how many do you clip in a day!

I was wonedering what the average is for all you guys as in the number of dogs you would clip in a days work. ie 7balde clips and snapon clips and style cuts...i was talking to another groomer and she was doing 11 in a day. i thought wow that is fantastic . i can only do 8 and that is comfortable and doing my cuts how i like them.. so say an hour per dog and most times that is someone else washing and drying them for me ready to go. am i too fussy and spending too much time on each dog but i cannot seem to go any faster with the result i would like to achieve.
some times if i have a lot of just blade cuts i can go a bit quicker as they are not as fussy and fiddly as the others.
your input would be great i would love to that many a day, well i can if i have another groomer helping me but mine not long left so im by myself cliping with helpers just learning to clip which tends to slow things down too.
how many do you do and can you sustain this for weeks, summer is coming up and i am really panicking as i am the only trained groomer in my salon. the other girls will be able to do pree clips for me so that should help any way. im thinking customers will just have to booked in advance what else can i do without burnig myself out.

I can comfortably do 12-15 dogs a day..these will be a range of 7f-19mm blade cuts ...from Maltese x Shih Tzu..schnauzers, poodles (in a 3f/16mm/19mm blade, kennel cut) boarder collies, Cockers (in a kennel cut) & Goldies.

I have 2 people working with me...Hubby all the time & a Casual on Thur-Sats. ..we Open 8 am - 4 pm winter...4.30-5ish in summer.

Rough cut.....then they go to one of the others for bathing & drying while I rough cut the 2nd dog...Swap & finish cut ..& so on all day ..this way in the hour I ask to have a dog at the salon I can have 2 dogs finished & ready to go.

If I have a style/fancy cut coming in I still have time in the day to devote an hour & half to these dogs.

Hubby & the casual do all the walk in baths & dries during the day ...I just cut :-) ..they usually do around 10 hydrobaths/blow dries a day...20 on a Sat morning :-)



The week b4 Xmas...its around 20 clips a day...but at this time of year most are 7-5f bodies ..too easy & no think haircuts.



I am the only trained groomer here too...& am training my casual to be able to rough cut...but thats a little while off yet before she will be confident enough to work unsupervised :-)



It does not matter how many you do in a day as long as you are happy with your result.

I have been grooming for 12 years now & there are not many suprises that dogs can throw at me now to slow me down lol

As I am a newer groomer I still have a bit to go before I can groom 9 dogs in a day properly. I have worked with other groomers that could groom 11 plus dogs in a day including styled grooms aswell, (with a bather)

oh kk well thats great thanks , i didnt know how fast everyone was going. do you stop for lunch with all thoses doggies i dont if i have 8-10 haircuts in if i have someone helping me i can grab a quick bite to eat but there is no time to waste. maybe i need to be just quicker i suppose 12 years is a long time i have been going for three..lol. plus my groomer has just left and we had a really good system going. it is really hard to find someone who you can work really well with isnt it. i have just put my neice on she will be good doing some tidy 7 cuts and stuff. i just hope i can cope with the summer rush but i suppose they will be all short ones so that will be good
can yoiu do that amount of dogs every day and not be exhausted all the time lol

yep...time for a few coffees...food between dogs & play on facebook lol ...plenty of time in the day....11 for me is a nice easy day.



& yes you can do it day after day...its amazing how strong your shoulder & arm gets over the season...Hubby cannot hold the clippers up long enough to 10 cut a cocker hahaha woose ... he wont even try anymore...he is happy on the bath side of the room :-)



What tires me out is the noisy dogs that scream & bark in crates..the ones that poo as soon as you put them in a crate..the owners that turn up late for pick up that own these noisy messy dogs ..the owners that dont believe in training & boundaries for dogs...bad mannered dogs...people that own multiple dogs but cant afford to split a comfortis tablet between these dogs & they only get a shave off once a year when it should be every 3 months min ....its the mental stuff i find draining :-)

