Moose
4 years old · Old Orchard Beach
A black lab who thinks the deshedding bath is a massage. His owner says the vacuum has been semi-retired since he started coming to us.
Breed Grooming Guide 5.0 · Southern Maine
Labrador Retriever Dog Grooming.
Labs are the most common dog in America and the most underestimated grooming job we do. That short coat sheds constantly and traps a remarkable amount of salt, sand and pond water. K-Pup brings a full deshedding bath and blow-out to your driveway — no car ride, no shedding all over the back seat.
Every Color, Every Line
Grooming for every kind of lab.
Black, yellow, chocolate, English or American — the coat is the same short, dense, water-repellent double coat. Breed background and the coat standard live on the AKC Labrador Retriever breed page.
English (Show-Type) Labs
Blockier, heavier and thicker through the coat with a fuller otter tail. More coat means more to deshed — we card the body and pay extra attention to the neck and hindquarters where dead hair packs in.
American (Field-Type) Labs
Leaner, taller and typically tighter-coated. They still shed hard twice a year and usually swim more, so the priority is clarifying the coat, drying the ears and keeping skin healthy.
Black, Yellow & Chocolate Coats
Color changes what shows, not what's needed. Black coats show dandruff and sun-fade, yellow labs show dirt and tear stain, chocolates show every loose hair on the couch. We tailor the shampoo to the coat and skin in front of us.
Lab Puppies & Seniors
Puppies get short, positive first grooms so nails and dryers stop being scary. Seniors get low-table handling, short sessions and gentle joint-friendly positioning.
Built For Water Dogs
Short coat, serious shedding.
Deshedding is the main event
A lab's dense undercoat releases year-round and dumps in spring and fall. A deshedding bath followed by high-velocity drying and carding pulls out handfuls of coat that would otherwise end up on your floors for the next two months.
Salt, pond water and skin
Labs swim in anything. Salt and algae left on the skin cause itching and hot spots under that dense coat. Every groom includes a clarifying wash and a complete dry down to the skin.
Ears after every swim
Drop ears plus constant swimming makes labs one of the most ear-infection-prone breeds we see. We clean and dry the canals every appointment and flag anything that looks red or smells off.
Nails, pads and joints
Overgrown nails change a big dog's stance and stress hips and elbows over a lifetime. We clip and grind smooth, and shave pad hair so your lab isn't skating across the kitchen floor all winter.
The Labrador Retriever Club has solid breed-health resources, including guidance on hip and elbow screening and on keeping labs at a healthy weight.
Services
Labrador Retriever grooming services.
01
Full Deshedding Bath
Double wash with deshedding solution, undercoat rake and card, full high-velocity dry, ears, nails and sanitary tidy.
02
Beach Day Rinse & Dry
Clarifying salt-and-sand wash with a complete dry — the maintenance visit between full deshedding appointments.
03
Teeth Cleaning
Anesthesia-free brushing and tartar work — labs chew hard and build tartar fast on the back molars.
Our Process
How we groom a Labrador Retriever.
Every labrador retriever appointment follows the same order, start to finish, in the trailer in your driveway. Typical appointment time: about 1 hr 30 min, one dog at a time.
Arrival and skin check
One dog, your driveway, no waiting. We start by going over the skin — labs hide hot spots, lumps and dry patches under that dense coat, and we want to know about them before the bath.
Rubber curry and rake
A curry comb and undercoat rake over the dry coat lifts the first round of dead hair, especially over the hindquarters and neck where labs pack it in hardest.
Deshedding bath
Two washes: a clarifying one for salt, pond water and sand, then a deshedding treatment worked all the way to the skin and left to sit so it can release the undercoat.
Force dry and card
High-velocity drying blasts out the loosened undercoat — this is the step that actually reduces shedding at home — followed by carding to pull the last of the dead coat from the guard hairs.
Ears, nails and pads
Ear canals cleaned and dried (non-negotiable for a swimming breed), nails clipped and ground level, pad hair shaved so your lab isn't sliding around the kitchen.
Finish and hand-off
A sanitary tidy, a coastal-safe spritz and a quick rundown of anything we noticed — ears, skin, nails or weight — before your dog walks straight back inside.
This is the full step-by-step process K-Pup Dog Grooming uses for labrador retrievers in southern Maine.
Client Spotlight
Our favorite labrador retrievers.
A few of the labrador retrievers we look forward to seeing on the schedule — regulars from around southern Maine who hop up on the table like they own the trailer.
Cocoa
8 months old · Saco
Chocolate puppy, zero impulse control, enormous heart. We're teaching her that the nail grinder is boring — she's about halfway convinced.
