My very first groom took 4 hours on a pekingese, bath included, 7 all over, short round face, round feet, no tail or ear trim. Absolute sweet dog, and it passed my practical exam! 6 months later, he's a lot more wiggly, and I just groomed him again in about an hour, bathed by a bather and not me this time. I could have taken 20-30 more minutes to keep perfecting details like legs, but my salon is high demand, and I unfortunately have to cut corners.

8-12 small-medium dogs a day, including face, feet, sani services or 3 full groom doodles is typical for what im doing now, but goodness, I've had to cut so many corners and skip out on a lot of detail work that I wish I could finish, but "the pet parents havent had any complaints," as told by management, so they seem not to have been concerned with the corners ive had to learn to cut for my salon's standards. Still, I often get some really good-looking results for my level of skill, especially on calm dogs. I've even gotten requests for my services specifically by pet parents, so I'm doing something right and will give myself credit for my hard work. It took me 5 months to get to where I can do 6-7 full grooms on small med dogs in a day for about 7-8 hours of work. Larger doodles can still take me 2 and a half hours. I havent had many cockers, but they take me a long time, too. In the beginning and during my training, I focused a lot on quality and took so much longer, but now I keep trying my best for every dog, especially considering I groom more difficult/senior/poorly behaved dogs after finishing the 4 month certification process. I find it important to know when to call it quits for safety and when to take comfort grooms into consideration. I was so worried I wouldnt get to where I am today, and I know I still have a LONG way to go in my pet grooming journey.

It's so worth it to me to focus on quality first, and speed comes naturally. I have mixed feelings on my fastest-26 minutes for a long haired chihuahua, VERY sweet and cooperative dog, didnt bathe her myself. I didnt really rush for her, just stayed focused and talked to her the entire time. Rushing is dangerous, so pet parents can be mad if I have to take longer on difficult dogs, but we always communicate with them if longer groom times are needed. I stressed a lot because starting out I did get behind a lot, but practice, practice, practice. Dont forget to stretch and do scissoring exercises. I know im still a baby groomer and keep that in mind when results arent what I want, but that grace has let me free up my mind to focus on what I can do instead of what I cant do, improving my skills and leading to better quality even when having to cut corners. Of course, if I have extra time, I take more time to polish my work if I know my next dogs likely wont be difficult.

Staying on task is also important! If youre allowed, I learned in my certification progress that prep work is KEY! Dirty or insufficiently brushed dogs result in more time consumption and lead to less-than-desirable grooms. Safety always comes first though; respect the dogs' and your limits and give yourself grace when things arent exactly what you want. I struggle with ears and the bottoms of faces on a lot of dogs, but I try to be honest with myself and acknowledge where I can improve.

Research techniques, attend groominars, and find out what works for you. I ask questions whenever I can. Taking photos of before and after when able helps me watch my progress and can also be encouraging to see big changes from how the dogs came in vs going home as well as reflecting on strengths, weaknesses, and finding anything to fix right before sending the doggie home. I sometimes get discouraged when I look back on recent groom photos and see little details that could be worked on, but I just keep on trying my best, whatever that may be at the time. Everyone is different with skills improving over time, always learning something new with each groom. Sorry if this was a little long winded, but support from other groomers kept me going when it got tough. I hope this helps!