How about becoming a dog groomer? 💗
(reasons for you to fall in live and some very useful information)
Being a Dog Groomer
Groomers are an important part of the lives of people who own pets, because sooner or later our services will be needed.
There is a wide variety of products and services that we offer to clients (coat brushing between baths, teeth brushing, medicated or aesthetic treatment baths, in addition to the most common services such as regular baths, full grooming, and nail trimming). We also have a specific vocabulary for these services: a bath with a moisturizing mask is called “hydration,” trimming hair in intimate areas is called a “sanitary trim” or “FFF,” medicated baths are referred to as “therapeutic baths,” removing dead undercoat is called “deshedding,” a fully rounded haircut is known as a “puppy cut,” and there are also Asian and traditional styles, for example. Knowledge of this terminology is essential for the job.
The grooming community also shares a common goal: that people pay a fair price for our work. This includes respecting minimum pricing standards, and a good professional will never charge below market value. There is also an expectation to present proof of competence in grooming services (certificates, diplomas, and photos of previous work).
With groomers friends in Ecuador (taking classes)
The Workday
Being a pet groomer means having a much more enjoyable workday than a typical office job. Some clients bring their dogs so frequently that many dogs recognize the groomer’s name, and if they visit the salon weekly, they may even identify their grooming day.
The first thing a groomer does is check their schedule. This gives us a good idea of how the day will be—whether it will be heavy or light (depending on the dog’s size and behavior), very busy (with no time to sit down for lunch), or more relaxed, allowing us to play with the dogs, take photos, or make videos for Instagram or TikTok. Dogs usually prefer the first option, but human clients love the second.
Career
A well-prepared professional can find work in many places around the world and, if skilled, will rarely be unemployed. This is due not only to increasing demand but also to pet owners seeking professionals who show care and empathy when handling their animals. Nothing satisfies a pet owner more than seeing their dog wag its tail when it sees the groomer.
There are generally two training paths: informal and formal.
In the informal path, a person starts as an assistant to an experienced groomer and gradually learns bathing, drying, clipping, and nail trimming over time. This method is more solid but takes longer. This was my initial path—I worked as a bather for two full years before I was allowed to use scissors or clippers.
In the formal path, you take a course to learn how to use brushes, scissors, clippers, dryers, and products. Over time, I also followed a more formal path, studying with some of the most renowned professionals in Brazil, some of whom have received international awards (learning from a good teacher is essential).
In this field, the most in-demand professionals are dog bathers and certified dog groomers, who can perform haircuts and styling in addition to bathing and drying.
The bather role is highly valued in Brazil, where dogs typically visit grooming salons every 7 or 14 days for baths, creating higher demand for bathers. Full grooming is usually done once a month there, while in the United States it is typically done every 6 to 8 weeks. Many clients are adopting the Brazilian routine of frequent baths every two weeks to keep their dogs clean and fresh.
In addition to grooming, some professionals focus on teaching, which is also a valuable role. I worked as a grooming instructor from 2001 to 2020 in three different countries, each with distinct service expectations, languages, and vocabularies that I had to learn and teach.
Me as an instructor /teaching...
Pet Groomers Community
The grooming community shares common goals, especially ensuring fair pricing and maintaining professional standards. Continuous education is essential, as techniques, tools, and products evolve over time.
To be part of this diverse and dynamic community, one must first become a skilled professional in handling scissors, brushes, combs, clippers, and dryers—along with having talent and a great deal of patience (often more with owners than with dogs).
Information is Essential
If you want to own a grooming business—whether a salon or a mobile grooming service—there are legal regulations that must be followed. Specialized magazines and online sources help keep professionals informed about rules, updates, and industry changes.
Social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok also play an important role by sharing information, suppliers, services, and trends. Grooming trade shows and conferences are excellent opportunities to learn about new techniques, products, and markets. When I moved to the U.S. in 2020, these events helped me understand the local grooming community.
My Path to Becoming a Grooming Instructor
My grooming journey began in 1993 when my older sister took a grooming course and invited me to help her. After a year, she opened a pet shop, and we worked together for two years. Wanting to grow, I sought opportunities in wealthier areas and succeeded.
At age 21, around January 2000, I opened my first grooming salon. In early 2001, a Brazilian distributor of grooming equipment asked me to teach a group of aspiring groomers. With eight years of experience, I felt ready to teach the basics of commercial bathing and grooming to those who were starting out in this profession.
I was active in Brazil’s grooming community for over two decades. In Ecuador, I helped build a grooming community from scratch, organizing workshops several times a year and standardizing techniques and terminology. That community remains active today.
Communication:
(Something very important, believe me or not)
What you need to know about how, in what way, and with what
kind of vocabulary they communicate with you.
Key: The groomer community communicates differently depending on the context.
