Six coats
Nearly every grooming question comes back to the coat.
How long a groom takes, what it costs and what the groomer will turn down all depend on the coat more than the breed. These six kinds cover almost every pet that comes in on Marlowe Row.
One
Curly and wool coats
Poodles, doodles, bichons and their many crosses. A curly coat does not drop its loose hair — it stays in the coat and felts, so a dog that looks fluffy on top can be matted solid at the skin.
This is a Full Groom & Haircut: two shampoos, a fluff-dry, then clipper and scissor work to a teddy or breed trim. You agree the length at check-in, before the clippers start.
Between appointments: four to eight weeks, with a slicker brush and comb worked down to the skin, not just over the top.
Two
Double coats
Huskies, shepherds, collies, malamutes, goldens and corgis. A soft undercoat lies under a coarser guard coat, and each layer has its own job.
These are de-shed, never shaved. Removing the guard coat costs the dog its insulation and its sun protection, and it frequently grows back patchy or not at all. Clover & Clip turns down a shave and explains why, unless a vet has asked for one. The Double-Coat De-Shed Spa is a conditioning soak, a long high-velocity blow-out and rake work, which is where the time goes.
Between appointments: eight to twelve weeks, more often through a spring or autumn coat blow.
Three
Short and smooth coats
Staffies, beagles, boxers, pugs, French bulldogs and smooth-coated terriers. The quickest groom on the list, and the one owners skip most often.
Short coats still shed and still trap dirt at the skin. A Bath, Brush-Out & Tidy covers the wash, a rubber curry or stripping stone, nails, ears and a skin check — often the most useful part on a short coat, where nothing is hidden.
Between appointments: eight to twelve weeks, or as soon as the shedding is all over the sofa.
Four
Wire coats
Schnauzers, wire fox terriers, border terriers, wire dachshunds and Airedales. This coat is meant to be plucked when it is ready, not cut.
Hand-stripping keeps the wiry texture and the colour; clipping softens a wire coat and fades it within a few cycles. Both are on offer and the owner chooses, ideally on purpose rather than by habit. Stripping is slower, so it is priced per session and usually booked with Priya.
Between appointments: a rolled coat every six to eight weeks; a full strip two or three times a year.
Five
Long silky coats
Shih tzus, Maltese, Yorkshire terriers, cocker spaniels and long-coated crosses. A fine coat with little body, so it mats wherever it rubs — behind the ears, in the armpits and under a harness.
Kept long, it needs a bath, a full hand-dry and careful scissoring. Kept in a short puppy trim it is a much quicker, cheaper groom, and for many homes that is the better advice, not the pricier one.
Between appointments: four to six weeks in full coat, eight in a short trim.
Six
Cats
Cats have their own quiet room and their own dog-free Tuesday and Thursday mornings with Odalys, so they never meet a dog in the corridor.
Everything here is sedation-free. Clover & Clip is a grooming shop, not a vet, so a cat that could only be groomed under sedation is referred to a vet and the owner is called. Comb-outs, baths, sanitary trims and lion trims are done with the cat awake, or not at all.
Between appointments: as soon as your comb at home stops reaching the skin, which for most long-haired cats is about every eight weeks.
Every coat, every time
The finishing touches
Nails, ears and pads
Nails are clipped and Dremel-rounded short of the quick, ears are checked and cleaned, and the fur between the pads is tidied for grip on hard floors. Walk-in nails and paw balm need no appointment on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.
Hand-dried fully, then finished
A coat finished damp will not hold a clean line and mats sooner. On a thick coat most of the groom is drying, not scissoring, which surprises most owners on a first visit.
Two dog stations and the separate cat room are both on The shop. The photographer and licence for each picture on this page are listed on Photo credits.
Book for your pet's coat
If your pet does not fit any of the six — many crosses do not — say so on the form and the shop will ask for a photo before quoting.