How to choose a dog groomer in Fareham, Gosport, Wickham and Bishop's Waltham
Dog grooming is unregulated in the UK, so the checking is on you. This directory covers 35 groomers across four areas: Fareham (PO14, PO15, PO16), Gosport (PO12, PO13), Wickham & Southwick (PO17) and Bishop's Waltham (SO32).
Check how well the business is documented
Of the 35 businesses listed, 7 were confirmed from a working website plus at least one other independent source (marked high confidence). 23 are medium confidence, usually meaning the details come from a directory listing, a Facebook or Instagram page, or a phone number confirmed across more than one independent source rather than the business's own working site. Five are low confidence: House of Hound Grooming and Hair N' Hounds, whose listed websites don't work; Dolly Bags Grooming Studio, whose address conflicts with other directories; Purple Pawz, whose base town is itself disputed between sources; and Dial A Dog Wash, a mobile franchise confirmed only through one directory listing. Each of these five carries a plain note in its listing that the details are from search results only and should be confirmed by phone before booking.
Left out entirely
Doggy Styles, Beautify the Beast Dog Grooming and Classy Canines were all found with a confirmed address but no phone number or website anywhere, so none is listed here. Posh Pawz is also left out: its only phone number carries an Ashford, Kent dialling code that cannot be right for a Gosport address, and this could not be confirmed as coming from a verified source, so it stays out rather than publish a number that likely doesn't reach the business. Three further leads, Paws and Co by Victoria, Hampshire Dog Grooming and Paws R Purrfect Dog Grooming, turned up only in search snippets with no working website, directory page or phone number to confirm them. Jo's Dog Grooming was excluded because its actual address sits in Waterlooville, already covered under this site's Portsmouth listing, despite one search result describing it as Bishop's Waltham-based. Pets at Home Groom Room branches at Fareham (Collingwood Retail Park) and Hedge End are excluded as a national chain, as is standard across this directory.
Mobile groomers and a franchise van
Two of the 35 businesses here work from a van rather than a fixed salon. Inspired Canine Grooming is based in Fareham and covers the local area from a climate-controlled van. Grubby Puppies Mobile Dog Grooming is also based in Fareham, but covers a wide corridor stretching from Portsmouth and Fareham through to Chichester and Worthing rather than this town alone, so it's worth confirming the van reaches your address before booking. Dial A Dog Wash, in Gosport, is a local franchisee of the nationwide Dial A Dog Wash mobile van network rather than an independently branded business; the van and its Rowner Lane base are locally run, so it's listed here alongside the independents.
Qualifications
City & Guilds training comes up most often: Alex and The Hounds (Level 2 and 3) and Loolaah's Dog Grooming (Level 3, plus canine first-aid certification). Suds and Hugs' groomer holds a Level 3 Diploma in Dog Grooming and Styling with Emmi-Pet dental training on top, and Pawz & Relax Pet Grooming's Lucy holds an OCN Level 3 Diploma. Purple Pawz and Tina's Dog Grooming Fareham both describe more than 20 years in the trade, as does Upham Pet Clips, which has traded for over two decades by its own account. Ask for the qualification by name if it matters to you.
One-to-one and home-based setups
Several businesses describe grooming one dog at a time rather than running a busy salon floor: Give a Dog a Comb, Suds and Hugs, Alex and The Hounds and Whispering Willows Dog Grooming all mention a one-to-one or home-based format, and Doggilocks Natural Grooming works by appointment only. If an anxious or elderly dog needs a quieter setting, it's worth asking directly how appointments are spaced even where this isn't advertised on the website.
Cats
Three of the 35 businesses here also groom cats alongside dogs: Scruffs Dog Grooming (which has recently introduced dedicated cat grooming days), Purple Pawz and Tina's Dog Grooming Fareham. Everyone else in this directory is confirmed for dog grooming only.
Reviews
14 of the 35 groomers listed here show a Google rating, taken from the business's own Google profile and linked from the listing; the others have no rating from a source this directory can link to, so ask to see recent work or a reference instead.
Where they are, and where coverage is thin
Gosport has the most listed groomers (14), followed by Fareham (13), Bishop's Waltham (6) and Wickham & Southwick, which has only 2. Wickham & Southwick is genuinely thin: both confirmed businesses, Loolaah's Dog Grooming and Doggilocks Natural Grooming, are actually in Wickham village itself, and nothing could be confirmed for Southwick specifically despite a direct search - if you're based in Southwick, Wickham is currently the nearest option on this page. Bishop's Waltham's six businesses are spread across the wider SO32 postcode district rather than the town itself: Studio Paw, on Winchester Road, is the only one actually in Bishop's Waltham, with the rest based in Swanmore, Waltham Chase, Soberton Heath and Upham, and Hilary's Hounds over the district boundary in Shedfield, near Winchester.