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How Many Pets a Day Should You Groom?

I often say there are shades of gray in pet grooming.

How many dogs a day you should groom is one of the BIG gray areas! The number will be different for everybody. Some people feel overwhelmed grooming even three dogs in a full day. Other people can do 16 while barely breaking a sweat.

Here are just a handful of the scenarios affecting the number of dogs that might be groomed in a day.

Level of grooming experience
Work space setup
Equipment
Salon location
Salon type
Size of salon/mobile setup
Working solo or with assistance
Pet size
Type of grooms – low maintenance, bath and brush, show trim styles
Personal motivation
Your personality
Financial need

I’m sure you could add a few more to this list!

Typically, when someone first graduates from grooming school or is new to the industry, productivity is not high on their skill list. Rather, their focus is on thoroughness, quality, and safety.

New groomers will improve their speed as they develop skills and confidence. They need experience. They need coaching. They need guidance to create an effective grooming system. The system allows thoroughness while enhancing the quality of their work and the pace in which they do it.

If you’re a seasoned pet stylist, you’ve learned many of the tricks that allow you to be efficient. You’ve learned how to quickly assess a pet and easily determine its grooming needs. You are thorough. You work safely. You have a strong base of repeat customers.

Over the years I’ve seen beginners struggle to get through three dogs. I’ve seen highly efficient, seasoned stylists get through 16 or more dogs in the single day and still have the time and energy to have a little “me time” that evening. Where do you fall on the scale? Where would you like to be?

Being able to work quickly and skillfully can also be impacted by the layout of your work space. Are you set up for maximum efficiency? A bad layout will add unnecessary footsteps to your day and waste your time and energy.

Your equipment, tools, and products will also help or hurt you. Many products will enhance your speed and the quality of your final product. Do you have access to high-quality, time-saving, products and tools? When used correctly, they are well worth the investment and can help you groom more pets efficiently.

If you are a solo stylist either in your own salon or mobile setting, 6 to 8 dogs will likely be your maximum. In addition to grooming pets, independent business owners have a wide range of duties and responsibilities. They are the receptionist, the bookkeeper, the marketer, the janitor, and the record keeper – along with every other task it takes to run a successful business. If you are a mobile stylist, you also have driving and van maintenance added to your list of responsibilities.

Efficiency comes into play when pet grooming establishments start building a team. You cannot build a successful business or team with inefficient team members. Inefficient teams will not be able to groom as many pets as their efficient counterparts.

Financial need affects dog numbers. To get a decent paycheck, everyone needs to pull their weight. If you are hired onto a team or work with an assistant, you will have quotas to meet. Some quotas are determined by dog numbers. Other businesses use financial sales volume. Both help determine how many dogs are groomed each day.

Typically, once you start working with others, dog volume increases. In most salons, a team of people working together will be expected to do a minimum of eight dogs a day or more. When you’re working within a team, everybody has a specialty. Each person can focus on what they do best, whether it’s customer service, bathing and drying, or pet trimming and styling. If you have an assistant doing the bathing and drying for you, the number of pets might jump from 6-8 to 12-14. Let’s face it – bathing and drying dogs takes time! If a shop has a good bather/prepper, you can easily groom more pets in a day.

The type of trim combined with the sizes of dogs being done will make a huge difference in how many pets can be done each day. A #7F All on a six-week regular Shih Tzu is much different from a longer guard comb trim with stylized scissored legs. What happens if you increase the size of the dog? Larger dogs simply take much more time. To me, a Doodle is the equivalent of two or three smaller dogs, depending on the type of haircut it is getting.

For many pet professionals, WHY you groom pets will also influence how many dogs you groom in a day. One of the amazing things about our industry is we all love dogs. There are those who really enjoy taking their time with the grooming process and will groom fewer pets. There are those who will try to help as many pets as they can in a single day. Others enjoy the creativity. Some enjoy the flexibility the career offers while others are motivated by the career opportunities. There are also groomers that simply enjoy earning a living by doing something they love.

How many dogs should you groom each day? There are lots of gray areas so there is no right answer. Whatever your motivation, no matter how many dogs you groom each day, the most important thing should always be the health and safety of the pets entrusted to you.

Happy trimming!

Melissa

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The Secret to Handling Challenging Dogs

Dollarphotoclub_57676672 In my years of teaching new pet groomers, I’ve seen hundreds of dogs take advantage of a new students. Dogs pull, squirm, whine, snarl… and bite. I’ve seen many students frustrated to the point of tears.

Then a miracle happens.

