The Bow Wow Grooming Boutique

It’s now two years later, and Amber has perfected my obnoxious Poodle’s haircuts. It’s 45 minutes, and half the price of what those other places charged. Amber KNOWS dogs and can figure out how to get the job done in an un-​traumatizing way.
If I could give her 10 stars I would!

When moving to Portland, one of my biggest stressors was finding a groomer who would be attentive, skilled, reliable, friendly, and affordable for my furry companion. I am so glad I found Amber! After a cross-​country road trip, my little pooch needed a serious spa day. He can be very timid and not the easiest when it comes to his nails, but she was very attentive and patient and gave him the exact style groom that I requested! Super easy to book an appointment with her online with an automated system that sends reminders as the appointment approaches, and she will text you when the dog is ready for pickup. We have found our groomer for Portland and I highly recommend her.

Amber is fantastic! She is friendly, great with my dog, and has tons of convenient hours. Plus, her prices are beyond fair. I would definitely recommend her as a groomer.

Amber is the best! She took my custom grooming order with a smile, and delivered my sweet little cockapoo with the summer cut he (well, *I*) so desired! She’s awesome, friendly, and works hard– and what a value!

This was our first ever grooming and Amber was awesome! Love that the dogs don’t stay all day! She made Daisy feel safe and gave her a great cut! We could not be happier! Scheduling its really easy you can do it online. I would definitely recommend this groomer!

Amber was very nice, but I think a complex groom like a Bouvier (who can be difficult) was above the capabilities of her facility and skill level. I was able to get my dog groom fixed later in the day by another groomer. I read all the good reviews and have no doubt they are sincere. I would say that my dog was not a match.

Brought my newly adopted pup here and he loved it! The boutique is in the back of a residential area, but it is pretty easy to find. Easy to book an appointment too– just call or text the phone number.
Grooming for our small 15 lbs pup is $ 40, and Amber has a $ 5 off discount for rescued dogs and groomed him for over an hour. She took care of all our concerns after taking him home from the shelter. The vet recommended sedative before grooming since our dog was a little shy, but it was refreshing to know that Amber doesn’t recommend it! We will be back.

My new little rescue lady was totalyl comfortable getting bathed and groomed here. Amber is really nice, her business is walking distance from my home, her pricing is super reasonable, and she told me to come back in a week or two so she could finish really thoroughly cleaning the pup’s ears for free (they were so bad she had to give it a rest after a while).

I liked everything about the experience here and even more that I knew exactly what time the grooming was going to be done and when to pick him up and one dog at a time. Very affordable. Have been here a few times with no issues.

I took my Cocker Spaniel here today, and wow, I honestly have nothing but GREAT things to say. Amber is very courteous and ask all the right questions about how I wanted the cut. This meant a lot to me, as I have gone to several groomers, and not been treated with such genuine kindness about my pet and his needs. She greeted us with natural doggy treats, and got straight to work on cleaning up my little guy. When I arrived to pick Ruger up, he was so ecstatic, not because I was there, but because, he just had just received the best one-​on-​one groom he has ever had. We are so thrilled to have found such great services at affordable prices. If you want your dog to be treated like family, (who wouldn’t?), and the best products to be used on your pet, then i highly recommend going here the next time your pup (s) are in need of a good, healthy grooming!

Amber is great, she has a great little set up and always takes wonderful care of our dogs Juniper and Sheldon. They aren’t the easiest dogs to handle but she’s always so kind and seems to have patience with them.

Highly recommend Amber at Bow Wow Grooming! She’s friendly, professional and knowledgable. I’ve been taking my Labradoodle to Petsmart previously and each time I was mortified with his botched haircut and the lack of enthusiasm the manager had when I pointed out the uneven cuts. So grateful to find Amber. I shared photos of the desired cut and paid nearly half the price. Support a local groomer and ditch the big box store!

I had a great experience, I needed to take my Yorky into the groomer because she was a little hot mess! The groomer was a very friendly knowledgeable and my dog not only left looking very cute but she also was a happy little dog. Even though this location is not very close to where I live I will definitely be making this a routine visit for my dog. The price is reasonable for the cut and wash!

I’ve thought long and hard about if I should even give the following review, but it needs to be said…
Just got a English Bulldog and wanted to take him somewhere for his first cleaning. This place had good reviews and super close. Went we dropped him off, the owner wasn’t overly friendly and definitely felt rushed out. I understand that we all have bad days, but when you are a business owner and the sole employee, you have to be pleasant and on your game.
Picked him up at the agreed time, he was there waiting in the «drying area». We discussed what she did for him, paid the bill and even left a really big tip. Got him home and started noticing a few things… he definitely didn’t smell better or any different, then almost immediately started digging heavily at his paws and scratching everywhere. After about 2 hours I called her at discussed my concerns, she offered to rising him off if we returned him, I declined. Ended up rewashing him at 10:30 that same night to make him feel better, he’s been fine ever since. So basically what I feel happened is that she wet him down and added some «leave on» conditioner that she did explain to me that she used, and stuck him in front of a floor fan (how I viewed him upon arrival to get him) and called it good.
I understand that this is her livelihood and possibly her sole source of income, but she really should step up her game and do a better job. I will not be going back and definitely will not give her name to others.

