the Price of Dog Grooming at a Chain Pet Store

We took our 8 year old Samoyed to a local pet chain's grooming service when our regular groomer was on vacation. We paid $60 for a basic grooming which consisted of a bath, blow/fan dry while in a crate and a brush out. The $60 also included trimming her nails, expressing her anal glands, and cleaning her ears. We paid an extra $10 for teeth cleaning, $5 for conditioner, and $20 for a tip for the groomer. We asked the groomer to give Krissy a close cut in the "bikini area" to keep her clean in the summer which the groomer did but did not charge extra for this service. The $60 is one of the higher base prices for a full groom at this particular chain however a Samoyed is a large dog with a full double coat of thick white hair, especially the spayed females such as Krissy. The basic services for smaller and shorter hair breeds started at $30.

I don't think the groomer we had was very experienced and we were glad Krissy was there for just a touch-up cleaning between appointments with her regular groomer and not a cut. The shampoo they use is very strong and cheap smelling, and it took forever to get the smell out of Krissy's long hair. It was also very annoying that the groomer kept trying to upsell additional grooming products (special shampoos, flea products, conditioners) and services, so much so that I wondered if they worked on commission for these sales. Despite these reservations we would use them again in an emergency because Krissy did come home clean and happy.

If I were to make an appointment with this pet store chain again I would ask for an appointment with the most senior groomer as our groomer, and several others, gave the impression of being recent trainees.