I charge £25 regardless of size or breed unless they dont need there legs doing i.e. smooth coated chihuahuas (£20), I've just bathed a St Bernard..£25., I also just clipped a seriously badly matted Bearded collie, for this i charged £35.
For cats I charge £35

At those prices it would be costing ME money to groom for example the beardie, lose 50% in normal overheads (insurance electric, shampoos personal development etc) that takes you down to say £18, then take out 3x blade sharpened as the coat would dull them @ £7 per blade, plus postage @ £5.....

So I would have worked my backside off for 2 hours and it's actually COST me money

I agree - I couldn't afford to groom at those prices!!!

I'm a new business so at the moment just getting my name known, but I don't see how groomers can warrant charging £80 to bath a St. Bernard?? The bearded collie I should of charged more for because he was a mess, it was a cruelty case to be honest, but, I'm asked to do a job and I do.

That's fine we all worry when we first start about getting business etc. BUT if you start off low, it's harder to put up later, you will then start to resent that you are working your backside off for less than minimum wage. IF you have the 'pile em high sell em cheap' attitude, you WILL attact all the hard work clients AND they will not learn to look after their animals. As for the St Bernard - why not? It's not just about time (although if done properly they should take a while) But you are using MORE shampoo and most importantly it is a MASSIVE wear and tear on your body. Honest if you don't look after your body now, you will only last a few years MAX. Join The English Groomers Group and Watt A Dog forum. You will get masses of advise there regarding how you work out your pricing structure. For example why should you charge someone who looks after say their Shih-Tzu every six weeks without a knot, the same as someone that brings in their stinky matted neglected dog once a year???? Although your training provider should have done all that.

As for the Beardie - for the record that also would have been at least an £80 groom. And I have to say 99% of the time the matted grooms than become regular clients. If they don't I refuse to groom them again.

I do mine myself. Saves me a fortune over time!

For Molly (Westie) it would be around £30 - £35 here. Wash, dry, cut, nails etc. That would be around every 6 - 8 weeks.

For Roxy (small crossbreed) it would be around £15 - £20. Wash, dry, nails etc. No clipping.

I think the general feeling is that groomers don't charge enough for their efforts, if you compare their prices to hairdressers, I stopped going to a salon when the price hit over £100 for highlights and a cut. My hair was not matted, I didn't fidget or bite the hairdresser and was out within 1.5 hours. Compared to the (minging) 95kg St Bernard, 4 hours slog, £80 = £20/hour before you take off your electric, water, shampoo, wear and tear (dog wouldn't/couldn't get on the table so he had to lay on the floor with me kneeling down all the time), no I feel it is entirely justified!

The way I see it it is a business not a hobby so I have to make something out of it and doing big dogs is sheer physical hard work.

Absolutely. Good groomers work hard and are worth their weight in gold.

Here here, but the tide is changing

So many people think it's easy money, until they try it proper. It takes a lot of money to set up properly, and a heck of a lot more dedication, guts, hard work and patience by the bucket load.

And if you want to do that then good for you, there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with doing it yourself if thats what you want to do. I have numerous clients who can't afford to come that often so do it themselves all year then bring it in twice a year or so. As long as the dog has been well brushed out and trimmed (if it needs to be) I don't have an issue at all

But A lot of people seem to think that groomers should somehow groom dogs for virtually nothing and that I take REALLY get on my high horse about