Gleaming Barkus

I’ve been to Gleaming Barkus before over the years and have generally been pleased, but it has been quite a while. Today we phoned to find out their open hours. The phone message said «noon to 9PM», so we went there at 12:45 on a Saturday. The place was closed, and the sign on the door said that their hours were 1PM to 8PM instead. So we took a walk and came back at 1PM — still nobody there. We left at about 1:05 — there was no sign of anyone around to open the store. I assume they are still in business, but in order to avoid wasting a trip you might want to make an appointment.

Oh, I love Cathy! I’ve been coming here for 5 years. She is so sweet and always takes the time to chat and give my pup some lovin’. I do the self serve wash, she clips and files my dog’s nails and we leave with a cookie. My dog is happy to see her when we go (which is always a good sign…) She is closed Tuesday and Wednesday which can be a pain sometimes but she stays open late on the days she is there which is awesome for after work washes!
Can’t say enough about Cathy and how great she is!

We’ve been going to Cathy for over 13 years. I cant remember exactly but she now takes care of our 2^nd generation of dogs. She is THE BEST.
We used to live 2 blocks away and it was wickedly convenient. Now we live in Marin and can’t even think of going anywhere else.
She is passionate about dogs and is our ‘dog whisperer’ when it comes to clipping nails for our not-​so-​little darlings. You want no frills, good animal care and service? This is THE place!

Kathy is fab — and her self-​serve is the best! Leave the mess there and no bending over to scrub. I first discovered GB when I was pregnant — so it was perfect! Groomed my dog there for years until he passed away. 4 years later I walked back in the place and Kathy called me by name! She truly LOVES dogs — and I LOVE Gleaming Barkus!

The price is very reasonable and worth every dime of it for the hair mess after bathing. Cathy would offer helps when she saw me struggling with my German Shepard (She hates bathing). Shampoo, combs, towels are all provided. I will definitely go back again.

I would have to agree with Geoff– on all accounts with this place basically.
I went in this past Sunday with a friend to wash my Samoyed and my Chow mix. We did self serve– the whole nine yards. Cathy was great, and trimmed and filed the dog’s nails for me.
It was a good experience, and I will take my dogs back from now on. They are happy, soft, and smell great!

I’ve been taking my dog to Gleaming Barkus for 8 years and have been very happy with the self serve end of it. There is no timer so if I want to soap my dog down three times it’s no problem. There are plastic smocks, plenty of towels, shampoo and conditioner and a blower to get most of the excess water off your dog before you towel him/​her off.
Even though I only take my dog in semi annually at most, Cathy always remembers my name and my dogs name. The place can use some updating but what’s there is plenty adequate for me and my dog. This lady truly loves dogs and they all seem to really like her.
The few negatives are that the water needs a few seconds to get warm every time you stop the flow to soap your dog. The second one is that the blowers only have cold air and not warm air.
The personal interaction keeps me coming back to Gleaming Barkus to bathe my dog.

We have been taking our sheltie here for 10 years. The owner/​groomer Cathy is outstanding! She has amazing attention to detail – she takes pride in her work, and loves the dogs. Our dog just loves going to see his Aunt Cathy once a month! People stop and admire our dog all the time – I’ve referred many sheltie owners to Cathy, all of whom have been very happy with the results. Cathy is extremely knowledgeable about pet health, and always checks our dog’s coat and skin for any issues that we may need to address or monitor. We have taken our dog to a couple of other groomers when Cathy was out of town, with disastrous results – resulting, in one case, in an expensive trip to the vet. We trust Cathy totally – she loves our sheltie like her own. I highly recommend Cathy to all dog owners!

Having recently moved here from the LA area I found myself looking for a new groomer. I called a few places close to home but they only groomed small dogs. After talking to the manager I thought to myself well, she seems a bit scattered and «out there» but I’ll give it a try. After waiting a week for my dog’s appointment I took him in. She was very friendly but when she looked at my dog and asked if he needed a haircut and I confirmed that he did she got flustered, said she didn’t know he needed his hair cut (huh??) and that she might have a hard time fitting him in. Not sure where she was when we were making the appointment for his hair cut but it confirmed to me that my intitial reaction was correct — scattered, disoriented, unorganized. I told her that if she couldn’t do him today I was just going to leave, she seemed shocked that I would say such a thing to her. Not sure what an appointment is for if it can’t be kept. I have no doubt that she likely cares about dogs and their people, but I do expect a level of professionalism and didn’t see that at all. And I was quite surprised to see the front door wide open considering the dogs are free to run around in the back of the store. Not a comforting feeling to leave your dog there if you know the door will be wide open to access on a busy street. Guess you can tell I wasn’t happy at all with my brief experience with this business. I want to make sure my dog is safe, secure, and happy when I leave him anywhere. And having somebody that seemed flustered and distracted with each of our communications doesn’t give me a comforting feeling at all. Too bad I didn’t look at this site prior to making my initial appointment with a groomer, now I know where to go!

Cathy does a great job grooming, is very friendly and really loves the dogs!

It’s probably fine for a self service place, but Toby did not like it here at all. The owner I’m sure is very nice, but I took Toby there last minute and she was a bit overwhelmed to actually groom him. She had 2 or three of her own dogs there and one was barking bloody murder while he/​she sat in his/​her crate.
Anyways, I dropped him off and walked back to my office only to get a phone call that she didn’t think she could trim his nails and wanted me to come and get him. I ended up staying with her as she tried to trim his nails and give him a bath — I probably could have done it all myself. (My visit was sometime in 2006)

This place in inexpensive and every time i have been there I have had a great chat with the owner who really cares for each customer, two legged or four.
The products are nice for my dogs skin, also conditioners are offered and a nice treat at the end for both of us. He gets a little biscuit and I don’t have to unclog a drain at home! =)

Self-​serve dog washing for only 15 bucks! Much cheaper than large chains’ self-​serve dogwash facilities. They will also rent you a table for a period if you prefer to self-​groom. Buddy hates baths more than just about anything, but washing him at home can be a real project, especially since he retains water like a spongedog.