Local groomer offers DIY course amid Sonoma County shortage

Debra Harris, owner for My Pet Pal Grooming in Sonoma, is fully booked until January. While other groomers have pointed to a surplus of pets as the cause of their scheduling issues, Harris looks to the shortage of groomers.

“Groomers cannot afford to live in Sonoma Valley, and new groomers don’t make enough to open their own commercial space,” Harris said. “We’re all in the throes of being short on staff.”

She pointed to Aberglen Pet Resort’s recent closure following wind damage and other groomers who have moved away without anyone to fill the gap.

There are only a handful of groomers in Sonoma Valley, and just 22 that come up for the county in a Google search.

“Sonoma doesn’t have a Petco or a PetSmart that usually pick up a lot of slack in the grooming industry,” Harris said.

Unlike some other groomers in town, Harris didn’t start booking up months in advance until August, when she lost two of her groomers, taking her operation from five people to three.

While it might seem like a dream to be fully booked, Harris has felt the stress of being short staffed and the pain of turning loyal customers away for lack of availability. She’s had people call to make an appointment who have been coming to her for their grooming needs for over 25 years, and through multiple generations of pets.

“It’s really tough to answer the phone because people are surprised we’re booked,” Harris said.

Lauren Meyers, groomer and owner of Wet Nose Style in Sonoma, is booked out for four months, which has been the case for the last year.

Meyers started grooming in 2017 after becoming involved with dogs through her work as a founding board member of Compassion Without Borders, an organization that provides a brighter future to animals in need on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.

She grooms a handful of doodles, and doodle mixes, that are often referred to as “designer dogs.”

A doodle is defined as a dog that is part purebred poodle. Popular doodle breeds include golden doodles (poodle and golden retriever), Labradoodles, (Labrador retriever and poodle) and sheepadoodles (sheepdog and poodle). These dogs need to be groomed every six to eight weeks in order to prevent matting, which can be uncomfortable for the dog and painful to remove or brush out.

According to Meyers, it can cost between $85 to $160 per grooming session for doodles in Sonoma, depending on the size, condition of coat and temperament of the dog.

Meyers has noticed an uptick of doodles around Sonoma since the pandemic.

According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty, “...close to one in five households acquired a cat or dog since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, which would account for approximately 23 million American households based on the 2019 U.S. Census.”

An increase in pets, along with shortages in groomers, have plagued communities across the country, according to Groomsoft, one of the leading pet grooming software programs in the industry.

“The increase in pet ownership is also driving the demand for pet grooming services. However, for years pet grooming businesses have been struggling to build and maintain highly-skilled pet grooming staff, and this shortage just got worse,” Groomsoft said in a January blog post. “The lack of pet groomers is creating huge backlogs for pet grooming salons, and these businesses are struggling to cope with the growing demand for their services.”

Harris’ suggestion for people who don’t know how to get into a steady routine with their groomers is to take the first available appointment and get into a rotating schedule where the owner books out for every six to eight weeks within the groomer’s rotation.

Diana Barr, who grooms dogs from her garage, has remained fully booked since she started 6½ years ago.

“It’s been like this pretty much from the get-go,” Barr said.

Her business runs differently from most of the others in town — and she selectively serves dogs only in her local area.

Many dog owners, particularly doodle owners, call the groomers frantic to get their dog a haircut. Meyers is attempting to give those desperate callers another option — do it yourself.

On Nov. 15, Meyers will host “Groom Your Doodle,” during which she will teach “the bread and butter groom,” a technique that can be applied to any dog.

“I view grooming as a craft that you can pursue and perfect and learn,” Meyers said.

She will go over what materials are most crucial, how to turn any table into one fit for grooming and review the full grooming process, from bath to trim.

The workshop will be held at the Sonoma Valley Woman’s Club with 100% of the proceeds going to benefit the service club.

Meyers will demonstrate the tutorial on a doodle but participants can’t bring their dogs to practice on during the seminar, both for safety and education.

“You can do it better if you know in your mind what you’re shooting for,” Meyers said.

Contact the reporter Rebecca Wolff at rebecca.wolff@sonomanews.com.