How to choose a dog groomer: what to ask before you book

Choose a groomer by how your dog will spend the visit, then by price. The big differences in Louisiana are whether the groomer comes to you or you go to a salon, whether your dog waits in a kennel or is worked on start to finish, and what the groomer will do if the coat is matted. Ask about those, describe your dog accurately, and book a simple first visit before you ask for a complicated cut.

What tells one groomer from another

These are the differences recorded on our listings.

Difference	What it means	How common it is here
A salon to visit	Has a shop you bring your dog to	Most
Comes to you	Grooms at your home, or in a van parked there	Some
One dog at a time	No cage or kennel wait; your dog is worked on straight through	A few
Cats	Grooms cats as well as dogs	Some

Salon or mobile. In a salon, you drop off and collect, and your dog shares the room with other dogs, dryers and noise. Many dogs take it in stride. A mobile groomer does the whole job at your address, one dog at a time, which is calmer and saves you two trips, and usually costs more. Mobile groomers work a route, so their days in your area may be fixed.

The wait. At a busy salon a dog may be bathed, then kenneled to dry or to wait its turn, and be there half a day for a job that takes an hour or two of hands-on time. Groomers who work on one dog at a time finish sooner. If your dog is old, anxious or dislikes other dogs, this may matter more to you than anything else on the list.

What they do. Groomers sell baths, tidy-ups of the face, feet and rear, and full grooms with a haircut, often bundled into named packages. Finishing work such as hand scissoring, and coat work such as de-shedding and de-matting, are sold separately by many. If you have a breed with a particular cut, look for a groomer who shows that cut in their photos.

Size limits. Some groomers, especially mobile ones with a small van, can't take very large dogs, and some salons are set up for small dogs only. None of our listings states a limit either way at the moment, so if your dog is big, ask.

For a sense of price, grooming on this site starts from $25, with $30 a typical starting price and $90 at the higher end, as of October 2026. A separate guide covers what drives the price; see All guides.

Questions to ask before you book

The visit

1. How long will my dog be with you, and where does it wait before and after?
2. Is it dried by hand or in a kennel with a dryer? If a kennel dryer is used, how is the dog watched?
3. Who will groom my dog, and will it be the same person next time?
4. Can I see where the grooming is done?

The work

5. What is included in this package for my dog: nails, ears, haircut?
6. What would cost extra, and will you call me before adding anything?
7. If you find mats, what will you do? A careful groomer will tell you that tight mats are clipped out, not brushed out, because brushing them hurts, and will ask before shaving a coat short.
8. Have you groomed this breed or this kind of coat before?

Handling and safety

9. How do you handle a dog that is scared of the dryer, the clippers or having its feet held?
10. What do you do if a dog becomes too stressed to continue?
11. What happens if my dog is nicked or injured, and how would I be told?
12. Do you ask for vaccination records? Many salons do. What your dog should be vaccinated against is a question for your vet.

For mobile groomers

13. What do you need from me: a place to park, water, power?
14. Which days are you in my area, and how far ahead are you booking?

Tell the groomer the truth about your dog: its weight, when it was last groomed, whether it has mats, any sore spots or health problems, and how it behaves. Surprises on the table are what make a groom go badly and a bill go up.

What a first visit looks like

It starts with a conversation. The groomer looks at your dog and runs hands through the coat, asks what you want, and tells you what is realistic. Bring a photo if you have a particular look in mind, and be specific about length. "Short" means different things to different people; "leave about an inch" doesn't.

This is also when you hear about mats. If the coat is tangled to the skin, the kindest option is often to clip it short and start again. That is not the groomer cutting corners. Hair grows back, and you can keep it brushed from then on.

Then the work, in roughly this order: a brush-out, nails and ears, a bath, drying, and then the haircut and finishing if you are having a full groom. A bath for a short-coated dog is quick. A full groom on a thick or curly coat takes a couple of hours of hands-on time, more with waiting.

When you collect your dog, look it over with the groomer there. Check the length, the face, the feet and the rear. If something isn't what you asked for, say so then; most groomers will fix it on the spot. Ask what they noticed, too. Groomers see every inch of a dog's skin and often spot lumps, sore ears or skin trouble before an owner does. They can't diagnose, but "you may want your vet to look at this" is worth hearing.

For a puppy, keep the first visit short and easy: a bath, a light trim around the face and feet, and a gentle introduction to the dryer and clippers. The aim is a dog that is comfortable being groomed for the rest of its life. Ask your vet when your puppy is ready to go.

How often

It depends on the coat.

• Coats that keep growing, such as poodles, doodles, shih tzus and similar breeds, need a full groom every several weeks. Left longer, they mat.
• Double coats, such as huskies, shepherds and retrievers, don't need haircuts, but benefit from a bath and a thorough de-shed every couple of months, more in shedding season.
• Short, smooth coats need the least: a bath when the dog is dirty or smelly, and nails kept short.

In between, brushing at home does more than anything a groomer can do in one visit. A long or curly coat needs brushing right down to the skin several times a week. If that isn't going to happen, ask for a shorter cut that is easier to keep.

Louisiana's heat and humidity are a reason to stay on schedule. A matted or packed coat holds moisture against the skin, and a coat kept clean and brushed out is more comfortable in summer. Whether to clip a double-coated dog short for the heat is something groomers and vets have opinions on; ask yours before you decide.

Where to compare groomers

Groomers are listed side by side, with what each offers and its prices where stated, on Grooming in Louisiana. You can also look by place: New Orleans, Metairie, Kenner, Harahan, Chalmette, Destrehan, Slidell and Baton Rouge.