Professional Dog Grooming by Jen
About us
Jen
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Once I arrived back in England from travelling America in 2013, I pondered, “What job would I love to do the most?” With having a passion for working with animals and growing up with dogs, cats, chickens, hamsters, rabbits…I could go on, I thought, “I want to work with dogs”. I scanned job search websites and came across the most ideal start up position for me, ‘Junior Dog Washer’. I could not believe my luck when I was offered the job on the spot.
I bathed dogs and began learning the basics of dog grooming within the year.
The end of 2014 drew near and I craved a change of scenery, so I packed a case and headed to Australia where I ran a busy salon with an amazing Dog Groomer whom taught me so much and even gave me the confidence to run the salon alone on the days she was not working. I received wonderful feedback.
Several months later, I felt it was time for me to move on to a more independent role.
Again, I landed a position at a very popular Pet store chain with a highly reputable dog grooming salon. I was the head dog groomer and the only dog groomer in the salon. The response from my new customers was overwhelming and I even made a few friends for life working at this particular salon.
The time came for me to flourish to an even bigger challenge. I scored big with my next role and even took a few customers with me who travelled across the busy city of Melbourne just so I would be the one to groom their dogs.
My new role was head dog groomer and dog grooming trainer/teacher. That’s right, I was now in my absolute element; teaching students with no experience to learn the basics and passing them once I felt they were confident to groom. Included in this role was to train the in house dog bather to groom, not only the basics but breed clips, health and safety and even from my own experiences that weren’t in the syllabus provided by the salon.
I worked in this role for 2 and a half years, specialising in small breeds, breed clips, unpredictable and elderly dogs. This was until I decided to take my talent to the road, well, kind of. I was a mobile dog groomer. This enabled me to get to know the dogs in their own environment, wether they were nervous with all the sounds a salon made and I really got to know the owners. I have very strong relationships with these customers who I now call life long friends who trusted me to care for their dogs for days at a time or even just to take them for a walk.
Hannah
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Upon leaving school, I was rather unsure of what I wanted to pursue in terms of career aspirations. I went on to study a Level 3 Animal Management course at Lancaster and Morecambe College. The course consisted of a range of modules including animal health, biology, welfare ecology and conservation, and business. It also required undertaking work placements in the pet care industry - this is how I came across T.O.G!
Spending time with a range of dog breeds and realising that I am loving what I am doing I joined
T.O.G as an apprentice after doing several weeks there as placement through college. I found out what I want to do with my career path. I spoke to Jen about if I could join the team and she was delighted so I finished college to stay at T.O.G and never looked back since. I am currently training to become a professional dog groomer and look to work my way up the ladder to the top in T.O.G the business. On the side of working as a dog groomer I am wanting later down the line to open my own business as a doggy day care centre to help your furry friends out whilst you guys as owners are working. Maintaining a dog's physical appearance is important but so is exercise so this is why l am combining my roles as two separate jobs later down the line but making sure everyone's dogs get the care and attention they need to be happy.
As you would likely expect for somebody within this job role - it is no secret that I have always had a great passion for animals. I've grown up with pets, owning both dogs and cats throughout my lifetime. I currently own a miniature dachshund called cooper and a labradoodle called autumn I have had them both since pups and love having them as companions.