Dog Grooming Success Stories

Laura Abrams : Furry Tails Dog Grooming Salon

Around 7 years ago after 1st becoming a dog owner myself, my love of dogs and animals began to grow. Now, as a proud owner of two labradoodles, who went for regular grooms, I became fascinated with my groomer's role and longed to be able to have the skills myself.

As a staff nurse working full-time in a hospital, a career in dog grooming was a far cry from the one I had. Nevertheless, my so-called pipedream eventually became a reality! A reality thanks purely to the training I undertook at Anrich.

I was very excited to start my diploma in professional dog grooming at Annrich and let's just say the course did not disappoint! From the word go their, friendly interpersonal touch made you feel right at home, following a warm welcome and introduction to our brilliant tutor Yvette, the hands on practical work started from day one.

Over the course of the next five weeks, I was given the opportunity to groom and style over 40 different dogs from every breed group, with the knowledge and expertise of wonderful tutors, led by the patient and and talented Yvette, a fantastic groomer, who really helped me develop my confidence, knowledge and skills.

Also on the course there was the opportunity to develop my knowledge and understanding of setting up a business, including advertising and marketing oneself, and also theory based lectures on animal health care and first aid. Each of the lectures were extremely beneficial in when putting things into practice.

After 5 fun filled week at Anrich, not only had I acquired a good foundation of skills to become a competent groomer, I had also developed my knowledge of canine anatomy, healthcare, temperament and handling. The course is extremely hands on. The Fabulous team of tutors are incredibly patient and supportive, namely Yvette, whom I cannott thank enough!

There was a lovely atmosphere on the course, a small interpersonal feel with around 5/6 other students. There were also all the necessary tools and apparatus required to groom to a high standard. I made some good friends on the course, and now 2 years post qualification I am still in touch with the ladies I trained with, both they, and Yvette remain a helpful source of support and information in regard to all things dog grooming.

I set up my own salon following completion of my course and following the marketing advice and information I was given at Anrich, I developed a large bank of loyal and reliable regular customers. In less than 12 months I had to close my books as I was unable to take on any new customers. I have now been up and running for two years and I'm still grooming all the same dogs that I opened up with 2 years ago. To be part of their grooming routine and see each dog and its owner on a regular basis is such an honour.

I absolutely love the job that I do, I enjoy every day..no two days are ever the same. I am so glad I attended Anrich, it is the best decision I have ever made. The course facilitated the opportunity for me to have my dream job and I recommend anybody with the same dream do the same!

Kaye fodden : K's K9 Kutz

After working in an office environment for over 30 years, I decided I needed a change. I became interested in dog grooming after my own dog was groomed by a local dog groomer, realising it wasn’t the best cut, started to look into dog grooming courses. I choose Anrich because I was impressed by their training methods, the set up and the environment. You were hands on from day 2 and every day for 5 weeks, I worked on a variety of breeds all with different styles. In addition, Anrich taught me how to set up my own business, build a web site, advertise, clean and maintain my equipment, first aid on a dog and general health checks to look out for whilst grooming the dog. This course gave me the knowledge and confidence I needed to start my own business, the girls are always there at the end of the phone, to help and advice even when I had finished my course.

Even though I am a single parent and had left the security of a full time job to have a complete career change, I can honestly say it was the best decision, because now I am self-employed with my own little set up in the back garden which enables me to dictate when and how many hours a day I want to work, giving me freedom to walk my own dogs daily and be at home for my children.

If you have an interest in dogs and dog grooming, then take the plunge, because once you have a client base and word gets around, your reputation will grow too. It really was the best move for me.

Ray Forsaw : ParknBark Dog Grooming Salon

After being a farmer all my life I decided that it was time for a change and a new challenge and my passion for dogs led me to follow the path to become a professional dog groomer. At home I have 4 dogs of my own Tippi a border collie, Teddy a border collie and 2 elderly West Highland Terriors Sidney and Lucy.

I enrolled on the professional dog grooming course at Anrich and it was the best thing I have ever done. After graduating I set up a mobile dog grooming business ParknBark 2 years ago and I am delighted to say my new career has really taken off . I am fully booked and very busy. I am doing something I really enjoy which is working with dogs, meeting people and their pets and I have the freedom of working for myself with the hours to suit me. Going mobile with my trailer was the ideal set up for me and I love being out and about. Besides going to the customers at home I regularly visit local caravan parks in the area and have built up good client bases there. I believe I have found a niche in the market for grooming the bigger breeds such as Newfoundlands ,German shepherds, Old english sheepdogs as well as all the other breeds and no 2 days are ever the same.

