becoming a dog groomer???

[carrie79]

In States, how long does it take to become a dog groomer? What schools do you go to and how much do they cost?

[corgis101]

Go to these websites...
www.k9grooming.com
www.fifi-inc.com
http://www.groomingschool.com/
http://www.jklgrooming.com/
http://www.csdg.net/
http://www.pamperedpaws.com/

These should give you a least an idea of cost, time, etc. If you search google for this stuff I'm sure you could find one in your local area.

Hope this helps and all goes well,
Hannah

[GSDNewbie]

you do not have to attend a school if you go through apprenticship under a groomers wing you bathe and learn from the groomer and they bring you dogs to learn on with a reduced price to the customer and the knowledge that they are training on your dog. I was in the kennels since i was fourteen cleaned them, junior handled the show dogs, excersised them, worked the desk for the boarding side, fed and cared for the boarding and show dogs, bathed dogs and learned to groom even to scissoring the show bichons. then later I went on to work in grooming shops and once more in another boarding kennel

[Shelteez]

I tried to get a job as a groomer at petsmart but they wouldn't hire me because i don't have experience?, which was wierd because my sister got in. But she only bathes the dog i don't think she's allowed to cut them. I know petco will hire you and train you on the spot, but i didn't get into that one either.....
But i think to be a professional groomer you might need some training in schools. Not sure what the price is and such because i pretty much just gave up trying to get into petsmart LOL......

[GSDNewbie]

go to a smaller grooming shop that has time to train a groomer you will probably have to agree to work for them an amount of time in exchange for training you afterwards so you dont jump to a better paying job after all their hard work.

[sheplovr]

I got a book and studied the cuts on different breeds and worked for a while till I got bite up quite a bit and it was not worth while for the pay.
I told them I had experience as I had studied the book and who cannot bath a dog and dry it. So, do it that way if you want to be a groomer honey, it is not hard at all. Like a dog walker in NY that takes on six, look at me with three on a leash walking but then mine fuss at my left side nicely and make it so pleasant to walk if I only had good kneew and hips to return from a distant to the van again, somebody might need to pick me up, tee hee.

[GSDNewbie]

there is more to a cut than getting the lines where they are supossed to be and more to bathing than a wash in the tub when a person is a professional groomer these things books cannot tell you only training and experience to get the best quality work. we are not talking somebody opening a grooming shop in home that has never done it professionally or for people who do not know what a good grooming and haircut really is, these people in the shops will expect top cuts for top dollar and most of them never brush or maintain their dogs at all they will bring in a matted dog that has never seen clippers and want them in a continental and ready for show look you end up having to educate alot of them in what will be acheiveable on a once a year groomed dog!! you groomers out there know what im talking about!! The ones who regularly have theri dogs done will have specific directions for exactly what they want done and most times these are not in any grooming books!

[Suz]

hang on sheplvr its people who say things like that which means there are groomers out there without an ounce of training and guess who gets to pick up the pieces yes of course the trained profeesional groomers!!! have you any idea how hard it is to retrain a dog that has been badly handled by someone with no training - i groom one shih tzu whos past experiences have left him completely terrified it has taken a year to get his confidence back so that he does not shake with fear at the sight of a comb and clippers.. Thereis more to bathing and drying a dog than is realise - to get the best groom you need a perfectly prepped coat. looking at a book does not train you properly on how to handle a scared or naughty dog proffesionally so that it does not injure itself or you. anyone thinking of becoming a groomer should train somewhere properly - as for getting bitten by training properly you can make sure you are not put into the position that the dog feels it needs to bite or if it is aggressive you know how to handle it so it CANT bite you. in nearly three years as a groomer i have been bitten ONCE.
well trained groomers can ask good prices and it can be a very lucrative business. gsdnewbie you have hit the nail on the head as to what customers expect from you even if there dog is in a state looking at a book cannot teach you how to sort out the kind of matted coat we see regularly only good training and experience.
sorry to rant on and please dont think i mean you any offence but groomers need to be trained properly and untill everyone realises that dogs will continue getting shabby haircuts and often bad treatment and even serious injuries from the cowboys out there.

[Groomadog]

I own a grooming school. At this time there is no board of directors to govern a license for dog groomers. However, some groomers that offer to teach you will often lead you on and have you bathing for them and never taking the time to teach you properly. Going to a school teaches you the National standard of how it should be done. I owned two residence schools and one correspondence. On the average correspondence courses range from 400.00 to 1800.00 and the residence schools run from 2000.00 to 8000.00 plus room and board for 12 weeks. Be very careful choosing your school. You get what you pay for and sometimes not even then. If you go to a certified groomer (been to school or through a grooming association) the haircuts are consistent. It is o.k. to apprenticing with a local groomer, I just wouldn't pay for it. They are getting a free helper. I don't mean to step on any toes. This is only my opinion.
I know in my professional shop (not the school) I didn't have time to teach.

[wolfsoul]

90% of grooming schools are not what they appear to be. There has only been one person that has gone to a school and worked in our shop that did not have to be retrained. It is my opinion that a school is good if you want to open your own shop. But if you want to work for someone else, apprenticeship is the way to go. Sure it takes a long time -- but groomers like to be able to get someone fresh and new who does not have bad habits. Bad habits can be very hard to get rid of, even impossible.

The last girl who worked for us went to grooming school twice in the same year. She couldn't even get a dog clean. She asked me how you cut toenails on dark-nailed dogs. She couldn't blow curly hair straight or blow out matts if her life depended on it. She never learned anything about breeds -- she asked me if the Australian cattle dog I was grooming was a fox terrier. After many months of plain crappy work, she finally quit because we wouldn't let her groom. This is the case I see most often. There are very few good groomers out there, let alone good grooming schools. In my own personal experience I've found that the best groomers are the ones who breed and groom show dogs. People seek out groomers who compete in grooming competitions but I've found the best groomers are the ones who are either too busy with work to compete, judge the competitions themselves, or are the ones hosting seminars at the competitions.

I learned by apprenticing and I couldn't be happier. It takes a great deal of time and you are paid by a bather's wage for a long time too, but it's worth it. Bathing and drying is where you deal with the most problems so you learn alot more about dog behaviour than if you were to just start out with scissors. Your boss gets to train you the way they want. You learn all about breeds and the way the shop works. And sticking around for the hard stuff (bathing and drying) is what makes your boss know that they can trust you to stick around to groom. Pcik your grooming parlour well however. I started off in highschool and had no idea what I was looking for. I chose the shop closest to my school, and I couldn't have been luckier. My boss has been showing and breeding her entire life. She learned to groom from her sister in law who bred and showed as well. She started off in a small grooming parlour which she later bought, still in her very young years. And she built it up from 8 dogs a day, to now 40-60 dogs a day. We have people that travel for hours to get their dogs groomed with us. We had people in the states that would literally fly their dogs to us. We have a strong clientelle and are always getting new clients. We are booked two months ahead but have people booking up until January 08 (the furthest we allow currently). We are the ones recommended by all of the other groomers in town as well as the vets for dogs who are deemed too vicious to groom -- we gets other places rejects all the time.
To think I had no idea what I was looking for. I could have chosen the place down the street who shaves down schnauzers noses and dries everything with a hand dryer and with almost the same amount of groomers only books two weeks ahead. That's why, no matter what route you go -- school or apprenticeship -- questions are important. Always know what you are getting yourself into.