Took my collie-mix to the dog-groomer's today for a bath; 6 hours and $60 later...?

...he was definitely cleaner and had his nails cut, as I requested. But six hours and $60...does that seem a long time, not to mention a significant amount of $$$? I really don't know, as I never did this before. (I've been too ill to bathe him myself.) What do you think? Is your dog-grooming place like that? Thanks for your thoughts.

?2013-07-12T20:25:08Z

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I took Spike to Petsmart a couple of days ago.
He had a bath with shampoo and conditioner. They brushed his teeth, clean his ears, and ground his nails. It took 3 hours And cost $49.95.

Kate M2013-07-13T00:46:52Z

$60 is a lot for a bath, but with dogs with a long, thick coat, it is a lot of work.
6 hours can be excessie, but some grooming salons bathe the dogs in the morning and do the clipping in the afternoon, so dogs might be there all day. Some dogs might take longer to dry as well.

There are places that don't charge as much or take a long. Many will only keep the dogs a long as it take to groom them, so maybe a couple hours depending on the dog. Costs vary, so it is best to contact them and ask for an estimate. If you can, take your dog it to be looked at by the groomer so they can give a more accurate estimate rather than going by a description on the phone or a photo.

rescue member2013-07-13T01:01:58Z

Don't know how big your dog is, but if this was just for a regular bath and trim, I'd say it's about 20.- out of line.
I take my 2 long hair dachshunds to the groomer about every 2 months, they get washed, coat groomed and clipped (one is very, very hairy, way more than normal dachshunds and always has lots of tangles in odd places), ears cleaned, anals expressed, nails clipped -- and they end up looking too cute with bows in each ear.
Excellent groomer, very patient and gentle - and he charges 40.- per dog for this.

The normal time is about one and a half hours from drop off to pick up. He does not schedule lots of dogs so that any have to be kept waiting for hours, that's not something I would allow as dogs get too nervous waiting that long.

If I were you, I would finder another groomer. Shampoo, brush, minor clipping of coat, ear cleaning, anals expressed and nails clipped should be no more than 40.- Never paid more than that anywhere.

WyrDachsie2013-07-13T00:47:06Z

I don't know where you live, but $60.00 is about right for the size dog and amount of hair your dog has.

Remember, they first had to get all the knots out of the coat, then shampoo, trim, clip nails.

A couple of months ago, I was recuperating from surgery and brought my standard wire dachshund to the groomer for a simple bath. That's it, I do the grooming myself, but I couldn't kneel to bath her. Just a simple shampoo & nail clipping was $30.00 and my dog is 1/4 the size of your dog.

Also, it took 6 hours because not only was your dog probably quite a bit of work, but don't forget, she has other dogs there besides you. You don't say how big the place is and how many groomers there. They also probably had him under the dryer. They won't have you come and get him until his coat is dry.

ms manners2013-07-13T01:32:55Z

Sounds about right money-wise for a big, long-haired dog (at least where I live). That's why I groom my own.

A lot of grooming places keep the dogs waiting a long time. I don't like that, so if I use a groomer I use a mobile groomer who comes to the house.

You could try that with your dog.

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