How Often Should You Groom Your Pet? A Complete Guide
The ideal routine depends on coat, age and lifestyle — here's how to find your pet's rhythm.
"How often?" is the question we hear most at the front desk. The honest answer: it depends on the coat in front of us. Here's the framework we use when we build a schedule for your pet.
By Coat Type
Curly and non-shedding coats (poodles, doodles, bichons) mat fast: full grooms every 4–6 weeks with brushing at home between. Double coats (huskies, shepherds, goldens) need deshedding and baths every 6–8 weeks — never shaved, since the undercoat regulates temperature. Short smooth coats can go 8–12 weeks with regular nail trims keeping the routine.
Signs You're Overdue
Clicking nails on hard floors, a musty smell even after brushing, mats behind the ears and armpits, scooting, or eye gunk building up daily — any of these means it's time, whatever the calendar says.
Puppies, Seniors and Cats
Start puppies with short, happy intro visits after their second vaccination so the salon feels like a treat, not a trial. Seniors do better with more frequent but shorter appointments — maintenance over marathon. And cats? Two to four professional sessions a year keeps longhairs matt-free and lets us check skin that owners rarely see.
The simplest rule: book the next visit at pick-up. Regulars on a standing full-grooming cycle never hit the matted-and-panicked stage — and their pets walk in wagging.