How to run a grooming board
A grooming board is the back room’s list of every dog in the shop, where it is and who has it. Here’s what to put on one, and what to keep off.
Updated October 20, 2026
The short answer
Put every dog in the building on one screen the whole back room can see. Show a column for each stage (checked in, bath, drying, styling, ready), the groomer, the service and any warning. Move the dog as it moves. Keep phone numbers and prices off it, and tell the front desk the moment a dog is ready.
What to put on it
- A column for each stage. Arriving, checked in, bath, drying, styling and ready is enough for most shops.
- The dog, the breed and the size. Big enough to read from the tub.
- Who has it, and what it’s having. The groomer and the service, so nobody asks twice.
- Warnings, every time. Bites, anxious, seniors, medical notes. A warning that’s only on the front-desk screen doesn’t help the bather.
- How long it’s been in each stage. A dog that has sat in a kennel for an hour after drying is the one to look at.
- Room in the shop. How many tubs, tables and kennels are in use, so the desk knows whether to take a walk-in.
What to keep off it
- Clients’ phone numbers and addresses. Anyone walking past the screen can read it.
- Prices and payments. They belong at the desk.
- Notes you wouldn’t say to the client. If the board shows typed notes, write them as if the owner might read them over your shoulder.
Making it work
- Put it where wet hands can see it. A TV on the wall, or an iPad by the tubs.
- Move the dog as it moves. One tap per stage. A board nobody updates is worse than none.
- Tell the desk when a dog is ready. That’s when the pickup call or text should go out, not when someone happens to look.
- Give it its own sign-in. A shop screen shouldn’t need anyone’s password, and you should be able to switch it off from the desk.
WagTab’s answers
| Columns | Arriving, checked in, bath, drying, styling and ready, and the dogs gone home |
|---|---|
| On each dog | Breed and size, the client’s first name and last initial, the service, the groomer, flags, and groom and medical notes |
| Time | Minutes in the current stage on every dog |
| Room | Tubs, tables and pens in use, from the counts you set |
| Kept off | No phone numbers and no prices |
| Moving dogs | Tap a dog to move it on; a soft chime when one is ready, and the desk sees “ready for pickup” with the text written |
| Screen | Any TV browser, iPad or computer, signed in once with a code from the owner, no password needed; the owner can switch it off in one tap |
Notes on the board show as they were typed, so staff should write them with that in mind. All the facts
Questions about the board
Is a whiteboard good enough?
For two groomers, often yes. Past that, a whiteboard can’t tell the desk a dog is ready, how long it has waited, or warn the bather about a bite the desk wrote down at booking.
What screen should I use?
Whatever the back room can see from the tubs and tables: a TV with a web browser, or an iPad on a stand. It doesn’t need to be new.
Put your back room on one screen
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