Before your confirmed home-grooming visit, clear a suitable workspace and the route to it, arrange a bucket and water access, and keep your pet's care notes ready. Choose one adult to receive the team and discuss the plan before work starts. The groomer brings the equipment and products for the selected service.
Is the appointment already confirmed?
If you are still choosing the pet, address, service or slot, complete the first-booking checklist first. The steps here cover getting your home and household ready after that confirmation.
Prepare in the right order
| When | What to arrange |
|---|---|
| Before appointment day | Building entry, the workspace, water access and the adult receiving the team. |
| Before arrival | Clear the equipment route, move valuables and gather relevant care notes. |
| Before work starts | Review the coat, priorities and any proposed change with the groomer. |
| Before departure | Check completed work, the grooming area and home-care advice. |
Resolve access or workspace problems before the team arrives rather than improvising after washing starts.
Arrange the space and practical supplies
Woofly provides grooming in your home rather than in a grooming van. The groomer brings grooming equipment and products; you provide a suitable space, a bucket and access to water. Check Woofly’s FAQs and confirm additional requirements for your selected service.
Describe the water source, access route and available working area. Ask about electricity needs before arranging anything around a wet workspace. Do not improvise a grooming station from unstable furniture or run makeshift power leads through water.
Clear items that could obstruct movement or be damaged by splashes. Tell the team about stairs, lifts, parking and building permissions. Our apartment workspace guide covers the practical questions in more detail.
Give the household a simple plan
Choose one adult to communicate the agreed brief. Arrange a separate comfortable space for other pets and keep children away from equipment. Avoid scheduling noisy cleaning, deliveries or a gathering beside the working area when you can.
For cats, check doors, windows and the route used to bring equipment inside. Cats Protection’s home-safety guide identifies household hazards worth checking before a room is used. Our cat-room checklist explains how to coordinate access without a last-minute chase.
Share information that a booking form may miss
Write a short note covering current treatments, previous product reactions, sensitive areas and experiences with brushing, water or dryers. Describe an observation instead of a label: “moves away when the left rear leg is touched” is more useful than “difficult.”
Cornell’s cooperative-care guidance supports gradual handling practice. Appointment day is not the time to force an unfamiliar task until your pet accepts it. Ask for help planning comfortable practice between visits.
Do not add a bath, new product or sedative simply to prepare for the appointment. Ask whether washing is needed, and use medication only as instructed by your vet.
Do I need to bathe my pet before the groomer arrives?
Do not add an extra bath simply to prepare for a booked grooming service. Check what your selected appointment includes and tell the team about tangles, products recently used or veterinary washing instructions. Do not use new medication to make the appointment easier without your vet's direction.
Before work starts and before the team leaves
Review priorities and any proposed change in scope or price before tools are used. Stay available for decisions during the session. At the end, use the handover checklist to review completed work, deferred tasks and home-care advice.
Sources and further reading
- Woofly: service FAQs — equipment, water and workspace arrangements.
- Cats Protection: home safety — household hazards and secure openings.
- Cornell: cooperative grooming care — gradual handling preparation.
