Best of Melbourne 2019: City’s top 10 dog groomers revealed
Dog groomers are taking out their scissors and revving up clippers as an easing of restrictions allow them to get back to what they do best. But which Melbourne groomers does everyone love most? Before COVID-19, we asked you that very question. See who you voted as Melbourne’s top 10 dog groomers.
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Dog lovers, take a bow (wow) — here are Melbourne’s top 10 dog groomers, as chosen by you.
We knew Melburnians loved their pooches, but it turns out you’re also barking mad for the animal lovers who keep them primped and preened.
When Leader Community News and the Herald Sun put the call out for Melbourne’s best dog groomers you dug up hundreds of your favourites, nominating a whopping 830.
It made for a ruff time narrowing down the list for voting, but we got there.
And once we threw you a bone you gave chase, casting thousands of votes as part of our Best of Melbourne poll late last year.
Now that COVID-19 restrictions have eased enough for groomers to get back clipping, it’s time to howl the place down again and revisit Melbourne’s favourite dog groomers — here they are.
And you’ve also chosen the best groomers in Melbourne’s north, east, south and west.
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Melbourne’s top 10 fish and chips revealedMelbourne’s top 10 coffee spots revealedWHERE TO FIND MELBOURNE’S BEST HAIRDRESSERS
10. Animal Mad Pet Grooming, Wheelers Hill
3 Maldon Court
Dogs love visiting Sarah Lowe’s salon so much, they break down the gate — literally.
“I had to replace my gate because too many dogs kept breaking my gate,” she laughs.
“You can hear them coming down the street, they get so excited to come in.”
Ms Lowe — whose first job was in a pet shop — says when she finished school she aspired to be a vet nurse “but I’m not very good at studying”.
“I’d always had long-haired dogs so I did a couple of short courses and thought, you know what, this is something I really like, I could really make a go of it,” she says.
She did her Certificate 4 in companion animal services, specialising in pet grooming, at Box Hill TAFE.
Then, in 2007 parents Ron and Wendy let her “take over” their Wheelers Hill garage and Animal Mad Pet Grooming was born.
“I wouldn’t be here without them really — they knew I wanted to do something with animals and I think I drove them crazy because I had every animal under the sun,” Ms Lowe says.
“I think they knew she’s going to do it no matter what so let’s just help her out.
“I’ve very appreciative of everything they have done for me.”
Ms Lowe and her three staff see about 15 dogs a day, and offer a “bit of everything” — from straight bathing and blowdries to stylised show grooms, and the ever-popular cavoodle teddy bear trim.
“I like the fact that I can work with dogs all day, I’ve always loved dogs, and I’m quite creative and I love having that outlet to be able to express my creativity,” she says.
“It’s nice to have that relationship with both the clients and their dogs — their dogs are basically almost my dogs.
“If I can’t have 50 dogs, then I can play with all my clients’ dogs.”
Susie De kretser, who drives from South Yarra, says her german shepherds “can’t wait to break the door down to get in”.
Tabitha Winnell says Ms Lowe is great at handling her border collie Saxon, “who isn’t the greatest fan of the blow dryer”.
Bernadette Withers, who’s been taking her Australian cattle dogs Bluey and Donny to Animal Mad for a wash and groom for six years, says: ”Sarah is so gentle with my dogs who are anxious about noise and one hates his paws being touched.”
More: http://www.animalmadpetgrooming.com/
https://www.facebook.com/AnimalMadDogGrooming/
0402 736 295
9. Fur Design Doggy Day Spa, Moroolbark
238 Manchester Rd
With four small kids and a thriving dog grooming business, Susan Mackenzie certainly has her hands full.
“The dogs are easier,” she jokes.
“You say listen and they don’t backchat.”
Mrs Mackenzie became a dog groomer 12 years ago after doing work experience at a vet.
“It just wasn’t for me, I’ve got too much of a bleeding heart,” she says of vet work.
“I wanted to do something different and the vet suggested I do a dog grooming course and I did and haven’t looked back.”
She went to a dog grooming school in Sunbury, and worked in several busy salons and a couple of animal shelters before deciding to go out on her own six years ago.
