More Bad Press - January 2007

[Stephen]

Well the new year didn't put a damper on some bad news and calls for licensing.

This article quotes stats from PetGroomer.com, not on this topic though, but no, I never spoke with them at all.

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http://www.herald-progress.com/articles/2007/01/04/news/4%20pets.txt

[greymom]

Stephen I couldn't get the link to work

[Stephen]

It is working for me. It does want to open a new window so any kind of popup blocker will make the link not work. You can copy and paste or hand type it into your browser as an alternative.

[greymom]

Thanks I got it now. I tried to edit my post to say never mind, but it wouldn't let me.

[diemonster]

it worked for me as well.

According to the article, groomers should allow the owners to watch them groom, which sounds good in theory.. but as the article also stated, when everything's open to viewing by the public, the dogs become much more excitable!

*sigh*

[lbboop99]

So you need 10 years of experience to be called a Master Groomer? Who knew this?? I'm almost there. I understand some things in this article are true but some of it seems like nonsense to me.

[Chicken]

"There should be no reason why a groomer shouldn't let you watch your dog being groomed."

I'm sorry, but this is nonsense.

[K9Klips]

Personally I wouldn't mind if they passed it that you had to be licensed. It drives me crazy when people call themselves a groomer and they don't know the first thing about grooming. I went to school for 12 weeks and I work very hard to do a good job, to stay knowledgeable about grooming, and to care for thier pets when they are in my care and when people who don't know the first thing about it compare themselves to me I could just scream. At least if we needed to be licensed we wouldn't have to work so hard to convince people that we know what we are doing. It would certainly help to get rid of the "groomers" who really aren't groomers.

[plushpuppy]

I do allow clients to stay but it is very distracting for the dog and me. They always want to talk or help and it takes longer to get the grooming done and if it;s just a puppy....Forget it
I wish someone would do a positive article on grooming

[sheilabgroomer]

Being a "school trained groomer" doesn't always mean a lot either. The girl that works for me went to a tech school, and to be quite honest neither one of us thought to much of it. The instructor had only been a groomer herself for 2 yrs. They were not taught about anal glands, ear plucking, or scissoring. The only scissors they got in their school pack was a little pair of kindergarten sized scissors that IMO are only good for trimming ears. Julia said her teacher was amazed when she found out I did "full" scissor cuts. Something else they were not taught was stretch drying. All of the dogs were cage dried!! Julia should have saved her money IMO....or maybe she could have just paid me...lol...She is a good groomer now, and w/out sounding too much like I am patting myself I think I had a little something to do w/it.

[furrybestjob]

I think people would feel more comfortable if there was an idea of what would be needed for licensing. What actually determines if a groomer "knows what they're doing". If you were to speak to groomers who have multiple grooming titles under their belt and have gained their "master certification" they may think I don't know what I'm doing. If by licensing you have to know show grooming I think alot of us on this board would be considered to "not know what we're doing", because we are pet groomers. There are also many groomers who are very conciencious about the care of the dogs and have a good handling record, but just aren't that good. (But their customers consider how their dog is treated as more important. Does anyone know what is required for a hair stylist to be licensed? What are their requirements?

[lbboop99]

I know that hairdressers in Massachusetts have to go to school for 1000 hours. Then they are eligible to take the state exam. If they want to open their own salon they have to work for someone for 2 years and have proof of it.

[Helly]

I don't really care about the "...groomers who really aren't groomers" IF their shop is clean, they use common sense about safety, and they aren't mishandling the animals. If they give bad haircuts, if all they know how to do is strip 'em down and send 'em out, I don't care.

If people aren't satisfied with the groom they get, they'll look elsewhere. If all they want is a shavedown, and that's what they get, fine with me. Dogs don't suffer from bad haircuts.

Does it bother me if they compare themselves to me because they say they're a dog groomer? Not a bit. Why should it? When you have 30 years of experience under your belt, will it bother you if a recent graduate from a 12 week course compares themself to you by saying they're a groomer? I think not, and why should it?

I know the difference, my clients know the difference.

And a license won't put an end to bad groomers, any more than a license has put an end to bad hair stylists or bad doctors. There will always be those people who graduate at the bottom of their class...but they do graduate. And there'll be people who barely manage to get a license, but they'll have the same license as the person who passed with flying colors.

[toomuchfunbnme]

licensing

I agree with Helly. The licensing does not guarantee getting a good groomer. All it does is clarify the standards for the industry. Just because someone is licensed does not mean that they are compitant, or that they even abide by the standards. Also I believe that there are people with all levels of skill at all levels of experience. For instance there could be a very skilled newbie or an old timer who would be better off with a different career. And vise versa. In my former career I witnessed clients who went to licensed professionals and loved their service even though it was sloppy, ugly, unprofessional and unacceptable to me. I'm sure that happens in grooming too. I just thought, God bless them. If they can find clients who like that kind of work because I had more business than I could handle. I guess it take all kinds and the people who appreciate exellent quality will see the difference in a qualified. well trained, tallented professional.

[Bearmtn]

I went to cosmotology school and got my license. I don't have a certified in anything as far as grooming, but I know far more about grooming than I ever knew about hairdressing.

I do think it would not hurt for groomers to know more about the health issues around dog grooming, which is something taught in cosmotology school with people. I have seen so many groomers that just don't get when it comes to keeping a clean shop and trying not to spread disease, or knowing how to work with aged animals, or be careful with the handling of the very young as far as not trying to give them something contagious.