Dropping off your pet to A Dapper Dog Grooming it is similar to dropping off a child at school. You will be curious as to what experiences your pet will encounter and the time they will be spent away from you.

Your pet will enjoy the experiences of a bubble bath, manicure, pedicure and hands on personal styling by a team of professional & certified groomers and stylists.

If it is your first time to A Dapper Dog Grooming you will be required to fill out a New Customer sheet to allow us to collect important health, wellbeing and personal preference details.

So on your first visit please allow an extra 10 minutes at drop-off time to complete this and discuss your needs. 

We then explain (after assessing your pet) what grooming options and requirements you would prefer.

At this stage we can give you a better guide as to the cost of your pet’s grooming for the day dependant on the style you have chosen, your pet’s coat condition and an initial assessment of their temperament.

Your pet will then have its own pen for the day – absolutely no sharing (unless it has a sibling). This ensures your special one is kept relaxed and safe whilst with us.

This becomes your pet’s personal space for their visit to A Dapper Dog Grooming. We do not allow bullying or rough play so your pet will not have to socialise with any other dog (no bad habits to pick up).

Some breeds will need to be prepared for the bathing process by the professional groomer. This may include a pre-bath hair clip to reduce the bulkiness of a heavy (or matted) coat to assist with drying or just a brush through to remove tangles from the coat either by clipping or cutting them away.

We are very sensitive to you and your dog’s needs, especially when it comes to looks and comfort. Some breeds may have their ear hairs plucked and canals cleaned as well as their nails clipped and buffed to prevent jagged nail edges and scratches on you.

Next, one of our groomers will take your pet to the bath for a skin/coat assessment. They will then use shampoo products from our range to lather your dog twice, to cleanse the skin and hair shaft of body grease, oils and dirt.

If you have selected a tooth brushing program your pet will then have their teeth brushed with their own individual toothbrush (no sharing). A conditioner from our range will be applied. After a thorough rinsing in warm fresh water they will be dried dependant on their coat type. We guarantee to not use hydrobaths or reuse water (yuck).

We have special chamois, towels and 'velocity' driers (which use air to push the water up & away from the skin along the hair shaft).

Most of this equipment is specially imported from England. Also gentle warm air dryers for the final dry are then used to allow our groomers & stylists to remove the dead hair & give a fluffy finish to the coat.

We use one or a combination of all drying techniques depending on your pet’s requirement and temperament.

Your pet is never left cold – from warm water in the bath through to warm air adjustable temperature dryers – this is all part of being a fully certified parlour.

Dependant on your pets grooming requirements, our stylists then thoroughly brush through the coat - again using a mix of warm or cool air dryers where required. The coat will be clipped, scissored and styled to your requirements or your pet’s needs. For those that have not yet had their ears & nails attended to they will now have them cleaned, clipped & buffed respectively. If you have chosen the nail polish option for your pet it will now be applied (pink, red or silver sparkle).

Your pet will not be left unattended. We provide fresh drinking water throughout the stay while in their spacious, individually protected pens.

From the bathing to the finished waiting to go home stage, your pet will always have a fresh cotton towel to lie on to help absorb the water then after drying will be provided a new dry towel to rest on, then a finishing towel waiting to be collected by you. Unlike other places, we  do not recycle any of our bathing towels. This ensures the strictest hygiene standards are applied.

Your pet may be taken on up to 2 outings outside to a grassed area for toileting depending upon his/ her requirements.

However; we insist you always toilet your pet before your appointment. We do our best but we expect your pet not to soil itself whilst in our care (advise if they have continence issues at booking).

We offer the opportunity to SMS your mobile phone when your pet will be ready to collect. This free service allows you to keep an eye on your pet’s readiness even if you are in a meeting or unavailable – just keep your mobile handy and watch for our SMS.

Collection is now the best time to let us know if you are happy with the style. If you would like anything a little different for the next visit we can make a note of it so we can improve or change the groom as you require. 

This is a personal service, don’t be shy – if you don’t tell us we’ll never know. We do keep detailed computer records on each grooming visit. Once you are happy with the style, you can simply say “like last time” or “the winter length” or “short for summer”.

Payment for your pet’s groom is accepted via cash or debit card (EFTPOS). Credit cards incur a $2.20 flat fee (see our Prices page for details). We do our best to quote the price we expect to reflect your pet’s groom but we may be out a little. Your pet may have been easier to handle or we have had difficulty with some knots so you may pay a little more or a little less – we will do our best to quote the service we expect to complete.

Being at A Dapper Dog Grooming is like a day out at the day spa. So yes your pet will be tired & may have a good sleep especially if it was their first visit & they were a little nervous.

Each pet is it’s own little person so we have many who love the grooming interaction & those that would prefer to stay at home and laze on the couch. Grooming is an integral part of your and your pet’s life so we endevour to make it a structured, relaxed routine that they will find enjoyable.

If you have any questions relating to your pet’s groom or any part of the procedure that has taken place please do not hesitate to ask any of our team. As we always say, we’re here to help you. We mean it. We value our customers. Over 20 years experience becomes your guarantee of quality, professionalism and careful grooming.

Thank you for taking the time to read all this. We hope it has helped you make an informed decision about your pets grooming needs. If we have missed anything, please let us know. We’d love to hear from you.