Choosing a Grooming School

Choosing a grooming school can be a daunting task. These are a few steps you can take to help you make an informed decision in choosing a grooming school that provides everything they say they do! Below is a list of questions to specifically ask the Director and Instructor of any school you might think about attending.

1. Is the Director actually a groomer or someone from another profession?

2. How long has the Instructor been grooming and do they compete in dog shows or grooming competitions? If not, why do they not compete?

3. What accomplishments does the Instructor have other than being hired as instructor? Just about anyone can be an instructor if they meet the required minimum the state requires. This does not in any way mean that person is an accomplished or educated groomer with exceptional skills. It simply means they completed a form and have the bare minimum required by the state.


4. Ask to see work done by the instructor of breeds that are traditionally done incorrectly such as any of the Terriers that require legs scissored cylindrically. Are they leaving a harsh ugly straight line across the side of the dog instead of smoothly blending the underline? Are they giving the dog a skirt? (which is very incorrect) Are they leaving huge legs that have not been blended smoothly by scissoring into the correct cylindrical shape? If so, guess what? That is what you are going to learn as well. This industry has enough mediocre groomers out there. Don't pay to become another one!


5. Ask to see how the instructor does Cockers. If they are leaving that horribly ugly straight line down the side of the dog without blending the front and back legs and skirt into a beautifully flowing smooth sillhouette, then the instructor is not going to teach you the correct way to groom either. Grooming has no harsh lines on any breed!

I know of one school that actually teaches this and have seen pix of this online. How on earth can you expect to learn to groom correctly and understand the
superior techniques of grooming and the fine art of professional grooming if the instructor at your chosen school does not know how to groom correctly?

6. Ask how many deficiencies that school received when the state comes to do their yearly audit for that school. The reason I mention this is because this will tell you if the school is adhering to the state policies and procedures that make schools accountable. If they are not, run away from that school.

7. Ask how many students have gone through the refund process. If a school refuses to give you this info I would be very suspect and choose another school.

8. Ask how to contact previous students so you can speak to them directly. You might find out a lot more than the school is willing to give up when you speak to actual students off campus in private. A good school should be happy to provide that for you.

9. Ask what the student:instructor ratio is. I know from experience that more than 5 students per instructor is too much. There is no way an instructor can give each student the hands-on time they need on a daily basis to produce a superior level of grooming technique needed to become something more than just another medicore groomer. If the school is a cattle call school and crams more than 5 students in per instructor for the duration of the course, you seriously need to speak to the individual students. Ask if they get enough one-on-one time daily with the instructor. This is how dogs get injured and students do not get what they pay for.

If there are people joining and leaving the classes during your semester, how is the class structured? Each class needs to have a progression level that is reflected by the students on a daily/weekly basis. If the students do not feel their confidence level rising each day, something is wrong.

10. Last but not least...if the school stinks and is nasty choose another school.
You are going to be in this facility for 11 - 12 weeks so keep in mind your daily comfort.

Prior to opening my own school, I visited a school locally that literally gave me a migraine headache due to the stench of cigarette smoke and urine odor saturating the facility. This is not good and certainly should not be representative of any school you choose to attend.


Do your homework and don't be afraid to ask direct, specific questions before making a commitment. There are a lot of good schools out there and there are a lot of schools that see a lot of turnover due to unhappy students. Going to school is a life changing event for most people so make sure you go to the best school in your area if you have a choice of more than one.

Plan ahead so you can choose which semester you want to attend. If you wait until the last minute you may not get into the next session at that school. I would plan at least 3 months in advance to ensure that you are able to attend the time of year that fits your schedule and lifestyle.

Take pride in being an educated groomer!

Last weekend my students and I attended the annual US Pet Pro Classic trade show and had a blast. They got to see the creative grooming competition winners and of course go shopping for new professional scissors to hone their fine scissoring skills they have learned for the last 9 weeks. Its always so fun to see it all come together and see their artistic eye begin to develop!

The Classic would not be what it is today without a wonderful Texas professional groomer icon, Luther Edmondson in all his glory!

