Tips for New Groomers

I thought I write a little about what to do if you're a new groomer, whether you are self-taught or coming out of dog grooming school.

A great source of information is the forums on petgroomer.com. Groomers from all over the country and beyond are contributing to the threads on this website. You can ask a question or try to answer one or just put in your own two-cents. You can find other groomers in your area and actually meet them. It's always nice to have a friend who is interested in talking about dogs so you don't bore your other friends and family members.

Dog Grooming Books that are great to own:

• Notes from the Grooming Table by Melissa Verplank

Excellent detailed drawings and instructions on how to groom many, many breeds. Instructions for show trims as well as pet trims. And in the back there are some sections on how to groom mixed-breeds, broken down by hair type.
Melissa recently published a pocket size version that is a little abbreviated but still very nice to have if you need something small to carry around.
The original is still my personal favorite.

• The All Breed Dog Grooming Guide by Sam Kohl

A basic book on how to groom most breeds. Not as detailed as the Melissa Verplank book but a little smaller and less expensive and still very good.

Trade Shows
Trade shows are a great place to meet other groomers are looking to improve and keep up on the latest trends and products. Trade shows are always held in conjunction with grooming competitions, demonstrations, presentations, seminars, and classes. Search the internet for dog grooming trade shows near you. In the northeast U.S. there is Intergroom in NJ in April and GroomExpo in Hershey, PA in September.

Intergroom is the largest international conference of its kind in the world. Over 2,000 dog and cat groomers from over 20 different countries attend Intergroom yearly.At the conference held in the United States each year, Intergroom always begins with an international grooming competition that leads to the title of "Intergroom International Groomer of the Year" - one of the most prestigious awards in the the world of grooming. The quality of grooming is extremely high and the competition is keen as top groomers from the United States, Canada, England, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore, compete for over $20,000.00 in cash, trophies, rosettes and prizes.

Groom Expo, the biggest educational seminar and trade show for the petcare professional in the world, is held yearly in Hershey, Pennsylvania. It is Barkleigh's flagship show. Groom Expo drew 170 exhibitors and nearly 3800 attendees in 2007. Eight educational seminars are in progress at all times during the weekend. Included is an IJA sanctioned grooming contest, Barkleigh Creative Styling Contest and much more. Barkleigh is the producer of many shows for groomers as well as other shows for other pet industry professionals. Barkleigh Productions Calendar of Events