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How To Get Your Dog Groomed By Haute Dog Judge Jess Rona
She's taking clients as early as October.
Self-professed "dog grooming artist" Jess Rona is taking her talents to Haute Dog. Except instead of doing the grooming, she'll be judging others' work on the new HBO Max competition show. And Rona knows her stuff: she styles Katy Perry's pups, according to a 60 Second Docs video.
Rona started grooming dogs as a day job while pursuing acting and comedy. But it's actually what helped her break into the entertainment industry. "For a long time I kept my grooming a secret because I only wanted to be known as an actress or a comedian. But the minute I embraced it, everything kind of fell into place," she explained in the 60 Second Docs video.
People began taking notice of Rona's grooming videos on Instagram, where she built a reputation for giving dogs their "Beyoncé moment" — aka blow-drying them in slow motion while pop music plays in the background. The videos eventually became so popular that Rona was asked to direct the music video for Tegan and Sara's 2016 song "100x," which, naturally, features a lot of dogs.
This landed Rona opportunities on other high-profile projects in TV and music, but she's continued to groom dogs and expand her LA-based business. In fact, you can book a grooming appointment with her beginning in October, though it'll cost you. She charges between $195 and $400 for a full groom, while her employees charge between $135 and $250. Baths without haircuts run a little cheaper, from $95 to $150 depending on how long the dog's hair is. Every dog who comes into the salon also gets a complementary blueberry facial, argan oil face mask, "kissies," a "high five," and other services.
If you want to learn how to groom dogs yourself, Rona offers classes for $200 per hour, or a group rate of $95 per person per hour. Just want to admire her work? She has a line of merch featuring happy dogs getting blow dried and a book filled with cute photos of her grooming process.
Rona's acting career didn't work out as well, with just a couple of small roles on shows like New Girl and One Mississippi. However, Haute Dog could lead to more hosting and judging opportunities down the line.
