Sadie's Pet Spa

Puppy’s first haircut! She was just the sweetest 🥰.

Before and beautiful after!

Shoko 🐾🩵.

Maisy 💜🐾 waiting on dad to pick her up! This is her second haircut, she’s still a puppy but she’s been very well trained and is already at pro level in the salon. 😌🎉

Dog grooming has changed a lot over the years — and not because groomers suddenly decided to raise prices.

Back in the 1990s, the average full groom was about $40–$50.
If prices had increased just $2 per year since then (like most skilled trades), that same groom would be around $117 today for a small dog weighing 0-15 pounds.

For many years, grooming stayed underpriced while:
• supply costs increased
• insurance increased
• utilities increased
• rent increased
• groomer pay increased
• and the popularity of high-maintenance coats (like doodles) dramatically increased the time required per dog

Most full grooms require 2.5–3.5 hours of hands-on work from a trained professional.

Dog grooming is also one of the most physically demanding careers people don’t often think about.

It’s a female-dominated trade that involves:

• standing 6–8 hours per day
• repetitive wrist and shoulder strain
• lifting large dogs
• breathing hair and dander daily
• working around urine and f***s
• handling nervous or biting dogs
• and continuing to provide calm, compassionate care through it all

Many groomers develop long-term back, shoulder, and respiratory issues over time.

At Zen Dog Grooming, our small-dog haircuts currently start at $90 in 2026 which is still below what grooming would average today if pricing had followed steady increases over the last 30+ years.

We truly love what we do, and we appreciate every client who supports professional grooming and our small business.