[Dawn125]

Mobile groomer are always more expensive because they can not do as many dogs per day as a salon. They spend quite a bit of time driving from dog to dog and cleaning up their van after each stop. Figure at least 50% more. So if you are used to paying $50, then if you go the mobile groomer route figure at least $75. There are good mobile groomers and bad mobile groomers just like in a salon. There are franchise mobile groomers who may have little training just like the big corporate petsomethings. The big plus to mobile is the time factor. Your dog is in and out in an hour or less and you can probably watch up to a point. For some dogs this isn't actually less stressful however. Where I work we do a little bichon that was a basket case when it was being done by a mobile groomer. The owner came in and interviewed us because her dog would run and hide and shake like a leaf when the groomer showed up. She said it had gotten to the point where her dog wouldn't come to her anymore because she seemed to be holding a grudge against the owner. So she decided to give us a try. The first time she was really worried about leaving her dog (for 3-4 hours) and called several times. Now several grooms later (comes in every 3 weeks) she comes in wagging her tail, runs around greeting everyone and willingly jumps into a crate. The owner is amazed in the change in her dog. She's back to her happy self. The only thing we can guess is the pace of mobile grooming might be stressful for some dogs. They are bathed and then dried without a break. Also drying a dog immediately from the tub takes quite a bit longer so more time for the dog to deal with the scary, noisey dryer. In a salon setting the dog can be bathed and wrapped in dry towels to drip dry for a while and then blown dry really quickly.
Anyway, point is, all salons and all mobile are not the same. Find what works best for you and your baby. Don't just assume your baby is suffering if he/she is at the groomers for several hours. Lots of dogs really seem to enjoy their "spa" day. Sure, they often spend quite a bit of time sitting in a crate waiting their turn for their hair cut. Some snooze. Some watch the other dogs. Also, your dog immediately picks up on how you are feeling so if the idea of leaving him is stressing you out your dog will feel that.