What belongs on the pet profile, and what belongs to this visit?
25 August 2026·3 min read
“Same as last time” only works when last time was recorded well and today hasn’t quietly changed the answer.
Keep stable facts and repeatable handling observations with the dog. Keep current coat, requested work and one-off circumstances with the visit until you know they should become part of the standing record. Don’t save commentary that another person can’t use.
Four places, four jobs
Stable pet profile
This is information that should follow the dog into the next booking: identity, breed, date of birth where known, standing sensitivities, known handling requirements and details that repeatedly affect service choice.
Visit record
Put today’s coat condition, requested length, home clipping, service changes, price discussion and what actually happened on this appointment. These facts may be important without being permanently true.
Standing safety or handling note
Reserve the prominent note for something the next person needs before starting. Write what was observed and what helped.
“Difficult” is a verdict. “Pulls front feet away; settled when a second person supported the chest” describes work. “Aggressive owner” is commentary. “Owner asked to be called before any change shorter than a 13 mm comb” is an instruction.
Don’t keep it
Leave out gossip, guesses about a client’s motives, jokes at their expense and personal detail that doesn’t help service, safety, communication or the business relationship. More text can bury the one line the next groomer needed.
When the new answer conflicts with history
The old record is evidence. The owner’s new answer is evidence too. Don’t let either silently overwrite the other when the difference changes time, handling, price or service fit.
Check whether the dog’s circumstances changed, the old record was wrong or the question was understood differently. Keep a visit-specific difference on the appointment. Update the standing profile only once you’re satisfied the new fact should follow the dog.
For a solo operator, this protects your future self. With a team, it prevents the owner from carrying the business’s memory between groomers.
Keep only what you can defend keeping
Most Australian small businesses with annual turnover of $3 million or less aren’t covered by the Privacy Act, but exceptions apply. The OAIC small-business checklist is the right starting point for deciding whether your business must comply.
Legal coverage isn’t a reason to collect everything when the Privacy Act doesn’t apply. A useful operating rule is still to collect what you can explain, limit access to people who need it, correct errors and remove information that no longer has a job. If you record sensitive information about the owner rather than the dog, confirm the legal position instead of assuming a grooming business is automatically exempt.
A completed record card
Pet profile
Lulu, miniature poodle. Sensitive left hip. Use ramp for bath entry.
Standing handling note
Pulls left rear leg away during nails. Pause, support under abdomen and complete that foot last.
This visit
Eight weeks since last groom. Tight matting behind ears. Owner approved shorter ears by text before clipping. Full groom took 25 minutes longer than Lulu’s ordinary booking.
Do not save
“Owner careless again.” It doesn’t tell the next groomer what happened or what to do.
Seglo note: Standing notes stay pinned to the pet while appointment notes remain with the visit, so the next groomer can see the difference.