Home | News | Tips & Links | Photo Gallery | Reviews | About Us | Conditions | Contact Us  
 

55 High Street, Cockenzie, East Lothian EH32 0DG   01875-812648

 

East Lothian's Premier Dog Service

Setting the standard for quality grooming

 

 

Follow us on Facebook for up to the minute news by clicking on this icon

 
 

Website News
 

 
 
     
 

Monday 6th February 2012.  DIY SHOW PREPARATION.

Are you attending any dog shows in the area, such as the Scottish Kennel Club Show on the 18th to 21st May?  Why not book to use our DIY Booth to get your dogs coat in prime condition immediately before exhibiting?  If there is enough demand we might stay open late on the evenings before the shows and allow all of our facilities to be available in addition to the DIY Booth.  As you would expect from a professional studio, we have fixed and electric lift baths all fitted with our own water efficient proprietary designed and manufactured "Splash Shower" recirculating hydrobath units which have 4 shower head settings for gentle and deep cleaning of any coat type, fixed and electric lift grooming tables, blasters and dryers as well as a large range of Kelco concentrated professional shampoos and conditioners - or you could use your own.  Please ensure to give us a call well in advance to book a time and ensure we can fit you in.
 

    Tuesday 31st January 2012. The DIY Booth is now fully open and has already been used by a Bernese Mountain Dog, a German Shepherd and a Rottweiler!
 
    Thursday 26th January 2012. THE DIY BOOTH IS NEARLY READY FOLKS! The shower units are all built and plumbed with the electrical control boxes for the pumps scheduled for completion this weekend.  So all being well, the facility should be available for use from Tuesday 31st January.
 
    Thursday 4th January 2012. A Happy New Year to all our present and future customers.  This is our first day back since closing on Christmas Eve and we are raring to go!  It's not been all merry making and relaxing though, as we spent the last couple of days pressing on with the manufacture of our two remaining "Splash Shower" units, so the DIY booth should finally be up and running very soon!  We have had lots of interest in this since opening in October and with pretty much everything else all done and working how we want, it is our top priority to get this operational ASAP, so keep checking back here for the opening date this month.
 

A printable PDF of our price guide is available by clicking this text.

The newsletter sent to our few remaining mobile customers at this time is available for downloading here

  Friday 2nd December 2011. Although we had intended to close our mobile service at Christmas, today was our very last mobile grooming day ever, as we have now sold our van to a new start up groomer based in the Dunbar area.  We wish Julie Melville, who also trained at Scotgroom, all the best in her new venture and hope she has as much good fortune as a mobile groomer as we had.

We have updated our price list and conditions to remove the mobile service, which can be downloaded from the link on the left.
 

    Sunday 27th November 2011. We are finally making some progress on getting our DIY and remaining grooming room baths operational, with the mechanics of the shower units almost built, and the electric control boxes to follow.  We have just about completed the installation and setup of our computer systems so will hopefully have entered in all our customers details into the booking software by the end of January.
 
    Friday 25th November 2011. Looks like we will be ceasing even earlier than Christmas as we have a buyer for our van which will probably be leaving us in the first week of December! This means our very last mobile van service day will be the 2nd December 2011. Customers with mobile appointments after this date will automatically have them transferred to Studio appointments for the same date and time. We will call or write to confirm that this is suitable or if a different date would be more convenient if you are able to change to the Studio. This change of service will also mean our opening hours at the Studio will be changing, so we will be open all day on a Friday and it won't just be for DIY.
 

  Thursday 17th November 2011. To make payments easier for our customers, we are now able to take debit/credit card payments in addition to cash and cheques.
 

The newsletter handout given to mobile customers at this time is available for downloading here

  IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Monday 31st October 2011.  We will be ceasing our mobile grooming van service permanently from Christmas 2011 and will be putting the van up for sale.

As most of our customers have been made aware over the past four months whilst we were refurbishing the Studio that our mobile service would be reduced once we opened.  Initially, we thought that we would have to operate it in 8 locations with a couple of those sometimes needing 2 days a week.  As we got nearer to opening the Studio, it was apparent that we would only need to operate in 5 locations one day a week, but to make that worthwhile we would need to have between 6 and 8 dogs booked plus extend the mobile grooming day by one hour.  We even removed the generator and added a new 210 litre water tank so we could cope with more dogs as we only had enough to do 6 with the original built in 140 litre tank.  However, of the mobile days allocated since the Studio opened to the end of this year, the majority are only booked to around half capacity or less.  Over the last two Fridays, we had only 1 booked and 2 booked respectively.