3 stars for any dog not a poodle, 1 star for poodles. I would not recommend this place for poodles. The owner is nice and I feel my dogs are safe here and I don’t think she would ever hurt my dogs. This may sound weird but when you are leaving your dog for 2 – 4 hours with a stranger, it is very important. The owner also grooms each dog one at a time and doesn’t quibble about immunizations so if you are anti-​immunizations, then this may be a good place for you if you don’t have a poodle. But she is not familiar with poodles. It was only after I brought my poodle in and she shaved my poodles tail that I realized she does not know how to groom a poodle. I asked her (and I should have asked her before I brought my dog, I know my BAD) about her experience with poodles and she said she doesn’t groom many poodles, only poodle mixes. Well, my poodle baby didn’t look any different before and after which is a big deal. She did a great job with the ears, the ear hairs in poodles just keep growing and growing and can be a sanitation issue with ear infections. I don’t think it is the fault of the owner because I should have done my research. She was doing a labradoodle and it looked awesome when I left with my dog.
The good: Competitive rates, easy to get an appointment, grooms each dog individually, not pro-​immunization, clean environment, owner is very nice.
The bad: Doesn’t specialize in poodles.
We had such a wonderful poodle groomer when we lived in Fishers Landing. Then when we loved to Iowa, I was worried about locating a good groomer but we found a decent groomer at Gwens. I didn’t think it would be so difficult to locate a poodle groomer in PDX.
To be fair, poodles are difficult to groom because you really need to have a good foundation and knowledge base of poodles. The best poodle groomers are the ones who have poodles and do show grooming, which was our retired groomer (Noma) in Vancouver. We miss you Noma!

Amber always does an amazing job on our English bulldog, she’s the only groomer that I’ve taken him to that actually cleans the (many) folds not only on his body but his face! So many others have left us disappointed with their services but we’ve never had a complaint with Amber; she does a fantastic job at a VERY affordable price & she’s super flexible with scheduling. Believe me when I say my dog is my baby & I’m very protective of him but when he’s with Amber I know he’s in good hands :-)

Let me just say… AMAZING!!!
I have a 75 pound Siberian Husky that isn’t the easiest guy to groom and Bow WOW did an excellent job! Normally when I drop my dog off for grooming he is crying and super nervous, not this time… Amber completely made my dog feel relaxed and at ease. When I returned to p/​u my buddy, he was gorgeous!!! I don’t know if you guys know but to brush the undercoat fur and fur is an incredible task… he was fur free… well at least for a few days…
Highly Recommend!
Great, reasonable prices!

Generally, I don’t like giving bad reviews but I’ve slept on it and I have to disagree with every single review here. Amber was not friendly on the phone, the boutique was not cute and actually low lit and poorly maintained AND my dog was not properly groomed by any sense of the word.
The one good thing was that it only took an hour and I didn’t have to leave Betty holed up in a kennel for hours before her turn came.
I also don’t want to spend much time being negative and I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, which is why I kept the appointment even after her disinterested phone presence but I will just say, I had to go out and buy my own set of dog clippers to fix the job that was done here. I’ve never cut hair in my life, but I knew I couldn’t do any worse.
Before leaving, I noticed Betty’s coat was patchy, but Amber said it was just drying. Because of the hot weather, she didn’t want to blow dry — which I appreciated. Once outside, I noticed really long patches left around Betty’s ears and went back in to have Amber fix them. She obliged but she pulled out a pair of scissors and started hacking away, semi-​recklessly. Trying to avoid an accident, I said it was good enough, thanked her and left.
I’m not sure if it was an off day, or if Pomeranians just aren’t her thing, but the hair cut was uneven, severely patchy and choppy. I could actually see the scissor lines. I’m not looking for dog show quality, I’m just looking to not be embarrassed to show my dog in public.
When I did get home, I couldn’t help but notice just how terrible the grooming job actually was. I know my dog has thick hair, but every where else I’ve gone has been able to manage a great, even cut. Amber didn’t even cut away the excess hair by her butt, leaving it thick and unclean. (People with long hair dogs will know what I mean here.)
I don’t understand these reviews and needless to say, I will not be back.
***full disclosure: my dog is currently undergoing radiation therapy so she already did have 3 shaved areas; 1 on her front paw, 1 on her back leg and the left side of her face — which is why the overall job needed to look clean and even. I’m also over protective, which is why I didn’t have amber fix it and instead bought my own clippers. I’m adding back a star, on account of my passive aggressiveness.

Our first visit to Amber and we are delighted. In and out in an hour (we don’t want to sit around for four hours knowing our dog is probably barking her head off) and soft as a baby. Super fair prices and the convenience of walking into a quiet back space. Very happy to support this business.

I posted a photo of our furry friend, Bowie, so that everyone can see how awesome he looks.
Oh, and see that little blue thing on the side of his majestic, lion-​like mane? That’s a handkerchief. No, I did not make that myself, as I can’t sew for sh*t. That was Amber, the owner of Bow Wow Grooming. Who, beyond being a stellar seamstress, is also an awesome dog groomer, and has a killer personality.
I would totally share my beer with her.
Hey, did I mention her dog grooming business is the only one we’ve been to that doesn’t smell like ninety two wet dogs are doing the Cha-​Cha through my nostrils?
Anyway, take your dog here. I’m picky when it comes to my little guy’s groomers, and I’ll be taking him to Bow Wow from now on. If not for the cleaning, then totally for the homemade accessories.
Thanks, Amber!