# how many a day



## dane&cockermom (Oct 16, 2007)

how many dogs do you do a day? 

on a "full" day, we book 8 for each groomer and then pile on the bath dogs. 

but you personally, how much is your "full" day?

today i did 10! i wouldn't have been able to do it if it weren't for the awesome bathers i had. but holy cow. i didn't stop at all. it was one right after another.

and is anyone else having an awesome february? like, this is ridiculous for how busy we are with it being one of the usual slow months of the year.


----------



## GroovyGroomer777 (Aug 21, 2008)

If I had a bather, I think I could probably do 8 a day. But it always depends on which dogs I have booked.
I have no bather, do my own checkins/outs. I do 
sometimes only 3 - if one dog is a Standard Poodle, golden/poodlex, Newfie....
I probably average 4 full grooms on small/medium dogs - shihs, yorkies, cockers, malts ect
Sometimes I can do 5-6 - If one or two are really well kept, well behaved, or appointments that aren't for full grooms.

I am amazed at the amount that some groomers do. I just can't understand how some manage to do a full groom (bath/bd/nails/ears/full haircut) in an hour or less. If anyone has the secret - please tell me. 

I just cannot call it done unless every stickie-outtie is no longer a stickie-outtie....I get lost finishing faces...I keep finding something else I want to tweak...want it to be perfect.

In the past I have worked with groomers who would do 8 a day and frankly I wouldn't send a dog home looking like that unless it was a really ill behaved dog. 
But, I know some can do many fast, and do really good work. 

I am having a good Feb too, I am booked 5 weeks ahead right now. Which I guess you can see as good, or as bad....I hate not having the spot open for someone who needs to get in...


----------



## DJsMom (Jun 6, 2008)

We've had a good Feb too, so far {{crosses fingers}}. 
I'm not the groomer, but my daughter is & I've seen her do 10 dogs in a day, but I do not care to book her that heavily. She does the bathing & grooming, as we don't have a bather. But I help her when I can, when my husband is there to mind the upstairs store I'll go down & bathe the dogs for her, but that doesn't happen real often.
I feel best when she does about 6 dogs in a day. That's enough to keep her busy, but not too stressed or pressed for time, which makes me stressed.
Hate when she has less than 4 or 5 dogs, but those days happen too.


----------



## dane&cockermom (Oct 16, 2007)

GroovyGroomer777 said:


> If I had a bather, I think I could probably do 8 a day. But it always depends on which dogs I have booked.
> I have no bather, do my own checkins/outs. I do
> sometimes only 3 - if one dog is a Standard Poodle, golden/poodlex, Newfie....
> I probably average 4 full grooms on small/medium dogs - shihs, yorkies, cockers, malts ect
> ...


i don't have to bathe any of my dogs. so it's a lot easier to get things done quicker. and i guess i'm _probably_ not as meticulous as you are. but i have yet to have an unsatisfied client. infact, i've gained a lot of request dogs in the last month or so. 

well, that and the manager gets on our butts if we turn dogs away and we're not "full"


----------



## pamperedpups (Dec 7, 2006)

Business is steady for me with lots of regular cliental. I usually book about 5 a day, and that's just me working alone. It can get pretty "hairy" if I get a naughty dog or two in the mix with no one to help out. On a good day I work from 9-5 or earlier, with a lunch break. Around the holidays I usually work from 8-10 fitting everyone in.


----------



## GroovyGroomer777 (Aug 21, 2008)

Dane, I meant in no way to imply that you don't do good work, I'm terribly sorry if it came off that way!
If I had a bather, I'm sure I would be doing the same thing. And I have seen your pics and I think you are very good!

Also, I used to work at a Petsomething - and I KNOW how they push and push and squeeze every last drop out of you!


----------



## dane&cockermom (Oct 16, 2007)

GroovyGroomer777 said:


> Dane, I meant in no way to imply that you don't do good work, I'm terribly sorry if it came off that way!
> If I had a bather, I'm sure I would be doing the same thing. And I have seen your pics and I think you are very good!
> 
> Also, I used to work at a Petsomething - and I KNOW how they push and push and squeeze every last drop out of you!


oh i know what you meant. i wish i could take the time you do. and there are those few that i get lost working on something on certain dogs too and just get in the moment. but then i gotta snap back out of it cause of everything else i have coming in. blah. 

i don't work for a Petsomething. but i do work at a salon in a pet supply store. the store has only 2 store front locations, and also does cataloge and internet sales. 

and yeah, on the few days i've had where i've had to bathe my own, it definitely takes a lot more time per dog. many props to you for doing it all.


----------



## 0hmyd0g (Aug 18, 2008)

I groom 6-7 a day. I work 9:30 to 4:00. That's a huge increase for me since only 4 months ago I was only doing 4-5 a day!


----------



## Pit_Bull_Lady (Feb 4, 2009)

I've been grooming since 1989, and I groom about 4 dogs a day now.

I'm mobile now, and I'm a one-man-show, so I can't do as many as I could when I worked in a salon.

The best things about working for yourself, are not feeling rushed and under pressure, AND getting to keep ALL the money....

.


----------



## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

I usually do 10-15 a day, with ideally at least 2 or 3 easy dogs like labs, pits, pugs, etc. Many of my clients book every 4-6 weeks, so they are pretty easy grooms, and I have been grooming them all for so long, its fast work. New dogs always take me longer..but once I have done them once, its a breeze...no idea why...lol Hairdressers have told me the same thing though. I work from 8-2:30 and do have a bather, or I would never be able to do it all in that time frame. I also answer the phone and check in and out, as I am the only one there and the bather is in the back bathing. 

