[Melou1889]

Does anyone know if you need some kind of certificate or license for grooming. Or if maybe my 969hours of cosmetology could somehow count towards that license. Is it something you can just jump into? I know theres classes because the schooling I am doing for obedience had a grooming class. I just don't know what it requires and if I want to go through all the health steps again because a hair salon is one of the toughest places to open. Any info would be great. THANK YOU!

[Purplex15]

being a hair stylist is A LOT different from doing pet grooming. the two in my opinion are not one in the same, and knowing how to do one does not mean you can just jump into the other. if you are a trained stylist, then you will see that many things are opposite. for example, you cut people hair when it is wet. for dogs, cutting wet hair is a big no-no and is actually really bad for your scissors. even the tools are different.

do you need certification? technically no. there are many amatuers who groom dogs for reduced price who have no training other than doing their own dogs. you will also notice that these groomers suck, and if you want your dog to have any cut other than a shavedown, they will not know how to do it. this is defintely not a career to jump into. it has a huge turnover rate and most discover that they just cant work with dogs, or master grooming to the point where they can even make any money.

you sound like your very iffy on this whole thing and like the idea just popped into your head, like "oh i know how to cut people hair, dogs cant be much harder" and if you do have that mindset then i would strongly urge you either go to a good grooming school, apprentice under a master groomer, or get a job as a bather/brusher. i would not recommend someone with no training to even start thinking about owning their own grooming salon until they have been grooming for over 5-7 years. decide if you want to do it, then think about owning a shop once you actually know this is what you want to do.

[Melou1889]

Actually thats not true, i can cut peoples hair dry. It all depends on what kind of outcome you want. Its not that bad for scissors especially if your spending $700 on a pair. I didn't finish cosmetology because of family issues along with a quick move out of the house. It would now cost me $5/hr to finish in which my father never wanted me to be a hairdresser so he wont help me. My mothers a stylist for 20years. I do not want my own salon its not that great trust me. I want to groom my own dogs. I plan on having many. Dogs aren't as demanding as people.I am also great at anything I choose to pick up. I just wondered if the regulations were the same for a dog. If they take as many precautions. I want it for myself and no one else. I know how to go about it. It's a class i can take in the schooling i do for training. And I just don't come up with ideas but if I have to spend the rest of my life doing something, why not something I enjoy? Animals usually respond to me pretty well. I wanted to be a vet when I was younger I just cant handle all that. I have more than just grooming in mind, I also want to take veterinary assistant. When all is accomplished I will still be me. I set my goals high and considering Im only 19 I will well surpass many who think they know it all. Do not doubt me.

[Purplex15]

Originally Posted by Melou1889

Actually thats not true, i can cut peoples hair dry. It all depends on what kind of outcome you want. Its not that bad for scissors especially if your spending $700 on a pair. I didn't finish cosmetology because of family issues along with a quick move out of the house. It would now cost me $5/hr to finish in which my father never wanted me to be a hairdresser so he wont help me. My mothers a stylist for 20years. I do not want my own salon its not that great trust me. I want to groom my own dogs. I plan on having many. Dogs aren't as demanding as people.I am also great at anything I choose to pick up. I just wondered if the regulations were the same for a dog. If they take as many precautions. I want it for myself and no one else. I know how to go about it. It's a class i can take in the schooling i do for training. And I just don't come up with ideas but if I have to spend the rest of my life doing something, why not something I enjoy? Animals usually respond to me pretty well. I wanted to be a vet when I was younger I just cant handle all that. I have more than just grooming in mind, I also want to take veterinary assistant. When all is accomplished I will still be me. I set my goals high and considering Im only 19 I will well surpass many who think they know it all. Do not doubt me.

yeah well i can tell your young b/c you dont listen.

thats great you have goals. and i didnt doubt you you or say anything about that so you dont need to get all "im young and can do whatever i set my mind to" with me.