In the run up to the Studio opening, we had a 95% customer conversion rate changing from the mobile service.  Since opening that has increased to 98% and we simply don't have enough bookings on the mobile days to even cover the costs of keeping it going.  The rate of change over has far outstripped our expectations, plus having increased capacity at the Studio we've been able to cater for every single new customer enquiry for a booking within a few weeks instead of a few months.  That is a huge difference for us as we used to lose around 3 new bookings every day as we could only fit in around 10 new customers a month because of all our advance bookings.  This increase in new customer take up has compounded our decision to cease the mobile service.  From opening the Studio just a few weeks ago, we have been able to take on and service twice as many new customers than we have existing mobile bookings over the next 6 months.

It is unfortunate and regrettable as we know that for those few mobile customers we still have, it will be a great inconvenience to them to lose this service.

We had hoped that there may be another home based East Lothian Groomer who maybe wanted to extend their service range by hiring our van for the days we weren't using it. Our remaining mobile customers could be transferred to them if they wanted to hire or buy our van, but this has not happened. Now we are publicising the service is ceasing, perhaps that will change and customers can still get a mobile service

If there are any groomers out there reading this and would like to own, what is probably the best set up K9 converted grooming van in the country, please contact us.  We have incorporated dozens of modifications and improvements over the last three years to the standard K9 conversion so you can maximise your throughput and earnings.  With the additional 210 litre water tank, you have up to 350 litres or hot water available, so you could even just use the van as a static salon at your house without going mobile at all, cutting out all the travelling time plus keeping all the mess contained in the van and out of your house or garage!  There is heating for the winter and air conditioning for the summer plus loads and loads of other improvements.  We have successfully assisted other groomers start up their mobile service from scratch based on what we have done with ours, so can help you with your mobile grooming business too!
 

The newsletter handout given to customers at this time is available for downloading here

 

UPDATE 4TH OCT 2011 - OUR NEW STUDIO IS NOW OPEN!

Thursday 5th May 2011.  For the people of East Lothian, the Scottish Parliament election on May 5th may be regarded as a historic, land mark event in Scottish history.  But what has got the dogs of East Lothian excited is the news that on the very same day, Splash Dog Grooming added a Studio premises to it's service portfolio in Cockenzie High Street!

We have moved the news item that was originally posted here to a dedicated Grooming Studio News page created to keep our customers up to date with developments.
 

 

Saturday 2nd April 2011.  That's the end of another trading year for us, and what a year it's been.  For those of you who like numbers, here's some stats on us for 2010/11.

Total dogs groomed: 1041, average customer repeat rate: 82%, new customers added: 187, total customer dogs: 550, average dogs groomed per month: 87, highest months: July 2010 (106 dogs) and March 2011 (103 dogs), most groomed dogs in a day: 8, average fully booked days ahead to a free appointment: 49 days, furthest ahead a customer wanted to repeat book: 3 years!

A great big THANK YOU to all our customers!

For those of you that have had difficulty in getting appointments, we hope to be making an important announcement very soon that will allow us to more than double our capacity - keep checking back.
 

Download our Excel Spreadsheet here to help you easily work out advance bookings which you can then email to us.  

Sunday 16th January 2011.  We have now caught up will all the postponed bookings due to Decembers snow and are taking lots of advance repeat bookings again for this year.  We are currently full to early March, and it is about 3/4 full as of today.

To make it easy for everyone to work out an advance repeat booking schedule, we've created an Excel spreadsheet that does all the calculations for you which you can then email to us.  See opposite.
 

 

Christmas Eve 2010.  Phew, what a month December turned out to be!  We are now finished and taking a short break before getting back to business on the 5th January 2011.

Thanks to everyone who made 2010 an incredible year for us.  We have increased our customer base by almost 45% since April.  Keep looking here for an important announcement we hope to make in the next 3 or 4 months which will allow us to accommodate even more customers and reduce our booking timescales by increasing our capacity to serve your doggy needs!  Have a very merry festive break and here's to a great 2011 for all!