Today, she operates from her home, which makes it a little easier to juggle work with looking after Matthew, five, Kaiden, four, Mia, two and Logan, 10 months.
Husband Kenneth is put to work washing and drying dogs on busy weekends, and helps with bookwork, but Mrs Mackenzie is the sole groomer — for now.
“When the kids get a bit older I’d like to move to a shop and experience maybe teaching a few people, pass on my knowledge to some people — that would be nice,” she says.
Her doggy day spa offers the works, including clipping, bathing, stripouts, de-sheds and nails, and Mrs Mackenzie loves “how happy the dogs are when they go home”.
She also offers free unlimited puppy grooms up until 16 weeks.
“Before the puppies are 16 weeks it’s best to get them used to it,” she says.
It means many of her clients have been on the books since they were tiny — and it makes it hard when they leave.
“I have a bit of a cry when the clients call and tell me,” she says.
Helen Looymans, who takes poodle Luci for a wash and style cut, says “you can tell how much she loves dogs and her work, and my dog loves her too”.
Shannon Brown says Mrs Mackenzie gives her maltese Shih tzu Sid “the best cut he’s had”.
“He’s a nervous dog but she calms him,” she says.
Nicole Parseghian says her cavoodle Bailey “loves seeing Susan for his hair cuts”.
“She is passionate about her work and it shows.”
More: https://furdesigndoggydayspa.vpweb.com.au
https://www.facebook.com/FurDesignBySusan/
0439 669 925
8. Masters Pet Grooming, Point Cook
52 Carrick St
A “really awful experience” with his pet spoodle as a kid led Nick Masters into dog grooming.
“The dog groomer cut my dog’s ear in half and literally glued it with a glue gun,” he says.
“I didn’t notice until I got him home. You play with your dog’s ears, I was scrunching his ears and I heard a crack, and felt the crack of the glue cracking in half and there was so much blood.
“Because of that I started cutting him with scissors when I was nine years old.”
Mr Masters, the director of Masters Pet Grooming, eventually completed a hairdressing apprenticeship — but quickly decided he preferred hounds over humans.
He started an online pet retail store from home, then in 2014 bought clippers and began dog grooming from his garage in Ascot Vale on the weekends, and often until midnight after work.
“Then when we moved to Point Cook it just exploded,” he says.
Mr Masters and his husband, Tim Marshall, run the business from their Point Cook home — but Mr Marshall wasn’t always involved, previously working as a call centre manager for commercial real estate giant Knight Frank.
“When he got home, stressed after getting public transport from the city to Point Cook, I’d still be working and I was chilled and was having a great day, and I was with our three boys (dogs Kodi, Ollie and Hugo) all day, every day, and he just wanted in,” Mr Masters says.
“As soon as he left and started working here full time, both of our lives changed. I feel like this is a dream and I really don’t want to wake up — it’s too good to be true at the moment.”
The pair have 3000 human customers on their books — many with more than one dog — and Mr Masters says their customer service is a standout.
“Tim and I are both from hospitality backgrounds and we know how important it is that the customers are happy and relaxed,” he says.
“The worst thing you can see is mum and dad shaking when they’re walking out, because the dog feels that.”
Their business offers a full grooming experience for dogs of all sizes, and Mr Masters says he is particularly proud of a range of imported treatments they use — which they test on his skin first — including a Nagayu Japanese spa treatment.
“That exfoliates just with the pressure of the water and it’s converted carbon dioxide with vitamins and minerals.
“It fizzes, opens up the follicle on the skin as well as the hair, releasing all the excess stuff that shampoo sometimes can’t get.”
Lauren Brown says her Tibetan x pups Dudley, Silky, Jack and Storm “adore Nick and Tim”.
“My fur babies go in happy and scruffy and come out cool, calm and sparkly,” she says.
Sarah Mercieca says she wouldn’t leave her cavoodles, Cersei and Winnie, with anyone else. “They adore him, making grooming much easier,” she says.