Communication between company and consumer
We can observe, for example, that within the context of a distributor,
offering some type of service (for which the consumer can be pet owners or
groomers), the communication is more formal in tone and writing, and directed specifically
to the target audience regarding the service or product offered.
Training Communication:
The communication of professional training has a generally formal
tone, which can be more or less formal taking into account the age and cultural
background (such as nationality) of the instructor and also the place where
this training is offered.
The most formal country in terms of groomer training is
South Korea. They are very careful in how they pass on theoretical information,
how we should learn to draw and understand the structure of a dog's body before
we are even able to start cutting hair. In the US it is somewhere in the middle,
while in Brazil it is the least formal, with room for more relaxation, but this
is not synonymous with less rigorous content, quite the opposite.
Communication between groomers
There is also communication between groomers, which is
usually more informal and may even show certain signs of passive-aggressive or
ironic communication between groomers, particularly in social media. Videos of
groomers mocking how certain customers cross the line exist in huge numbers.
With digital translation tools, groomers from all over the world can communicate with each other, and what's more wonderful, each in their own language, because artificial intelligence translates into the language of the reader's choice (in my Instagram account is confusing because I can read in 5 or 6 languages).
Groomer x customer and Pet shop x customer communication
In almost 3 decades doing this type of work, I can see that
a large store like a PetSmart will communicate with a customer through a
receptionist or person who is responsible for scheduling and with this 3rd end
of the triangle communication tends to be more formal. There are groomers who
work independently and the way in which they communicate with customers will
vary according to their personalities and even their level of familiarity with
the customer, but in general it is a slightly more formal communication.
Personally, I have personal communication with the client,
but without ceasing to be respectful. By a personal choice I refer to dogs by
nicknames that I have created myself: Mr. Cooper, The Royal Family, The Prince,
The Super Star, Baby Girl, Girlie, Baby Boy, and so on. I put these nicknames
based on the dog's personality and also say with a high degree of certainty
that customers love it. I always send photos of the final result of the work
and report some funny or cute fact that happened or suddenly something different
that I noticed. These conversations are important because they exist in the
form of text messages which also serve as an archive that we (the client and
myself) can easily refer to later.
This is a personal choice, because I don't have many
pawstomers so I know the name of all the dogs and owners, as well as important
facts of the puppy's life (e.g., injuries, illnesses, traumas) and due to the
proximity that my choice of professional profile brings, clients share with me
a lot of their personal joys, frustrations and even illnesses. I am very happy
for this opportunity.
After Finishing a Course
Your path depends on your personality. If you prefer stability and less worry, better to work as a groomer in a place that already has an established clientele, through an employment relationship or only as an unaffiliated groomer who goes to the pet store to work only a number of days or per season.
Don't like to take orders, and are willing to take risks and do things your way? Better to open your own bathing and grooming salon.
I've had both of these experiences, but I've found myself better working with very few clients once a week in a place that's adapted for this, but it's not open to the public. I'm happier this way, not having to answer to anyone and only serve who I want.
For those who have just taken a course, I believe it is important in the first year to work for someone and understand how the market works, how to manage scheduling, and understand the nuance of service for clientele. These things we don't learn so much by studying. Wisdom comes from daily experience in a bath and grooming salon.
Important Tips/Advice💗😉💝
Respect the dog. It's not because the customer is paying that you have to do everything he wants. Certain things seem right to do in the owner's mind, but there could be serious consequences, such as post-grooming alopecia (a condition in which the hair no longer grows after grooming). Another example: detangling services that take a long time can stress the dog too much. Any hair untangling session that takes more than 1 hour should be considered shaving the coat.
You won't be able to do in a few hours what the pet owner hasn't done in months/weeks. It is a matter of the owner's choice as to how often he wants to take the dog for a grooming session, however, brushing can vary from once a week to even every day (the frequency varies by the type of coat and its length). If the dog's owner does not want to groom, they have to accept an extra fee to detangle or that the coat will be shaved. The responsibility of taking care of the dog's coat is almost exclusively that of the owner. We as professionals have to identify the dog's needs for the breed/type of coat, the possibilities and desires of the client, and how much they can or want to spend. After that, we can draw up a plan together.
Make your name, and your way of branding is how you differentiate yourself. A person can be successful as a groomer and not be famous. There are groomers who are famous, but they are not that good. What some have is a good marketing strategy. For me, the best advertisement (besides how the dog looks when we’re done) is the dog's happiness and, secondly, the positive energy we pass on to the customer, who likes what we do.
Charge at least the market price. Charging less because you are starting out is a recipe for disaster, since we have to shape expectations of our clientele to the price that professionals charge. There are professionals who charge more for having a more exclusive service, of higher quality or with differentiated products. I fit this profile.
Invest in yourself, learn new things. If you don't have money to invest in a professional course, there are professionals who give very good tips on the internet.
