20 years + → “Still learning new techniques all the time and loving it!”

20 years + → “40 years…all but 12 in my own business.”

Professional Grooming School → “Pet's Playground Grooming School in Pompano Beach, Florida. I am 350 hours into a 600 hour class. I go M through F. It has taken me about 3 months to get half way through. I assume the entire 600 hour program will take me about 6 months. The school is accredited. The instructors are amazing. All having been in the industry for years. Everyday hands on experience. I am very happy I chose this school and new path for myself. I am excited!”

Self-Taught → “Wanted to learn to groom my dog. Watched tutorials on my phone and videos on YouTube.”

Apprenticeships → “I was blessed at a young age to start working at a kennel. The groomer there had been grooming for about 5 years and taught me. At even a younger age I had studied canine anatomy and had religiously attended dog shows and of course, all the family dogs 🐕 and I had nails, ears, brush, comb, bathing and trimming done by myself..♡”

Self Taught → “Self taught by watching YouTube videos. A lot of trial and error on my own Aussiedoodle and standard poodle for a year or so. Then slowly expanded to friends and family dogs, and the rest is history!”

Too Many To Count → ”After 28+ years grooming. We can’t please everyone even though we think the pet looked great ☹️”

Too Many To Count → “I’ve been grooming for 40 years. I remember the big or nasty complaints, those are under 10, but lesser ones not so much.”

Selected 5-10 → “This is for a 40 year career. I always fire aggressive dogs, so that’s hardly a client since it almost always happens on the first groom. Several times I have fired people who call every hour to see if their dog is ready and I do fire the rude ones, but that hasn’t happened very often. Misunderstandings can usually be cleared up with a calm explanation. If they are then still yelling at me or using foul language, I tell them I am certain that since I can’t satisfy their needs, I am sure they’ll have better luck looking for a different groomer who can.”

Selected 1-3 → “Two clients had aggressive dogs that wanted to take my face off, who needs the aggravation of trying to calm an unruly animal? I didn’t even charge them for all the work I had accomplished for fear that they would give me a bad review. I apologized and told them I tried, but didn’t want the animal to get more stressed out. I thought that was the best way to handle the circumstances.”

Selected 10+ → “Fired for general verbal abuse towards my staff or myself. Fired for being unhappy with a short cut on a pelted dog. Constant no shows or canceling. The last person I almost fired came in yelling at me for not informing her of my new location, mind you I’d moved 3 months before, and handled it calmly and told her to take her dogs and go. No longer welcome as I will not be screamed at in my salon. ”

Selected 5-10 → “Bad dogs or bad people, after 36 yrs in this business I don’t tolerate either anymore “