Full Groom.

A full groom is what most owners book and what most dogs need every six to eight weeks. It's the full dog grooming package: a careful pre-groom check, a warm bath with shampoo and conditioner matched to your dog's coat type, a thorough towel-and-blow-dry, a clip-and-scissor finish to whatever length you like, nails trimmed, ears cleaned and a final brush-out before your dog goes home.

Most full grooms take between one-and-a-half and three hours, depending on size and coat condition. I work to your dog rather than the clock. There are no shared dryers and no other dogs in the room, and I'm not rushing to fit the next appointment in. A cockapoo who needs a break to sniff round the salon gets one.

If your dog hasn't been groomed in a long time, or the coat is heavily matted, the kindest thing is sometimes to clip down to a short, healthy length and let it grow back properly. I'll always talk you through it before we pick up the clippers, and I'll never carry on with a groom that's becoming stressful for your dog.

Pricing goes by size and coat type. Small dogs (terriers, shih-tzus, bichons) start at £40, medium dogs (cockapoos, mini schnauzers, cocker spaniels) at £50, and large dogs or heavy-coated doodles (labradoodles, goldendoodles, retrievers) at £60. Heavy matting, anxious behaviour or unusually long gaps between grooms can add a little to the time and the price, and I'll always confirm that with you before we start.

What you do between grooms matters as much as the groom itself. A coat that's brushed regularly at home arrives in better shape, takes less time on the table, and is far less likely to need a shorter cut than you wanted. For curly and wavy coats (cockapoos, poodles, doodles) the brush has to reach right down to the skin rather than skim the top. Most home matting forms in the dense undercoat where a quick once-over never reaches. Line-brush in sections, lifting the coat and working from the skin outwards, and pay extra attention to the friction points: behind the ears, under the collar or harness, the armpits, and the back legs. Five minutes most days beats half an hour once a week.

It helps to think about timing before you book. A coat clipped short looks its best for the first few weeks and then grows into the length you actually asked for, so if there's a date you want your dog looking sharp, a holiday, family photos, a show, book a week or two ahead rather than the day before. Smooth and short coats can stretch the interval; continuous-growth coats that never moult cannot, and pushing past the point where the coat starts to felt only moves cost from the groom to the de-matting session. If you're not sure where your dog sits, ask at the appointment and we'll give you a sensible interval for that particular coat.

There are a few things worth watching between visits, because catching them early keeps everything cheaper and kinder. A dog scratching at one ear, shaking the head, or a sour smell from the ear can mean it needs attention before the next groom. Nails clicking on a hard floor have grown long enough to affect how the dog stands. Tear staining that suddenly worsens, a paw being licked raw, or a patch of coat that mats again days after a groom are all worth a mention. Sometimes it's the harness rubbing, sometimes it's skin that needs a vet rather than a groomer. We're happy to take a look and tell you which it is.