Short Bark & Sides is a small, dedicated dog grooming salon on Grove Road in the heart of Devonport, Auckland. Even the name sets the tone — a playful spin on the barber's classic request for a "short back and sides" — promising straightforward, well-executed grooming delivered with warmth and a sense of humour.
The salon keeps its services focused on the essentials every dog needs. The full dog groom is the centrepiece of the menu, while face trims and nail trims handle the quicker tidy-up jobs between full appointments. For the newest — and often wiggliest — customers, the puppy intro groom offers a gentle first taste of salon life, helping young dogs grow up comfortable with being handled.
Appointments run Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 6 PM, with the salon closed on weekends. Booking is simple: call or text 021 141 0331 or email the salon to arrange a time. You'll find Short Bark & Sides at 4 Grove Road, Devonport — a neighbourhood salon where local dogs are regulars and new four-legged customers are always welcome.
Tucked down Grove Road in the seaside village of Devonport, Short Bark & Sides is a small dog grooming salon with a lot of personality. Even the name sets the tone — a cheeky spin on the barber's classic request for a "short back and sides" — and it signals exactly what the place is about: straightforward, well-executed grooming delivered with warmth and a sense of humour. For dog owners in Devonport and across Auckland's North Shore, it is the local answer to a simple question — who can I trust to look after my dog?
As a dedicated Devonport dog groomer, Short Bark & Sides keeps its offer deliberately focused. Rather than a sprawling list of packages and add-ons, the salon is built around four core services: the full dog groom, the face trim, the nail trim and a specially designed puppy intro groom. That simplicity is part of the appeal. Owners know exactly what they are booking, dogs know what to expect, and every appointment revolves around the same goal — sending each dog home clean, comfortable and looking their best.
The full dog groom sits at the heart of the menu. It is the complete appointment — the wash, dry and styling that leaves a coat in proper condition and a dog feeling refreshed. For many local dogs, a regular full groom is the backbone of their care routine, and it is the service owners book in for again and again.
Between full grooms, the smaller services do the quiet work of keeping a dog comfortable. A face trim tidies the hair around the eyes, muzzle and ears — the areas that grow scruffiest fastest and that most dogs resent having dealt with at home. A nail trim takes care of another job many owners dread, keeping claws at a healthy length so paws stay comfortable on footpaths and beaches alike. Individually these are quick appointments; together, they keep a dog looking sharp between full grooms.
Puppy owners get something extra: the puppy intro groom. A dog's earliest experiences at a grooming salon tend to shape how they feel about being handled for the rest of their life, so this service is built as a gentle first introduction. Rather than a long, full-on appointment, the focus is on letting a young dog get used to the sounds, smells and handling of a salon at their own pace. For anyone with a new pup in Devonport, booking an intro groom early is one of the kindest things they can do for their dog's future.
Short Bark & Sides operates on weekday hours, opening at 8 AM and closing at 6 PM, Monday to Friday. Weekends are closed, so appointments need to be planned into the working week — something worth remembering for owners juggling dog care around office hours. Booking is essential and easy: owners can call or text 021 141 0331, or email the salon to arrange a time.
The salon sits at 4 Grove Road, Devonport, Auckland 0624 — a handy spot for locals walking their dogs through the village, and an easy trip for owners coming from elsewhere on the North Shore. Devonport's compact, walkable streets mean a grooming appointment can slot neatly into an existing routine: drop the dog off, take a stroll, come back to a freshly groomed companion.
Everything about Short Bark & Sides suggests a small, personal operation rather than a faceless chain. The salon's Facebook page — Barbara's Short Bark & Sides — and its Instagram feed give a sense of the character behind the clippers, sharing photos of freshly trimmed customers and the day-to-day life of a neighbourhood grooming salon. Following along is a good way to get a feel for the place before a first visit.
For Devonport dog owners, the formula is simple: a focused set of grooming services done properly, weekday hours that suit most schedules, and a booking process that takes a single phone call. Whether it is a full groom ahead of summer, a quick nail trim between appointments, or a puppy's very first tidy-up, Short Bark & Sides has built its name on the kind of care that keeps tails wagging all the way home.