How to Choose a Dog Groomer

When you need to find a dog groomer to keep your pet looking its very best, a good place to start is with your regular vet. A lot of veterinarians, especially those with larger facilities or animal hospitals, also offer dog grooming. The groomers employed in facilities like these are professional dog groomers, trained in the correct methods of grooming all breeds of dogs. While keeping your dog looking its best, you’ll also feel safe knowing your pet is receiving the best care available while getting its “haircut.”

There are some important questions you should ask a prospective groomer before committing your pet to the scissors.

(1) What breed or breeds of dogs do they personally own?
(2) Did the groomer go to school to learn dog grooming or did they learn it ‘on the job?’
3) How long have they been grooming dogs?
(4) What breeds do they feel comfortable with and which breeds are they best at grooming?
(5) Do they have more than one style of grooming for different breeds?

Questions to ask the staff at the facility:

(A) What hours does the groomer work?
(B) How are dogs checked in and will they call you when it’s time to pick up your pet?
(C) How far in advance do you need to make an appointment?
(D) What is the fee for grooming and what does the fee include?
(E) What type of shampoos and conditioners are used?
(F) Is the ear hair plucked from breeds with hair in their ear canals?
(G) If your dog refuses to willfully submit to a grooming and needs to be sedated during the grooming, what safeguards does the facility have in place for sedating a dog and is there someone who will monitor your pet during the process?

The relationship you will want to develop with your dog’s groomer should be professional yet friendly. The answers you receive to these questions should help in choosing the best groomer for your pet.

How to be a Pet Groomer

Are you thinking about starting a career as a pet groomer? Pet grooming is ideal for people who love animals, but make no bones about it, a career in the pet grooming business can be difficult to get started in. But once you’ve established yourself as a qualified and experienced groomer it can be a very rewarding career and a lot of fun working with dogs of all sizes and types of coats.

To become a successful pet groomer you’ll need to enroll in a professional grooming school. These schools can be found in the yellow pages of your local directory, or for quicker searching use the internet. Professional schools provide their students with the tools, techniques and skills needed to break into the pet grooming profession.

It may surprise you to know that many people who work as dog groomers haven’t attended a professional school, but instead learned the grooming procedures and techniques by taking correspondence courses or night classes at their local college.

As a new dog groomer just starting in the business, it helps to get a job with an established grooming shop as a trainee or assistant. Working for a good dog grooming service will provide you with hands-on experience and the additional training needed to assist you in propelling your career forward in the pet grooming business.

There are many different breeds of dogs, all requiring special techniques for proper grooming. As a dog groomer you’ll have to know how to groom every breed of dog. For example, the grooming style of a Golden Retriever is very different than that of a Yorkie.

When you have been trained and are starting your career, you can ask friends and family if they will let you practice your grooming skills on their pet dogs at no cost to them. This will help you in improving your skills and your friends and family will probably be eager to give you a good reference when you’re searching for the right place in which to begin your career.

When you’re finally ready to be a pet groomer and you feel comfortable enough to proudly say so, you can choose whether you want to work in an established grooming shop, work from home, or even set up a mobile dog grooming business and travel to a client’s home.

How To Choose a Groomer

Have you been grooming your own dog and are now considering using a professional groomer, or do you have a new dog that definitely requires the skills of a trained groomer because its hair is too long, or the dog is too large to handle bathing and grooming it by yourself? If any of these applies to you here are the guidelines on how to choose a groomer.

Whatever the reason or reasons, it’s important that you choose a groomer who not only is convenient to your home and busy schedule, but more importantly, one that will care for your pet as if it belonged to them. Many dogs fear a visit to the groomer because they’ve been mistreated or they were subjected to a groomer who lacked the necessary “dog friendly skills” to correctly handle a pet averse to being bathed or groomed.

Depending on the breed of dog you have, a groomer may be an absolute necessity to keep your dog’s coat neatly groomed and clean.

When searching for a groomer it’s a good idea to first ask your family and friends for recommendations, or ask your vet. Many vets, especially those associated with clinics and animal hospitals, have on-site groomers trained to deal with most any kind of dog – reluctant ones, ticked off ones, and hyper ones.

Before you choose a grooming salon or a groomer in a clinic or animal hospital, ask the person who will be bathing and grooming your dog these questions:

* Does the groomer own a dog? If so, what breed or breeds of dog?
* Do they groom their own dog or dogs and are their dog’s coats kept neat and clean?
* How long have they been grooming dogs?
* Did the groomer go to school to learn grooming or did they learn it ‘on the job?’
* What breeds do they have experience grooming? Be sure your breed is one of them.
* Do they do different styles of cuts for different breeds or are they a “one cut fits all groomer”?
* What hours does the groomer work?
* Will you be notified when to pick your dog up?
* How far in advance do you need to book an appointment?
* What is the fee range for your breed of dog?
* Is the ear hair plucked from those breeds with hair in the ear canals?
* What if your dog ends up needing to be sedated for grooming? Is that service offered?
* If so, will it be the vet who sedates and monitors your dog?
* Will the groomer also trim your dog’s nails during the grooming appointment?
* What type of shampoos and conditioners does the groomer use?
* If your veterinarian recommends a certain shampoo do you need to pay for it?

It is equally as important that you do a self-analysis of the facility you’ll be entrusting your dog to.

* Is it kept clean, neat, and orderly?
* Are there unpleasant odors that bother you? If they bother you, think what the experience will be for your dog with its superior sense of smell.
* Where are dogs kept while waiting for their appointments and also while waiting to be picked up afterwards?
* Are they housed in groups with unfamiliar dogs or will they have their own space? Is it a cage they will be kept in? If so, how large is it and what kind of freedom of movement will they have in the cage? Are the cages or waiting areas clean and free of feces and urine after being used by each dog?
* How are clippers, scissors, nail grooming tools, etc. cleaned between grooming different dogs?

Your relationship with your dog’s groomer should be as important to you as the relationship you have with your own hairdresser or barber. They should listen to what you want and you should get the answers to your questions before making your decision about which groomer fits your needs, and the needs of your dog.