Gus
9 years old · Biddeford
Yellow lab, one tennis ball, no negotiation. He carries it into the trailer and holds it through the entire groom.
Fun Facts
The best things about labrador retrievers.
We groom a lot of labrador retrievers, and every one of them reminds us why the breed has such a loyal following. Here's what we love about the labrador retriever.
America's dog for decades
The labrador held the AKC's most popular breed title for 31 straight years — no other breed has come close.
Built for cold water
Otter tail as a rudder, webbed toes, and a greasy water-repellent double coat. Maine water in October doesn't slow them down at all.
Actually from Newfoundland
Labs descend from the St. John's water dog of Newfoundland, not Labrador. They were bred to haul fishing nets and lines to shore.
Three colors, one litter
Black, yellow and chocolate puppies can all appear in the same litter — it comes down to two genes and nothing else.
Legendary noses
Labs dominate detection work worldwide. That nose is also why yours found the neighbor's compost pile before you did.
Bottomless appetite
Many labs carry a gene variant that blunts the feeling of fullness. Keeping them lean is the single best thing you can do for their joints.
Related Breeds
Similar coats we groom.
labrador retrievers share brushing, drying, and trimming needs with these breeds — each guide covers coat care, timing, and pricing for mobile grooming in southern Maine.
German Shepherd Dog Grooming
Double-coat deshedding
Golden Retriever Dog Grooming
Double-coat deshedding
Aussiedoodle Dog Grooming
Doodle & designer coat care
Bernedoodle Dog Grooming
Doodle & designer coat care
Bernese Mountain Dog Dog Grooming
Breed-tailored bath & trim
Cavapoo Dog Grooming
Doodle & designer coat care
Services
Services for your Labrador Retriever.
The visits labrador retrievers book most often, and what each one includes.
from $55
See every service and price →Senior Dog Grooming
Short, low-stress grooms built around arthritic hips, deaf ears, and dogs who can't stand for an hour.
Read more →from $25 add-onDeshedding Treatment
Undercoat rakes, a high-velocity blowout, and up to 90% less fur on your floors. Built for Labs, Goldens, Shepherds and Huskies.
Read more →from $25 add-onFlea & Tick Bath
Medicated flea baths and full tick checks — done in the driveway so the problem never comes inside.
Read more →guideFirst Groom: What to Expect
Never used a mobile groomer before? Here's exactly what happens, what we need from you, and what it costs.
Read more →guideFull Groom vs Bath & Brush
Not sure which one to book? A straight comparison by coat type, price, and how often each is needed.
Read more →$20–$170Grooming Prices
What mobile grooming actually costs here, why prices vary by dog, and what's included at every tier.
Read more →Where We Groom Labrador Retrievers
Labrador Retriever grooming across southern Maine.
Looking for a lab groomer near you? We bring the trailer to driveways all along the southern Maine coast. Pick your town and book. See all our locations →
Kennebunkport Labrador Retriever GroomingKennebunk Labrador Retriever GroomingCape Porpoise Labrador Retriever GroomingGoose Rocks Beach Labrador Retriever GroomingArundel Labrador Retriever GroomingBiddeford Labrador Retriever GroomingSaco Labrador Retriever GroomingWells Labrador Retriever GroomingOgunquit Labrador Retriever GroomingYork Labrador Retriever GroomingOld Orchard Beach Labrador Retriever GroomingScarborough Labrador Retriever Grooming
Labrador Retriever Grooming FAQ
Questions labrador retrievers owners ask us.
Do labradors need professional grooming?
Yes — just not haircuts. A lab needs regular deshedding baths, ear cleaning and nail work. A professional deshed removes far more coat than home brushing and dramatically cuts shedding around the house.
How often should a lab be bathed?
Every 6–8 weeks, and more often in summer if your dog swims. Overbathing with the wrong shampoo strips the water-repellent coat, so we use conditioning, non-stripping products.
How do I stop my lab from shedding so much?
You can't stop it, but you can move it. A deshedding bath plus high-velocity drying every couple of months, with weekly rubber-curry brushing at home, makes a very visible difference.
Can you groom a lab that hates the dryer?
Yes. One dog at a time, no other dogs barking, and we introduce the dryer gradually at lower velocity. Most nervous labs settle within a couple of appointments.
Where in southern Maine do you groom labs?
We come to you across Kennebunkport, Kennebunk, Cape Porpoise, Goose Rocks Beach, Arundel, Biddeford, Saco, Wells, Ogunquit, York, Old Orchard Beach and Scarborough.