We are new to the area and I was looking for a place that would put my pups at ease since they are nervous little ones with new people. I chose The Hairy Barker because of the great reviews on Yelp and they did a great job on the hair cuts. My only negative is that I was quite taken aback by the less that welcoming feeling that I got when I arrived. No warm fuzzies there at all, but I guess that is not what I am paying them for. read more

Amy is the owner and she seems to be the only one that is very friendly and offers a consistent experience, including price. The other times that my puppy has seen another groomer it's been a much higher price and not as good of an experience. Less friendly and not as well groomed. Most recently, I had the worst experience yet when Amy went out of town. My dog had matting around his neck after his neuter surgery so the man at the front said it would take a longer time to groom him and it would be more expensive. I dropped him and they agreed to call me to give me an exact price. It was around $60 more than usual so I asked if they could confirm this with Amy. It was agreed that they would groom my puppy while they waited to hear back from Amy. After six hours, I called to check in and they said that they never heard back from Amy so they didn't go ahead with the grooming and instead just let my puppy sit there for 6 hours. This was a total lack of good judgment and service. If they misunderstood, then they should have called me to check in rather than just letting my puppy sit there for 6 hours. I wondered what they would have done if I had not called. Would he have just stayed there overnight? And they did not apologize for the way they very poorly handled the situation. They just said oh sorry you can pick him up now. Terrible business practices! And it does often smell of second hand smoke as other customers have noted. Without Amy there, this business is terrible and has incredibly bad customer service and care. read more

Excellent care for our dogs, great cuts, even for our 'challenging' older dog! Highly recommended.

Diana did an amazing job with our mini goldendoodle Lola. She has a challenging fur and Diana mastered to de tangled and cut short enough but don't let her shaved. Thank you very much Diana, we love it and so did LOLA read more

The Hairy Barker - Diana did an amazing job on our little goldendoodle Lola. She looks great and ready for summer! Thank you Diana! - Pet Groomers Near Me - Darien, Connecticut

See all

Our Bouvier des Flandres puppy, Noodle, has been coming here since she was 18 weeks old. Aymee is amazing with our rambunctious girl! Bouviers have a very specific haircut and Aymee does an amazing job with the traditional breed cut. read more

Over the years, we have visited many dog groomers. This is a difficult business and several years ago we settled on the Hairy Barker. We like that the grooming is done where we can see it. It is not done in a back room where the groomers can treat the dogs poorly. We also like the consistent ownership and staff. When we go there we know who is going to do the work and we can see how it is done. We also like the quality of the work. Our pup looks really good after her day at the spa. read more

The Hairy Barker - Pet Groomers Near Me - Darien, Connecticut

Mean to animals, rude to humans. Incredibly poor customer service. Dogs leave smelling like secondhand smoke. I requested to have my dog get a small trim and they shaved her legs and back side. The area where they left hair is not even straight. Then they yelled at me that I don't take care of my dog even though THEY GROOMED HER two weeks ago. This is the fifth or sixth time that I regret going there. My mistake! Never again! read more

See all

Please don't bring your dog here. When I brought my cockapoo there to be groomed, she came back with red razor burn marks all over the side of her body (I assume where the trimmer had gotten too hot). This happened to my friend's dog there as well, and the burns were so bad that her dog had to be put on steroid drugs and antibiotics at the vet. When I called to complain they said they just said some dogs' skin is more sensitive than others. I never went back. read more

Thanks to Amy and her team for Kona's great cut! They take wonderful care of their four legged clients and always go the extra mile to give our mini Schnauzer the exact cut we like. It's unfortunate there are still negative reviews from years ago posted, but I can tell you I'm a finicky puppy momma and the new ownership of Hairy Barker is top notch. read more

