Questions to Ask Before Booking a Groomer

This is the single most revealing question you can ask, because it goes straight to what the person will do when things get difficult.

The answer you want is some version of: we stop. We do as much as the dog is comfortable with, we tell you what we could not do, and we come back or finish next time. A good groomer will describe splitting a session, working in short blocks, or leaving the feet and face for another visit.

The answers that should end the conversation are the confident ones. Do not worry, we can handle any dog. We always finish. He will settle once you leave the room. A groomer who has never had to abandon a session either has not groomed many dogs or is forcing them through it, and the second is far more likely. There is no technique that makes a genuinely frightened dog fine within an hour.

The only acceptable answer is no, nothing, ever, and anything of that kind is a vet's decision and a vet's prescription.

If a groomer offers, supplies, recommends or administers any sedative, tranquiliser, herbal calming preparation, spray or tablet, do not use them. It happens, it is not legal for them to do, and dosing an animal without knowing its health history or weight accurately is dangerous. A sedated dog also cannot tell anyone that something hurts, which is the reason some people like it.

The legitimate route exists: for a dog that genuinely cannot be groomed safely, a vet can sedate under supervision at a clinic and the coat gets sorted there. That is a veterinary appointment, arranged by you with your vet. It is not something a groomer arranges in your living room.

You want a number and you want to know what could change it. Ask directly: what does this package include, what is not included, and what would add to the cost.

Good answers are specific. A groomer should be able to say what the base service covers, that a badly matted coat takes longer and costs more, that a very large dog is priced differently, and roughly what those differences are. Ours are fixed packages — Spa Bath at Rs. 1,500, Full Grooming at Rs. 2,000, Grooming with Extra Care at Rs. 2,500 and Hair Cut Only at Rs. 1,500 — and if something about your dog means a different one is appropriate, we would rather say so on the phone than at your door.

The warning sign is vagueness followed by a bill. A price discussed only after the dog is wet is not a price you had any say in. Get the number before anyone arrives.

Say your dog has mats, even if it barely does, and listen carefully to the answer.

The honest answer involves an assessment and a possible clip. A good groomer will say they need to feel the coat, that mats close to the skin have to be clipped out from underneath, that there is a limit to how long it is reasonable to keep a dog standing while working on knots, and that a severely pelted coat means a short clip and starting again.

The answer to refuse is cheerful reassurance: no problem, we will brush it all out. Dematting a heavily matted dog by brushing is hours of pulling on skin, and nobody who has done it properly is casual about it. Equally, a groomer who reaches for scissors to cut mats out is a groomer who will eventually cut skin — that is the most common injury in this trade, and it is entirely avoidable.

A groomer with no limits is telling you they have not thought about this. Everyone competent has a list.

Ours, for example: we do not shave a healthy double coat to the skin because the weather is hot; we do not clean an ear that is showing discharge, smell or pain, we send you to a vet; we do not express anal glands; we do not treat skin conditions or recommend medication; we do not groom a dog that is acutely unwell, and we will not continue with a dog that is panicking to the point of being a danger to itself or to the groomer.

Ask what theirs is. If the answer is that they will do whatever you want, that is not flexibility, it is an absence of judgement — and the person you are handing your dog to should have some.

Grooming at your home has a different set of practical questions, and we would rather you asked them.

What do you need from me — water, a power point, a particular room, a balcony? How long will you be here? Who exactly is coming, one person or two, and will it be the same person next time? What happens if my flat does not have the space or drainage? A service that cannot answer these has not worked out its own logistics.

And ask what they cannot do at your home, because the honest answer is that some things are better done elsewhere. A doorstep setup has no walk-in tub, no raised bath and no heated drying room. Very large heavy-coated dogs, dogs needing lengthy dematting, and situations where the only available space is a small shared bathroom are all cases where a home visit is more of a compromise than a salon. It usually still works, and the trade-off is worth it for most dogs because there is no travel and no waiting. But anyone who tells you a home setup is better in every respect is selling rather than answering.

One last thing. If your dog is short-coated, healthy, not shedding heavily and not smelling, you may not need a booking at all this month. A rubber brush and a nail check might be the entire job. We would rather tell you that on the phone than take a booking that achieves nothing — and a groomer who will tell you the same is the one worth keeping.