like i said before, your cosmotology experiance will not help you at all when it come to dog grooming. they are completely different, and you need to stop thinking that you would somehow be ahead b/c of that. you wont and it will be just as hard as it is for others to pick it up. i have met very few groomers who just picked up grooming and never really had a rough time with it. most people who get into grooming quit before 7 years, simply b/c it is one of those jobs that not everyone can do. taking some random 4-6 week long course will not even begin to teach you anything you need to know. grooming is an everyday learning experiance, and no one ever knows it all. and i love how you just have to be right about something. GENERALLY speaking hairstylists do wet cutting, with dogs you NEVER EVER cut wet hair. people scissors are made to be able to get wet, dog scissors will likely be ruined if you repeatadly cut wet hair. and this is all just a point to prove that dog grooming and hairstyling are completely different. your 986 hours or whatever will not mean you will become a master groomer, especially when you plan on having subpar training.

if you want to groom your own dogs have at it. there is no law that says people cant groom their own dogs, and tools are available to the public. but if you want to start a career as a dog groomer, you will need a lot more than what you seem to be willing to give. also, you do realize that even groomers who do well only make about 50-80 grand a year, and thats after they have an established clientele? there is no quick money here, and you will likely be at the poverty line when you first start working.

[Franny Glass]

<-- Dog groomer currently just above poverty line.

1. People, unlike dogs, generally do not bite.
2. People, unlike dogs, will generally sit still when asked nicely to.
3. Dogs, unlike people, don't care much about their haircut. However, their owner does!
4. People generally do not have fleas or ticks.
5. People generally do not allow their hair to become matted to the skin, and they don't have owners demanding that it be combed out instead of clipped.
6. A dirty person is nothing compared to a dirty dog.
7. People do not have anal glands.
8. People do not shit or piss on you while you're cutting their hair.
9. Dogs take longer to groom than it takes to give a person a haircut, generally speaking. Think: Giant schnauzer.
10. People never need to be hand stripped, and they never blow undercoat.

do I need to go on? I certainly can.

[dane&cockermom]

Originally Posted by Franny Glass

<-- Dog groomer currently just above poverty line.

1. People, unlike dogs, generally do not bite.
2. People, unlike dogs, will generally sit still when asked nicely to.
3. Dogs, unlike people, don't care much about their haircut. However, their owner does!
4. People generally do not have fleas or ticks.
5. People generally do not allow their hair to become matted to the skin, and they don't have owners demanding that it be combed out instead of clipped.
6. A dirty person is nothing compared to a dirty dog.
7. People do not have anal glands.
8. People do not shit or piss on you while you're cutting their hair.
9. Dogs take longer to groom than it takes to give a person a haircut, generally speaking. Think: Giant schnauzer.
10. People never need to be hand stripped, and they never blow undercoat.

do I need to go on? I certainly can.

i love it!

[Graco22]

Dogs aren't as demanding as people

Guess who is bringing their pets to you, and telling you how they want their pet groomed? Groomers deal with the people AND the dogs. Dogs that bite, fight, scratch, wiggle, jump, pee, poo, bark (stop in a salon sometime during a busy drop off or pick up time and just listen....then imagine that mostly all day). And guess who complains when you couldnt' wave that magic wand to get their 15 year old pet to look like it did when it was a puppy?

If you are truly interested in learning to groom, (not just your own dogs, for that you can do whatever you like to them) then I would recommend you attend an accredited school like Paragon, Nash, etc. and then apprentice after finishing the school program.

[Twinney]

<-- Dog groomer currently just above poverty line.

1. People, unlike dogs, generally do not bite.
2. People, unlike dogs, will generally sit still when asked nicely to.
3. Dogs, unlike people, don't care much about their haircut. However, their owner does!
4. People generally do not have fleas or ticks.
5. People generally do not allow their hair to become matted to the skin, and they don't have owners demanding that it be combed out instead of clipped.
6. A dirty person is nothing compared to a dirty dog.
7. People do not have anal glands.
8. People do not shit or piss on you while you're cutting their hair.
9. Dogs take longer to groom than it takes to give a person a haircut, generally speaking. Think: Giant schnauzer.
10. People never need to be hand stripped, and they never blow undercoat.

do I need to go on? I certainly can.