But there is soooooo many lovely natured sweet dogs & owners that it all out weighs the rest...would not change jobs for quids :-)

yeah the customer service is draining and the noisey doggies are a pain in the ass too lol. i guess i just need to try and go a bit quicker. prob make sure everything is nice and sharp and working wonderfully is also a help you cannot do the job with poor tools can you. so you use a belissima from wahl. they have little blades which go from a 15 to a 40 on them. i have a few of these and they are great for smaller dogs and the shorter cuts and they dont have a cord too which is easier with the legs and feet. next week i will try to time myself for quicker haircuts especially the 7 blade ones. i have also been using Gieb blades they are wonderful, cut beautifully and stay sharp for ages i think i will have to go through my blades and use the older ones for the pre clips.. who do you use for sharpening your baldes and scissors i have been using a couple of different people but im not quite happy with either.

bourkejm wrote:oh kk well thats great thanks , i didnt know how fast everyone was going. do you stop for lunch with all thoses doggies i dont if i have 8-10 haircuts in if i have someone helping me i can grab a quick bite to eat but there is no time to waste. maybe i need to be just quicker i suppose 12 years is a long time i have been going for three..lol. plus my groomer has just left and we had a really good system going. it is really hard to find someone who you can work really well with isnt it. i have just put my neice on she will be good doing some tidy 7 cuts and stuff. i just hope i can cope with the summer rush but i suppose they will be all short ones so that will be good
can yoiu do that amount of dogs every day and not be exhausted all the time lol

Mobile I average about 8-10per day, if not mobile 10-12 , but I work by myself, this may vary depending on size or styles......food? I used to live on a mars bar and a can of coke during the day, well it took more than 20 years to realise that eating 5-6 small meals a day keeps me pain free and not exhausted at the end of the day or burned out at the end of the year. I basically eat every 3 hours.....as a mobiler I will snack while driving or just eat while working......

thats really good suzanne, i must be going a little slower than everyone else i can do about 8 clips by myself per day i should be going faster but you always have to stop and serve customers answer the fone etc oh well you can only do what you can do and not stress. i will try next week to go faster and i will let youknow lol

When I'm on my own, usually do 5 or 6 in 6 or 7 hours. I do a lot of bigger dogs too.

According to my booking software I do 7.23 dogs per day when I am on my own (not very often these days), when the boss (wife) is helping 9 to 10 and up to 13 depending on the dog size and day. Still trying to work out what breed is the .23

A toy tea cup

Well, I am pretty slow I must admit. You guys must be amazing!

Honestly I only do about 4 or 5 dogs a day! I think my scissoring lets me down. I'm not a great scissorer so I spend too long on feet and faces. I have seen other groomers just take one snip and it looks perfect.

Though, at the moment I'm still working at other salons until I build my client base here up. Hopefully when I'm just working for myself I'll build a better routine and speed up

Practice makes perfect, so keep up the good work Tanya and don't be too hard on yourself......... It will all come........

so in saying this with the amount of dogs you all do in a day are you striving for quality or quantity. i just cannot get past the similar number all the time and making sure the haircuts are a certain standard before they go out the door. so im determined to do quality not quantity i think that is the most important in the long run well for me any way it is a really interesting topic and i really like to see what everyone else can manage i find it helps with confidence and knowing you are not alone with this kind of industry in which there is no-one around locally you can call on to help. at least i have my forum friends to call on go you good lot you guys are the cherry bomb lol

Full grooms I can do 6. I work alone and am an old fussy bitch .

As a Mobile groomer numbers in the day depend on to many aspects to answer honestly. I try in busy times for 4-5 grooms and if I can squeeze a couple of washes in there I will.

I have a large mixture of big and small so one of those big dogs is equivalent to two small in price and possibly time.

Salon and home groomers don't have to dodge and weave speed bumps, traffic and P platers going sideways. This is a huge waste of time for me and my regular clients. I don't think I'd want to do anymore than this even if at home. This is enough to pay the bills and be happy and stress free with my furbabies. That's what grooming has become to me. Quality of groom, Quality of care and love whilst grooming animal, sheer delight from owners and there dogs as they wag there way inside. This gives me quality in my life.........

Well said Tails....we all have varying "goals" with our grooming and such varying set ups and conditions. As long as we are happy at the end of a day and looking forward to the next....suits me.

