Advice for someone looking to become a groomer? I don’t know where to start but I want to put in the effort!

[davekool182]

I would first like to explain WHY i’m looking to do this, so I can also get feedback as to whether or not this is the right decision for me.

I’m at rather difficult spot in my life. The part-time job in my field I have right now has 0 room for growth. Any other job I’ve applied to for this field, I’ve unfortunately not gotten, and on top of that, i’m nowhere near having the funds for grad school or for moving out of my parent’s home.

On top of this, I’ve truthfully been struggling with my physical and mental health over the pandemic (three chronic illnesses and PTSD! Most diagnosed in the last year and its hit me hard), and being back home is making some of this so much worse. Being out of the house is crucial for my mental health, and a part time job isn’t cutting it. So! I’m looking at what options I have to make money up until I have enough to pay for grad school.

Dog grooming has always stood out to me— ever since undergrad, I’ve been staying up late watching grooming videos on youtube to unwind from a stressful day. I’m not going to be foolish and assume i know everything about it based on a few youtube videos, but I know a decent amount. Enough to know that the idea of doing it myself excites me, and that it’s something I could see myself working at and doing for a few years, even if it gets difficult or stressful.

I’m not expecting to start out full time, I doubt that kind of is easy to come by, but if i can so much as offer out my services in my area and get a few commissions a month it would still help me out so much more than doing nothing at all.

Which leads me to the questions—

1.) Am I doing this for decent reasons, like do you think this could be a good idea for me to follow?

2.) How do I go about getting training for this? Googling it has showed me a lot of options for online schools, but I’m highkey a hands on learner

3.) Are there any big things about this field/career I should know about before trying to dive on in?

Thank you so much!

 

[sankey]

@davekool182 1) it does sound like you need a career change, and if you’re confident you can deal with the handling of difficult dogs (dogs very unlike those you seen in the “satisfying” dog grooming videos) then I don’t see why not!! Unless your chronic illnesses cause a lot of pain or force you to take days off - it’s super difficult to call in sick out of the blue and reschedule your dogs, and the work is extremely hard on the body. That said, I work with two groomers who have been in the industry for 10+ years with chronic conditions!

2) look for jobs as a bather or grooming assistant - usually they’re not looking for anyone with a ton of experience and it’s a great way to get in the industry.

3) it is goddamn EXHAUSTING some days. From the physical aspect of the work to the emotional stress coming from dealing with stressed, unhappy dogs 95% of the time I come home and I am just incapable of doing anything else (chores, cooking, even reading is too much)

 

[romanqueen1]

@sankey I’m so glad someone else doesn’t have the energy to do anything after work. All I see online is being “that girl” (waking up at 5, doing nice office work, then going on a 5 mile run and cooking every meal for the day) I literally have to use my days off to prep for th entire week otherwise it’s not getting done.

 

[dwrity90]

@sankey This is super accurate unfortunately

 

[sls]

@davekool182 I adore my career! I’m not gonna lie it is very straining on the body and stressful (i don’t do stretches I should do, so that doesn’t help)
I’m currently employed with PetSmart, corporate is definitely non stop kinda stress but it’ll get your foot in the door. They sent me away to an academy for a month, worked full time hrs paid hrly, then once sent back home I was 40% to then 50% after doing 200 dogs! I’m not sure how other retailers do it nor how small salons do it. You do sign a 2 year contract witch most of your training is the first year!
Grooming is so rewarding and challenging it deff atleast for me is an ego booster I hope how ever you get your foot in the door it opens a wonderful new passion! It’s hard work but it pays off!!!

 

[wickedwoman]

@davekool182 I find it quite enjoyable. Honestly it is very exhausting though. Some days aren't as bad as others. Namely the big dog days are rough. It is definitely tough in the beginning. Trying to get a hang of it.

I would say like another posted is to look to be a bather somewhere. Hint, hint we're hiring lol. (North Dallas) I particularly don't like Petco and PetSmart. Honestly though to get into this career it's not a bad way to go. Definitely look for a salon or boarding facility that could train you. Sometimes you'll get lucky being a bather at those two places and they train you!! Side note they do have grooming schools. I learned by apprenticeship. My coworker went to a school in OKC.

Good luck!

 

[ulrichgood]

@davekool182 I wouldn’t work at Petsmart. I work at Petsmart right now and it is brutal. Especially since I work at one of the busiest stores in the state. Here’s the rundown:

You start out as a bather. Depending on how fast you pick things up, it could be anywhere from 3-6 months before they send you to academy to be a groomer. Either way, you have to start out as a bather unless you have had previous grooming experience (hair cutting, that is). Being a bather sucks butt. You have to take all the walk-ins, the calls, there’s paperwork they made me do, you have to clean nearly the entire salon, and they expect you to do 8-10 dogs.

As a groomer, it gets slightly easier, but now you have to learn how to manage your time while doing haircut dogs. Now, from my own experience, the academy was not a good one. It is only three weeks and we didn’t learn much.

Everything I know is what I learned after academy. So it is a very slow climb that I am still treading as I have only been a groomer for less than a year. Even still, it made the first few months killer. I came home crying every night from the stress.

Now, I know I made grooming sound bad, but it’s not. It is really just Petsmart that sucks. I truly enjoy what I do. I love grooming dogs. Even with the bad dogs, I like knowing that I made the dog and their owner’s lives that much easier. I like to build connections with the customers. It is rewarding when you manage to snag those regulars.

Lastly, no matter where you go, you will have to deal with those parents who obviously neglect their dogs. Case in point, yesterday, I had a a lady walk in. Her dog was severely matted, head to toe. At our store, they don’t like us taking in dogs like that, especially because of their ears.

Once you shave those hard mats out, it could cause a hematoma and it would just cause an array of issues for the dog, the groomer, and the PP. That being said, we usually refer those parents to a vet so that they can shave the mats off and should anything happen they are already at the vet and can be treated right away.

Well, the lady yesterday was not having it. She threw the biggest tantrum saying that we were being lazy and neglectful. Not her, who has neglected to bring her dog in for a haircut nor did she take the time to brush her pet, but is because we didn’t want to cause injury to the dog. Banfield was closed at this time as well, so if anything happened the next vet over is 20 minutes away.

Ugh, it was just a big mess, but it does get very stressful and annoying to have those pet parents who take nothing seriously. Not to mention, you are working with animals who bite, bark, scream, panic. You have to be able to work through that.

 

[rickt65]

@davekool182 Just going to add as no one has specifically said it, don't go for online school. You need to be hands on to learn grooming

 

[preng]

@davekool182 You live anywhere near Detroit? I would be glad to have you on a ride along with me, I’m a mobile groomer.

 

[davekool182]

@preng Aaa thank you so much for the offer that is super kind of you!! but i’m nowhere near Detroit unfortunately