 
Severe Weather Notification   Tuesday 21st December 2010.  We have managed to reduce our backlog from around 20 to 5 dogs over the past week by extending the working day and using our normal days off, but the extreme cold overnight is now causing problems with the Hydrobath water pump and delivery pipe work as well as the bath drain, which takes time to rectify each morning causing some disruption to the first bookings of the day.  There are still some difficulties with the current spate of snow and ice which have caused us to revert to collect and returns again for some customers.  With more snow forecast for our area tomorrow we are expecting it to become more difficult to operate our service.  We thank customers for being so understanding at this busy time.
 
Severe Weather Notification   Monday 13th December 2010.  Thankfully the thaw over the past few days has allowed us to catch up on a few of the cancelled appointments from the last two weeks but we still have 15 dogs needing rescheduled somehow.  The concern is the next weather front closing in from the North on Thursday through the weekend will bring more cancellations instead of allowing us to catch up some more on Sunday and Monday.  We'll just have to see what happens an hope it's not a repeat of the last two weeks!  If it is though, we will just have to offer collect/returns again as below.
 
Severe Weather Notification   Monday 6th December 2010.  As you all will have experienced, today's snow fall is exceeding predictions and was reckoned to have stopped by 11:30am but is still falling mid-afternoon.  That's another 4cm today so far.  At least the kids got out the house to school, but it looks like that may not happen tomorrow and add to the disruption again.  Whilst we managed to get to one appointment on Saturday, the van got stuck trying to get to the second and then again getting back home.  So as we can't safely get parked up in residential areas and ensure we can get moving again afterwards, we will only be able to groom dogs for the foreseeable future that can be brought to us or if we can get to you for a collect/return in the Freelander, but only if you are within about 3 miles radius of us.
 
Severe Weather Notification   1st & 2nd December 2010.  All appointments cancelled today except those that live nearby that can bring their dogs to us. Our street hasn't been cleared and although we "might" be able to get the van out, we wouldn't be able to get it back in as the snow is about a foot deep either side with only a single track up the middle, so we could end up blocking the road trying to get it in or out. We couldn't even get to one location yesterday with the Freelander as the road was blocked with stuck vehicles at either end. From calling around over the last couple of days it's pretty much the same situation everywhere else. What we will do once things start to get back to "normal", is use our Sunday/Monday days off and early evenings to catch up with the backlog.
 
Severe Weather Notification   30th November 2010.  All appointments were cancelled today unfortunately, and the chance of getting the van out and back in again here is pretty much zero.  However, the windscreen depot in Bilston was back open today and they were able to replace the Freelander's cracked windscreen - Hooray!  So although we unlikely to get out with the van over the next day or so, we will be able to offer a free collect/return for dogs in the towns in our immediate vicinity as an alternative.  So if you are in Port Seton, Cockenzie, Prestonpans, Tranent, Longniddry or Macmerry you are in luck, but travelling further than that won't allow enough time between grooms - sorry.  So if you are not in any of these towns, we will have to try and reschedule as best we can once things get back to normal.
 
Severe Weather Notification   29th November 2010 - Severe weather notice.  It is highly likely that appointments are going to get disrupted over the next few days or even weeks as we currently have 17cm of snow and it's still falling.  The problem isn't so much getting around on the main roads, but getting safely parked up and being able to pull away again from the roadside.  We can't even offer a collect and return service in our Land Rover Freelander like we did in January, as it suffered a stone chip on Saturday which has now developed into a huge crack in the windscreen.  Not surprisingly we we can't get it replaced due to the weather!
 
Dixie needs rehomed   26th October 2010
We managed to assist re-homing Dixie in May this year but it was only temporary as the children were so upset at her leaving.  However, there is a serious illness in the family and it is just not possible for them to keep her now, so we are trying to re-home her again as soon as possible.

Dixie is a 3 year old Tibetan Terrier/Spaniel cross.  She has no medical problems, fully vaccinated, is very good natured and loves a good long walk.  She is very good with children, is house trained and doesn't chew up anything.  November: Dixie has been re-homed in Fife with a relation of the family.
 