Julie Kennedy, who takes her Samoyed Zirky for a monthly full groom, says: “Right from the moment you walk in the door it is clear they love what they do and are amazing.”
And Noreen Selimi says Mr Masters is “so attentive” to her King Charles cavalier Chino: “Nick’s always kissing and hugging him and always sends Chino home with a pretty bow.”
More: https://www.masterspetgrooming.com.au
https://www.facebook.com/masterspetgrooming/
8316 1056
7. Fetching Grooms Pet Styling, Clyde North
1/3 Selandra Blvd
If you want your pooch to look like an adorably fluffy, cuddly pom-pom-on-legs, Renee Orchard is your groomer.
Ms Orchard, who has been grooming for five years, adores Asian fusion-style teddy trims.
“They look so cute,” she laughs.
“It’s not huge (in Australia) yet, it’s massive in Japan. It’s starting to come into Australia but it’s at a baby stage.
“It looks best on poodles or any of the poodle mixes, but you could do it for schnauzers or malteses that have the straighter coat. It’s not categorised by anything, you can do whatever you want — you can make a poodle look like a schnauzer.
“It’s an anything-goes style and I think that’s why I like it, you can do whatever you like.”
Funnily enough, Ms Orchard never aspired to be a dog groomer.
“In my gap year after high school I got a puppy, and the groomer in the pet shop I was working at got to take her dog to work with her every day,” she says.
“I thought, that seems like a good job, let’s try that out.”
She fell in love with the work and has never looked back.
Last December, her friend and vet, Irene Mitry, opened the Clyde Veterinary Hospital and offered to rent Ms Orchard a room. She has been blown away by the support and is already hiring a helper.
Ms Orchard, who also offers the full grooming works, says her job “ticks all the boxes”.
“It’s being around dogs all day, but then you’ve got that creative side where you can change a dog’s appearance completely,” she says.
“Some dogs, when they’re really hairy, once you give them a good groom out they’re so thankful.
“When you get scared dogs that are aggressive and then they start trusting you that’s a good compliment for a dog.
“For me it’s a hobby as well, because I compete in competitions as well. On my days off I’m grooming as well.”
Claudia Ferreira says her mixed breed pups, Bruno and Xena, are nervous of new people and other dogs.
“The groomer goes out of her way to accommodate,”she says.
Sarah Walker says: “She puts in so much love into every groom and it really shows.”
Kerrie Davies, who takes her three pups for a full groom and wash, says “Renee has a special love for dogs”.
“This shows through with her quality grooming and happy dogs,” she says.
And Melissa Remschied says: “Renee puts so much love and care into pampering each pup, she’s such a great groomer.”
More: https://www.facebook.com/fetchingdoggrooms/
0447 048 339
6. Bark & Sparkle Dog Groomers, Mernda
Mobile groomers — travel as far south as Bundoora, and as far north as Whittlesea
Ryan Hogan reckons he’s using his business management and marketing uni degree now more than he ever did in his desk job.
Mr Hogan started his working life as an account manager for a fleet car company, but when it was put on the market he realised it wasn’t where his future lay.
A family friend ran a mobile dog wash and he tagged along, liking what he saw, so put himself through night school at Box Hill TAFE and began grooming on weekends as a “litmus test”.
“One day I realised I was starting to lose customers because I couldn’t fit them in,” he says.
“That was about four years ago. So I sat down with my wife and said ‘maybe it’s time we took this a bit more seriously’.
“Last year I kind of hit that wall again where I was starting to lose customers that I couldn’t fit in, so I bought another trailer, another car, and (groomer) Shannon joined us.”
Mr Hogan also has a staff member with a close bond — his dad Gary, who retired, got bored, retrained as a dog groomer and joined the business a year ago.
The mobile dog groomers treat about 12 dogs a day, covering all breeds and sizes.
“We do washing, clipping, hair cuts, nails — any service you can get in a salon, we can replicate,” Mr Hogan says.
He says while anyone “can go down to the local car wash and spray their dog with a hose”, it takes a certain kind of owner who chooses to use a groomer.
And he says he is living the dream.
