Pet grooming is indeed serious business. While there are many pet parents who prefer grooming their pets at home, there are also several others who opt for professional services instead.
Usually, pet parents with funds at hand, but lacking time, go in for professional help when it comes to grooming their dogs. A professional pet groomer is generally associated with a pet shop, animal hospital, kennel, animal shelter or a veterinarian’s office.
While dogs might be the most frequent to visit a professional groomer, there are many other pets that might require professional help.
A pet groomer can offer his services without a formal training under his belt. More than training, what matters in pet grooming is the amount of experience that a pet groomer has. The work profile of a pet groomer typically involves washing and grooming pets for different customers.
While there are some pet groomers that specialize in particular breeds, there can be other groomers known for their unique grooming styles as well.
A professional pet groomer must have his certification from the National Dog Groomers Association of America. Commonly referred to as the NDGAA, it offers certification that involves the two phases of National Certified Groomer and National Certified Master Groomer.
Along with written exams and practical grooming tests, the NDGAA also holds training workshops to teach prospective pet groomers specific skills for grooming short-legged terriers, long-legged terriers, sporting dogs and non-sporting dogs.
When looking for a professional pet groomer for your pet, also ensure that you opt for the one with proper NDGAA certification as well as hours of experience. Other organizations that offer certification to pet groomers in America are the International Society of Canine Cosmetologists and the International Professional Groomers. Among the various organizations offering certification for pet groomers in America, the NDGAA is probably the better known and a majority of pet groomers have the NDGAA certification.
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With several pet grooming schools operational across the country, there is no dearth of options for any person interested in becoming a pet groomer professionally. There are many schools that also offer online classes for students that are unable to attend regular classes for any reason.
A course at a pet grooming school usually covers topics such as – recognition of the breed and coat type, clipping of nails, first aid, safety, biology, cleaning of ears, grooming matted hair, anatomy, fluff drying. Certain schools also offer tutorials to create certain breed-specific patterns and haircuts.
While there are different kinds of pets that can avail the services of a professional pet groomer, cats and dogs are probably the most common visitors to such centres. Typically, services offered by pet grooming centres involve
In addition to the above-mentioned, professional grooming centres also offer services for other pets as well.
When it comes to selecting the perfect grooming services for your prized pet, do not take any shortcuts. Always research all the options at hand. Do keep the following in mind:
Selecting the perfect groomer for your dog takes a certain amount of time as well as patience. Rather than dealing with a botched-up service later on, it is better to select the proper groomer beforehand.
While special care and caution is required prior to getting an appointment with a professional groomer, even a simple walk-in cannot be taken lightly by a pet parent.
You can also check the credentials and read up actual user reviews online
There are certain things to keep in mind when deciding upon professional grooming services for your dog.
Keeping all these in mind will make your experience with a professional groomer go smoothly and without any unnecessary hassles.
Usually, queries from pet parents, when considering a professional grooming centre for their pet, shuttle between “How much do you charge?” and “When can you do it?”.
While asking these two questions is understandable, there are other queries that ought to be put up as well:
Always ask in case of doubts. Rather than coming to terms with a bad haircut or botched-up service later on, it is better to get all your facts clear at the very beginning.
For a conscientious pet parent, it is quite unnerving to leave your pet at a professional grooming centre for the first time. When it comes to your pet, always ask more questions than necessary.
Do proper research. Check and read write-ups online, as well as ask around your neighborhood, before you settle on any particular groomer as such.
Make sure that you know if the centre has certification from either National Dog Groomers Association of America (NDGAA), the International Professional Groomers or the International Society of Canine Cosmetologists. Certification is vital.
While there may be many alluring centres offering a vast range of services at attractive rates, always opt for the one with proper certification. In addition to grooming centres across the street or round the corner, there are also many Mobile Grooming centres operational as well. In such mobile centres also, certification should be the deciding point for a pet parent.
Happy grooming!
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