Invest in your equipment. Buy at least 5 good scissors: 2 curved, two straight and 1 shark tooth. A comb and two brushes. A good grooming machine, grooming blades 5, 7, 10 and 15, and a set of adapters. These have to be tools for professional use, not for pet owners who want to shear their dogs at home. Even if you are an employee in a grooming salon, these types and tools should be your own, not shared with coworkers.
Be patient, the first jobs take longer. As the months go by, agility will come through practice
Respect your boundaries. A person lives to work and does not work to live. Puppies notice when we are mentally overloaded or physically exhausted.
Have a clear plan. Establish rules for your work: your schedule, what days of the week you will work, and make time for vacation. This is a very physical job! You need to give yourself time to rest.
A Day with me, a Brazilian Groomer:
Today was a quiet day! I decided to bathe a big dog (a labradoodle), bathe a small dog (Shih Tzu), do a full Asian-style grooming on a Yorkshire Terrier, and a full standard grooming on a Maltese that had not visited me for 6 months.
The Doodle: How a good bath should be done:
A good bath starts with cotton wool in the ears to protect the ear canal. Then, with the water at a warm temperature, we soak the whole dog thoroughly. I like to use a shampoo that is very gentle on the face, as harsh shampooes can cause eye lesions on dogs. I also use a mild bar soap on the parts that get the dirtiest: ears, paws, and butt. Then I apply shampoo all over my body and rinse thoroughly. Then, I apply a different shampoo that has emollient and moisturizing properties. Another full rinse and then a conditioner that can be in three varieties: rinse-off cream, liquid spray, or leave in. The last two do not rinse. After this process I use two to three towels to remove excess water from the coat and then I start the drying process using a blower. I like to use two at the same time.
With a large dog like this, I like to do the blower process in the tub and after the dog is still slightly damp, I transfer him to the table. With small dogs, after removing excess water with the towel, it's time to transfer it to the table directly.
On the table, I apply perfume and it's time to brush with a pedestal dryer. Blowers are not dryers, they are auxiliaries of the drying process.
I'm not in a hurry to brush, because haste can hurt the dog's skin.
After brushing and drying is finished, it's time to clean the ears, choose a beautiful tie, give the dog a hug and say all done! (After checking if you need to cut their nails)
This doodle is one of my favorites of the last 30 years
(Shihhhh please keep secret)
The Shih Tzu: Second bath of the day
The same process as the doodle, but with cream conditioner because this type of hair is closer to what human hair would be. The use of this type of conditioner seals the hair cuticles better. Since this dog is a girl, I put a more feminine decoration. She loves to be bathed, she sees me every two weeks, and knows my name. Always a serial kisser, I like her a lot.
The Yorkie: Asian-style (ish) grooming
Before bathing I like to do a pre-grooming, cutting off excess hair. Then the same bath procedure as Shih Tzu, and after drying, the definitive grooming process with a careful polishing of the trimming style, decorations, and a lot of affection. She is a very happy and affectionate elderly dog. It may sound suspicious to say that I also like her a lot, but it's true.
The Maltese: Last puppy of the day
I hadn't seen this dog for six months, and he was feeling nervous. His fur was all tangled, and there was no way to save the hair—I had to shave it. The owner knew this, and I tried to do my best for dog (remember the first tip to respect the dog?). He seemed relieved when I did the pre-grooming before the bath. He is afraid of water on his face, so it’s important to reduce the jet of water. He let me do the process, but he clearly doesn't like to dry his head, either. I like to talk to the dogs in any language (I speak 4). They seem to understand—I don't know if it's the tone or some kind of telepathy, but they obey. I told this Maltese, look kiddo: you have to help me help you. It will be better if you work with me, then I’ll give you some love, and some treats. He calmed down, I finished all the work, and he even gave me a kiss. I like him too! (Please don’t tell anyone—I love all my “pawstomers.”)
At the end of the day, I feel happy and fulfilled. I stretch, clean up, and go home grateful to have one of the best jobs in the world—at least for me.
Conclusion
This job may not be for everyone, but for those who have
talent for this job and under the right conditions, it can be a lifetime career.
There are many ways to be successful in this job, but being a pet groomer is
about dedication, purpose, and a willingness to learn. In this job we cannot be
lazy or unmotivated, because to work with pets you need to give the best of
yourself, and understand these furry ones that speak only with their eyes.
This community of Groomers is crazy about beauty, sweetness,
barking and wagging tails. We are learning, all together. If that’s what you
want, start by looking for some profiles on Instagram and TikTok. Subscribe to
magazines, go to conferences and believe me, it’s really worth it! Welcome and
good luck!
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tailoredbytif
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"Posts." Instagram, 2026, www.instagram.com/whiskbone/.
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