How often have you come home and realized that there was an odd smell in your house? As you walk around the house, your dog follows you, wondering what you are doing. As you walk, the smell follows you – it is then that you realize that smell is coming from your struggling dog!
We love our furry friends, but we do not always like how they smell. Dogs are professionals at finding stinky, smelly things to roll in, and when they do, it is not pleasant.
When these things happen, there are only two things that you can do – get your dog professionally groomed or do it yourself. Either way has its advantages and disadvantages, so you need to look at your options to decide what is best for you. One thing to consider when making your decision is how long it will take to groom your dog.
How Long Does It Take To Groom a Dog
Things to Consider
Before making your final decision, there are many things to consider when deciding between a professional groomer and grooming yourself. There are specific things that can impact a professional dog grooming’s timing, so let’s look at some of the things that can impact grooming time.
Professional Grooming
When you take your dog to a professional groomer, you need to think about a few things. Consider these things when thinking about bringing in your dog – depending on the dog’s size, the thickness of their
coat, and how dirty or matted up they are will all impact the cost and time it will take to finish.
Groomers work on a specific schedule that is impacted by the dogs scheduled that day, the services that those dogs are scheduled for, and the drop-off times available to you.
Depending on the schedule that day, you may have to drop off your dog first thing in the morning, even if you have an afternoon appointment. The flip side of that can also occur when you are asked to drop off your dog later in the day, which can be inconvenient if you need to work.
Be sure to ask plenty of questions regarding the drop-off and pick-up times available and how long the grooming process will take.
Most groomers have more to offer than just simple bathing and cleaning. If you want to pamper your dog, many other choices can be added to your service – nail cutting, specialty clipping, paw and spa treatment, special aromatherapy treatments, and even nail grinding and painting!
Whatever services you choose, it is important to remember that it will add to the time needed to groom your dog, adding additional cost. Typical grooming can take two to three hours, and with other services, it can add one to two more hours.
If your dog has a long, shaggy coat, planning for additional drying time after the bath will be essential.
After you look at all of your options, you may decide to groom your dog yourself. If this is the direction you want to go, there are many things to think of before putting in the time and effort into a do-it-yourself spa day for your dog.
Grooming Your Dog at Home
If you decide to groom your dog at home, you want to be sure that you do not underestimate the time it will take. You do not want to get halfway done and realize that you are late for an appointment or need to pick up your kids from daycare.
Planning out the process and making a list of items that you need
beforehand should help you set things up for success.
Before you even mention the words “bath time” to your dog, make a list of everything that you need from start to finish. Some things to consider adding to the list are:
– Lots of old towels
– Dog shampoo and fur treatment
– Hairdryer
– Brush
– Nail clippers
– Large cup for rinsing
– Several leashes
This is just a basic list, so you may also need or want additional items, depending on how dirty your dog is, or if you want to add special or needed items to get them cleaned up.
Another thing to consider is where you want to do your doggy bath day – if it is warmer outside, you can use your yard as an excellent spot for clean-up but be thoughtful about how cold the hose water will be. You do not want your dog to get too cold.
Also, consider that unless another person is with you, your dog could slip out of your grasp and run away, which can lead to a lot of frustration.
Wherever you decide to have your bath day inside or outside, be sure to take into account the fact that you are most likely going to get very wet – most dogs, even those that love the water, instinctively shake when they get wet, so plan ahead and wear old clothes that you do not mind will get wet and full of fur.
Grooming your dog can be a great time to bond with your dog, but it does take time. Thinking that your dog will be clean, dry, and ready to go in 15 minutes will be a huge mistake when you start the process and realize it took that long just to convince them to stay in the tub and wet them down.
A typical quick bath and dry is usually about 30 minutes, but anything more than that, or if you have a dog with longer fur, will take more time. You may want to schedule one to two hours the first time to leave yourself enough time to get it all done.
Bottom Line
Whether you decide to spend the money on a groomer or try it on your own, any dog grooming and cleaning does take time. Prepare to either need to accommodate a groomer’s due or set aside enough time to do this task yourself.
Dogs take time, sometimes even more than a human, to get cleaned up and dry. A wet, cold dog will not only smell like a wet dog but will be pretty unhappy as well.
Lisabeth
Lisabeth has been a content blog writer for almost 10 years. She had fostered many dogs in that time, including 11 Golden Retrievers. She recently adopted an Australian Shepard named Shadow.
