Dog grooming can be one of the most exciting and rewarding jobs in the world, but it comes with some difficulties. Spending all day surrounded by the animals you love and pursuing a love for creativity and care is an amazing experience, but those days are also accompanied by stressful schedules, sometimes difficult appointments, and lots of loose fur! We encourage all readers interested in becoming a dog groomer to follow that dream, and we want to be a helpful tool in helping you accomplish that goal. To do so, we reached out to master groomer and Wahl E.L.I.T.E Educator Sue Zecco for some advice.
Sue Zecco is a member of the National Dog Groomer Association of America and an IPG Certified Master Groomer. Zecco, a Groom Team USA member since 1997, is a winner of many gold medals and titles including 1998 Intergroom International Groomer of the Year, Cardinal Crystal Achievement Awards, and Barkleigh Honors Awards for Judge of the Year, Speaker of the Year, and Groomer of the Year. After acquiring her first standard poodle to practice new trims, she quickly became addicted to this breed. For the past 25 years, Zecco has been breeding Standard Poodles. Beyond breeding, Zecco has been a professional groomer for nearly 4 decades. Zecco presents and educates around the country on proper grooming techniques and how to brush and maintain pets between grooming appointments. Below are five pieces of advice that Sue would offer to up and coming groomers.
If you are a new groomer, the first thing I can think of is AWAYS continue education, but be careful!
Don’t go to YouTube for your education. Although you will find some very good, very informative grooming videos on there, you will also find some of the worst grooming/advice you can possible dream of. So be careful. If you're just starting I will shamelessly recommend our Super Styling Sessions Business video, I just watched again last week and there really is very good info in there.
Tools and equipment are very important to every groomer
There are a variety of tools and equipment for everything from tables, crates, clippers, shears, shampoos etc. You may need to explore some different grooming groups for suggestions if you are stuck deciding, try to work with companies with very good customer service reputations, such as Wahl. I have tried clippers from most companies out there and have made Wahl my clipper of choice for about 25 years now. A plus with Wahl is their E.L.I.T.E Educator Team and Ambassador groomers who are willing to help and answer questions on grooming or equipment any time.
Start with the necessities
Clippers, blades, comb attachments, shears, straight, curved, thinners and blenders should be in your tool box. Good quality combs and brushes. Along with a variety of spray products, like anti stat sprays and detangling sprays. Get a good table, preferably electric or hydraulic. Remember when your choosing your equipment that you hope to be in business for a long time, and grooming is really tough on our bodies. Buy tools and equipment that will help preserve your health as much as possible. Electric tables save our backs, clippers like Wahl are made to be balanced and fit your hand more comfortably. You cant always buy because you pick it up and it feels good, try to imagine clipping all day, 5 days a week, will the clipper fatigue your hand? Balance is very important to prevent that. Things like anti fatigue mats such as PawMat for you and the dogs may not seem necessary, but standing for an 8hour day on a hard floor will take its toll on you eventually. Same with the dogs standing on the table for a long time, the mats truly help. Making the dogs as comfortable as possible will help them to enjoy grooming more, so important to keep them happy for the next 15 years of grooming.
Don’t sell yourself short
Meaning charge what you are worth. Do not let customers bully you into dropping your price, or giving discounts. There will always be those who try, trust me on that. Don’t just make up prices, see what the going rate is in your area and charge accordingly. If you hear “I can get this done for less at the other shop”. Just smile and say “The saying is true you get what you pay for”. We do quality work here and are worth every penny we charge. Then DO the quality work so that speaks for itself, people may try cheaper, but return to you so you can fix what they did wrong. Never put down other salons, people only tell their side of a story so you never truly know what transpired between them. Pay attention to your own salon. Those who are busy judging their competitions are not paying enough attention to their own salons.
There is a book by Khris Berry called "Rosetta Bone, the Language of Dogs", which I would highly recommend to new groomers.
Sometimes being able to properly read the dogs the second they walk through your door is so important for a pleasant grooming experience for you and the dogs. I really think it takes lots of experience to do this, but this book will definitely open a lot of eyes and possibly keep you a bit safer.
We hope that these tips are encouraging and fill you with excitement when it comes to your future as a groomer. If you are interested in more educational resources, Sue Zecco teams up with fellow master groomer Jay Scruggs on their website, Super Styling Sessions, to offer educational classes that are perfect for both beginning groomers and advanced groomers. They offer advice on equipment, breed specific grooms and technical grooms, and a series on technical work such as dematting/deshedding, bather/brusher work, scissoring and thinning shear techniques, and dealing with difficult dogs! We wish you the best of luck in the future, and thank you for helping keep all animals healthy, happy, and beautiful!
