OVERVIEW
This SOP establishes a consistent process for bathing, rinsing, drying, brushing, and preparing dogs before grooming or pickup. It treats the bath and preparation process as an important quality-control point because poor bathing, rinsing, drying, or brushing can affect grooming results and create problems such as customer complaints, skin irritation, trapped moisture, hot spots, leftover undercoat, matting, and rework.
The procedure begins with reviewing the dog's service, coat type, matting, health and behavior notes, client requests, products, and add-ons. It then covers rough-in when appropriate, bathing, product use, initial force drying, safe holding, coat-specific drying, brushing, combing, and skin and coat inspection.
Before a dog is marked ready, the SOP requires a final quality check to confirm that the coat is clean, properly rinsed, appropriately dry, brushed and combed, and that concerns have been documented and communicated. The included checklist supports consistent completion of these steps.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
- How to review service, coat, health, behavior, and client notes before bathing.
- How to determine when rough-in is appropriate and requires approval.
- How to complete the bathing, product, and rinsing process.
- How to safely begin drying with a force dryer.
- How to select drying and brushing methods according to coat type.
- How to identify mats, packed undercoat, skin irritation, parasites, sores, and other unusual findings.
- How to inspect the coat during and after drying.
- How to determine whether a dog is properly prepared for grooming or pickup.
- How to handle concerns that require groomer or manager review.
- How to complete the final bath and dry quality check.
BUSINESS BENEFITS
A standardized bathing and preparation process helps create consistency in how dogs are cleaned, rinsed, dried, brushed, inspected, and prepared for the next service step. It supports communication by requiring unusual findings, skin or coat concerns, matting, fleas, sores, and other issues to be documented and communicated to the groomer or manager. The process also reduces the risk of marking a dog ready before the coat is properly prepared. The Bathing and Drying Checklist provides a structured way to track key tasks and initials, while the final quality check establishes a consistent standard before grooming or pickup.
RECOMMENDED FOR
- Bathers
- Groomers
- Salon Owners
- Managers
- Grooming Assistants
- Mobile Groomers
- Veterinary Grooming Departments
- Training Staff
IMPLEMENTATION NOTES
Use this SOP for grooming dogs, bath-and-brush dogs, blowout dogs, de-shedding dogs, and any dog requiring bathing, drying, brushing, or preparation before finishing. Staff should review the service and relevant notes before starting, follow the bathing and drying workflow according to the dog's coat type and service needs, and complete the final quality check before marking the dog ready. Use the Bathing and Drying Checklist to document completion and concerns. Where applicable, use this SOP alongside the related procedures for appointment check-in, busy salon flow, drying safety, pre-groom assessment, final groom quality checks, heat stress and drying safety, and injury response and client notification.
