About Dog Grooming Planner

Why this site exists

Every dog owner asks the same question — how often should my dog be groomed? — and almost every answer on the internet is a shrug dressed up as a number: "every 4–6 weeks." That answer is wrong in both directions. It's too long for a doodle whose coat felts at the skin in a month, and pointless for a Beagle who mainly needs a weekly brush and the occasional bath. Meanwhile the consequences of guessing wrong are real money and real discomfort: matted coats shaved to the skin, grooming bills that double because of dematting time, nails clicking across the floor for months.

Dog Grooming Planner exists to give your dog a schedule based on the things that actually decide grooming frequency: coat type, shedding level, matting risk and grooming difficulty. Not a generic calendar — your dog's calendar.

How the calculator works

At the heart of the site is a database of 224+ dog breeds, each profiled for coat type (short, medium, long, curly, double or wire), coat length, shedding level, how prone the coat is to matting, how much home maintenance it needs, and how difficult the breed is to groom overall, on a scale from easy to very high. When you pick your breed and answer a few quick questions, the calculator combines that profile into concrete intervals: how often to brush, bathe, trim nails, check and clean ears, and book a professional groom — plus a suggested next grooming date and a printable plan you can stick on the fridge.

Mixed breed? The database includes the popular mixes (Goldendoodle, Labradoodle, Cavapoo, Cockapoo and friends), and our philosophy is simple: follow the coat, not the label. Our grooming guides explain the coat science behind the numbers, so you can see why your dog's schedule is what it is — and adjust it intelligently with your groomer.

From calculator to planner

The calculator is free, and it always will be. For owners who want the routine to run itself, My Dog Grooming Planner adds your dog's saved profile and photo, grooming history, upcoming appointment tracking, and a personal library of printable plans, breed grooming charts and guides — the Starter Pack is $4.99 one-time, and the Ultimate Bundle ($39.99/yr) unlocks the full library. Think of it as the difference between a weather forecast and a calendar that reminds you to bring an umbrella.

The family

Dog Grooming Planner is part of a small family of dog tools built by the same team. When you want to see a new hairstyle on your actual dog before committing to the clippers, our sister site GroomingPreview.com previews grooming styles on your dog's photo. Calculate the schedule here, plan it here, preview the look there.

Our standards

• Dogs only. Every breed profile, guide and tool on this site is about dogs. (Cats are wonderful. They are also a different website.)
• Guidance, not veterinary advice. Our schedules reflect mainstream grooming practice. Skin conditions, ear infections, lumps and sudden changes belong to your veterinarian — and regular grooming is one of the best ways to spot those things early.
• Humane first. You'll find us saying it in every guide: a dog's comfort outranks a hairstyle. If a matted coat needs a fresh start, that's the right call, and we'll help you build the routine that prevents a repeat.
• Honest numbers. When we give a range — prices, intervals, timelines — it's the range we'd give a friend, including the parts where the answer is "it depends, and here's what it depends on."