It is all thanks to tutors and the great course at Anrich. Whilst training I groomed a wide variety of dogs and we were grooming every day, it was very hands on. The tutors and the support and guidance was great. The set up at Anrich not only covers the grooming side it also covered advertising and setting up your own business as well as animal health care and first aid. As I had been a farmer all my life this was a huge change for me but I received loads of help and advice about advertising and setting up a website and my own business and I have never looked back.

Here I am pictured below with one of my customers Crufts champion the beautiful 'Zefathers What It Takes ' otherwise known as Bella who I groomed in preparation for her first showing at Crufts and she went on to scoop 3 top awards in three categories this year. Best puppy bitch, best puppy in breed and Reserve Champion Bitch.

Linzi Mellett : The Pet Parlour

Prior to becoming a dog groomer three years ago, I had worked as a cabin crew member for twenty sevenyears. I had been thinking of a career change for a few years, and had looked into various training courses/occupational paths with the focus on working for myself.

I absolutely love animals, particularly dogs – I had always had a family pet growing up, and am the proud owner of Syd, an adorable little maltipoo. The grooming salon where I used to take Syd was always booked up six weeks in advance, so I knew that good groomers were in demand.

When the opportunity arose for me to use an outbuiding at my parents home in Blackrod, I jumped at the chance to renovate it into a grooming salon, and began to research dog grooming courses. I looked at a few and opted for the five week course that Anrich ran. I am so glad that I did! This hand on, practical course is absolutely fantastic. From the word go you are allowed to practice bathing, preparing, clippering, nail trimming etc. At first I thought ‘I am not going to be able to do this’. This was a huge change for me! Operating a pair of clippers on a moving object was slightly scary and I was a little apprehensive. But within a matter of days I started to feel confident and relaxed. The tutors Yvette and Adele were very supportive. They were with you every step of the way, guiding you through the steps with their knowledge and expertise. I found the five week duration of the course to be just right with the adequate amount of theory and practical content. The advertising and marketing training given by James was extremely beneficial. We all came away from this training day with a wealth of knowledge on building a website and social media advertising ie designing a business facebook page.

One of the things I took away from the course was that dog grooming isn’t all about grooming!..... a large part of it is about dog handling, and learning that what works for one dog might not work for another. You have to be very patient and keep your cool when trying to groom a dog who doesn’t necessarily want to be groomed! I named Yvette ‘The Dog whisperer’ because she was the best dog handler I have ever come across!!

So with all this knowledge I had acquired and the training I had accomplished at Anrich, I was ready to start off on my own. I had my premises up and running for when I finished the course (purchasing my equipment during my course with the advice/recommendations given from the tutors). I advertised on my Pet Parlour Facebook Page for models, offering free grooms for the duration of one month. Then for the next several months, after every groom, with the permission of the dogs owner, I would post a photograph and a little write up about my four legged customers that day. From here my business took off! And within nine months I had built up a customer base of just short of 200 dogs!.... and had to close my books to any new customers. I found that my customers liked the one to one, personal service I was giving and did not want to go anywhere else.

If I can give you the perks and downsides to dog grooming, starting with the downsides! Dog grooming can be challenging sometimes and is physically hard work….. you are stood on your feet all day!

The Perks…. It is really rewarding. I still get a tear in my eye seeing a delighted owners face when they pick up their sprucely groomed pooch! I have built up a wonderful relationship with my dogs owners who I know trust me implicitly.

If you choose to work for yourself, I think anyone who has been their own boss will tell you its perks. You can take time off when you want – I’ll never have to work over xmas or new year again!

So my advice to anyone thinking about becoming a dog groomer is - from one dog lover to another, we all know how much we adore our pets, so with this awareness and the excellent training provided from Anrich, along with your personal commitment, hard work and a passion to succeed, you can be as successful as I have been. Once you have a client base and word gets around, your reputation will grow and you’ll be set up for life!

Contact Details:

Christine Foster

Tel: 01942 242001

Email: chris@groomingcourses.co.uk

Dog Grooming Courses @ Anrich

19 Caroline Street

Wigan

WN3 4EL

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