Everyone’s heard the old adage Time is Money – and it’s true. If you can get more dogs done in less time you will make more money. Here’s a few ideas on how.
- Create routines and stick to them. Habit makes you faster. Bathe and groom in the same order every time. It doesn’t matter what order, front to back or back to front as much as doing it the same way each time.
- Move your hands quickly. Repetitive motions such as scissoring, clipping, or brushing can lull your brain into low gear and it’s easy to let your motions begin to match that gear. You can be relaxed and still make sure you are doing the current task as quickly as is safe for you and the pet, just be aware of how fast your hands move.
- If it isn’t working, change it. That dog you cringe when you know it’s coming because it takes forever? Change something. Book it more frequently so the groom is easier, put it in a shorter trim or a different one, book it on a quieter day – change something to make it easier and faster to do. Does the dog take too long to dry? Change your conditioner to something lighter, or don’t condition just use a silicon based spray such as GloCoat (TP510) or Ultramax Finishing Spray (ZX8117) after towel and force drying, or try a quick dry spray (Ikaria ZX3156), get a more powerful dryer, change what towels you use.
Identify problem areas and problem solve. Does it take too long to clean dog hair from everything? Get a clipper vacuuming system and I guarantee cleaning will be easier. It doesn’t stop scissored hair or hair brushed or blown but it gets rid of those awful short cut hairs that stick to absolutely everything. Already use one? Consider hiring someone to clean whether it’s a weekly deep clean or the end of each day. Sometimes you don’t need to hire another groomer or bather you just need to free up the time they spend doing non- grooming tasks. What is their (or your) time worth to the business compared to what you will pay someone to clean, wash towels, and vacuum?
By Carol Visser, Journalist, Master Pet Groomer, Certified Dog Trainer, Pet Product Expert
