How to select a good grooming salon

1. The grooming provider should be an accredited member of PIAA (Pet Industry Association of Australia). Accreditation from this industry body proves that the salon adheres to a strict code of practice and a grooming salon code of ethics. Both of these codes and the PIAA accreditation certificate must be on display at the salon.
2. Always ask the groomer and owner (or Vet), whether sedation, harnesses or cage drying are used. Be very wary of replies such as “only used if dog is stressed” or “only used so that the dog is not stressed”. These procedures are harmful and can lead to behavioural problems or worse in your dog. It is becoming more and more common for sedation to be used without seeking permission from the dog owner. Make it very clear that these procedures must not be used on your dog under any circumstances. Use of sedation compensates for the inexperience of the groomer, is used to shorten the groom time and thus increase profit. 99% of all groom dogs do NOT require sedation and can be humanely handled and groomed by experienced pet stylists. Dogs groomed by experienced professional pet stylists do not suffer from stress and enjoy grooming. Would you like to be sedated or restrained whilst having your hair done?
3. There should be friendly open access to the grooming salon and areas where the dogs are groomed. You should be able to view dogs being groomed and assess the quality of the handling and service.
4. On every visit, you should be able to discuss your dog’s requirements and any concerns directly with the groomer. Third hand passing of concerns on how you would like your dog groomed is unacceptable and open to errors in translation to the groomer.
5. Good groomers are full time professional stylists who regard the job as a profession not just another task in a busy vet practice or a part time job filler. Find out whether the groomer actually grooms dogs full time as a profession.
6. The groomer should be able to style clip all breeds and demonstrate how your dog can be styled. Remember style clipping a dog does not mean show look; it means styles that can be achieved for your particular breed and not just shaved. The result is a good looking dog that is easy to care for at home.
7. Check the experience of the groomer and how the groomer was (is) trained. Unfortunately it is common for start up groomers to be given a video as training and then they practice on your dog for experience. Ask for proof!
8. Meticulous cleaning, disinfecting and maintenance of blades, clippers and grooming equipment is paramount. Even small things such as regular blade sharpening impacts on the quality of grooming. Professional groomers keep many different blades, clippers, brushes and combs to suit the many differing breeds of dogs. The groomers would have also received training on the use of these tools. Look for an extensive array of grooming equipment. However expect to see loose dog hair where the dogs are clipped or dried.
9. Check your dog over to ensure that the dog has been groomed thoroughly and professionally. Inexperienced groomers or grooming establishments doing fast shaves do not put time into detailed grooming such as pad thinning and trimming, underwear, ears, face and cleanliness after the bath.
10. Seek references from other like dog owners or if you see a well groomed dog ask the owner who grooms the dog. Then check out the grooming establishment.

1. Never use a grooming establishment, Vet or pick up service if you are unable to see where your dog is being groomed and bathed. Don’t listen to excuses, closed door grooming is not set up for the benefit of your dog.
2. Avoid quick jobs and cheap prices. A professional full groom including the bath takes at least 2 hours for a small dog. Shorter times usually mean short cuts, inhumane practices, sloppy work and essential detailed tasks such as pad trimming, nail clipping, underwear and bathing not being carried out correctly.
3. Be very wary about groomers that do not allow you to pick up your dog within 3 hours of drop off if requested. Extended stays could mean tranquillisation, sedation and then reversal or allowing a recovery time. Sedation is a drug, as is the reversal procedure. These procedures can be harmful to your dog.
4. Avoid haggling and selecting based on price as first criteria. Professional groomers know their cost/price structure and can not reduce prices and still provide quality service. Discount pricing generally relates to discounted quality or stressful practices on your dog – you pay for what you get.
5. Free pick up and delivery is misleading. Pick up and delivery is not free and no cost. In many cases it is a means of stopping you from viewing the grooming establishment. Do you really think that in today’s high petrol and labour costs that picking up a dog is really free. The pickup and delivery costs are absorbed elsewhere, if not in price certainly in reduced time and quality of service.
6. If you have to use a pick up and delivery service for convenience, check out the establishment first. Go and visit it and look around. Do not assume that because your dog is dropped home looking happy that it has had a pleasant experience at grooming. The dog remembers the last occurrence, the return trip would be a pleasure both for the ride and to get away from poor grooming practices. Look for signs such as the dog not happy about being touched, being combed, rough cutting, red areas, rashes or cuts and an increase in misbehaviour.
7. Avoid dog washes using recycled used water from previous dogs. Hydrobath operators and in particular mobiles use recycled water tanks both for washing and rinsing your dog. Between dog washes, sometimes the wash tank is drained but rarely is the rinse tank drained or the filter sock cleaned between dogs. Used water can lead to cross infection from previous dogs, skin conditions and transfer of flea infestation. Failure to completely rinse out the shampoo from the dog’s coat with fresh water can lead to serious skin complaints. All of which in the long term means costly visits to the Vet.
8. If you have an old, overweight, arthritic or injured dog avoid establishments or mobiles where the dog must be lifted or has to traverse a steep ramp to get into the bath. The strain on the dog could lead to the dog collapsing in the bath and suffering extreme stress.
9. If your dog is cut or you suspect poor grooming practices, discuss this with the groomer. If you are still unhappy don’t hesitate to seek another groomer.
10. Avoid groomers who are not qualified, are inexperienced or have not received specific professional groom training. Groomers must be certified as a groomer and have received practical hands on training from qualified professional groomers. Vet nurse courses do not adequately cover grooming skills and can not be considered as certified training for grooming. Anybody can set up as a mobile operator or groomer without any practical training. These operators will still charge you full service fees for using your dog to train on. Many vet nurses, mobile operators, franchise operators and home based “groomers” do not receive any specific practical grooming training. A number of larger professional grooming salons, such as Dogoverboard, offer formal grooming traineeships where trainees are trained by very experienced groomers over a number of years. These establishments also give extensive in house on going practical training for their permanent grooming staff, to ensure their skills are kept up to date. Remember you are leaving your precious dog in their care, make sure the groomers are experienced, skilled, loving and capable.