Is pet grooming career for you?
It’s easy to have an intense liking for animals, but working with them can be a different story. Before you think of getting into pet grooming careers find out if you have a natural love for animals. It is a well known fact that animals sense fear in people. If you are not comfortable with them, or are nervous, then pet grooming jobs may not be the best career for you. Often people think that pet grooming only applies to dogs, but there are cat owners that require this service as well.
Again pet grooming jobs do not just pertain to dogs or cats. If you like large animals such as horses, then you may be able to start some very profitable pet grooming services in this field. Horse exhibitions are a big industry. These show horses are in constant need of grooming not only at show times, but during the off seasons as well. You could make this your specialty and get yourself some excellent pet grooming jobs at various shows or local stables.
Pet Grooming Jobs will Teach You a Tremendous Amount
Pet grooming services require you to handle a variety of animals, so you must be comfortable with doing this. When you first start out in this field you may want to find some pet grooming jobs where you can act as an assistant. This way you will learn first hand on exactly what is required. You should make it a point to learn as much as you can on the subject of grooming animals so you have the basic knowledge. The rest you can pick up from hands on experience through the individual you are working with.
While you work at pet grooming services as an assistant you may be asked to do several of the more insignificant parts of the job. For example, you may be asked to bathe the animal in preparation for clipping. In some cases if the business owner offers a pick up and delivery service, then you may be required to do this as part of your duties.
An excellent place to start out doing pet grooming jobs is at your local veterinarian’s office. Most often after they have done a procedure on an animal, they will groom the animal as a courtesy. This is where your services will be in need. It also gives you a perfect setting for learning proper ways of handling the animals, and how to deal with specific situations. Some animals are very nervous when it comes to grooming, so they need to be approached in unique ways. These are the types of things you can learn from the vets and animal technicians.
Starting your own pet grooming services
Once you have gained some good experience and are comfortable performing pet grooming jobs, then you may decide that you would like to open a location and offer your own pet grooming services. Here are some tips to guide you.
- Business location: There are several options available for you once you make this decision. You can obtain a business location, where you will operate as any business would. Or you can do freelance work if you don’t want to set up at a location. A good place to set up a business is within a large pet store. You may be able to rent a small amount of their space that you can set up to perform your pet grooming services. In some cases they may already have a set up area, but offer pet grooming jobs at specific times. These locations will often have 2 or 3 freelance service providers that they can call on for specific days.
- Pet Grooming Equipment: Remember though you are going to have to have facilities that are going to require specific equipment. You will need to be able to bath the animal as well as restrain it for its own safety while you are grooming. In addition to this you are going to need a variety of pet grooming implements, such as clippers, scissors and combs.
- Pet grooming is lucrative: Pet grooming jobs are often good paying jobs, particularly if you are good at what you do. Word of mouth advertising is your best advertising. Satisfied pet owners will certainly tell others about your excellent service. Not only that, but the groomed animal is like having a picture of your capabilities.
- Pay attention to what pet owners want: It is very important that when performing your pet grooming services that you listen to the pet owner. They often have their own ideas as to what they want done with their animals. They may not necessarily want their animal clipped in the standard fashion for that breed. For example, they may not want the hair clipped as short or certain areas touched. In these cases you must do as the client asks. Other times a client will let you do whatever you think is best. Then you can decide if the standard style is best for that particular animal or if there should be some alterations made that best suits that specific animal.