“I have two dogs that come to work with me every day and I get to deal with great people who all share a love of dogs — people don’t book in with me unless they do.”
Alfred Estrada says his border collie Bont suffers with anxiety — so he travels all the way from Shepparton because Bark & Sparkle know how to groom him.
Kanika Sharma says: “Ryan treats my dog like his own and shows the same love to my pup like he would to his own.”
Meray Holohan says the Hogans treat her pugalier Buckley and pug Sil “as if they are their own”.
And Jemma Schimleck says her rottweiler x german shepherd Daisy hates being washed but Bark & Sparkle take their time and do an “amazing job”.
More: https://www.facebook.com/BarkandSparkle
0411 184 654
5. Pen Poochies Doggie Hairdresser, Beaumaris
121 Cromer Rd
Penella Etyngold had been hairdressing for 20 years when she suddenly decided she’d had enough of people.
So she walked into PETstock Ormond and asked them to take a chance on her cutting and clipping skills — by hiring her as a dog groomer.
She nearly fell over when they agreed.
“I just walked in and said ‘I’m a hairdresser for 20 years, give me a go’ — so they did,” she laughs.
“I can never thank them enough.”
That was nearly a decade ago, and now Ms Etyngold has a loyal following.
She says she’s a “bit different to the average groomer”, not using restraints and working to gain a dog’s trust and respect.
“I don’t call myself a dog groomer, I’m a doggie hairdresser,” she says.
“Trust and respect is what you need before you groom.
“The anxiety is high anyway when they come into your shop, let alone strapping them up anywhere.
“I’ve never been bitten so I must be doing something right.”
Apart from three months’ training with the PETstock groomer who was there when she started, Ms Etyngold is entirely self-taught and offers the works, including brush outs and her niche, clipping.
She says her 20 years on the shears left her confident with the manual labour, and she honed her dog behaviour skills while working at a doggy day care.
“I started asking do you want half off, an inch off,” she laughs.
Asked if she ever misses cutting human hair, Ms Etyngold is quick to reply “no way” — although she still cuts her mum’s hair.
“I get people mucking around coming into the shop saying can you trim my fringe, can you trim my hair as well, but I don’t miss it at all,” she says.
“Dogs are too good.”
Long-time client Alison Powell says Ms Etyngold is “the most caring groomer around”.
“She genuinely loves her clients, the dogs and aims to understand them,” she says.
Laura Ticket, who takes spoodle Tia for grooming, says she is “genuinely a dog whisperer”.
“She is the most gentle and caring groomer I’ve ever come across,” she says.
And Cliff Sanderson says: “No restraints used, just genuine care and affection.”
More: https://www.facebook.com/Penpoochiesdoggiehairdresser/
0422 416 141
4. Lavish Paws Pet Grooming Studio, Kurunjang
5 Delta St
Carolina Bozzacchi is helping dogs — and the environment.
Mrs Bozzacchi’s Kurunjang home salon, which she has run for six years, is ecologically sound.
“We are run 100 per cent off grid and I use all organic products, and everything I use doesn’t go to the sewerage, it goes straight to my garden,” she says.
Mrs Bozzacchi moved to Australia from Argentina to be with her husband Christian 20 years ago, and discovered her qualifications as an interior designer were not recognised.
The pair have a son, Kyle, now 11, and Mrs Bozzacchi needed a job which worked around him.
“I always loved animals,” she says.
“My parents always told me off when I was touching animals in the street.
“I was looking into doing different things but I needed to work out of home so my husband said ‘look, you love animals, why don’t you do a course on dog grooming?’.
“He’s the one who said why don’t you do that, we have the space so you can set up a nice salon, and don’t worry about Kyle.”
Mrs Bozzacchi completed certificates in companion animal services and professional dog grooming, and says she loves her new career.
“I wake up in the morning and I just feel that they (dogs) make me happy, because I know that they’re happy to see me,” she says.
“Some people say ‘I’m stressed out because of work’ but I’m not, I’m happy.”
Mrs Bozzacchi works one-on-one with the dogs and does not use cages, offering a huge range of services from washing and full breeder specifications to spa treatments, facials and body scrubs.