  14th October 2010
Our holiday cottage in Jedburgh is now available for booking via our other website at www.CaledoniaCottages.co.uk.  It has been refurbished by us over the past three months specifically to be dog and child friendly.  So if you are looking for a "staycation" not too far from home, why not have a look at what is offer in the area.  The cottage sleeps up to 8 and we have offers for Hallow'een and all of November.
 
Start sending us your booking requirements for 2011, as 2010 is now fully booked!   14th October 2010
As of today, with the exception of possible cancellations becoming available, we are now FULLY BOOKED for this year.  As a consequence, many of our repeat customers are already booking in advance to the end of 2011 to ensure they get their appointments allocated and their dogs regularly maintained.

One of the easiest ways to book in advance is to email us your preferred dates or days which are/aren't suitable, stating whether mornings or afternoons are best.   Just let us know your name, address and a contact phone number plus brief details of your dog(s) and your preferred cut or style - same length all over, short but not too short, with/without feathers/skirt or whatever.  We will do our best to allocate what you want, or suggest alternatives where we may already be fully booked or let us work out a schedule for you.  We are here to help, just let us know your requirements.
 

  14th August 2010
Our pet friendly holiday cottage in the Scottish Borders is almost finished being refurbished and will be available to let from early September.  Located in Jedburgh with commanding views over the scenic Borders countryside, it is fully equipped with all the modern comforts of home you could wish for and is only an hour from Edinburgh and the Lothians.  With many holiday companies going bust this year plus strikes at airlines and airports leaving thousands stranded, why put up with the uncertainty and cost of foreign travel when there is so much to see and do almost on your own doorstep - and even better, you can take your dog with you!

Please see our other website www.CaledoniaCottages.co.uk for more information.
 

Splash Dog Grooming has

THE COOLEST

dog grooming van

  24th May 2010
It's official - the SDG grooming van is the COOLEST way to get your dog groomed, thanks to our newly installed air conditioning unit.  Summer is here and it's fair to say that it can get incredibly hot in the van when the sun does grace our normally grey Scottish sky and the dryer is pumping out high velocity hot air.  Being a hot dog or a hot groomer is not comfortable, but now we can all stay cool and get the job done with less stress when the temperature is on the up.
 
Dixie needs rehomed   26th April 2010
Dixie is a 2 year old Tibetan Terrier/Spaniel cross and his owner in Tranent would like to re-home her.  She has no medical problems and is very good natured, but needs more walking than his busy owner can give her.  She is very good with children, is house trained and doesn't chew up anything.

Update 4th May 2010: Another success, we have found Dixie  a new home with one of our relatives. Lots of space to burn of all that energy on a farm and will still be one of our customers.
 

Additional 'Tips' section added to site   2nd April 2010
We have now split the News & Links page into separate pages, and added a grooming tips section with the links.
 
New price guides come into effect. Click here to get a printable copy.   2nd April 2010
New guideline price lists come into effect from today, but please note that all bookings made in advance during the last quarter remain at the old prices with an additional 10% discount.  All new bookings made from today are subject to the new pricing guides on the maintenance & full groom pages.
 
  1st April 2010
A big THANK YOU to all our customers new and old.  We have just  finished our first full trading year and what a year it has been.  We have groomed 800 dogs since last April and have an average 51% repeat customer bookings per month, peaking last month at 72%.  We are also fully booked almost seven weeks ahead and are around 20% advance booked right through to January 2011.

We currently have over 450 doggy customers and add around 30 new ones every month.  97% of all customers with appointments in February and March booked in advance right through to the end of the year.  These customers took advantage of our new year discount offers and gained an additional 10% off the standard price whilst protecting the cost of their grooming against our planned April price increase.
 

Follow us on East Lothian Buzz   4th March 2010
Our interview will be a live broadcast between 10:50 and 11:30am on Thursday the 18th March.  If anyone listens, let us know what you think of it on our Buzz page!

Update 18th March 2010: If you missed it, here's an edited, music free copy - click here and open it in your media player.
 

Follow us on East Lothian Buzz   26th February 2010
It would be fantastic if a caring home can be found for Ben, a nine year old Miniature Poodle.  One of his owners passed away last autumn and his remaining elderly owner doesn't feel able to give him the exercise and attention he needs.  He is a long standing regular customer of ours and has a calm temperament.  He's in excellent health with no medical problems.

