Darling Dogs Boutique

Darling Dogs Boutique is a dog grooming salon and pet lifestyle space on Darling Street in Balmain, in Sydney's Inner West, where grooming sits alongside a small boutique of supplies and a doggy day care offering. The grooming side is the heart of it: washes, tidies and full grooms, each rounded out with nail clipping, ear cleaning, blow drying and breed-appropriate styling.

The salon runs as a completely cage-free environment, with dogs hand-dried by the team rather than left in a kennel drier. Bathing uses all-natural, dog-safe shampoos and conditioners chosen for each coat, and the signature routine runs a double shampoo, conditioning and a soothing massage. Silvana and the team frame their work around keeping pups calm, comfortable and well looked after, and they make a point of welcoming nervous dogs with patience, soothing techniques and positive reinforcement. All breeds and coat types are catered for, from toy poodles through to large double-coated dogs.

Grooming runs by appointment and typically takes two to four hours depending on breed, coat and treatments, with a text or call when the dog is ready.