Grooming pricing by breed and coat, not by the dog's weight

Aug 27
3 min read

Updated: 4 days ago

Introduction

Most groomers price by size. Small, medium, large, extra large — a tidy structure that has almost no relationship to how long the work actually takes.

A smooth-coated medium dog is a forty-minute job. A medium doodle with a neglected coat is three hours of difficult, physically demanding work. Charging them similarly means the difficult dogs are subsidised by the easy ones and the day loses money.

1. Grooming pricing by breed and coat should reflect the time the work takes

The variable is not the animal's mass. It is the coat.

Length, texture, density, whether it mats, whether it needs hand-stripping, whether the breed has a standard cut that takes skill and time. Two dogs of identical weight can differ fourfold in duration, and the price list should say so.

2. Build the price list from your own timings

Do not import someone else's structure.

Log actual durations for your twenty most common breeds and coat types over a month, including the awkward ones. That data turns pricing from a guess into a model, and it usually reveals two or three breeds you have been substantially under-charging for years.

3. Price by breed where you can, and by coat type where you cannot

Breed-based lists are clearer for owners and easier to quote from.

For crossbreeds and unknowns, fall back on coat description with an assessment on arrival. Doodles and other poodle-crosses in particular need explicit treatment, because owners frequently do not realise how much work the coat requires.

4. State a condition assumption and the right to re-quote

The same breed in good and neglected condition are different jobs.

Say that prices assume a regularly maintained coat, and that a dog arriving matted or heavily overgrown will be quoted on arrival. That is honest, it protects the day, and it gives you a legitimate basis for the difficult conversation.

5. Charge separately for matting, and explain the welfare position

De-matting is slow, uncomfortable for the dog, and sometimes inappropriate.

State the surcharge in advance, and explain that welfare may require clipping short rather than working through a severely matted coat. Getting agreement before starting prevents the sector's most common dispute, which happens at collection when the owner sees a shorter dog than expected.

6. Price the extras rather than absorbing them

Nail trimming, ear cleaning, teeth brushing, de-shedding treatments, anal glands, hand-stripping.

Each takes time. Bundling everything into one price makes the headline figure look high and gives the owner no visible choice. Itemised, they read as options and are frequently taken.

7. Charge for the dog that takes two people or extra time

Some dogs are difficult to handle, elderly, anxious or aggressive.

That is a longer, higher-risk appointment and sometimes requires a second person. Pricing it accordingly is not unreasonable — the alternative is that those appointments run over and displace the rest of the day.

8. Quote in person or with a photograph where possible

Quoting a crossbreed over the phone from the owner's description is how groomers lose money.

Ask for a photograph, or quote a range with a firm price on arrival. Owners consistently under-describe coat condition, usually without meaning to.

9. Track revenue per hour, not revenue per dog

The number that exposes everything in this trade.

A large dog at a high price that took four hours may be worse than three small ones in the same time. Log duration against price for a month and the pricing errors become obvious — and they are usually concentrated in a few specific breeds.

Conclusion

Price the work rather than the animal, because coat type and condition determine duration far more than size does.

Build the list from your own logged timings, price by breed where possible and coat type otherwise, state a condition assumption with the right to re-quote on arrival, charge separately for matting with the welfare explanation given in advance, itemise the extras rather than absorbing them, price appointments requiring extra handling accordingly, quote crossbreeds from a photograph or on arrival, and measure revenue per hour rather than per dog.