Update 10th March 2010: Ben has been re-homed and we are delighted that it is with another of our customers who already has a white Toy Poodle.  As a special 'thank you' for taking him in, we have offered to groom Ben (now Bo) for half price for the rest of 2010.

 

Follow us on East Lothian Buzz   5th February 2010
You can now follow us on East Lothian's very own social networking site "East Lothian Buzz".  We will be giving an interview on East Coast FM sometime in March and we'll let you know when.  Click on the logo to see what the Buzz is all about.  There is a link to ECFM by clicking the Radio tab.
 
  JANUARY 2010 - SEVERE WEATHER
Brrr, it's snowy, icy, and as cold as the arctic causing other groomers salons to close or prevent you from taking your dog to a salon, but we are still managing to complete 80% of our appointments!  So long as we can get to you, park safely and ensure we can get moving again afterwards, we can groom your dog when others can't.  If we can't make it with the van, rather than cancelling or postponing the appointment, we may be able to collect and return your dog if time allows with our 4x4 Freelander for a small extra charge.  Just some more reasons why we are East Lothian's premier mobile dog service.
 

offer finished

  17th December 2009
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! - not one, but THREE new recession busting offers to start off 2010!

one: It's back! the puppy discount is now bigger and better than when we first introduced it in April 2009.  To encourage puppy owners to have their dogs introduced to professional grooming, we are offering a massive 50% discount on all appointments taken by the 31st March 2010.  Puppies must be under 9 months old on the appointment date to qualify and must have had their second vaccination.

two: As advertised in "The East Lothian Courier" 17th December 2009.  Receive a £5 discount per dog up to a maximum of four dogs for all appointments taken between January and the 31st March 2010.  This offer cannot be used in conjunction with the puppy discount above or any other multi-dog appointment discounts.  Multi-dog households do not need to have all dogs booked to be groomed at the same appointment.

three: Book in advance for the whole year from January to the end of March to receive a 10% discount off every appointment from April to the end of December 2010. The more regular appointments you make, the more you save - plus the earlier you make them, the more often you can take advantage of the other two offers until the end of March as well!

Do you run a dog club or work with dogs professionally such as a trainer or at a Vet practice, kennels or pet supplies shop?  If so, you can download and print our offer to bring our services to the attention of your members or customers. (Adobe pdf reader reqd)
 

  21st June 2009
We have decided that showing is not for us and Roco's last show was today at the Border Union Agricultural Society Championship show in Kelso.  However, he has gone out in style with a Very Highly Commended in the puppy class and a first in the Junior class.  Perhaps we will have a try at agility with Roco once he is a bit older.  No doubt he will be able to run even faster without his show coat as he has no problem keeping up with Rio just now!
 
  23rd May 2009
We were unavoidably delayed in getting to the Scottish Kennel Club Show last week and arrived just as Roco's classes were finishing.  However, congratulations go to Roco's breeder Fiona Swan, as his brother Reily (Lochnevis Milan) won the Puppy class at the SKC show and is now qualified for Crufts.  His sister Eboni (Lochnevis Playgurl) was first in the Limit class too.  We did have some measure of success, as we groomed two Tibetan Terriers  the day before which came all the way up from Tamworth near Birmingham and they achieved a first and third - well done Wendy McCormack.  On the spur of the moment today we went to the Companion & Pedigree dog show at Archerfield (between Gullane and Dirleton).  Rio was second in the novelty "dog with the waggiest tail" class and Roco was first in the open pedigree puppy class.
 

Click here to view our photo gallery

 (opens in a separate window)

  13th May 2009
The original photo album of the before and after grooms was getting a bit large, so it has been split up into separate albums according to groups as defined by the Kennel Club.  Other dogs that aren't in these groups are catered for by the non-group album
 

  9th May 2009
After no placement at his first show in Perth a couple of weeks ago on his 6 month 'birthday', Roco came good at a drizzly and windy Kirkcaldy show today.  Granted there wasn't a lot in the way of competition, but he still achieved best puppy in breed plus a 2nd in the open Miniature Poodle class, plus 3rd and 4th Reserve in the Utility Minor and Puppy classes as well.
 

