Urban Paws Doggy Daycare Geelong

Urban Paws is a dog care business at 16 Dowsett Street in South Geelong, where its purpose-built grooming salon anchors a centre that also runs supervised open-play day care and holiday minding. Of the two Urban Paws locations, Geelong is the only one with a full grooming service, which makes it the spot for owners who want a groom and a day of play in a single visit. Grooming was part of the plan from the day the Geelong centre opened in 2020, set up by co-founder Melinda, a trained groomer who spent years working professionally in Melbourne before starting the business with Roger in 2009.

The salon is built around a calm, low-stress approach: the team takes its time with every dog and works at the dog's pace rather than the clock's, which suits anxious dogs and those who find grooming stressful. The groomers handle everything from full breed-standard cuts to a simple wash and brush, across short-coated, long-coated and curly-coated breeds, using dog-safe products throughout. Deshedding treatments are a favourite for double-coated breeds such as golden retrievers, labradors, huskies and border collies.

Grooming runs by appointment, and spots fill quickly around weekends and school holidays, so a couple of weeks' notice is sensible.