An instructor will walk over to the pet and gently take over for the student. Suddenly, this challenging pet turns into a perfect angel. The students’ jaw drops. A moment in stunned silence passes before the student exclaims, “How did you do that?!” The answer is simple:

Energy.

Dogs have keen senses and an uncanny ability to pick up on our energy and our confidence. They read us clearly even when we don’t think we are connecting to them. In the example above, the dog picked up on the instructor’s energy without a word having to be said.

Dogs are primarily nonverbal communicators. They have a language of their own. They are very clear in the messages that they give us. It is up to us to be able to interpret that language.

The #1 rule when working with pets is to remember the three C’s. As a professional you must remain: Calm, Cool, and Collected in ALL circumstances. The second you step out of this energy mode, the dog pet will know it.

Dogs are hardwired to think like dogs. They need a pack leader. If you do not exude the three C’s, dog language translates that to “poor leader.” The pet will not follow you. It will not cooperate with you.

So how do you gain the upper edge in this situation? Believe it or not, it all starts with your BREATHING.

I know it sounds far-fetched. How could something we do without conscious thought help in this situation?

To create a calm, cool, and collected energy, you need to be cool, calm, and collected. Deep breathing allows you body to channel that calm and focus. To make it happen, your breaths need to be deep and saturating. Breathe in slowly and deeply through your nose. Draw in the air and feel it fill your lungs. Now exhale slowly through your mouth. The most important part of deep breathing is to regulate your breaths. Three to four seconds in. Three to four seconds out.

Try it. You will feel the oxygen saturating your body. Tension begins to leave your shoulders. You will start to feel more relaxed almost immediately.

Screen-Shot-2015-11-05-at-4.08.52-PM Deep breathing can release stress and provide other noticeable health benefits. You will likely feel calmer after performing deep breathing exercises, and may trade feelings of anger or fear for a focused, relaxed state of mind. Most dogs will totally gravitate to this energy in a very positive way.

I firmly believe that 98% of all dog bites are preventable by reading the animal correctly and taking the appropriate precautions to protect yourself while gaining humane control over the pet. Your hands are your livelihood. You must take utmost care not to let your hands become injured.

Every pet is an individual with different physical and emotional characteristics. Some dogs receive clear directions and boundaries at home, making them very easy to work on in a professional setting. Other pets will not have the skills necessary to be well-mannered candidates in a professional grooming setting.

The personality quirks that you’ll experience while working professionally with pets will range from dogs that are perfect angels, to dogs that are mildly annoying, to dogs that could be potentially dangerous to work on for both the handler and to the pet itself.

Whenever working with pets it is always critical to remember the 3 C’s. As a professional you must remain calm, cool, and collected in all circumstances. And don’t forget to BREATHE.

Whenever you have a dog on a table or in your grooming facility, you must use humane, respectful, and consistent training messages. The more you can learn about dog psychology and combine it with actual experience, winning the control and the respect over the dogs will become second nature.

Always remember that dogs are primarily silent communicators. Excessive talking or giving of commands is not necessary to effectively communicate with them. Much of your control can come from maintaining the Three C’s – Always remain Calm, Cool, and Collected while working with any animal.

Any time you feel you are losing control of the three C’s, it’s time to step away from the grooming table and take a break. Breathe. Only when you can totally regain your composure is it time to step back and begin your work again.

There are many videos on Pet Handling in the Learn2GroomDogs library. Also my blog on Rating Dog Personalities is very helpful when determining how to rate personality and behavior in dogs.

Happy trimming!

Melissa

What did you think about these ideas? What do you do that works great for you? Jump on the Learn2GroomDogs.com Facebook page and tell us about it.

The 2017 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is Almost Here!

This time of year I always get excited. The 141st Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is just around the corner! For almost as long as I can remember, I have firmly planted myself in front of the TV for two nights. I would watch the show in its entirety. Why?

Because, the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is the “Superbowl” of the dog world. It is the best way to stay up to date with the latest trends and styles. I would throw a Westminster party. I loved inviting my entire grooming team over to be glued to the TV for two nights as the show aired. For days after the show, we would talk about the newest breeds that had been accepted by the AKC. The unique haircuts we saw. The latest style trends on established breeds.

The show was important for me. I was actively competing in the pet grooming contest arena. In the old days, we would record the show on VCR tapes. I can’t tell you how many times I would review those tapes before I stepped into the contest arena. Today, you can stream videos to any device or save it on DVR systems. By watching some the most spectacular dogs in the country compete at this level, I was able to get a clear image etched in my mind before I stepped into the ring at a grooming competition. Visualization is a key to success.

