Full Groom

What this visit is

A Full Groom is the appointment most owners mean when they say “the works.” We start with a double-shampoo bath matched to your dog’s skin, then hand-dry with quiet, low-heat dryers before a single blade or scissor comes out. The cut follows your instructions — bring a photo, describe a length, or ask us to keep it practical for hiking season. One groomer handles the whole visit, so the trim stays consistent from ear to tail.

Who it suits

Coats that keep growing and need shaping rather than just washing — poodles and doodles, shih tzus, bichons, terriers, cocker spaniels. If your dog’s hair covers their eyes or mats behind the ears between visits, this is the appointment you want. It is also the right choice for a coat left a little too long that needs resetting to a length you can maintain at home. We would rather start you somewhere sensible than hand back a show trim you cannot keep up with.

How the time is spent

Most of the two to three hours is bathing and drying, not cutting. A coat has to be clean and completely dry before scissors touch it, or the finish goes uneven and the lines drop as it settles. The haircut itself is usually the last forty minutes, done slowly and with breaks. If your dog needs longer we take longer — the quoted window is a window, not a deadline, and nobody is charged for the extra time.

How often to come back

Every six to eight weeks keeps a growing coat manageable. Leave it longer and matting starts down near the skin, which turns a haircut into a shave, and no amount of patience gets around that once it has happened. If you are not sure where your dog sits, we will give you a date at pickup based on how the coat actually behaved rather than a generic rule. Brushing twice a week at home buys you a week or two either way.