Dog Grooming Courses

Becoming a professional Dog Groomer offers the chance of a rewarding and challenging career. The work is varied and interesting, often physically and mentally demanding. Ultimately, however, worth the effort to turn our clients’ pets from often scruffy, unhappy and overgrown members of the canine race into handsome, gleaming and stylish examples of their breed or breed type.

Good dog groomers come from all walks of life and it is important to remember that no special qualifications are required to enrol on one of our courses. What IS important is to consider for a moment whether you have the personality and qualities desirable in a dog groomer.

Our clients and their pets are the most important people in our salon, therefore they expect to deal with an understanding groomer. Someone who will assure them of their dog’s safety and welfare while being groomed no matter how nervous, aggressive or scatty the dog may be. Some clients have special requests regarding the grooming or handling of their dog and sometimes endless patience is required when discussing their needs… not to mention some diplomacy and tact! You can expect to deal with clients in all sorts of situations; for example stressed mothers on school runs, business people who have their minds elsewhere and even sulking teenagers who don’t even wish to communicate!

The dogs that we handle are as varied as their owners and they range from the sweetest, calmest dog through to the highly charged, sometimes aggressive and possibly dangerous dog. As we deal with all dogs without any form of sedative we teach our students the methods required to handle every temperament. Good manners in dogs comes from a combination of early introduction to grooming and training and a conscientious owner. Nervous owners may have nervous dogs, loud aggressive people often have similar dogs and so on.

So as you can see you will need people skills as well as a love and understanding of dogs. Dogs are very social and often tactile animals but it is important to remember that a dog under stress or away from familiar surroundings can react abnormally. As groomers we have to recognise stress signals and realise that while some dogs appreciate attention and cuddles when upset, quite a lot of dogs will see this as a threat and react defensively. However, with careful handling we have little or no problems with the vast majority of our dogs.

You should be in good physical condition before considering a course in dog grooming. Our students are often surprised at how tired they feel initially. Bear in mind that most of the day is spent on your feet; not all dogs co-operate by standing still and while we use some of the most up to date equipment on the market the dogs often arrive matted. De-matting involves lengthy but sympathetic brushing and combing which will add time and stress to your day. Every dog can expect a full grooming which always includes a bath and although electric tables do reduce the amount of lifting anyone with back problems should discuss their career choice with their physician.

ALL COURSES OFFERED ARE ON A FULL -TIME BASIS MONDAY TO FRIDAY 9AM TO 5PM.
Sorry, no evening, part-time or weekend courses.

Before committing to a course, students are advised to avail of the one week introduction course. This week is designed to give the student an insight into full time grooming in a busy salon.

With each of the training courses, (as well as receiving a year's membership to the IPDGA) each student receives the following textbooks and manuals:

• Doglopaedia
• Notes From the Grooming Table
• The Manual of Dog and Cat Grooming
• Student training manual

The theory section is to be completed at the student's convenience and before the end of the practical course.

Subjects covered in the appetiser week include:

• De-matting
• Nail care
• Skin checks
• Eye/Ear care
• Bathing
• Fluff Drying
• Breed Recognition/Styles involved
• Basic Behavioural Techniques
• Identification and recognition of External and Internal parasites, the subsequent effect on the pet they appear on, and the treatments necessary to eradicate common parasites.

All of the courses offered by Dogsbody include one year's membership to the Irish Professional Dog Groomers Association. The IPDGA is Ireland's only association dedicated to Groomers, offering up to 4 seminars per year countrywide including the annual championships and 2 day seminar held in October. The seminars are an invaluable source of information on new products and techniques. They feature top-class groomers from all over the world demonstrating their skills as well as sharing unmissable experiences and advice from their own careers. Competing gives groomers the chance to improve at their own level while having their work critiqued by the very best Master Groomers.