She also does skin treatments for dogs with severe eczema and even offers health checks and pet sitting for clients.
“I love it. You are dirty and you’re itchy but it’s part of the trade, I guess.”
Debbie Ellis says her maltese terrier, Minnie, used to be traumatised after a clip — but not any more.
Leisa Carl says Mrs Bozzacchi is a “beautiful lady who treats every dog like her own”.
Keli Watt says her poodle, Pepper, “absolutely loves” Mrs Bozzacchi, who “goes above and beyond to ensure we are always happy”.
More: https://www.facebook.com//lavishpawspetgroomingstudio/
0432 285 992
3. Short Bark N Sides Dog and Cat Grooming, Mornington
203 Mornington-Tyabb Rd
For Alana Walsh, going to work with dogs all day doesn’t feel like work at all.
“I just find working with animals really doesn’t feel like a job to me,” she says.
Mrs Walsh was a vet nurse in a former life, but illness drove her from the role.
“I actually went into emergency vet nursing which was night shift, and I actually got quite sick, I got glandular fever which then turned into chronic fatigue and my doctor said I just need to get out of doing night shift,” she says.
She worked for a vet wholesale company but missed interacting with animals, so the self-taught groomer started working on friends’ and family members’ dogs on the weekends.
Before long she was offering her services from a pet shop, but after having daughter Zahlia, now six, decided she wanted to work for herself.
Short Bark n Sides was born in her garage, where she spent three years before moving to her Mornington shopfront in 2016.
Uniquely, the business also offers grooming for cats.
Don’t worry, there’s no chance of a fur-fight, with dogs and kittens kept separate.
For dogs, the business offers nail trims and baths, right up to the works — full clips, breed specific clips and general easy clips.
Cat owners can choose from two packages — a de-shed, which removes the dead undercoat, and the works, which includes a full clip. Both packages include baths — which some enjoy more than others.
“People say cats are clean, they clean themselves, but they don’t get all the way down,” Mrs Walsh says.
“We have people come to us and say ‘our cat’s only ever been sedated but we’d like to not go down that road’.
“As we way to everyone, we’re always up for giving it a go, but if the cat’s too stressed out we’ll send them home. In three years, we’ve only sent two cats home.”
Claire Brewer says her golden retriever, Lilly, is a “very anxious dog and Jane treats her so beautifully and she pampers her perfectly”.
Angela Eland says: “Alana cares about what she does and the animals she grooms, so always makes them feel comfortable.”
Kath McDonald, who takes her cocker spaniel x King Charles, Ludo, to Mrs Walsh, praises the “attention to detail but more importantly their love of animals and how they treat your babies”.
More: https://www.facebook.com/Shortbarknsidesdoggrooming/
0405 592 055
2. Hair of the Dog, Melton
20 Alexandra St
When Lori Keele did work experience in 1994 at a Melton pet shop that bred her love for dog grooming, little did she know one day she’d come full-circle.
“Strangely enough, I actually started in this very shop that we’re working out of now,” she says.
“When I was a kid this was a pet shop that did dog grooming out the back, and I did work experience here and that’s where this whole thing started for me.
“And they took me on as a worker and I learnt to groom and more or less haven’t stopped.”
Ms Keele started Hair of the Dog in an industrial area of Melton in 2014, and when she learnt her old shopfront was up for lease, jumped at the chance to move.
“When I was told it was available I was like oh my god, I’m going home, it’s a sign, it’s meant to be,” she says.
“It was obviously just waiting for us to come back.”
The business has a whopping nine staff and grooms up to 40 dogs a day, with treatments including bathing, nail clipping, ear cleaning and full hair cuts.
They are famous for their photo booth, which has a monthly changing backdrop.
Each day’s doggy customers are photographed and their snaps posted on Facebook at the end of the day — with the cute pictures attracting followers from interstate and overseas.
“(Some) people that get their dogs groomed every fortnight or month make a calendar at the end of the year,” Ms Keele says.
Ms Keele, who has also managed salons in Elsternwick and Bacchus Marsh, says she adores how dogs are “just so loving and forgiving”.
