Dog Grooming

Hi, I am new to this and would like some advice on dog grooming courses. I live in Cork ad would love to learn to groom pets and make a living out of it. Has any one recently opened up this type of busness? Is it doing well?

Has any one advice on which course would be the most beneficial? I heard the course offered by St. Johns College isn't up to much..has any one completed it?

Should I just learn with a groomer privately?

Any advice or comments would be greatly appreciated

For what its worth, the groomer I use charges E35 (small dog) and you could be waiting 3-4 weeks for an appointment. Her 'salon' is a small room in her garage, maybe 12' x 12'. Seems to me she is always busy and is a nice money-earner.

That's what i've heard too, charges are high and from the research I have done so far there seems to be a shortage of groomers around Cork, with waiting lists from 3 - 6 weeks.

Thanks for the reply baldyman27! Much appreciated, any more people want to give me their thoughts/comments on the pet grooming situation in Cork, i'd be very grateful

Hi There,
I just saw you post and decided to write back, dog grooming is great, I run a shop in Blackrock Dublin, The Grooming Pad and am a member of the IPDGA If you are looking for someone to train you who is reliable in the Cork area you should look up the ipdga site. com and look for Natasha, she is a wonderful groomer and you will not be disappointed in her training courses. If you are going to someone, make sure they are City and Guilds Advanced Level 3 groomer or more, this will more or less guarantee taht your tutor knows what they are talking about. And yes I am one of these and do run courses. I hope this helps you, its a wonderful business, I love it and really enjoy turning a messy dog into a nice happy puppy.

I think it's a thriving business at the moment.

I recently went to a ladies home and she asked if i would be able to do something with her dog lol ( i'm a hairdresser have no experience with dog's what so ever ) so i said no i'd not have a clue what i was doing.

She rang to make an appointment for her dog and was told they had nothing for 5 weeks. So there seems to be a shortage if i'm being ask to do a dog!!!!

I took my dog to a groomer in Ballincollig - just outside Cork last week and paid €50. I got my own hair cut the day before and it cost less! I'll shop around next time!

Nolo77 if you want the number of the girl that does my dogs just PM me, she charges E35. They are only small terriers though so maybe your's might be more if its a bigger dog. She's in Ovens.

I would have imagined that dog-grooming would be one of the first things to be affected in the recession.