I like!!

lol I'm not a professional groomer. I've only groomed my own dogs, but...
they get jealous. One human won't lunge at another because you are paying attention to one human and not the other.
and a human won't lunge at you because it doesn't want to be touched at the moment.
Matted dogs are a pain to take care of, I've cut out matts of a terribly matted sheep dog, and brushed it...many times, and then I told them to take it to a groomer or a vet because I couldn't handle it. They got mad at me, but I don't care.

[Love's_Sophie]

Originally Posted by Franny Glass

<-- Dog groomer currently just above poverty line.

1. People, unlike dogs, generally do not bite.
2. People, unlike dogs, will generally sit still when asked nicely to.
3. Dogs, unlike people, don't care much about their haircut. However, their owner does!
4. People generally do not have fleas or ticks.
5. People generally do not allow their hair to become matted to the skin, and they don't have owners demanding that it be combed out instead of clipped.
6. A dirty person is nothing compared to a dirty dog.
7. People do not have anal glands.
8. People do not shit or piss on you while you're cutting their hair.
9. Dogs take longer to groom than it takes to give a person a haircut, generally speaking. Think: Giant schnauzer.
10. People never need to be hand stripped, and they never blow undercoat.

do I need to go on? I certainly can.

Ooohhh...I like that list...so much easier that explaining what it takes years to be able to do...

To the OP...like the others have voiced, grooming dogs is NOT like clipping and cutting human hair; There are SOOOOOO many more curves, and shapings to do on a dog, than there is a person, and most dogs that I groom do not want to sit still...unless it is a dog who is in regularly, and has been groomed since it was puppy; even some show dogs I have been able to groom are not always 'perfect' angels on the table...this is where experience with your scissors and thinning shears really comes in handy...and LOTS of patience.

I have been around dog grooming since I was little, as my mom has groomed ever since I can remember. I started bathing dogs for her when I was about 12 years old. When I was around 18 I started combing out, trimming feet, etc...and then when I was 20 I started training more with my mom's boss, and was able to start grooming easy dogs start to finish like shave offs, and bath and comb outs; I also continued to bathe while watching the other groomers do more 'difficult' grooms; as I gained confidence my mentor gave me some of her own dogs to practice scissoring skills on. I also started doing patterned dogs at the same time; someone would set one side, and tell me to do the same thing on the other.

If you really want to start this sort of trade, even if it is just for your own dogs, go find a grooming salon that will allow you to shadow some of the groomers; learn how to bathe the dogs, and what shampoos to use on dogs with skin problems, or sensitive skin, etc. Watch them groom, and then start practicing some of what you are watching and learning on your own dogs...you will learn quite quickly that it really isn't as easy as it looks. This is not to put you down, it's just that when first beginning, you will not be nearly as steady with the clippers, shears, or even brushes as a professional is.

Even now I am still learning new tricks to make the trade easier, and this is with nearly 16 years in the profession; with 8 of that being full time as an actual groomer.

I highly recommend the book "Notes From the Grooming Table", if you want to get started at learning about dog grooming. This is an excellent book, that explains pretty much everything about how to get started, and gives detailed instructions on how to groom many breeds of dogs. From there, like I said, go to a grooming salon and shadow some of the groomers there. As you gain some understanding of the profession, then see if you can actually start apprenticing; they will likely have you start by bathing, and clipping in simple dogs.

You will have to get your own equipment though, as most groomers aren't going to 'share' their equipment...I don't, and it's not because I don't like the other groomers or new comers, it's just that this is not cheap equipment to buy and certainly not cheap to replace, should it get damaged. The things that you won't usually have to buy, are dryers, and the bathing stuff.

No one on here doubts you, but you have alot to learn about actual dog grooming; cosmetology is a whole different profession all together...