As a somewhat struggling college student trying to figure out a way to hang onto my horse without working myself into the ground, I am thinking of trying to get some kind of certification over the summer. I am thinking about going to bar tending school but a lot of the ones I have found in my area seem kind of sketchy. Then, I saw a job listing for a dog groomer in craigslist and it got me thinking…what are the prerequisites to becoming a groomer? I love dogs and have experience with many different sizes/breeds. I have limited grooming experience (just on my family’s personal animals) but could definitely see myself doing that as a job while in school then maybe a second job after I graduate. Anyway, I was just curious on the process of becoming a groomer. Is it better to try and find a school of some sort or is finding an apprenticeship or assistant gig a better route?
Years and years ago (late 1990’s) I apprenticed under 2 guys that owned a grooming business. I learned by watching them and reading books and examining photos. It helped having experience with clippers (doing horses body clipping,ears, faces, blah blah blah)
I will be honest with you. My back hurt everyday. Bending over, lifting dogs, trying to get under little dogs, on a table is surprisingly taxing. I would muck stalls in the AM 5am-9am then groom from 9:30-3 and then work at the front desk of a motel till midnight.
When I left the grooming job, my back stopped hurting. I love working with the dogs, I hated working with the owners. I swear, dog people are worse than horse people :lol::lol:
Can you find a part time job in the field that you are studying?
THe schools, at least around here,are crap. I would find a GOOD shop to apprentice with. But you have to make sure they are good! I own my own shop and after going through the hiring practise a few times I am SO thankful for the shopI groomed at. They were very much into quality and attention to detail, unlike a large majority of shops.
There are 2 ways to learn to groom at a shop. One is to work there and slowly pick things up over a long period of time, when they have the time or the dogs for you to work on. The pros of this is that you get paid as you learn (usually more minimum type hourly wage), however it takes a longer amount of time.
The second is to actually apprentice and pay the grooming shop for training. This is what I did. I paid 1000 a month for as long as it would take (took me 3 months, the other girl that started at the same time as me took 4 months as she wasn’t as motivated or… smart). I then got paid as a groomer and stayed at that same shop for a year so I could keep learning as I went. Pros are that it is faster, but it does cost you money, but you should start earning more money faster.
Groomers work either hourly, or commission. Most seem to work commission but some think hourly is better.I would see how busy the salons are around you. RIght now where I am things are quite slow for groomers (though starting to pick up more).
Saturdays nearly always need groomer’s working so expect to work saturdays.
I don’t have much in the way of discomfort from grooming. I have a table that lifts and lowers which helps with getting big dogs up but also with having it at a comfortable level for grooming any size dog, if I need help getting a dog into the tub I ask another groomer or I have a ramp that they can walk up. Sometimes with a dog that wiggles and moves you hands (thumbs mostly) can get a bit sore from holding them still. However years of grooming can cause damage as it’s a lot of repetitive motions and most groomers who have groomed for 10 years plus have some kind of ongoing pain from grooming. But part time work will make this less likely.
Hope that helps.
Well my family owned a grooming shop and my sister still grooms full time. Honestly, I would not look to becoming a groomer just to make money during college. It takes time and a lot of hands on training to become a good groomer. But-I would recommend looking into becoming a bather. Most shops have bathers-in charge of bath dogs, helping bath the dogs that are getting groomed, and generally helping out. In some shops you get paid on commission and can make a decent amount (not as much as grooming but good for part time work). I started out bathing and then overtime learned to groom more breeds. Can be physically hard and at the end of the day you may be exhausted. And holidays are very busy times. We trained our bathers pretty quickly if they were comfortable with dogs and cats. Need to be able to do toenails, brush out dogs well, not be scared of handling dogs/cats. Then if you find a good shop they will teach you to groom as you go along. My sister learned by working with other groomers.
(Mostly) retired, but I have groomed dogs since 1978. I still moonlight to help out a friend whenever needed, and will teach people how to groom their own dogs because I think it’s an important skill to have.
It’s hard physical labor. I’m blessed with a short-coupled body, so I don’t suffer from back problems (and most groomers have hydrolic tables, which makes a huge difference!) but my hands get sore and puffy sometimes, nowadays.
I apprenticed as a bather at first and worked my way up. I am a quality groomer - I am able to finish several breeds for conformation shows - but that took years to reach that level of competence. I started by learning how to trim feet, faces and tails and went from there. It was quite a long time before I liked my own grooming jobs, but the customers were satisfied before I was.
The schools charge people an awful lot of money, and for the most part, I had to re-teach some skills to the people I hired. I’d almost rather teach someone from the beginning, so that they can learn how to work with a dog - it’s the handling skills that I find most people lacked. Sure, they could wield a pair of scissors, but if you can’t talk an old Schnauzer into holding still enough for you to trim those eyebrows, you’re doomed!
You also need people skills - I can’t tell you how many times I had to talk to people to elaborate on “Don’t cut him too short!” …How short is too short??? Or, what do you consider a “puppy cut”? 'Cause for darn sure, I’m thinking one thing, and you might be thinking another…
Grooming’s fun, it’s rewarding, it’s tiring, you get pretty darn strong, you get wet, often you stink, the pay is “meh”…but no matter what, it’s interesting. You’re never bored. One advantage, though: I never wanted for a job.
Hope this helps.
The student who works for me, doing work related to her major for $9/hour, bartends on weekends. She will make several hundred dollars on a weekend night. That’s a lot of wet dogs.
I work for a PetSmart salon and make a great living while I’m in school. Our salon is one of the busiest in the area. Some of the PetSmart salons have a poor reputation, but some are good. It really just depends on the employees/managers at each individual store. Do your homework and ask around.
Our system has everyone starting as a bather for a few months and you have to do a certain number of dogs. Then the salon manager deems you competent enough to become a groomer. PetSmart has its own training system and you get sent through a month long PetSmart grooming academy. You’re shown the basics on how to groom each type of dog. Then you go back to your own store and have essentially an internship under your own manager for another 3mo or so before you’re turned loose and on commission. All told, it takes about 6-7mo to become a groomer on commission.
I will say, it is nearly impossible to do academy while you’re in school (set schedule) and its difficult to do the internship part depending what your salon manager’s schedule is (you have to work the same schedule) while you’re in school. A lot of people do it during the summer though.
You won’t pay anything up front for the academy and you will get paid hourly while you’re in academy and while you do your internship. You do pay for the academy, but you commit to working for PetSmart for two years and they take it out of your paychecks over the course of two years. Its something like $20/wk.
It is retail and you will have to work nights/weekends, but the good news is most of the salons are pretty willing to work with your school schedule if you’re able to work weekends. If you’re classified as full time, the benefits (health insurance and whatnot) are pretty good if you need that.
