just being nosey really, how much does it cost people to get there dogs washed at a groomers.
my boy is staying with friends when we go on holiday so i thought id have him spruced up befor we go, and now he's so big i just can't bath him myself, i used to do my girl but now weve moved it's not so easy, any way i phoned a place today and she said it will be £100 id taken my girl to someone before but she has moved away and she used to charge £35, is £100 expensive or the norm for a bernese these days.

Thanks in advance xxx

we usually charge £50 for a bath and brush out. £100 seems quite expensive but i suppose it depends on where you are :)

That is a hideous price for a basic wash and dry at a groomers.
I think i have been quoted £40 for the whole lot around our area which is not cheap and we are in the county next to yours..
I would find someone else, where in Kent are you? Maybe others on here could recommend a groomers near to you or you could try a nearby breeder who may be able to assist, i know of a few in the county, not sure where your Berners are from..

!!!!!!!!

I would expect £40 and nothing more really!

Wow, that does sound a lot! I don't generally do dogs that big, but I did a few times do a friend's Briard, and we only charged about £40 or so for him - we should have charged more as he was always quite knotted, but I'm terrible at raising the price when the job is harder! I certainly wouldn't charge £100 though!

Hi, thanks for the replies ive now found a lady who has been recomended to me she says it will be around £35 so thats more like it,

i can't believe some people can charge so much.

Sue i'm in dover my first bernese was from Ashford in Kent, our boy came from High wycham (sp?)

Thanks again Lisa

High Wycombe?

Ah ok, think i know where the boy from High Wycombe came from..She has some lovely bitches..

Anyway i'm glad that you've found somewhere else, phewww.. I can't believe anyone could charge so much, Bernese don't have a coat thats really difficult to groom either, nothing like the Briard which someone else has mentioned..

I'm on the North of Scotland, I brushed out a St Bernard and bathed it yest, took me 3 hours, and I charged £35, but they gave me a £10 tip!

Yes,£100 does seem excessive-but in my experience a really high price often means that the groomer just doesn't want to do that breed-quite a few groomers if they work on their own don't want to do the really big breeds so just put people off.Doing the giant breeds is physically very demanding and hard on the back-I'm lucky that I have an assistant but I wouldn't attempt a dog like that on my own,even if the dog was very well behaved.I've heard of Newfoundlands being charged £100 but not a Bernese.I would say about £35-£40 is a more realistic price if the dogs coat is in good condition-and I expect the groomer who charges £100 probably doesn't actually do any Bernese.
I once worked for a groomer who was always very busy and  charged quite high prices-but she had a Bernese bitch who came in once a fortnight for a bath,groom and foot trim and she only charged £22-her argument(quite rightly I think) being that the dog was actually quite quick to do as she required very little trimming-and she was very well behaved-and also that her assistants could finish her on their own.Personally I find breeds like poodles are far more work so I make sure I charge enough for them-possibly more than other groomers- but I quite like doing the bigger breeds.

I just say I don't do the bigger breeds. Even a dog the size of a Lab or GSD is pretty difficult to manage alone if they don't want to co-operate in being lifted etc, I would never attempt a Bernese alone! I only did that Briard because it was a friend of my husband's, and I could make my hubby help with the bathing and with getting him to stand up when I needed him to! :-)

> i can't believe some people can charge so much.

I would have to see the dog before I could tell the customer how much it would cost but if the coat was in good condition and no matts I would charge £40.
However The cost could go up to £60 if the dog had lots of matts , undercoat or was really dirty. Big dogs are a lot of work and to do them properly takes time and this has to be accounted for in the price.
£100 is a bit much especially when the groomer had not even seen the dog and looked at its coat.