DO NOT GO HERE. Save yourself, and your dog, the stress and frustration and find another groomer. I had got a Groupon for grooming services and decided to bring my dog in for a bath, brush, haircut and de-shedding treatment. I was SHOCKED with how he walked out of that place. A complete hack job. Inconsistent, splotchy shaves all over his backside and stomach. Nothing was blended in. On top of that, when I expressed my disappointment in the services, I was asked to bring him back in to fix it, where I was met with a horrible un-professional RUDE attitude from the Groomer who did the cut, Carrie. She also wouldn't allow me to wait in the waiting area while she attempted to fix the cut... I was bringing him to work with me and didn't wanted to stay instead of coming back at a later time. I found this to be very sketchy... My dog is EXTREMELY friendly, and adores visiting new places and being around people. He visits his vets office with a wagging tail even after getting shots... He couldn't wait to get out of this salon...I actually watched her pull him into the grooming area saying something along the lines of "this is bullshit" and "what is this dogs name again?". They don't care about your animals OR the work they do. Also, there is no explanation of the services, so you have no idea what you are paying for. I had purchased a $25 Groupon for $50 towards grooming services, and was charged an extra $45 at the salon, for a total service value of $95. They only refunded me the $45, not the $25 I had paid for the Groupon. The entire salon wreaks of cigarette smoke. Totally un-professional. Major lesson learned...they are on Groupon for a reason... read more

See all

Amy and the entire crew at the Hairy Dog provide the Gold Standard in Customer Service and Kindness. My little Cocker Spaniel puppy, Guapo, truly enjoys his day at the spa, and Amy recently went way above and beyond to accommodate us. The Best of the Best! read more

DO NOT BRING YOUR DOG HERE IF YOU LOVE FER/HIM. We dropped our baby, little yorkie, for grooming and it took FIVE hours. I knew something was wrong but didn't listen to my gut. I called and they just said they were backed up and she would be ready in an hour. Obviously just waiting for the BLEEDING to stop. My husband picked her up and they did not bring to his attention that they CUT THE TIP OF HER EAR OFF!!! I will stop at nothing to close down this business. Not only did they hurt my baby - they were lying and deceitful. I hope the people that did this and lied about it can't sleep at night... karma is an amazing thing. read more

The Hairy Barker - They cut the tip of her ear off!!!! - Pet Groomers Near Me - Darien, Connecticut

Don't bring your dog here. The manager/owner is incredibly rude for absolutely no reason - she acts like she's above everyone and had no manners. She screams at the dogs, they destroyed my dogs nails which are now all split - I mean really, something as basic as trimming nails they can't do? I hope they go out of business. Terrible. read more

DO NOT BRING YOUR DOG HERE! The few "good" reviews are outdated and are a poor representation of what kind of place this is. This place will traumatize your pet and the service may even physically injure them (on purpose or not). read more

I've been coming here for over a year to get my dog groomed and Ive loved it until my dog's dedicated groomer left. The last 2 visits were not ideal and specifically, this last visit is why I will never be coming back. I brush and bathe my Goldendoodle when necessary and get advice from my friend (who works as a dog trainer AND at a vet's office) on how to take care of my dog. This is the 2nd time I've heard the excuse of my dog being matted to shave her down. With proper care, doodle mixes can go months without hair cuts. And when I got her back, she was poorly shaved, with uneven cuts and was constantly scratching (from what Im guessing - razor burns). Little attention was paid to her snout and overall the experience took 6 hours to groom her. My experiences in the past have been great and I brought up my concerns on my last visit in late March. I don't find myself to be a confrontational person but this was unprofessional and Im more worried about any unnecessary treatment my dog may have experienced while in this establishment's care. read more

See all

ABSOLUTELY NOT! Do not bring your pet there!! We are new to the area and made the huge mistake of taking our dog here today without checking reviews first. When I made the appointment, the woman answering the phone was quite rude, but I ignored this because the place is so close to our house. Unfortunately, when we picked him up today, she was literally screaming at someone on the phone about payment (we could hear her from the street). We entered anyway and this tirade went on for several minutes while we just stood there with everyone else that works there just staring. This is not an environment that I would EVER leave my dog in knowingly. Just terrible. read more

Just got back from our first visit to The Hairy Barker and so so pleased. They were just lovely and very sensitive to my senior pups needs. Their shop was clean and nice and calm. Jessica took time to get to know my dog before they got started and he seemed to really love her. When I picked him up they even gave me some great photos from their doggie photo booth--super cute. Very good experience. We'll be back! Update: Our last appt we didn't stay for. The groomers who were there that day I'd never seen any of them before. My dog, who usually loves everyone, didn't want to go to them. They also seemed overbooked. Not sure what was up but the vibe was not good and we didn't stick around to find out. We're moving on. read more

