Any dog groomers on here?

[Iheartfall]

My friends daughter is planning on going to pet grooming school to help her pay for college. I told her to go for it! Apparently, the cost for groomers school will be paid by one summer of work. Then she can work weekends only and be able to pay for her school bills. Instead of working after school and weekends with her job now. During the summers she'll be able to make more working full time and really get ahead on bills. Plus, she said its a good skill to have "just in case"


Any dog groomers on here who can help with some clipper questions? She wants to know if she should buy one or two speed, round or square? Or wait until she signs up and gets the detailed list of whats needed. Other question was if she should buy the tool kit or buy her own? Same with scissors. Wait for the tool kit or buy now and what should she get. I said wait, her mother said wait! We think she's trying to jump in a little bit too quick.

She already found a groomer who will be training her. (Not signed up yet) Originally she had looked at the petsmart school and asked around about it. With them she had to sign this contract committing her to several years of working there or paying huge fee's, and its just a rush grooming school program where you learn to basically shave dogs in a few days. Every groomer she spoke with said she'd need lots of training afterwards. She would also be expected to be full time year round which would really be hard for her. Oh, and that people are getting "burnt out" from high stress from too many requirements and expected number of dogs. After all this I said to just go to a real groomers school. Her mom agreed and Meg agreed to this already. I'll have to keep you guys updated on this and her progress. Just thought it was an interesting idea that she got from a friend.

 

[clh2]

I would wait to buy the required tools that the school recommends.

Good Luck to your friend's daughter.

Personally - I like the dogs that don't require a lot of maintenance - but I can sure appreciate a groomer who can clip nails faster than the dog realizes it is being done!

Of course - dremeling the nails is a good skill too!

 

[clh2]

My friends daughter is planning on going to pet grooming school to help her pay for college. I told her to go for it! Apparently, the cost for groomers school will be paid by one summer of work. Then she can work weekends only and be able to pay for her school bills. Instead of working after school and weekends with her job now. During the summers she'll be able to make more working full time and really get ahead on bills. Plus, she said its a good skill to have "just in case"


Any dog groomers on here who can help with some clipper questions? She wants to know if she should buy one or two speed, round or square? Or wait until she signs up and gets the detailed list of whats needed. Other question was if she should buy the tool kit or buy her own? Same with scissors. Wait for the tool kit or buy now and what should she get. I said wait, her mother said wait! We think she's trying to jump in a little bit too quick.

She already found a groomer who will be training her. (Not signed up yet) Originally she had looked at the petsmart school and asked around about it. With them she had to sign this contract committing her to several years of working there or paying huge fee's, and its just a rush grooming school program where you learn to basically shave dogs in a few days. Every groomer she spoke with said she'd need lots of training afterwards. She would also be expected to be full time year round which would really be hard for her. Oh, and that people are getting "burnt out" from high stress from too many requirements and expected number of dogs. After all this I said to just go to a real groomers school. Her mom agreed and Meg agreed to this already. I'll have to keep you guys updated on this and her progress. Just thought it was an interesting idea that she got from a friend.

forgot the rule!

 

[wtrmlnlabs]

It is a good skill to have on hand. Anything you can do like that, easily done out of your home, is good to have for a back up. Few extra bucks here and there. I do not know your area or the situation, but I learned from a groomer. She was just looking for someone to help out and willing to train. I learned everything I needed basically as "on the job training" and it was great. Might be worth checking around if there are local groomers that may be willing to do that.

I do agree that she should wait to purchase anything for it. If she goes to a school, best thing it so get what they request you to have.

 

[Iheartfall]

That's her plan, she wants something to fall back on. So are you a groomer now? The women working at the petsmart/petco (not 100% if it was both or one) place said it was so terrible and not to apply there. Lots of requirements, selling extra services or get in trouble, having to work odd shifts, no part time. The list just went on with what they apparently said. One even said how she had to pay for grooming classes (In an actual school) after being trained and after already signing a contract. Would you say a private place will treat the employees better or is it just a toss up?

She did end up going into two private places to ask about training. One has kennels and grooming and the other just does grooming. One wanted 4k, she had to put in 6 months before training and a contract of 3 years because people ran off after training. The other laughed about free training. Is it common for people to get trained for free in this field? It seems like not a good idea to give that away if the school is charging I think about 6k for it. Thank You for your help.

 

[CluelessDisFan]

My SIL worked part-time for Pet Smart. Her training was paid for, and she was paid. She had to sign a 2 year no compete contract. But after a year she quit working for them because her back when out. Whatever, she works out of her home, on her own schedule now. She has issues with time management, authority, basically just work in general. But she loves dogs, and grooming. Yes, she did have to up sell and meet goals. Which wasn't really her issue, she met those requirements easily.

 

[wtrmlnlabs]

That's her plan, she wants something to fall back on. So are you a groomer now? The women working at the petsmart/petco (not 100% if it was both or one) place said it was so terrible and not to apply there. Lots of requirements, selling extra services or get in trouble, having to work odd shifts, no part time. The list just went on with what they apparently said. One even said how she had to pay for grooming classes (In an actual school) after being trained and after already signing a contract. Would you say a private place will treat the employees better or is it just a toss up?

She did end up going into two private places to ask about training. One has kennels and grooming and the other just does grooming. One wanted 4k, she had to put in 6 months before training and a contract of 3 years because people ran off after training. The other laughed about free training. Is it common for people to get trained for free in this field? It seems like not a good idea to give that away if the school is charging I think about 6k for it. Thank You for your help.

I don't work as a groomer now. I'm a stay at home/home schooling mom. We live in a pretty rural area so I can't say if being trained "on the job" can be considered normal. I feel this is the best way to learn for most jobs but that's another topic Plus it was several years ago! I did groom with her for only about 4 months, then she took me to a dog show and we were rear ended by a big rig. Screwed both our backs up. I stayed on through the busy holiday season and had to quit. However, when we moved out of state a couple of years later, I found a job working at a vets office grooming. Always something to fall back to! I could start doing it here, at home, if I wanted to. I've had several friends and family ask me if I'd be interested, but right now I just can't.

Anyway, it's not a difficult skill to learn overall. It amazes me that there are schools that charge so much, but I know I really should be surprised. I think them forcing you into a contract is both good and bad. It guarantees a job for so long, and experience, but it sounds like in her situation it would be a bad thing.

Good luck to her!!