Hi everyone

I would really love to become a dog groomer but I don't know where to start. I have a Shih Tzu, and my boyfriend has a Bichon Frise and a Standard Poodle that are taken to the groomers, but i'd love to be able to do it myself and maybe one day make a living from it. Does anyone know how I can get started? Is there a course I can do to become properly qualified?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks very much!

Lucy

I can certainly recommend the Oxford Training School.  I trained there, worked there and with the benefit of their training, made a very successful living with my own parlour for 16 years!
They will teach you to trim to the breed standard, rather than become a "sheep shearer" - there are enough of those around already!!
Good luck with your life change!!

Do the Oxford training school offer residential training? As I live in Birmingham.

Do they have a website/could you tell me how to get in contact and find out more?

Thank you for your help!

Lucy

Yes they do.  Although the cost looks a bit daunting, their motto used to be "After 4 weeks here, even as a novice, your trim will be better than the untrained groomer down the road!"  If you do what they teach you, you'll have the course fee earned in no time at all"
Have a look here http://www.charneykennels.co.uk/courses.htm

This looks so wonderful! I've sent them an e-mail to ask for their more detailed brochure! I'm so excited now! I just checked with thetrainline.com and realised it only takes an hour on the train from where I live to get to Oxford so I probably wouldn't need the accomodation either! It's also about half the price of another grooming course i've looked at. Thank you so much I am really really grateful! :-)

You're very welcome.  If you learn to trim to the breed standard, people will travel for miles to come to you!!

Val is right about people travelling to good groomers,i have 3 groomers within 5 minutes from me,but every 2 mths. i travel 1/2 hour to a brilliant groomer,i also have shih-tzu's and this groomer is a shih-tzu breeder so she does the job perfectly each time,people are always seeking out "experienced groomers" anyone can shave a dog and there are plenty of them around!
You will find you will get most of your business through word of mouth,i have directed 3 people to this groomer and they have told their friends and so on and so on.
I wish you the best of luck,i bet you are excited :D
Let us know how you get on.

Christine :)

Hi again

While i'm waiting for the brochure to be sent, can anyone tell me if Oxford give you the city and guilds qualification upon completion of a long course? Or do they make their own awards?

They are a City & Guilds testing centre, and I believe that some experience is needed before you can sit the C & G exam (the rules change from time to time!)
You will be taught to trim to pass the C & G exam AND to trim to the breed standard - two very different things, a bit like driving to pass your test!!  If you want a successful business, you need to be trimming to the breed standard!
I "retired" last year and couldn't recommend another groomer in my area, although there were 10 within a 5 mile radius.  I had over 20 dogs wanting to travel 100 miles each way, every 8 weeks, because their owners want them to look like the breed they have bought and not shaved sausages with 4 matchsticks for legs!

Hi Lessthanlucy,
I wish you all the luck with your Dog Grooming training etc..
This is something I am interested in but in New Zealand there just isn't any training anywhere, so I keep getting dead ends. 
All the best for the future!!!!!!

I am starting a grooming course at Kingston Maurward college Dorset in April, they have had to put on an extra course because so many people wanted to do it, I am looking forward to it,

How much is this course costing you woodsford?

lessthanlucy, in my experience, courses at colleges have completely different content and teaching to those courses at working grooming parlours.  It would be interesting to compare the syllabus of each in this case.

This is a 6 week course  just teaching the basic, it is £95, to do a part time course is about £230, if i get on with the course this time i might enrol on the part time one. these courses are very popular,if they hadn't put on this extra one I would have  had to wait until sept, i applied in January.