If you are a professional groomer and do not attend or do not participate in this yearly educational tradeshow/competition specifically for us, the professional groomer, then you are not taking the responsibility of a professional groomer, you are just another mediocre groomer who cuts hair. Become educated even if you DID graduate from a grooming school, you still need continuing education to stay current on laws that protect us(the professional groomer), and improve your scissoring skills and artistic eye and learn new breeds and styles as they develop and change all the time. This is a constantly changing profession and those who do not stay current do not "get the professional responsibility and commitment" our graduates WILL improve the industry with! Game on!

Are you one of the ones who gouge out a straight line across the side of the dog and call it a skirt? Or,one of the ones who do that on a schnauzer who shouldn't even have a skirt and call it a skirt? ACK!!!!!Schnauzers have an UNDERline O N L Y! And then you have the audacity to say, "thats how our clients like it". Uh noooooo...that is how they are used to seeing it done...horribly wrong. How do you get away with not knowing the correct way to groom one of the most popular pets in this country? That astounds me and gives the rest of us a bad name! If you do this, and we know way too many people calling themselves a professional groomer do, please find continuing ed classes on as many breeds as you can. Take the responsibility of being a professional and educate yourself in your craft. Come to our weekly breed specific continuing ed classes on Tuesday afternoons. We offer many breeds and they are designed to show how to blend and scissor correctly everything from the back into the hips or the shoulder into the elbow and the lineless flow from body to skirt or underline as it SHOULD be done.

Shame on you if you think you can continue to groom in such a backward way and get away with it! Take responsibility and educate yourself! And by all means,have fun and take pride in doing it!

Pink, purple and blue hair

Hard to believe we will be starting our 8th week of class already! One of my students has a Doodle we decide to have some fun with by giving him a mohawk and dying his mohawk turquoise! Another student has a new Bedlington puppy who will be shown in conformation when she is old enough as well as in competitive grooming at the US pet Pro Classic next year!

We might even see a multi-colored Bedly at the Classic in the Creative grooming event in a few years. We were having so much fun coloring Larry Doodle we decided to put some pink and purple in our hair as well! Larry Doodlington will sport his new color for 3 - 6 weeks. Our pink and purple was temporary spray that washes right out. We decided to do a semi-Bedlington head on Larry Doodle just for fun and the end result is pretty darn cute!

Our Weekly Breed Specific Continuing Ed classes...

Will be starting on Tue Sept 2, 2008 and continue each Tuesday with a specific breed being groomed by me with verbal detail and questioning as I go along. Its casual and you WILL learn a lot!

If scissoring is not your forte or blending EVERY thing you touch is not something you know how to do well, then these CE classes are just what you need to refresh your skills or relearn all together how to
scissor and blend every dog you do CORRECTLY!

So many groomers leave incorrect and ugly lines across the sides of so many dogs, ack! If you are doing this, stop! Its wrong and its ugly and "the client doesn't want it this way" You didn't learn to groom it the right way in the first place. If your client doesn't know any better either then its up to you as a responsible professional groomer to learn to groom each breed the correct way. This will give you a base for variety and client requests that are sstill correct. What this translates too is you can still meet your clients needs and requests and still groom the dog the correct way.

In addition to teaching you the correct way to do specific breeds, my classes are designed for groomers who want to improve their scissoring skills and to "see" what you should scissor before you do it. These courses teach breed specific pet trims for pet owners to learn to do their own dog. These courses are for anyone who wants to learn to groom that breed that day.

C'mon sign up and join us for some fun and casual weekly Breed Specific Continuing Ed grooming course each Tuesday afternoon from 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 or 3:00 depending on the breed, number in attendance and questions.

We are State Approved as of July 31, 2008

Wooo Hooooo! We recieved our state approval on July 31, 2008 as the newest accredited school in the state of Texas!

Keeping Fleas at Bay

As a professional groomer of 28 years it never ceases to amaze me that people still allow their dogs to have fleas. In this day and age there truly is no reason to have fleas if you take a few easy steps to a flea free life for the most part.

Keep your dogs groomed on a regular basis so you can see the little buggers. Roll your dog over and check the belly and genital area on a daily basis as this is where fleas can most easily be seen. Fleas prefer white dogs to darker colors when given a choice!

