If you have entered your dog’s weight into a grooming estimator and watched the price move, you may reasonably have wondered what those extra pounds have to do with a haircut.
In North Texas, a haircut at our Kontota location runs from $153.12 for a dog under 15 pounds to $289.08 for the largest category $165.48 at 16–25 pounds, $190.20 at 41–60 pounds and $202.56 at 61–70 pounds. The haircut includes the bath.
The reason that number climbs is straightforward: from the groomer’s side of the table, a 20-pound dog and a 70-pound dog are two different appointments. A larger dog means more coat to wash and dry, more body to brush and clip, more product, and more time at every stage. Size is not the only factor in what you pay, but it is the most reliable starting point available.
Those are current Kontota Essentials estimates for our North Texas location, not guaranteed quotes. Kontota is a franchise, so prices vary by location. Check with your local franchise if you are outside North Texas. For a figure based on your own dog, check the Kontota price estimator.
The North Texas size categories
| Dog’s weight | Essentials haircut (includes bath) |
|---|---|
| 0–15 lbs | $153.12 |
| 16–25 lbs | $165.48 |
| 26–40 lbs | $177.84 |
| 41–60 lbs | $190.20 |
| 61–70 lbs | $202.56 |
| 71–80 lbs | $214.92 |
| 81–90 lbs | $227.28 |
| 91–100 lbs | $239.64 |
| 101–110 lbs | $252.00 |
| 111–120 lbs | $264.36 |
| 121–130 lbs | $276.72 |
| 131–140 lbs | $289.08 |
What is worth noticing in that table is not the dollar figures but the shape of it. The price moves gradually with size. A 61-pound dog is not harder to groom than a 60-pound dog because it crossed a line on the scale, the categories exist to account consistently for the additional work that generally comes with a larger dog.
A bigger dog is literally a bigger job
The plainest explanation is the most important one: there is more dog.
Bathing a 12-pound Shih Tzu and a 75-pound dog are not comparable tasks. The larger dog has considerably more surface area to shampoo, rinse and dry. If the service includes a haircut, there is more coat to brush, prepare and clip.
The gap widens sharply with a dense or long coat, because drying is a major part of professional grooming and getting a thick coat completely dry takes real time. That coat then has to be brushed and prepared before any finishing work can happen.
So weight is not an arbitrary multiplier. It is a practical indication of the scale of the job.
Weight is the starting point, not the whole story
Two dogs can both weigh 50 pounds and need entirely different appointments.
A short-coated 50-pound dog in for a bath is not the same job as a 50-pound doodle in for a full haircut. A maintained coat is not the same job as a coat with significant matting.
That is why pricing separates short-hair baths, long-hair baths, haircuts and long-hair bath/deshed/outline services, and accounts separately for substantial dematting when it is needed.
Weight tells us how much dog we are starting with. Coat type, coat condition and the service you want decide what happens next.
Coat type can make two same-size dogs very different
Picture two dogs at 35 pounds. One has a short, smooth coat. The other has a dense curly coat needing a full haircut.
Identical weight. The coats are not asking for the same work.
A curly or continuously growing coat has to be cleaned, dried, brushed and prepared before the haircut can be finished properly. A dense double coat can hold a surprising volume of loose undercoat and may need additional deshedding. A short coat needs far less preparation.
This is also why breed alone is a poor pricing system. Even within one breed or mix, coat texture and density vary noticeably. Size gives us something objective to start from.
Why drying matters more than owners realise
When people picture a groom, they picture the haircut. Groomers think about everything that has to happen before the haircut is possible.
A proper bath is followed by a thorough dry, and a larger dog has more coat and skin to get through. Add a thick undercoat or long hair and the difference grows again.
That stage cannot be rushed just because the haircut is what gets noticed at the end. The condition of the coat before clipping determines how the finished groom looks and a coat sent home damp underneath is how skin problems start, which in a humid North Texas summer is not a small risk.
It is also why a large dog with what looks like a simple haircut can take substantially longer than a small dog in a similar style.
Bigger dogs need more physical handling
There is a part of size-based pricing that is easy to overlook: the dog has to be safely positioned throughout.
A groomer needs access to feet, legs, the underside, the face and everything else being worked on. A small dog can be repositioned in ways a 90-pound dog cannot.
That does not make large dogs difficult dogs. Plenty of big dogs are excellent on the table. It means their physical size changes how the groom has to be performed. A calm 80-pound dog is still 80 pounds.
Does a small dog always cost less?
Not necessarily.
Size sets the starting category, but coat condition can change the work considerably. A small dog with a severely matted coat can need more coat work than a much larger dog whose short coat has been maintained.
Significant dematting is treated as additional work rather than being built into every haircut:
| Dog weight | Dematting fee, when needed |
|---|---|
| 0–40 lbs | $55 |
| 41–80 lbs | $65 |
| 81–110 lbs | $75 |
The weight category establishes the normal service price. Extra coat work applies when the coat actually requires it.
Size matters for baths too
Weight-based differences are not limited to haircuts. Bath pricing changes by both size and coat type:
| Dog’s weight | Short-hair bath | Long-hair bath |
|---|---|---|
| 16–25 lbs | $91.33 | $116.04 |
| 26–40 lbs | $103.69 | $140.76 |
| 41–60 lbs | $128.40 | $165.48 |
| 61–70 lbs | $140.76 | $177.84 |
That illustrates the two variables working together: how much dog are we grooming, and what kind of coat are we working through?
