What's on the Dog Grooming Menu

Every grooming guide has a list of services. We counted the real one: the dog grooming services list that 7,856 groomers publish on their own websites. A full groom is the headline item, listed by 76%of them. It normally means the whole job — bath, blow-dry, brush-out, a haircut or trim to a style, nails and ears. A bath & tidy (67.3%) is the lighter version: bath, dry and brush, with only a tidy of the face, feet and sanitary areas, and no full haircut. It suits short-coated dogs and doodles between cuts. Nail trims (61.7%) are the third staple, often sold walk-in.

Below the core three, the menu thins out quickly. Here is every service in our vocabulary, with the share of groomers that list it and what it does to a salon’s advertised starting price.

Share: over 7,856 groomers that publish a services list. Prices: median advertised starting price among salon groomers that publish a price, split by whether they list the service.

Wire-coated breeds — many terriers, schnauzers, wirehaired dachshunds — grow a harsh outer coat that is meant to shed in clumps. Hand-stripping pulls that dead coat out by hand or with a stripping knife, so a fresh, correctly textured coat grows in. Clipping is faster but cuts the dead hair rather than removing it, and over time leaves the coat softer and duller in colour. Stripping is slow, takes practice and is hard on the groomer’s hands, which is why few salons offer it.

How few: 285 of 7,856 groomers that publish a services list mention hand-stripping, roughly 1 in 28. It is the least-listed service in our vocabulary, below breed-specific cuts (11.7%) and a puppy’s first groom (7%).

A de-shedding treatment (28.9% of groomers) targets double-coated dogs like huskies, shepherds and retrievers: a conditioning shampoo, a high-velocity blow-out and undercoat rakes to pull loose fur before it lands on your sofa. Teeth brushing (32.1%) is a quick cosmetic brush, and a puppy first groom (7%) is a short, gentle visit meant to get a young dog used to the table, the dryer and being handled.

The price data says these are sold as extras, not built into the headline. Salons that list a full groom advertise a median starting price of $65, against $49 for those that don’t — mostly bath-and-tidy shops, a gap of $16. Listing a specialty service — teeth, de-shedding, flea treatment, breed-specific cuts or hand-stripping — moves the starting price by only +$5 to +$6; nail trims, bath & tidy, puppy grooms and cat grooming by −$6 to $0. In other words, the starting price is mostly set by the dog’s size and coat and by whether you want a haircut; the specialties are priced separately on top.

If you have a wire-coated terrier and want the coat kept correct, search for hand-stripping specifically and ask before you book — with so few salons listing it, the nearest groomer will usually clip. Ask how long it takes and how it is priced; many charge by the hour. For a heavy shedder, ask whether de-shedding is included or an add-on. And treat teeth brushing at the groomer as a freshen-up, not a substitute for your vet’s dental checks.

You can browse groomers near you in our dog grooming directory, where a salon’s listed services appear on its page. For what grooming costs state by state, see the grooming cost study; for the full services-and-amenities table, the amenities study. If a van suits you better, we priced mobile dog grooming separately, and cat owners should read where the cats are — 34.8% of groomers here list cat grooming.

What does a full dog groom include?Typically a bath, blow-dry, brush-out, haircut or trim, nail trim and ear cleaning. It is the most-listed service on groomers’ menus (76% of those publishing a list). Teeth brushing, de-shedding and flea treatment are usually extra.

How hard is it to find a groomer who hand-strips? Hard. Only 3.6% of groomers that publish a services list mention it (about 1 in 28). Terrier breed clubs and show groomers are good places to ask for a referral.

Do dog groomers brush teeth? Many do: 32.1%of groomers with a published services list offer it, usually as an add-on. It freshens breath but does not clean below the gumline, so it doesn’t replace veterinary dental care.

Listed is not the same as offered.A groomer that doesn’t mention hand-stripping on its website may still do it if you ask, and a menu can be out of date. The shares are a floor on what is available, not a census.

A fixed vocabulary.Each site’s own wording (“spa package”, “the works”, “mini groom”) was mapped to one of ten service labels by an automated extractor. Borderline wording can land in the wrong bucket or none.

Advertised starting prices. The price columns are medians of the lowest price a salon advertises, not what a given dog will cost. Real prices climb with size, coat condition and matting. Services with few salons behind them (hand-stripping has 63 priced salons) carry the most noise.