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Hi, I just got a job as a pet groomer and I was wondering if you (groomers, dog owners) has any advice for me?

I was enrolled in school to become a vet tech but then my financial aid fell through so I ended up not moving away to school, I had to find a new job to support myself here (since I already quit my old job in anticipation of moving away to college, btw: I'm 19 and I haven't lived with my parents since I was 14, so I'm used to having to support myself by working as a housekeeper, nanny, other odd jobs). I found a job as an intern in a grooming salon, I already know how to groom a dog (I was raised on an animal rescue and have worked/volunteered for the humane society since I was a little girl), however training is standard for all new employees. I'm really liking my new job however it's different for me to work with dogs (I usually worked with livestock and exotic pets on my father's animal rescue) and it's also different for me to work with animals that aren't homeless.

I'm looking for advice on grooming?
advice on talking to the dog owners?
advice on which grooming tools are best?
oh, btw, this is the site from which I will be purchasing my grooming supplies, do any of you have personal experiences with this site you'd be willing to share? positive or negative.
oh, btw, this is the site from which I will be purchasing my grooming supplies, do any of you have personal experiences with this site you'd be willing to share? positive or negative.
http://www.petedge.com/home.jsp
I'm sorry my sleep deprived mind is giving me grief tonight:
the question should be worded "have" not "has"
and I did not mean to post the above details twice
please bare with me if I confuse any of you with these mistakes, and thank you for your responses in advance
thank you,
yes I'm enrolling in courses through PennFoster as soon as I get myself settled with a more reliable laptop

Asked By: kisses come in fives - 10/4/2007
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker
My condolences...lol Just kidding. Grooming can be very rewarding, but mostly is is just hard work. There is a LOT more to grooming for the public than there is to grooming for your own animals.

Petedge is an excellent source for professional products. They've always been my main supplier.

Advice on grooming, huh? Can you be more specific? Are they starting you out as a bather/brusher? That IS a good place to start. The best quality grooming depends on the efforts of the brusher. A well brushed coat finishes more evenly and is what gives the overall professional appearance. As far as bathing, the key is rinse, rinse, rinse. When there's no shampoo left in the coat, rinse again because there really is! Is the shop supplying the drier? If not, get teh best dryer you can afford. I love the Double K dual motor models, but a great dryer for a beginner is also the Metro Airforce. It is the most dryer for the least aount of money. Rely on air velocity/speed, and not heat to dry. It makes the coat fluffier without drying the skin. (Or overheating your shop)

Brush-wise, I couldn't live without my teflon coated comb. Pet edge is the only place that has it. Also get at least 2 universal slickers. I suggest three sizes of nail clippers, the standard, the small, and the cat nail type, which is super useful for getting nails that have been neglected to the point they are curing back into the pad. NEVER get the guillotine type. They split and smash nails. Use the pliers type. ALWAYS have Kwik-Stop on hand. No matter how careful you are, you will occasionally nick a nail.

As far as talking to the public, just act like you are talking to your in-laws. No matter how much they grate on your nerves sometimes, you MUST be polite to keep the peace. At least until you have a large enough clientele that you can tell 'em to shove of and find some other groomer to abuse. In my experience, there are 99?onderful customers that you will be happy to see, and 1?hat ruin your day.

Even though you have a lot of experience in non-commercial grooming, you'll find this is nothing like that, so keep your mind open and be prepared to learn. I'm sure you'll do well. Good luck.
Answered By: Jennifer T - 10/4/2007
Additional Answers ()
Sounds like you already have a lot of experience. You are probably just nervous to start your new job. If you are grooming at a vet or pet store I'm sure they already have all the tools you need. If not...claw clippers, different kinds of shampoos....for fleas ,sensitive skin, oily coats, mange etc.... clippers for poodle-do's,and matted fur. Probably some cute bows for prissy dogs . Gloves, flea comb,ear wax remover,...tons of stuff... Hope this helped :)
Answered By: Crystal - 10/4/2007
It is pretty simple to groom a pet & training should help you w. the rest of it.

Though, about your vet tech college that fell through, but if you still want to take the course, have you ever thought about taking an online course to be a vet tech. Right now I am taking a vet assistant course through the us career institute, later i'm gonna take the vet tech course through penn foster.

With the vet tech course you can make interest free payments & they usually run specials. It's a good program if you don't have alot of time to study, so even though it's a 2yr program, you can take longer if you need to. It's a degree program & you have to intern w. a vet through part of it.
Answered By: fleshgurl - 10/4/2007
Advice on grooming is be sure to check every body part so that you can report to the owner any problem that needs vet attention. Be sure to always check the teeth and ear canals and pads especially. Report on any lumps and bumps even if you may have told them last time. Always keep meticulous notes on the record card. Don't take too much time on the sanitary clip because dogs will go home and scoot on the carpet, give themselves carpet burn and you will be blamed for clipper burn so always clip there while the blade is cool and don't try to be real clean shaved. Same advice on facial skin except that part DOES need to look clean shaved.

Advice on dealing with the pet owner is to remember this: They may sometimes ask you about your own pet but they really are being polite, best to keep the answer short and to the point. Dog owners LOVE to talk about everything to do with their OWN dog. The more you talk about their dog's good points, the better groomer you will become in their eyes. (You do have to have skills but I have seen some crappy groomers go a long way on pure B.S. because they were 'people persons') Sometimes they will ask you how it went and believe me, if there was any trouble, you had better sugar coat it. They do need to know about behavioural issues, especially if the dog takes excessive time and gets a higher charge because of it. To make them feel better after they hear the bad news, you should tell them that their dog is not the only dog who barks all day, poops all over himself in the dryer, drools all over himself, bites every time you touch his feet, etc.

Advice on tools is that I prefer Andis clippers and Oster blades. Getting the cheapest tools offered may backfire on you in the longrun so best to buy the best right from the start and slowly add to your collection over time. It is best to have 2 copies of each blade and to be real comfortable, eventually have 3 sets of each blade. I do like the Wahl steel comb attachments. If used as directed, they seem as though they could last indefinately. There are some really hardy brushes, I believe the name is Oxo. Other names to think about are Greyhound combs and Coat King rakes. There are some knockoff brands of these you can find and since they are not the most often used tools in the box, you can try other brands. EZ Groom has a couple of smoking deals on scissor sets from a couple of well-known names in scissors.

As long as I groom I will continue to buy Nature's Specialties shampoo line, out of California, since it has been my favorite since the early 90's. I never turn down free samples of anything, and when you buy from places you can always ask if they offer free samples, but when I spend my money, it is on N.S. shampoos. There are more expensive and less expensive, I just like the job this line does, especially the Bluing Shampoo.

Ryans out of Phoenix does repair and sharpening of clippers blades and scissors at their facility but I just personally prefer to keep my tools local. They sell all types of products and shampoo & colognes. They package sets of colognes to buy as specials as does PetEdge.

Just be careful when you order that A., you order by phone thru Ryans since you won't know if a product you ordered online is in stock or not and if not, you just don't get it and it may be the one thing you needed most! B., Be careful if you order thru PetEdge that you are sure of what you are ordering because I have had extreme difficulty with returns. This is another time you will have to get permission thru the phone to even do a return if you expect to get any money back.
Source(s):
25 years professionally grooming
Answered By: joanie m - 10/4/2007
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