A short haircut does not erase the size difference
Owners sometimes assume that asking to “just shave it short” should bring a large dog’s haircut close to a small dog’s.
The final hair length is one part of the appointment.
The dog still needs bathing. The coat still needs drying and preparation. The whole body still needs clipping and finishing. The nails, feet and face still need attention appropriate to the service.
Taking a large dog shorter may make the coat easier for you to maintain between appointments. It does not turn a large-dog appointment into a small-dog appointment.
A few pounds either way is usually not the issue
Owners occasionally worry when a dog sits close to the edge of a category.
If your dog has gained a few pounds since the last appointment, the scale is not a penalty. Weight-based categories exist to give pricing a consistent structure as dogs get larger.
What matters more is that knowing the current weight gets you a useful estimate before the appointment. Guessing “around 40 pounds” for a dog that actually weighs 55 puts you in a different category. If you are unsure, your vet’s most recent weight beats eyeballing it.
How North Texas changes the service mix
Size drives the price, but this climate influences which service your dog needs across a year, which is what you actually end up paying.
The shedding season here is long. Mild winters mean double-coated dogs never fully commit to a winter coat, so instead of one clean seasonal blow you get a heavy shed from late February into May and a second round in autumn. That pushes more North Texas dogs toward long-hair bath and deshed services rather than straight baths.
The pollen calendar is long too. Cedar through winter, oak and cedar elm in spring, ragweed into autumn. Itchy, reactive skin is common locally, and that often means bathing more often, which shifts a dog from four or five appointments a year to eight or ten.
Summer heat changes what to book, not just when. Single-coated dogs go shorter from May through September. Double-coated dogs should be deshedded rather than clipped, because the coat protects against heat and sun as well as cold.
None of that is a regional surcharge. It means the honest annual cost of grooming a dog here is usually built on more appointments than owners budget for in their first year.
Why mobile grooming changes the size equation
For a large dog in particular, the service model is worth weighing alongside the price.
One dog at a time. Your dog is the only animal in the van, which matters more the bigger and more reactive the dog is.
No cage or kennel time. In a salon, the appointment slot and the time your dog spends at the facility are often two different numbers: waiting before the groom, waiting again for pickup. Mobile grooming has no waiting period at either end.
One groomer throughout. Bathing, drying, brushing and finishing are handled by the same person rather than passing between a bather and a stylist.
No transport. For a 90-pound dog this is the practical one. No lifting into a car twice, and no journey in a vehicle that reaches dangerous temperatures within minutes of a Texas afternoon.
If a clip is what your dog needs, our dog haircut service explains how the coat is prepared and what the finish involves.
Frequently asked questions
Is the bath included in the haircut price?
Yes. Haircut pricing includes washing, rinsing, drying and brushing out before the cut.
Do you price by breed or by weight?
By weight, with coat type and condition considered on top. Breed indicates what kind of coat to expect; weight sets the category.
My dog is right on the edge of two categories. What happens?
Give the current weight when you request the estimate and you will be quoted from the correct category. A few pounds either way is not something to manage around.
What gives the most accurate estimate?
Current weight, breed or mix, coat length, the service you want, and an honest description of the coat’s condition.
What actually determines what you pay
Four things decide your dog’s grooming price, and they are not equally weighted.
- Weight sets the category. It is objective, it is the fairest place to start, and it is entirely outside your control.
- Coat type decides which service fits and this is where owners lose the most money, by booking a haircut for a dog that needed a deshed, or a straight bath for a coat that needed working through.
- Coat condition decides whether additional work sits on top. This is the only one of the four you fully control, and it is settled with a steel comb in the weeks before the appointment, not on the day.
The service you choose should follow from the first three rather than from habit.
Which means the honest answer to “why does size affect my price” is that size is the part of the formula nobody can argue with. A 25-pound doodle and a 70-pound doodle should not cost the same because one is three times the dog. Two 70-pound dogs can still need very different services because their coats are different animals entirely.
The scale does not tell us everything about your dog’s groom. It tells us the one thing we need before anything else: how much dog there is to wash, dry, brush, handle and finish. That is why it is the fairest and most practical place to begin and why the other three factors, the ones you can actually influence, are where the real variation lives. We groom across Dallas-Fort Worth, including Frisco, McKinney, Prosper, Denton, Aubrey, Carrollton, Flower Mound and Lewisville.
Disclaimer: All prices listed in this article are provided for general informational purposes only and reflect pricing available at the time of publication. Pricing varies by location, as Kontota locations are independently owned and operated. All prices, services, packages, promotions, discounts, fees, and availability are subject to change at any time without prior notice and may vary based on your dog’s breed, size, weight, coat type, coat condition, temperament, grooming requirements, and service location. Additional charges, including applicable taxes, travel fees, fuel surcharges, and optional services, may apply. Published prices and online estimates are not guaranteed quotes or binding offers. Final pricing will be confirmed by your servicing Kontota location based on the services requested and your dog’s individual grooming needs. Please contact your local Kontota location or use our online pricing estimator for the most current pricing information.
