Pet Grooming as a Career

A pet grooming career can be an exciting vocation which offers adventure and profitability. A pet grooming vocation requires standards that even veterinarians and breeders do not have to follow. You will fill a very important niche in the pet market and will become an important person to the animals you serve as well as their owners. You will have to use hands on techniques towards the animals, and at the same time you’ll have to observe their behaviors and physical traits. You will actually have to spend quality time with the animal.

This is an activity that many veterinarians and breeders do not do. During this quality time, you must be able to judge the mental and physical characteristics of the animal and report to the owner. You are almost a reporting agency due to the fact that if you see that the animal has been mistreated by the owner it is required for you to call the veterinarian immediately.

One of the skills of a pet grooming expert is to be able to look at the individual breed and decide what type of coat that dog might have. For example, the Labrador retriever has two coats. Its first coat is a fine down fur that is close to the skin and provides warmth during the winter and water activities. The second coat is a long, thin, fine hair that is used as a water repellent. This allows the dog to dry off quickly and to protect the inner coat. The skill that the grooming expert needs to proficient in is to know how short to trim or to trim at all. To cut the hair too short would leave the under coating hair and the skin open to dangerous situations. These situations could be exposure to the sun, which would cause skin irritation or skin cancer.

If you think that you have these skills, you may be able to be a pet grooming professional. There are several options in which to train for your vocation. There are many pet grooming schools in the United States. Some are the brick-and-mortar variety where you will attend daily classes. Other pet grooming courses are offered online, and this would allow the student to partake in the classes at their own leisure. Once the program is completed a certificate will be issued. This certificate can be taken to the state board responsible for certification. Some states do not require certification, but the certificate is a symbol of professionalism in the field of pet grooming.

The pet grooming profession is a lucrative field in which the owners have the opportunity to choose what kind animals to groom and what fees they may charge. There is a shortage of cat groomers and this could be a niche in which the groomer could be prosperous. There is also a shortage of groomers of all types in rural areas. Moving to an area without pet grooming experts could be the start of a very profitable career.