new to the dog grooming industry

Hi I am undertaking a course on dog grooming and I love it. I now want to find a casual job in the industry but all adds say must have years of experience - does anyone have any ideas. I can do feet, poodle feet, faces, bodies etc -need to do it everyday to get my speed up

Cheers Karen

Hi Karen. Welcome to the forum. It truly is a great place to learn from others and with years of experience on hand you'll be amazed what you pick up.
Have you actually thought of the possibility of going out on your own????????
Practice, practice and more practice. I've been out on my own for four years now.

Some possibilities to gain that experience ready for employment is maybe throw yourself at the mercy of other grooming salons, offer your services half a day a week free to gain experience. Possibly find a mentor in another groomer or breeder. Ask at your local vets for possible voulenteer work to get a kick off.
Offer all your friends free clipping at home so you can practice, practice, practice.......

Joining the forum will definetly give you some wonderful tips and don't hesitate to ask those questions no matter how silly you think they might be. Keep an eye out as the forum has growing numbers of groomers in Qld, a great opportunity to network with them.....hope this helps a little but I'm sure others will be able to expand on this as well........ GOOD LUCK and once again WELCOME

thanks for your reply. Yes I have done neighbours dogs, applied for work experience etc.

I really have thought seriously about buying an established dog grooming business - I want a shop front - where I can learn from my staff ...do you think this is too ambitious.....there are not many for sale on the Gold Coast though - thought about opening my own but everyone has said it is very difficult to find staff......and I could not do it on my own at this stage....

karen on the GC wrote:thanks for your reply. Yes I have done neighbours dogs, applied for work experience etc.

I really have thought seriously about buying an established dog grooming business - I want a shop front - where I can learn from my staff ...do you think this is too ambitious.....there are not many for sale on the Gold Coast though - thought about opening my own but everyone has said it is very difficult to find staff......and I could not do it on my own at this stage....

Hiya and welcome to the forum! If you are thirsty for knowledge, this is a great place to be. I'm Andie from Melbourne, grooming 20 years and been doing show dogs even longer. Enjoy!!

I am "old school" about learning dog grooming.... work for someone, it's the only way to truly get experience.
If you are persistant enough, and as Sarah said, initially even volunteer to learn how a grooming salon works, then someone WILL eventually give you a job.

Hiya Karen...Welsome to the forum

This is a great place to network with people and you never know what could come out of it...Keep hanging in there you will get something with persistence

Welcome Karen.....


Our little industry is hard to get a break in,thats for sure. I started out over 20 yrs ago bathing and cleaning up in a salon and didnt learn much,then got a lucky break at a show and boarding kennel.....at first the kennel work seemed like a giant step backwards,but turned out to be the most valuable learning experience for me . I opened my own salon at 19yrs old ,with 4 yrs experience .
I also used to volunteer grooming at the local AWL on the dogs up for adoption.Was a win /win....i gained experience on non-paying clients,and the shelter dogs looked a lot more adoptable for my efforts !

If you want it bad enough ,you'll find a way to make it happen.

Shelter dogs is a great idea. This will also give you experience in handling dogs as so much of this job is about how you are with dogs of all different personalitly styles . Your ability to groom improves greatly if you are confident around a bossy dog or calm and level with a frightened one. In our salon we practice what we call' persistant patience' you stay level and calm in all situations and that brings the dog into the same state.


welcome to the industry it is a great job and it is changing all the time , getting more professional and interesting. If you want to have your own business you might want to look into courses on business management or accounting.
Good luck

thanks you all for your comments. The AWL sounds like a great idea. I will contact them.

Thanks again to you all...I'll keep you posted...
Karen from the GC

Welcome Karen...

I am new to proffesional grooming like you ..

However i never had Luxery of formal training, the course around my area are not really up to scratch. I have had some work with destiny(another member) You learn alot for experiance ... I for one now know that Shih-tzu's seem to be VERY tempremental. .

Good Luck finding a place to work and develop...... I know how hard it is for a beginner to get out there.

WELCOME

[quote="Emmalovesbeth"]Welcome Karen...
I for one now know that Shih-tzu's seem to be VERY tempremental. .

now now don't tar them all with the same brush. I have loads of them and crosses on my books and can't think of a nasty one. You may find though that the little ones end up being the biters. I have never been bitten by a big dog but have had a few little ones sink in the teeth across different breeds.
I call them kisses with teeth in them. Don't let that frighten you. I have groomed many dogs over my 6 years and only been bitten a few times, some of those my fault as I let my ego get in the way. It comes back to that persistaint patience thing, sometimes you can just wait out a tantrum

Glad to know they are not all crazy....... "Few"

Dog sinking teeth into you that i have had.. Had to get stitched in my leg at the age of 10 form a cattle dog... Still love the breed. People ask how i work with dogs after one bit me and i am always like it wasn't his falt the owner should have socialized him.....

Calm cool and collected with the 7 dogs we own glad i am learing that fast.......


Thanks for the tips.....

I will be grooming a shih-tzu on a regular basis(friends just got a pup) so i will make sure i keep an open mind when i give him his first hair cut... I love grooming puppies they seem to give up the battle faster.

Welcome Karen to our forum. You will love this forum, it is very friendly, supportive and informative. It's also very addictive.

MY name is Trish and I am a mobile groomer in Melbourne. Have only been grooming professionally for 18 months, so still learning heaps.

Look forward to hearing more from you in the future.

Hi Karen, what an enviable place you live in is! Sorry, but this is where I show my kiwi-ness. You guys live in the most beautiful part of the world, beauty AND space! Stunning! The Gold Coast, out of this world, Perth, white sand beaches, un-describable, WHY Australians go abroad for holidays is still beyond me ....

Good luck in the job hunting, again, I say what the others say, go out by yourself. Get freebies to start with and you'll know when to go out on your own. Rescue places, pounds, advertising for free grooms, you'll get the experience plus the confidence. Like Aunty Marg said, alot of it is confidence with the dogs, even if you've been round dogs all your life, there's always something to learn between their behaviour and time allowances in professional grooming ie: turning the dog out in top condition in the time alloted. Working with a dogs temperament is not always about taking the same approach every time and that comes with experience. Don't be scared of that, there's no secret to it, just - time. I started out doing 2 dogs a day so at least I knew at the end of the day, that dog walked out looking the best I could do no matter how long it took (within reason). THAT was my advertisement and that's where word of mouth comes in. Good luck no matter what path you take, keep us posted

I agree about the word of mouth, got an email the other day that said that they had heard we were good, and they just wanted to know if they could afford us...

Hi Karen. Welcome to the forum. You are in the right place thats for sure.
I dont think you could go wrong with a grooming business down the coast could you. But you do need your experience first.
You cant beat experience. So groom groom groom and groom, for your friends, for anyone.
I have only just recently opened up a grooming business at home., in Brisbane.