Melbourne lockdown: Rush on dog grooming ahead of stage 4 shutdown

There’s been a rush on owners having their pooches pampered ahead of six weeks at home with dog groomers across Melbourne booked out.

Dogs across Melbourne will be looking glamorous during the city’s lockdown after a rush of pet parents getting their pooches pampered ahead of six weeks at home.

Dog groomers across the city were booked out on Wednesday after being deemed a non-essential service under tough stage-four lockdown restrictions leading many owners to make a last minute appointment.

Balwyn North’s Rollover Beethoven Dog Grooming was flat out on Tuesday and Wednesday with the service moving all of their weekend bookings forward.

Owner Tricia Bartlett said they had groomed 38 dogs over the past two days.

While she said it was unfortunate her business had to shut, if it was going to stop the spread of the virus she was “very much for it”.

“I’ve got a fantastic bunch of customers, already people have made bookings today for September 18 in the hope that we can go back to business,” Ms Bartlett said.

Milo the dog gets some last-minute grooming from Taylah Watson, Rachael Nankin and Julia Han at Rollover Beethoven in Balwyn before they close down. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Ian Currie

She said it was important that pet owners brushed their dog every day during the six week lockdown as it would keep them “reasonable”.

Beanfeet Dog Grooming owner Rachael Garthe’s three sites at Mill Park, Gladstone Park and Nunawading were also fully booked leading up to the shutdown.

“What we’re going to be offering is we’re trying to get some packs together with shampoos and brushes and try to educate our clients on how to maintain a coat over those six weeks so it doesn’t get matted,” she said.

Milo the dog gets some last minute grooming before the stage 4 lockdown in Melbourne. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Ian Currie

“Six weeks is OK but sort of beyond that would start to become a welfare issue for some dogs.”

Ms Garthe said dog grooming was a resilient industry and her business was well positioned to withstand the shutdown, but she was expecting it to be “mental” once they were allowed to open again.

Many Melbourne businesses were forced to close on Wednesday night under the new restrictions, with non-essential retail stores only able to open for contactless click-and-collect and delivery only.