How much to charge for a shave down (and why it isn’t the cheap option)
“Just shave him all off — that’s got to be quicker, right?” Every groomer hears it, usually in June, usually about a Doodle, and always with the expectation that quicker means cheaper. It doesn’t. If you’ve ever wondered how much to charge for a shave down, the short answer is: your full-groom price, and sometimes more. Here’s the reasoning, the math, and the scripts.
Why a shave down isn’t a discount haircut
Walk through where the time goes on a #7 all-over versus a scissored full groom on the same 40-pound Doodle. The bath is the same. The dry is the same — the coat has to be clean and fully dry before a blade goes through it. The nails, ears, pads, and sanitary are the same. The face and feet still get tidied, because “shave him” never means the owner wants a naked face.
What you save is some of the scissor and finish work on the body. What you add is close blade work over every inch of skin: armpits, flank folds, the belly, the inside of the back legs. That’s where clipper irritation, nicks, and the “he’s been licking his leg since he got home” call live. Short work is careful work, and a blade that’s been running for forty minutes is hot.
Net result on a clean, cooperative dog: maybe 10 to 15 minutes back out of a 90-minute slot. On a dog who’s being shaved because the coat is packed or matted, you’re slower than the full groom, not faster — which is why that dog gets a matting fee on top.
The price: start at your full groom and go up from there
Say your full groom on that Doodle is $85 in a 90-minute slot — about $57 an hour. Charge $60 for the shave “because it’s faster” and, even with 15 minutes back, you’ve just worked at $48 an hour on the dog most likely to generate a follow-up call.
The clean rule is: shave down = full groom price. Same number, same slot. Then three add-ons apply when they’re earned:
- Matting. If the reason for the shave is that the coat can’t be brushed out, your matting fee applies on top, quoted at drop-off with hands on the dog. $15 to $30 is a normal range for a solo shop.
- Double coat. If an owner insists on shaving a Golden, a Husky, or a Pomeranian after you’ve explained why you’d rather not (more on that below), the groom is priced as a large-dog full groom plus a de-shed, because that’s the work. Many groomers simply decline; both are fine. Neither is a discount.
- Size. Your normal size bands still apply. A shaved Standard Poodle is still a Standard Poodle.
One thing not to add: a “shave down fee” on a clean coat. The point is to stop discounting, not to invent a surcharge.
What the summer discount costs across a season
Picture a shop that takes four “just shave him” requests a week from May through September — about 20 weeks, 80 dogs. Knock $20 off each because it feels quicker and that’s $1,600 gone, all of it from the busiest, hottest months of the year when your slots were already full. Skip the matting fee too because “we’re shaving him anyway” and the gap is wider still.
The wording for your price list
It answers “shouldn’t it be cheaper?” before it’s asked and puts the double-coat conversation on paper. Keep it with the rest of your published prices so the booking page carries the message for you.
The scripts
“I can take him nice and short for summer, for sure. It’s the same price as his full groom, $85 — he still gets the bath, dry, nails, ears, feet, and face, and going short means I’m working right against the skin over the whole body, which I take slowly. If there’s any matting I’ll check him over at drop-off and let you know before I start. Want Thursday at 10?”
“I hear you, he’s hot. Here’s the honest version: Goldens have a double coat, and shaving it usually makes them hotter, not cooler — the undercoat is what insulates him from the sun, and it often grows back patchy. What actually helps is a de-shed: I strip out the loose undercoat, and he’ll feel a lot lighter without losing his protection. That’s $95 today.”
“He did great. He’s at a #7 all over, so for the next week keep him out of the midday sun and if you see him licking one spot, a cool cloth on it is usually all it needs. Let’s book him for eight weeks — on that schedule he never gets long enough to need shaving again.”
Three rules that keep it consistent
Quote the full-groom price first, every time. Say the number, then say what’s in it.
Decide your double-coat position before June. Decline, or price it as a de-shed plus a full groom — either is defensible. Deciding at the counter with a hot owner in front of you is how you end up shaving a Husky for $70.
Use the shave to set the schedule. A dog who’s been shaved because the coat got away from the owner is the perfect dog to rebook on the spot.
Put the line on your price list this week and quote the next “just shave him” call the same way you’d quote the full groom. Short is a style choice the client is making. It was never a discount.
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