The Mobile Grooming Process
You may think you know what a dog groomer does, but the amount of steps that go into it is quite eye-opening. I am a mobile dog groomer with Aussie Pet Mobile, the Beach Cities division, and absolutely love my job. I am curious if it is what you expected. I hope you enjoy taking a look into what we do!
Retrieving the Dog
The first thing I do when I arrive at most appointments is park, turn on the air conditioning if it’s hot, and get the salon ready for the dog. Then, I will either text the owner to bring the dog out or go to the door and ring their doorbell. This is an opportunity to talk with the owner about how the dog has been doing, if they have been having any issues, and what services they are looking for that day. It is almost like a hair stylist consultation, but it is also an opportunity to gauge the dog’s behavior and the condition of its coat. For example, while we are greeting and petting the dog, we are feeling for matting or skin issues. Once my consultation is done, I bring the dog back to the van and take a moment to breathe and be calm to give the dog the vibes that I want it to give. It is also a bit of bonding with the dog so that we can work together efficiently for the next hour or two.
Prep Work
In the grooming community, the term “prep work” usually includes the bath, blow out, nail trim, ear cleaning, and shaving out between the pads. We always go as short as possible on the nails because we know how to identify the quick (the nerve under the dog’s nail) and have a product called styptic powder to help clot the blood if we do go too far. It is rare, but happens. Here are some examples of my favorite prep products. You can click on the photos for amazon links.
Bath Process
First we wet the dog down just a little bit. Then, select a shampoo based on the coat and the outcome you are looking for, like plain old cleaning shampoo, deshedding shampoo, and medicated shampoo. We either froth the shampoo in a little egg beater machine or use a mixing bottle to dilute the shampoo, depending on the size of the dog. This makes it easier to apply on the dog as well as save shampoo because you use a lot less of it. We half rinse the dog so you get most of the dirt out before shampooing again to get whatever you may have missed the first round. Then, we select a conditioner based on whether you want the coat smooth and silky, or if you want it to aid in deshedding. We dilute the conditioner to apply it, and let it sit for a couple minutes so science can happen. Lastly, we rinse the dog thoroughly because anything left behind can irritate the skin.
We also use brushes like this during the bath for dogs who shed a lot. It helps get lots of hair out so it won’t go everywhere during the blow dry.
Blow Dry
To dry the dog, we use a high velocity dryer like this with a concentrator nozzle. Most groomers have an order of how they dry the dog. Mine is the back, sides, legs, tail, head. It can take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour, depending on how much hair we are working with.
Brushing
Once the dog is completely dry, we brush the dog using different brushes depending on coat type. For example, to deshed a double coated breed like a german shepherd, we would use a rake with sharp teeth that grab the loose undercoat. To detangle a doodle, we would use a slicker brush. For 99% of breeds, you also have to follow with a steel comb to make sure all of the matts and tangles are out. Check out this video on line brushing to see how we detangle long haired dogs. They start with showing product recommendations, and at 1:06 is the actual technique.
I’ve got another blog post called “The Best Way To Brush Your Dog,” where I talk in more detail about brushing technique. However, here are some brush recommendations for multiple coat types:
Clipper Work On the Body
Clipper work can only begin once the comb can go through the entire dog without snagging. Some dogs should never get clipper work done on them. This includes all double coated dogs, like golden retrievers, any type of shepherd, Bernese mountain dogs, Chow Chows, Huskies, St. Bernards, and basically anything that sheds. Of course there are some exceptions, but this is the general rule of thumb. The reason is that the coat will be permanently damaged, potentially causing skin issues and itchiness because it grows back very stiff and wirey.
On dogs with long hair, like poodles, doodles, malteses, havaneses, and yorkies, selecting a length depends on what the owner asks for. Generally, we keep notes on each dog and do the same length every time. We use a combination of different blades and clip combs like these to the left.
We also have an order of body parts that we do so that we don’t forget anything. Usually, the first pass of the clippers doesn’t get the dog fully even, so we do a rough haircut, and then brush all of the hair backwards, which is called back brushing. Then repeat the whole haircut again.
Scissor Work
Groomers use special shears that are similar to hairstylist shears, but slightly different. After clipper work, we use scissors to clean up and sticky outies. Every groomer I know has used this term, including industry leaders lol. The we shape the feet and tail before moving on to the head.
Head
We use clippers on the top of the head to set the length. Then we comb the hair on the top of the head forward and trim the visor to open up the eyes. This sets the top of our rounded face that we will create by setting a length under the chin and connecting everything like a big circle. Every dog’s ears are very different, but usually we set the length by feeling for the end of the ear leather and holding it with our fingers, while we trim below it. This ensures we do not cut the ear leather. The we round up the edges sometimes or leave it straight across- whichever the owner prefers. This is what people refer to as a teddy bear head. There are also breed specific head styles. One is a poodle head, which is a clean shaven face and a big topknot. Another is a schnauzer head, which is shaved on the top, with long pointy eyebrows and a beard. Fun fact, I placed in a grooming competition with a schnauzer!
Photos
Groomers often use photos to check for any more sticky outies or final touches to be made. Once I am satisfied with the groom, I take a final photo, and use AI backgrounds in the Photoroom app to edit dogs into places they’re not. So instead of them standing on my grooming table, they are standing on a beach or in a field of flowers. These photos have become so popular that some clients request them. I love creating them, as it is a little creative break in a day that can become exhausting if you don’t get your head out of it every once in a while.
The End
Last step is to send off the photo to the owner and let them know the dog is ready. That’s the whole process!
Thanks for reading another blog post. Grooming really has a whole language associated with it the the average person doesn’t use in daily life. Let me know if there is anything that you learned from reading this. I’ll see you on the next one, and on my socials. Subscribe at the bottom of this page to get notified about when I post!
P.S.
If you’re interested in having me come groom your dog, text (424) 352-7408 or click our logo to see more info!