  8th May 2009
Our membership has been approved for the 'British Dog Groomers Association' which is operated by the Pet Care Trust.  For our customers, this means that we promise to abide by the BDGA's Professional Groomers' Charter, a code of practice designed to guarantee the highest standards of customer care and animal welfare.
 

  9th April 2009
Become a fan of Splash Dog Grooming on Facebook®.  Click the logo on the left to go to our wall.

Facebook is a registered trademark of Facebook, Inc.
 

offer finished

  5th April 2009
Speak to any dog trainer and they will tell you that the quicker a puppy is socialised and given basic training the happier it is, plus the owner is more relaxed and confident with it.  Grooming is a vitally important part of socialisation as it gets the puppy used to being handled by a stranger as well as having its eyes, ears, paws, nails and coat maintained in good order.  Introducing a puppy to grooming by a professional and being handled frequently by it's owner, friends and family helps enormously in alleviating the potential for nervous and aggressive behaviour as it is developing and growing compared to dogs which have not been regularly groomed.  Please see more on our philosophy on puppy grooming on our 'About Us' page.

To encourage new puppy owners to have their dogs introduced to professional grooming we are offering a 25% discount voucher for you to use on appointments made and redeemed by the 3oth June 2009.  Puppies must be under 6 months old on the redemption date to qualify. (Adobe pdf reader reqd)
 

Customer reviews added to the web site

  30th March 2009
You can now add reviews to to the site with a link added to the menu at the top of the pages.  You can share your experience of dealing with us with other and potential customers.  Please feel free to add comments and rate our service!  As the old saying goes...

If you like what we have done, tell your (doggy) friends
If you don't, tell us!

Click here to view our photo gallery

 (opens in a separate window)

  13th March 2009
A photo gallery page has now been added to the site with a link added to the menu at the top of the pages.  Click to select one of the albums that are rotating round when it is nearest you.  Select whether you want to view as a book or a slide show from the icons above it or go back to select a different one.  When selected as a book, you can flick back and forwards through it (top and bottom left/right page corners) with your mouse.  Alternatively, click and drag the pages over with your mouse.
 

  4th March 2009
What a week it's been for Roco.  He passed his puppy training test last week at Posh Pets Obedience Training and won Best Baby Puppy at the monthly Broxburn & District Ringcraft Club match last night.

Not convenient for us to come to your home?  Our new collect and return service could be just what you need

  1st March 2009
We realise that even though a mobile service is very convenient, there are times when it may be even more convenient to have your dog collected and/or returned to your home or even your place of work.  By customer request, we have now introduced a limited collect and return service.  Please see the grooming pages for more information and costs.
 

Two FREE grooming vouchers up for grabs in the Dunedin Vets 15th anniversary raffle

  23rd February 2009
Come and see us at Dunedin Vets open day on Sunday 1st March between 11am and 2pm at the Tranent practice. They are celebrating their 15th anniversary and we have provided two free minimum groom vouchers for the raffle.  Further details are on the open day on the Dunedin Vets website via the links section below.
 

A4 single poster

A4 (2x A5) posters

A4 (4x A6) posters

  16th February 2009
Do you run a dog club or work with dogs professionally such as a trainer or at a Vet practice, kennels or pet supplies shop?  If so, you can download and print our posters to bring our services to the attention of your members or customers. (Adobe pdf reader reqd)
 

offer finished

  15th February 2009
To celebrate the launch of our mobile service we are offering a 25% discount gift voucher for you to use on appointments made and redeemed by the 31st March 2009. (Adobe pdf reader reqd)
 

  11th February 2009
Our black Miniature Poodle called Roco (Lochnevis Tokyo) has been entered for his first shows.  We have never shown dogs before and are just doing it for a bit of fun, but with 20 champions in his five generation pedigree we are hoping that he will manage some good results despite our lack of experience!
 

  1st February 2009
Splash Dog Grooming's Mobile service launches to serve the grrr-ooming needs of East Lothian's pooches with a specially converted and professionally equipped van.
 
     
 
Hot Products
 
 

We can supply hand grooming equipment and show you how to use it so you can keep your dogs coat mat free between grooms.  We also stock a range of accessories, dog toys and shampoos.

 

Relax in our pet friendly holiday cottage in the Scottish Borders.

Go to our site here.

   
 
Copyright 2009 to 2012 Splash Dog Grooming. All rights reserved