Sarah. I couldn't agree more. I used to stress out because I could only do 5 or 6 a day. But being mobile in suburbia takes a chunk out of your day. So my average is around 5 to 6 dogs a day, and 1 or 2 more during the warmer months.

thanks girls, i have come to the conclusion that i have to be happy with what i can do and you cannot do any more than that. people get upset that you cannot fit them in that day but stiff shit. if they rang their hairdresser they would more than likley not get in, so there will be a waiting time if it comes to that they will have to book in advance. i have to look after myself for the long haul and that is my main priority cause if i get sick i cant do the haircuts and the doors are shut. i love my job too the lookon the little doggies eyes are just enough to melt you to pieces lol. i love to put bows in their hair they just look sooo cute

Exactly Jane ...do things your way in your time :-)



I have started booking my favourite regulars with appointments all the way up to xmas (weekly, 2 weekly, monthly, 3 monthly..all of them lol ) ...nothing worse than not having enough room to fit in a long standing client because you have too many of those one off calls ins on.

I would rather a regular cancel one of their appointments than miss out.

The feral busy grooming season is begining :-D woohoo bring it...Im looking forward to seeing a few different breeds....Boarders, Goldies etc...too many little dog clips over winter :-)

Just a little curious Nat:scratch:



You said you have started recurring appointments for regular cliental continuing through the year. Are you doing that via PC package? If yes which one?

Didn't you run the mobile with set regular appointments???

The feral busy grooming season is begining :-D woohoo bring it...Im looking forward to seeing a few different breeds....Boarders, Goldies etc...too many little dog clips over winter :-)

My Border Collies, Golden Retreviers & especially my Rough Coat Collies are all groomed all year round. I do slack off on rainy days as drying can be difficult in heavy weather conditions.

Yes mobile always had fixed appintment time ...& I do have quite a few regular rebooking here in the salon too (heaps of bath clients)....but over the winter people tend to drag the time between haircuts out ...& just phone when they needed a tidy...these now are being booked back onto their regular 6 weekly clipping appointments.

No software here..I use pen & paper!!



I see all the boarders etc for regular bath/dries all winter too...just looking forward to clipping them ...I love the look of a clipped boarder collie :-)

Thanks. It's great your rebookings are taking off in salon.

I like some of the Border Collies taken down to. I have one who really feels the heat but I'm afraid she wouldn't be a good look due to all the smakko's she eats...... A little on the larger side and not mean't for a bikini.......... I use a snap on comb and take down gently cause i can't stick it back on when it's gone.....

I've gone back to pen and paper for now.... Software with client changes on the road is difficult........

Good topic!

On average i work from 8am in the morning and take last dog in at 6pm..

Thursdays are late night so i do last drop off at 8pm and last pick up between 9-9:30pm, after late night shopping LOL..

Saturdays i start at 7am and finnish at 7pm

On average i fit 8-10 dogs in a day a mixture of full grooms, shave off, bath and dry, hydrobath ect ect..

I am the only one working in my salon and i have to say saturdays do normally leave me exhasted!

the "All off shave off" either number 7F or 10! are about 45 mins and the dogs are done and ready to go..

then the common small fluffy cut 4-5 SS snap combs are about 90 mins and finnished

them i have my sammies, huskies ect sheds and are about 2 hrs to finnish

and the cocker and cavy shave are normaly 2 hrs aswell ..


Winter isn't slower but normaly easier as the clips tend to change to bath and fluff dogs with occasional trimming ect.. After bringing in a 8 week over due fee most of my clients rebook and this makes their pocket and my blade much happier as the dogs are cleaner and better maintained..

I used a simple diary and pen and then at the end of the month i change them into computer documents for easier taxation ect ect..


When i started i struggled to get 5 dogs done in a day let alone the amount i fit in now! the more you get to know the dogs the easier the clips become as you know exactly what you are doing!

Thursday....just finished 5 .I started 830am and finished by 1pm on my own. 2 were clip only (bathed the day before) but 1 a naughty poodle. The others no 3 blade full trims. They are all regulars and no dramas with their coats. I normally only book up to 5/6 a day in summer so I have early days. You will increase your'e speed with experience ...Don't overtax yourself as it could lead to illness and "burnout". Revisit this post in a year and tell us how you are going.