Dog Grooming: Dog Groomers

Did You Pay the Dog Groomer to do That?

Most of us prefer to take our tail-waggers to the dog groomer because often times it’s just easing to pay someone to take on the task of grooming your dog, but have you ever considered going to dog grooming school and becoming a professional dog groomer yourself?

In my opinion, professional dog groomers are like the taxi drivers in our society.  Similar to driving a taxi, dog grooming most likely isn’t something you had posters of on your childhood bed room wall, laying awake at night hoping one day you’ll be lucky enough to squeeze anal grands on Fee Fee and cut tar out of Fido’s fur any more than you may have aspired to drive people around all day in a beat up old retired police car with yellow spray paint over what used to be a star on the door.

However, with that in mind, dog groomers and taxi drivers have something in common in that individually, each of them can be the sole reason we have either a euphoric experience in an otherwise mundane routine of grooming your dog or getting from point A to point B or whether we hate mankind after the experience.

Case in point, the green “dragon dog” to to right.  Look at him…he’s pissed and there’s not a damn thing he can do about his day at the dog groomer.  He’s breathing fire alright!

You do What for a Living?

Before the economy took a stumble, tumble and fall, I’m quite positive that not many people were flocking to dog grooming schools to be the next pooch pampering prince or princess, but for many of us, that may have changed.

Once one loses a job or has their pay slashed it’s natural to consider what other career options may exist and I’m willing to bet that dog grooming schools have seen a huge increase in enrollment in the last couple of years and why not?

A dog groomers salary may not be at the top of the pay scale, but there are benefits.  Less stress being one of them, flexible hours being another and plus your clients are typically appreciative, stinky, but appreciative.

Did you even know that there was a National Association of Dog Groomers?  It was news for me too!

All things being equal, would you rather be jammed into a down sized cubicle forced to be around work mates that you maybe can’t stand, don’t trust, hate the sound of their voice or all the above, or would you prefer to stare into soft eyes with murky breath that really doesn’t care how you cut their hair?  I’m just sayin…

What if you could become a celebrity dog groomer and be know as the dog groomer of the stars with a reality TV show?  If Animal Planet is any indication, they had a show called “Groomer Has It” which pitted 12 dog groomers against each other for weekly elimination and a grand prize.

I can’t say that their viewership was overwhelming, but let’s be real, at some point there were thousands of people watching 12 dog groomers do their thing on national television and at least 4 or 5 of those people cared about the outcome so maybe there is something to it.

Just a Little Off the Top

You can learn to be a dog groomer from the comfort of your own home, or actually attend a specific dog groomer school.  If you don’t want to work in a “big box” pet store you could even start your own dog grooming business.

Think there’s not a market for it?  There’s even a website dedicated to finding dog groomers nationwide.  If that’s not your thing, open a mobile dog grooming business and have the freedom to hang your head out the window at freeway speeds.

The point is most likely no one aspires to become a dog groomer, but if you’re maybe in between jobs and have a love for the furry four-legged, going to dog grooming school and becoming a professional dog groomer may be a temporary stick to chase that could afford doing something you take pride in and that there is certainly a market for.

Let’s be honest.  Someone got paid, and maybe even handsomely for making these poor dogs look like walking bowls of Fruit Loops cereal.  At least we know “Bozo” owns two dogs.