If you see a flea pick it off and kill it or flush it down the drain. if you see more than a flea or two bathe your dog immediately. Any shampoo is better than none at all. You can use a flea comb to drag through the wet coat if the hair is short to get the remaining dead fleas off.

Remember fleas will run up the nose, into the eyes and into the ear canal to stay alive if there is a heavy infestation. There is not body part part that is sacred to a flea or tick.

When you de-flea your dog whether you do it at home or at the groomer, you also need to fog your house. It is absolutely necessary to treat the house and yard the same time all the animals are done or they will return to a flea infested environment and have fleas again as soon as they walk in the door. There is a much safer way to keep fleas at bay with natural products which make the environment healthier for everyone, most importantly our dogs! it does take a while to move away from a chemical habitat to a natural one so don't expect miracles overnight.

Beneficial nematodes can be purchased at any organic nursery and some farm/feed stores. It takes about 6 weeks for them to get established in your soil and lawn, with regular watering for about 3 weeks. They last a couple years once established and eat fleas, ticks, and fire ants! I used to spread them every couple years, now I do it yearly. I would rather take all the precautions and use bugs to eat bugs than use chemicals on the yard. I haven't had to do that in
almost 20 years. The Beneficial Nematodes will take care of the bugs none of us want if you take care of them and keep them watered so they can live in this ferocious heat.

Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth is safe and nontoxic and destroys intestinal parasites physically by injuring them. The shell particles of the DE are sharp enough to cut the parasites but are not harmful to humans and animals. DE is a natural and safe way to kill parasites without chemicals.

Regular bathing, keeping your dogs coat shorter, using one of the topical flea treatments such as Frontline Plus if you are infested, along with keeping the yard flea free will ensure a happy, healthy summer for your dog and your family!

If you have fleas in the house, you will have to chemically fog every room in your house for about three weekends in a row to really kill them all. The cans of spray say they cover more square footage but in order to effectivly kill fleas and eggs, it has been my experience that it takes three applications in a row.

If you walk your dog or go to the dog park or lake you might snag a bottle of flea spray like Adams to use during the outing. This will kill fleas on your dog and leave enough of a residual while you are out to hopefully avoid any new hitchhikers from jumping on your dog. Avoid getting into the eyes or letting your dog inhale the fumes from the spray as this is a poison.
I prefer an organic or natural spray as preventative but in case of infestation and instant kill so y ou don't bring them home, chemical is ok. Just bathe the dog when you get home to get the dead fleas and chemicals off.

Once you have the fleas under control if you have to use chemicals it will take approx 3 months before you can use the BN's for your yard. I've had to do both but prefer an all natural form of bug free war fare for the safety and health of my dogs.

Its an all out war to keep fleas and ticks at bay during the hot months but if you follow these steps you should be able to prevent them as well as get rid of them while making a healthy chemical-free environment for you and your dogs!

Don't shave the dog!

As a professional groomer of both pet and show dogs I hear this at least 5 times a week. Client walks in with a matted-to-the-skin dog and says, "Don't shave the dog" My reply is they will need to take the dog home and brush him/her out then. As professionals, we know the difference between a dog that can safely be brushed out without hurting the dog or damaging the skin. There is a point of no return and when the safety of the dog is at risk, professional/educated groomers do not dematt!

Think about this...if you didn't brush your hair for 6 months do you think you could easily get a brush through that mess? Nope! Same with your dog. Bathing a matted dog makes the matts worse. They shrink (like wool) and get tighter when water is added to the already dirty, matted coat.

Groomers do not make the decision of whether to shave a dog or not....the client does. If you bring a matted dog in to be groomed the only safe option is to shave the dog and start over. If your dog won't let you brush him/her then s/he isn't going to let us do it either. Be smart and keep your dog in a cute, short clip that is easily maintained by monthly grooming appointments. If you keep your dog in a short trim and maintain it, then you should not have to do much in between grooming appointments, provided you get your dog in every 4 - 6 weeks depending on breed.

Don't shave the dog? BRUSH you dog and we won't have to shave him/her!