“Unconditional love I guess is the thing, they have all got little personalities and different personalities. I just can’t stop. I love other animals too but not quite the same, I always go back to dogs.
“I just love the creative side of it, and then of course you get to be around dogs all day.
“I have amazing staff who are all my friends — I get to cuddle and kiss dogs with all my friends — how good’s that?”
Happy customer Genny Hildebrand says: “They are so friendly and excel at customer service. Happy dogs make happy owners.”
Karolina Hartinger, who takes border collie Bella for grooming and pampering, says the staff are “friendly (and) professional” and offer “just great service”.
More: http://www.hairofthedogmelton.com/
https://www.facebook.com/hairofthedogmelton/
0466 898 861
1. Hairy Cherubs, Whittlesea
2434 Plenty Rd
Hairy Cherubs owner Trish Wileman laughs when asked if she has kids.
“I much prefer the four-legged variety than the two-legged — anyone who knows me know that,” she jokes.
The proud mum to white standard poodles Rio, 11 and Monroe, four, has been dedicated to pooches for 21 years, and runs her popular grooming business from a 150-year-old heritage cottage in Whittlesea township.
Already named Australia’s favourite dog groomer two years running by dog directory Dogshare, Mrs Wileman now has another feather in her cap — she’s also been voted Melbourne’s best.
Mrs Wileman and husband Tony started their careers in a different direction: hospitality.
“We decided that the long hours weren’t really doing us justice and we just wanted to do something that we were really passionate about,” she says.
“He went into lawn and garden care and I went into dog grooming.
“It was a bit scary and challenging but it worked and we took the risk and it’s paid off.”
Mrs Wileman has been in the business so long, many of her clients are onto their second and third dogs — and she has enjoyed watching her customers’ families expand, even attending weddings.
“We’ve watched the families that we’ve been doing the dogs for grow, and they’ve had kids and now their kids are driving and dropping the dogs off, and it’s like, oh my gosh.”
She and her three staff work long hours, doing everything from nail trims, breed clips, pet tidies, and big de-sheds for the likes of golden retrievers, labradors and german shepherds.
“It helps the families with the overall health of the dog too, because sometimes the dog groomer picks up on a lump or a bump more than the dog owners do,” she says.
There are even emergency grooms — which involve gag-inducing jobs like removing poo stuck to bottoms.
“But that’s what I’m here for and I just take it in my stride and I just do what I need to do,” she laughs.
Mrs Wileman says she loves sending her clients home “as clean and comfortable members of the family”, and they are never treated as “just a number”.
“I love watching them grow and watching them grow older, and watching their families progress,” she says.
“Every one of them is important, it doesn’t matter how scruffy or whether they’re old or naughty, they all just need their own bit of TLC.”
She says while winning accolades is nice for the recognition, she doesn’t let it go to her head.
“It doesn’t change anything we do, it doesn’t change the way we treat our dogs, or how good we think we might be,” she says.
“People say, ‘you just won Australia’s favourite dog groomer’ but you already know that, you come here.”
And despite what some people think, the job is about far more than just putting bows in dogs’ hair — although Mrs Wileman admits it’s a fun part, and she still gets a thrill seeing her pampered customers on the streets.
“In the evenings I’ll see them in the local area walking the dogs down the pavement and they’re all blinged up and I get a bit of a kick out of that.
“They look so gorgeous — I did that.”
Tracey Trewin says Mrs Wileman has “lovingly groomed” her fur baby Misty, a maltese Shih tzu, for 16 years.
“She is talented, professional, caring and just a beautiful lady,” she says.
Tash Evangelou says Mrs Wileman is a “superstar” with her german shepherd.
“My dog always looks a million bucks when he comes home,” she says.
Kerrie Shanks says: “Trish treats all animals like family.”
And Vicki Wood, who takes Poppy the poodle for a wash, groom and clip, says: “Trish is a consummate professional and a beautiful soul. Dogs are an enormous part of her life.”
More: https://www.facebook.com/Hairy-Cherubs-109368152457816/
0408 366 336