 hours. I NEVER could get that through to the vet I used to work for. I kid you not, their receptionists would just treat an every 6 months standard poodle the same as an Italian Greyhound; an "opening" is an opening.... I would tell the morons OVER and OVER, "when a client asks when the next grooming availability is, before answering, ask them two questions: what kind of dog and how long ago was it groomed..." They'd still just say, "Thursday".... because that was how they'd "always done it" and if the groomer couldn't get the dogs done, she should have to call the owners and reschedule--or she should just "always" take just 5-6 dogs every day.

[amysue2638]

I would say my time is about what yours is, but I think of myself on the slower side. I've only been grooming less than 9 mos. and I do see slight improvements in my speed month after month.

The one step you listed that normally I don't do is the pre-clip. Especially on a smaller dog like a mini poodle, to me it's just an unnecessary added step. The only dogs I will pre-clip are completely matted to the skin messes, huge hairy monsters who are getting shaved down, and sometimes std. poodles who are getting the bulk of the hair taken off to eliminate the drying time. Otherwise to me it's a waste of time.

Also, do you use a high velocity dryer? This helps a ton with the drying process, esp. on the poodles. I'm sure many others with have a lot more suggestions for you, but those are just a couple things that I could think of.

[SpikeyTheYorkie]

Okay here is my question....How fast are you grooming your dogs and are you doing it the correct way??
I keep hearing and reading about how many dogs people do a day and I am amazed. How can someone groom 12 dogs a day???? I dont think I am the slowest person in the world and I know I am not the fastest, but it takes me a good 2 hours to do a miniture poodle in a puppy cut. That includes thoroughly brushing it out, cleaning the ears and plucking them, trimming the nails, pre-cut, bath, fluff blow dry, and finishing with final trim and scissoring the top, tail, and legs. I call that a good groom. Is everyone doing this and how much time does it take you? It takes me 3 hours at least to do a standard poodle and that is if it is in good shape.
I understand that some people have help to do bathing and such, but just what is it taking you on average to do a complete groom?

First, what is your idea of a "puppy cut?" That has a different meaning for each groomer. Second, and most importantly, STOP PRE CLIPPING, just go straight to the tub! When that dog arrives, if you don't put it in a kennel for a moment first, then take it straight to the tub!! Don't do all that other stuff until after you've bath & dried it. Clipper blades don't go through dirty hair as nicely, and as easily as they do when the hair is clean. Next idea to increase speed is to bathe a dog, wrap it in a towel or two and set it on a towel in a kennel. Go to the next dog, repeat what you just did, then either go to a third dog and do the same, or go back to the first dog, which will be half dried already, put it on your drying table, and dry it well. Then go to the next...it cuts drying time a LOT!!!!

For me I'm now averaging about 45 min to an hour depending upon the dog.

But more than anything, STOP THE PRECLIPPING. I only pre-clip when the dog is matted, and many people on here will still tell you not to do that (you can wet clip a matted dog and keep the hair longer), but on a basic dog that has no serious mats, go straight to the tubby then towel wrap for a while while you bathe the next dog!

Tammy in Utah

[scrubapup]

It takes me about 1.5 hours for a miniature poodle. 2 - 2.5 hours for a Standard, unless the standard is a horrifying mess that hates to be groomed. I have one of those Monday morning, and he usually takes me about 3 hours.

I applied for a grooming job at a local grooming place a few years ago and was told, during the interview, if it took me over 1.5 hours to groom a Standard Poodle, it was taking me to long. Needless to say, I never worked at that facility. I can get MY Standards done in that amount of time, but I keep mine tightly shaved. Usually a #7 shavedown, #3/4 top notch and ears, #10 face and feet. Not much to it.

I can get a Yorkie done in 45 minutes... Shitzus, Bishons, Maltese.... an hour. Maybe an extra 15 minutes if they are a mess and need extra brushing.

[DAPER DAWG]

Ok what do you mean by this?

together, except for final finish, and yes, full scissor finish with a full top thin to smooth out. Gotta love those 28 tooth blenders! WOW...oops wrong topic.

Then did a Std. Poo in just over an hour, very dirty, #2 a/o clean face, taper tail, fuzzy feet. again, top scissor to smooth. You just have to push yourself to work faster.

Please share what you mean by top thin and top scissor to smooth out. Do you mean the topline of the back?

Thank You
Lori