Most people don’t know how much work it takes to groom just one dog, let alone several! My average day is usually spent with 3-4 dogs in the salon but some days have as many as 5 or 6. If you’re thinking about opening your own doggy daycare or grooming business, this article will give you some tips on how to balance time between clients without sacrificing the quality of service.
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Table of Contents
How Many Dogs Can You Groom In A Day?
In an 8 hour workday, you can expect to groom about 5-6 dogs with 8 dogs being the max. The average amount of time to groom a dog is 1-2 hours. This includes bathing, brushing, trim and shaping.
How Long Should It Take To Groom A Dog?
It takes an average of 2-3 hours to groom a dog.
Simpler cuts take less. Skipping bathing and brush reduces the time as well. 2-3 hours is the time for full treatment.
Use this table as a quick reference for each step.
Dog Grooming Time Chart
| Type of Hair Cut or Work (e.g. bathing, brushing, etc.) | Description | Time |
| Bathing, Large Dog | Bathing large dog with short or long hair | 15 – 30 minutes |
| Bathing, Small Dog | Bathing small dog with short or long hair | 10 – 20 minutes |
| Brushing, Large Dog, Long Hair | Brushing large dog with long hair | 15 – 30 minutes |
| Brushing, Small Dog, Long Hair | Bathing small dog with long hair | 10 – 20 minutes |
| Nail Trim | trim nails and dew claws | 5-10 minutes |
| Kennel Cut, Large Dog | Shave to 1/2″ | 45 – 75 minutes |
| Kennel Cut, Small Dog | Shave to 1/2″ | 30 – 60 minutes |
| Shave and Scissor Trim | Shave body to 1/2″; Keep head, feet, and tail longer and use scissors to trim;
Most dogs get a version of this trim |
30 – 60 minutes |
| Thinning Thick Hair | Use thinning shears to remove hair from thick coats, especially under the belly | 15 – 30 minutes depending on dog size and hair length; more if brushing out knots is required. |
| Specialty Breed Trims | Varies by breed, more complex than basic Shave and Scissor trim | 60 minutes – 120 minutes |
How Long To Shampoo?
Bathing a dog with shampoo takes 10 to 30 minutes. This does not include time to brush out knots.
Dogs can be bathed with a mild dog shampoo everything other week and should be bathed at least once every three months.
Indoor dogs require less bathing than outdoor dogs. Bathing and brushing is always a good practice for dogs with longer hair that frequently gets matted or knotted. For long haired dogs consider the Kennel Cut described above. Kennel Cuts are especially great in summer when it’s hot out and they are active.
How Long To Thin Thick Hair With Thinning Scissors?
Thinning shears like the ones shown below can take 15 – 30 minutes to use on a dog depending on the dog’s size, hair length, and amount of knotting.
Most groomers skip the bathing and do this step direct. It can be easier to do on dogs after a good brushing.
Keep in mind that the thinning is just one step to thin the hair under the belly or other long areas. Most dogs will still require some shaving or scissor trimming work to complete the cut.
It’s good to use an undercoat rake for brushing matted hair under the dog’s belly.
How Long To Shave A Dog?
Shaving a dog takes between 30 – 75 minutes. The shorter time is for smaller dogs that don’t require bathing and brushing. The longer time is for larger dogs with long hair, also not requiring bathing or brushing.
How Long To Brush Out Knots?
Expect to spend about 15 to 30 minutes brushing out badly matted or knotted dog hair during a groom. There are a variety of brushes you can use like the undercoat rake shown above for belly hair or the slicker brush. The slicker brush is a good general purpose brush for removing knots.
How Long To Cut Nails?
Nail cutting your dog’s main nails and dew claws should take 2 to 10 minutes. It depends greatly on how calm the dog is and how much work you have to spend calming them down between nails.
We have entire articles devoted to this topic from how to do it to what clippers or grinders we recommend. Check those out for more info on these particular methods:
- Nail clippers vs Nail Grinders
- Using a Dremel to Trim Dog Nails
- Quietest Dog Nail Grinder
- Best Dog Nail Clippers
My name is Ken and I’m one of the staff writers at Petloverguy.com. I’ve cared for pets most of my life starting with hamsters, turtles, and snakes. Then moving up to parakeets, guinea pigs, and even ducks.
I currently live with two yorkies and a chihuahua mix.
