Question to Post Here Too (Dog Grooming)

I put this on Breedia too, but looking for as much feedback as I can find. I am on a path to find steady income. Most of the retail jobs around here...heck most jobs in any field around here are part time. If they want to give you 8 hours one week and 20 the next they can. You're merely a number on a spreadsheet filling in hours.

I got the idea of dog grooming. I know the downsides of cranky dogs and owners, being damp and fur covered much of the day. But I'm good with dogs and humans, even the cranky ones, I'm strong enough to lift a Mastiff almost my own size, don't mind physical discomfort.

I've also noticed there is a call for experienced groomers around here...full time too, very inviting indeed. So where do I begin? There are training courses, but there are probably a bunch of fly by nights there too. I'd consider apprenticing for free at this point if it will get me somewhere.

Open to any suggestions. Thanks!

Hi Leslie I am not quite sure how things work in the USA or how you are supporting yourself now.

I would look at the courses available also check out a groomer with a good reputation and maybe offer your services to help for free when you have spare time .

Most places require experience, but perhaps you can allow them to see your skills. Some grooming jobs require meticulous skill. You will need training for that.

I was able to volunteer at a few senior homes with Nigredo while he was in training. They observed his temperament, checked his health files, and he was good to go. He failed his exam, but it was because his leave it faltered, but the places still let us visit. Volunteering can be a great way to get a job somewhere.

Many people think dog grooming is an easy job, it's not. Nigredo has his nails get way too long and they were forced to cut into the quick as it was all the way to the bottom of the nail.

They had to rush to stop the bleeding and were only lucky my 90 lb dude is wonderfully behaved, or someone could have gotten bitten. Bathing, nail trimming, and a few other jobs are part of a groomers responsibility.

See I think I have more patience and a better personality with critters than some people. I have a quiet deep voice...Lauren Bacall? Heeheehee...but really notice critters and a lot of grown men respond to it. I'm one of those people that dog owners will say "Wow! He doesn't usually let strangers walk up and pet him like that!".

I'm also creative and I've styled and cut people hair. I know it's a totally different thing but definitely some useful things to get me stated somewhere. Then there's the icky stuff like anal glands. But even that-Chii our cat had an infected bite last year and I did the flushing and cutting away dead skin and fur.

Totally gross but I knew what I was doing and she healed very nicely after I stayed on it a few weeks. So yeah I think I have potential.

Excellent! Go have a few asks around and see what you get. I'm not current looking for a job due to my home situation and health problems that keep me pinned here, but I've always known that volunteering helps to get a job. I enjoy it, anyway.

Nigredo and I are going down to the pet blood bank on Friday to donate some of his blood to help save other pets. It's always nice to just be able to help someone, getting paid is an added bonus.

Oh, and our old tomcat Goo Goo had an infected bite. The smell was horrendous and it caused him so much pain. He had an abscess the size of a lemon on his poor face. Took two weeks of expensive medication ($13 per pill, given once daily for two weeks) and constant wound tending and finally, he healed up. It was horrible.

Yeah, Chii should be the image of Grumpy Cat...always picking fights over nothing. We called her the Phantom of the Opera while she was healing. The skin on her face sloughed from forehead to cheek. Then amazingly the new skin healed where it was supposed to and the fur grew back in. Now she just has two light scar lines under her ear and eye.

Oh, she is a pretty cat. Glad she healed fine. My brownie was mauled by a chow chow (he mauled back) and the hair never grew back on his scars.