Secondly, I used the Westminster Dog Show as a way to help keep my grooming staff up-to-date with the latest styling trends. Once I opened The Paragon School of Pet Grooming, we continued to use the show as a key learning tool for students. The annual dog show was instrumental for students learning breed identification and trim styles.

Tune in this year and enjoy the 2017 show. The Westminster Dog Show airs Monday, February 13 LIVE ON Nat Geo WILD from 8-11 p.m. and Tuesday, February 14 is LIVE ON Nat Geo WILD from 8-11 p.m. For streaming videos of each individual breed class, click here.

Happy Trimming!

~Melissa

P.S. Do you watch? Jump on the Learn2GroomDogs.com Facebook page and tell me your thoughts about how to use this show or other resources to inspire yourself and your team.

The NEW Notes From the Grooming Table is HERE!

Notes From the Grooming Table has become an industry staple in most grooming salons. My guess is you have at least one copy tucked somewhere in your shop. Others have it right out in the open. The pages are stained, worn, and tattered.

I love seeing books that look like that!

The original Notes was released in 2004. It took three years to create the book. Lisa VanSweden did an amazing job illustrating the entire thing. It was a massive undertaking. There were times I questioned if we would ever complete it. At that time, I was questioning my sanity…

Thanks to all those copies tucked away in grooming salons and on book shelves around the world, Notes From the Grooming Table became one of the most popular grooming books ever written. I don’t question my sanity anymore.

Fast forward 10 years. The AKC was adding recognized breeds at a record pace. New grooming tools were being added to our tool kits. Coat types we had not seen before were walking into everyday pet salons. Styling trends were changing on a number of breeds. I knew it was time to think about updating Notes.

Like everyone else, I had a lot on my plate. When I first created Notes in the early 2000s, I only had one business, The Paragon School of Pet Grooming. Today I oversee four different companies, each with additional sub-companies. It was a lot easier for me to focus solely on writing the book on the first go around. Even then, there was an ongoing joke within my team. They all swore my husband Marc locked me in my home office and threw food under the door. In all honesty, they were not far off – especially in the last 6-8 months. Seven days a week with typical days running between 10-16 hours each.

We started talking about a revision in 2013, but it took until the fall of 2015 before the pieces fell together. Lisa and I felt like it was the Fall of 2003 all over again. The focus and the commitment to this revision was just as intense as the last 6-8 months on the first edition.

As we were getting close to finishing up the written section of Notes (I lost count on how many rounds of proofing went into the new version!) it dawned on us the cover needed to be updated. Hmmmm...

“How do we handle that?’ I thought to myself at the end of a very long day. We were tossing color options around and having a hard time deciding. Then it hit me. The cover should be the color of a nice glass of red wine – something we were all going to be celebrating with once this massive project was finished!

As I write this – I can see the finish line. Yesterday the very first three books hit the office HOT off the press. I don’t even think the ink was dry! We are definitely closing in on the finish line of the Notes From the Grooming Table revision. I can taste a lovely bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon about to get uncorked. If we dribble any on that new front cover, no one will know!

What’s inside? What’s new? Here’s a preview of what has been added to the Second Edition of Notes From the Grooming Table. Check it out.

THERE’S MORE! We’ve added 145 more pages.
2 NEW Bathing & Drying sections – including Hairless and Rustic Coats.
We’ve added tools and products that did not exist or were not commonly used in pet grooming prior to 2004.
Trim style trends on many of the breeds have been updated – including pattern lines and profiles.
NEW! What each dog group was designed to do.
Replaced the art on a number of illustrations to better showcase the breed.
Changed the terminology of guard combs to reflect the diverse brands in use today.
Additional illustrations to add clarity to grooming instructions.
Grooming directions for 51 new breeds added to the AKC since Notes was first released.
FINALLY! A complete index for easy reference.
Added the Miscellaneous Group section.

I’m so excited for this second release. Notes has stood the test of time and continues to be a leading reference guide in our industry. It’s been exciting to team up with Lisa VanSweden again to add all the new breeds while utilizing the easy to follow format that has made Notes From the Grooming Table so popular.

The art and diagrams as well as the easy to follow directions continue to be the hallmark of the book. Every bit of this book was created in the USA – from conception, to creation, to printing, to distribution.

I’m super excited to share this with all of you. If you loved the old Notes From the Grooming Table, you are going to LOVE the second edition!

Make sure you watch previews and announcements coming out. They will tell you where you can get your own copy in the upcoming weeks. We have some special deals we are working on right now if you are one of the first to place your order.

Happy Trimming!

~ Melissa

P.S.

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