Help! How to become a groomer?

currywood · 10-09-2007, 09:40 AM

I am interested in becoming a dog groomer, but it appears that there are not a lot of grooming schools. I live in Nashville, Tennessee. There are on-line programs. It is possible to become a dog groomer on-line and actually be good at it?

I am a registered nurse, but I have always loved animals. I am considering starting a pet sitting business. Being a dog groomer would be a big plus, but I actually want to be good at it. I have 3 shelties with very full coats. I am very picky about who I will allow to groom my babies, so I understand the importance of dog grooming.

dee7973 · 10-09-2007, 02:55 PM

http://www.nashacademy.com/index.html TRY THIS ONE FIRST...

http://www.groomadog.com/

THESE ARE THE 2 SCHOOLS THAT I LOOKED INTO ONLINE WHEN I WANTED TO GO... UNFORTUNATELY PERSONAL THINGS PREVENTED THAT...

BUT THE NASH ACADEMY WAS MY FIRST CHOICE... GOOD LUCK...

currywood · 10-09-2007, 03:16 PM

Thank you very much! I will check it out.

dee7973 · 10-09-2007, 03:21 PM

No Problem, Good Luck!!

Love's_Sophie · 10-09-2007, 10:26 PM

I'm not much help, but good luck in finding a school.

One thing you could do even while doing school for this, is to go to a grooming shop and see how they 'work' and learn all that you can from people who have had years of experience.

I never went to school to become a groomer...I learned from 'shadowing' then apprenticing; I also was able to attend quite a few grooming seminars from some of the best groomers in my state (these were groomers who were groomers who groomed show dogs, so they were the best at what they did!)

Also if you can attend dog shows, even, you can learn alot of tricks by watching the groomers who groom show dogs do their thing! The groomer I learned from would come back with a new 'trick of the trade' pretty much every time she went to a big show (she raises and shows poms); it was the all breed shows she picked up tricks from, not the specialty (pomeranian breed) shows.

okgroomer86 · 10-14-2007, 02:59 AM

I've been doing an apprenticeship with a Certified Master Groomer. I think hands on would be much better than reading online.

Dieselsmama · 10-15-2007, 07:28 AM

I second the vote for Nash, an excellent school. I can't imagine how you'd learn to scissor well without practising it hands on, so I wouldn't bother with anything on-line.

dane&cockermom · 10-16-2007, 10:12 AM

petsmart does grooming classes. you have to work there as a bather for like, 6 months i think, they they'll send you to grooming school. i'm not a huge fan of petsmart, but that's where both the groomers that i currently work with learned. (and eventually quit) now i'm just learning under my boss. he has me help him out with dogs and what not. i'll be starting grooming on my own in feb!

007Dogs · 10-18-2007, 10:22 AM

I agree, you can not learn to groom a dog online. It requires hours of hands on experiance. You can get the basic ideas from online, but that is about it.