Hairy Barker came to our rescue after a bad Pet Smart of Stamford experience and we've been taking our puppy to them ever since. Everyone's so friendly and helpful. They're real dog-lovers and the dogs love them back. I like that the dogs are kept in little fenced in yards rather than steel cages and we loved the little puppy photo booth photo we received after our first visit! read more

Sandra at The Hairy Barker did a fantastic job grooming my springer spaniel. She and the staff are friendly and professional, and take the time to note any specific issues your dog may have before grooming. The spa is clean, cheerful, and well-equipped for dogs of all sizes. Prices are competitive enough for me to travel out from NYC! My dog will definitely be returning. read more

Staff was pretty pleasant I did before making the appointment state that my pup Mason isn't friendly with other dogs/people and they said that they'd be able to handle it and mussel him if needed. Mason has only had two long term groomers in his short 6 year life after moving from New York to stamford I felt that I should switch his groomers before his previous groomers availability wasn't fitting in our schedule so I figured we'd try a highly rated groomers around stamford or close to it. I went on Groupon to see if there was any good deals and found the hairy barker, read some reviews, drove by seemed like a great place and with the reviews I thought yup this is the spot !! When I dropped Mason off it was 9 am their opening time and it seemed like he was the first dog there when I filled out the paper work they said they were already bathing him !! I thought it'd be super quick and told them to give me a call once they were done which they did at 11:45 am 2 hours & 45 minutes that's totally reasonable timing. Once I got there the groomer said Mason had bit her while she was close to his face which I was very apologetic about once she brought him out he seemed fine very happy etc I gave the group on which is 50$ off the original price which was 74$ which is such a great price basically the same amount for in NYC. Once I got home I examined Mason and noticed he had a couple of cuts, scraps, and what looked like razor burns all over him!!!!! I was pissed off thinking that they cut him over and over again. Now I know a cut or two might happen but he has a scrap across his tummy as if they dragged the razor across his skin. I thought I was working with groomers who had ton of experience with shaving dogs properly. The women I went to in Ny for the last 4 years every three months like clock work has never ever cut, scraped or gave him burns on his tiny little body. I got frustrated because for her to say he bit her then when looking at him notice all these cuts of course he bit her she was hurting him not once but there's at least 7 cuts on him from what I can visibly see. I don't think I'll be bring him back here. Although they were nice, place was visibly clean I feel the way Mason was treated was improper to come home with razor burns cuts and dragged razor marks is inexcusable and unacceptable. read more

See all

We have now had all three of our dogs (Wheaten, Shih Tzu miz and mini Poodle) go to The Hairy Barker to be groomed and we couldn't be happier. Even the two rescue dogs who can be an issue to groom didn't even make a fuss bc the staff went out of their way to make them feel comfortable. The best groomers we've ever been to and we've been to A LOT in CT and NYC. read more

I took my dog here last week and I was very upset to see that she had close to a bald spot on one side of her neck. Upon closer inspection their were actual cuts from the razor on her neck. My dog was very distraught when I picked her up and I felt a little rushed out the door. Maybe they hoped I wouldn't notice the injury. Needless to say, I will not be taking her here again. read more

We went to this groomer for the first time after relocating from NY to CT. What a fantastic place! They take a photo of your pooch once he or she is nice and clean and send you home with it! The staff are very friendly and did an amazing job grooming our Bichon/Shih Tzu mix! We will be going back regularly! read more

My Dog looked great afterwards but he wasn't himself for a few days following. They squeezed his anal glands so hard he had to go to the vet afterwards at it was $$$$$$$$$.... The staff could be more friendly.... A LOT more friendly. I was greeted (barely) with long faces and monotoned voices... then rushed out the door soon after my arrival. I called to check on my dog and they were very annoyed at that... Hello?!?! you have my furchild, I'm allowed to call and check on him... The price was good and he really did look amazing. They sent me home with a fancy photograph with an American-themed background for the 4th of July. I thought that was cute. I won't be returning though. read more

I recently began working in Darien and needed a groomer for my 4lb yorkiepoo. Read the reviews and their policies online and The Hairy Barker stood out from the rest. Jessica took care of Monroe and she did such a great job. I love the fact that she had a quick consultation with me asking questions and letting me know since it was the first time, she would spend some time playing with Monroe and taking her on a walk so they can be better acquainted. I will most definitely be returning once Monroe gets shaggy again. Highly recommend it! read more