Groovy, it takes alot of "management" of equipment and time to be fast. And some groomers are just faster than others. I have some tips that can help you. We got into this discussion on another board, with some saying it was impossible to groom a dog in an hour/half hour, etc...so I posted some Utube videos of 3 of my grooms...each one took 25 minutes or less, not including the bath and dry. Search Graco2200 on utube to see them. 

Something that really helps me is I have a routine for every single dog/breed. I always do bath and dry first..never prebath anything, unless its a pelt that needs shaving, and that isn't often. Even matted dogs go right to the tub, and with the correct products, most of those matts slide out by drying time, leaving little to brush out. 

After dry, I always do my 40 blade work first..pads, insides of ears on certain breeds, etc. Then I do my 10 blade work. Eye corners, armpits, sanitary, etc. Then I brush them out and do my body work with a blade/attach. etc. Then I trim nails, round feet and scissor legs and quick tidy on body if needed. I always start with one front leg/foot, and work my way around the dog. When I am inbetween the rear feet/legs, I do the tail. After all that, I do heads and ears last. I do "cheat" and use attachments on all my round teddy heads, then scissor them up. Makes it go alot faster for me, and the shape is already there, just needs a tweak/tidy. I do the attachment on the head, then I pluck and clean ears, then tweak/tidy the head and trim ears. 

Another thing I do is I have 4 sets of clippers, all plugged in every day. One has the clipper vac attached which I use occasionally. One has a 40 blade that stays on it all the time. One has a 10 blade that stays on it all the time. And one I swap body blades/attachments out on. So I don't do alot of blade changing, which takes time. I just set one clipper down, and pick up another. That helps me alot!! And keeping with a routing on each and every dog will give you more speed than anything. Always follow the same routine. It helps to not forget something too, cause you are programmed to go in the same order. After awhile, you aren't even thinking about it..you are just doing it, and that saves time too.


----------



## Love's_Sophie (Sep 23, 2007)

I will usually do 5-8 a day. My husband will bathe for me, but personally, I prefer to bathe my own dogs; especially certain clients! I am oober picky about the dogs going home clean. I could do more dogs, but I really don't care to rush, even though the dogs are still in and out within a 2-3 hour timeframe. There are days when I will do 10 (or more) dogs, but those days aren't nearly as often as they were before. I have some issues with standing so long, so for my sanity, and pain level, I have had learn to 'say no' to too many dogs! 

I have several clippers, like Graco, so changing out blades, especially on really busy days, is limited, so makes clipping much easier. For the most part, I also put the dogs\cats into the tub immediately...working with a clean dog is so much easier, and less time consuming than trying to clip in a dirty one. It's also easier on the clipper blades, so saves on sharpening, as well.

I also have a set 'pattern' of doing the dogs; all sanitary clipping, then I work the body, starting from back, to front; I save the head for last...kind of a 'save the best for last' type thing.


----------



## GroovyGroomer777 (Aug 21, 2008)

Thanks, guys! This is really helpfull to me, I need to get dogs done faster (but I refuse to rush)

I checked out a couple of your videos, graco, the schnauzer strip and the golden. Isn't it funny how you kept writing (7f PER OWNER REQ) and the comments kept saying "Why did you shave the legs???! 

I think I am doing too much prep work for one. All the groomers that I watched while training always did a lot of prep, almost the whole haircut before the bath. Also I was told "Do not bathe the dog until you can run a comb through him" Which seems to be an "old school" way of grooming. I'll have to invest in some better product to get tangles out after bathing and drying.

I am also taking too long on my faces. I can't seem to get them where I want them without taking time. 

I have one hand scissor bichon and it can take me 25 minutes to get his head perfect....and I really enjoy doing it, and love the finished look....but the cut is taking me 1 hour - 1.5 hours (AFTER the bath!) He's a little devil for some things, but I still know I am taking way too much time and not charging for it....

I only have one pair of working clippers and I can't buy any more at this time, but that is something to think about for the future.


----------



## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

GroovyGroomer777 said:


> Thanks, guys! This is really helpfull to me, I need to get dogs done faster (but I refuse to rush)
> 
> I checked out a couple of your videos, graco, the schnauzer strip and the golden. Isn't it funny how you kept writing (7f PER OWNER REQ) and the comments kept saying "Why did you shave the legs???!
> 
> ...



OMG Groovy...that was driving me nuts with the comments about the schnauzer....Either people weren't reading the blurb about the cut, or they just had no idea what a 7F all over meant....I almost took the video down because of it..people were being very condenscending about it...ugh..lol Thank you for noticing that too...I feel better about it now..

You know, something that might help you on the faces, is to look away from the dog for a minutes..Just focus on different things in the room and then look back at the face. Then the major things you want to change will jump out at you, and you won't just whiddle here and there and everywhere..I find myself doing that all the time, especially in competitions, where time is oh so important..Look away, step back, and look at the dog as a whole, etc. Try different things to get the look you are going for, and when you find what works best for you, you will be faster at those things too. I struggle with Bichon heads too..I just don't do enough of them regularly to have enough history doing it to be fast at it. 

Yes, I do think that prep work is overrated, and kinda old school. With the products out there today, there are few reasons I even put my hands on a dog before the bath. They go straight to the bather. I just find it a waste of my time to prep the dog, only to have to go over everything I did before the bath, again after the bath. We know how bathing and drying makes all those pokeys stick out. With the HV dryer, long coats don't take long to dry, so I don't even bother cut down the really long ones before the bath either. I am gonig to have to go over it again, and I would rather just do it once. My all time favorite combo to get matts out in the bath is Coat Handler conditioner, mostly rinsed out, but some left in, followed up by The Answer spray, diluted 15:1 (From EZ Groom) You only need a VERY light mist, a little goes a very long way. HV dry those matts, and they will blow and separate right out of the coat.


----------