The Hairy Barker has been amazing for our dogs. They are consistent with their attention to detail taking care of my labradoodles coats and helping me with my schedule. I have always been greeted warmly there and my dogs are always happy when we arrive and never skittish after leaving. Thank you Sandy and Dianna! read more

The Hairy Barker does a super Job, always with a smile and a loving touch for my dog. In fact my dog figures out where she is going about a block from the "salon" and she can hardly wait to get there for her hugs! The owner, Sandy, is involved everyday and runs a clean, happy professional dog grooming place. I would not hesitate to recommend the Hairy Barker, Darien Ct. read more

I love the Hairy Barker - I take my maltese in consistently and always have a great experience! My dogs come back to me looking fantastic and I know the groomers try to keep my pets from getting too stressed out! read more

Our dog Bailey is special needs and when he gets too nervous can get seizures. Sandra, the owner always personally takes extra special care of Bailey to make sure he feels calm. He always is calm and looks terrific. Very reasonable prices as well and super cute shop. read more

Better than the vet! I never take my dog to the vet anymore until Sandy tells me to. She has cared for my dog for years and she and her team always ask about my family, too. They are worth every penny! read more

I have tried a couple dog groomers in the area and would not compromise on the quality and friendliness of service. I am so happy to have found the Hairy Barker! The owner is always present and professional. Jessica groomes my dog each and every time, which helps her because she gets very nervous. She does a wonderful job, each and every time and seems to be one of the sweetest people in the world! (Seriously) Everyone is very knowledgeable and they definitely seem to care about my dog and remembers her name. They also provide you with a complimentary picture of your newly groomed pet. I highly recommend this business to anyone who asks! With confidence! read more

I picked up my dog recently after a grooming and she didn't look much different than when I dropped her off. I had been specific with my request on how much to cut, but instead of a good cut, she was barely trimmed. My instinct was to tell them immediately and have them fix it. But, I think I was too shocked and mad to say anything. A couple of hours later, I called after hours and left a message asking if I could bring my dog back in. That was several days ago and they still haven't called me back. I'm disappointed first of all that I paid more than what other places charge for a less than satisfactory job, and also that the place couldn't care less and want to fix it. This place doesn't seem to care if the customer is happy. read more

Charlotte has gone there twice, and each time she has left happy and calm, excited to see me, but obviously okay with where she just was. The previous place had me scared when I picked her up and she was shaking and didn't even look at me. Horrible! Both visits here left Charlotte happy and calm, and the owner (who worked on her) seemed very friendly with her. She also accommodated my work hours, and I was grateful for that. She shared how to care for Charlotte in between visits, and I appreciated the advice. The cuts were good and the price is comparable to others in the area. We are thrilled to have found them! read more

Fantastic experience They groomed my toy poodle and he looked perfect. His coat was badly matted and they did a great job to fix that. Courteous staff, professional groomers and hygienic facilities read more

We use to own a dog grooming salon in Texas. We have tried numerous groom shops in Fairfield county. This it's by far the best. I had forgotten how good my poodles could look. Neighbors and friends noticed and commented on their grooming. read more

Standard poodle hasn't had ear infection 10 years took her here n she developed one after 3 months. Vet said ears not clean n gunky..,

I brought my dog to the Hairy Barker Inn after seeing the great reviews on this site. He's had issues with being nervous at other groomers in the past. Everyone must have been so wonderful to him because when I picked him up, he was wagging his tail and smiling. Tina did a great job on his "swimmers cut" - he looks so handsome. I think I've finally found a groomer! read more

Absolutely disgusted with what they did to my dog. He came back traumatized and unable to walk without having to sit every two steps. I noticed he was licking himself a lot and began to examine him. They had lacerated his genital area and cut him multiple times without telling me when I picked him up. I will never bring my dog back after this unprofessional experience. Very disappointed I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone. read more

Being new to the area, we were on the search for a good groomer. We found it! This place is great. The staff is competent, friendly and talented. My little guy came out looking exactly as I had expected. Jessica was very thorough when asking what kind of cut we wanted and she did an excellent job - she was also very sweet and I felt comfortable leaving him there. He was well cared for while there and I am comfortable knowing they worked to keep him calm and relaxed. It's also nice that the dogs have a choice of staying in their little room or walking around the salon. Although a lot of dogs are anxious being at the groomer, this place makes it as stress-free for them as possible. We will certainly be returning! read more