Setting the Standard

As a veteran groomer, I have been hearing about the licensing issue since I plugged in my first clipper. Whenever a tragedy involving a pet happens in a grooming salon, it’s always followed by a great clamor for mandatory licensing.

In 2006, when a greyhound died of heatstroke in a Massachusetts salon, her owners understandably demanded answers. How could this happen and what could they do to prevent another such occurrence?

That same year, New York considered a bill to license groomers after two pets died at a grooming business. That event garnered widespread coverage from CNN and prompted a Wall Street Journal article about the risks involved in using pet grooming services.

In all cases, the legislation either died outright or was “taken under advisement” for future action, meaning it was consigned to legislative limbo. As of 2011, not one state has passed legislation requiring vocational licensing of pet groomers, but the discussion continues.

Below the state level, however, local municipalities do require groomers to be licensed. If your business is within city limits, the city issues the license; in a rural area, the county may be the licensing agent. But this not a vocational license. It simply means that you can legally conduct business in a particular location, whether you are an antiques dealer, an auto parts store or a groomer. Vocational licensing, on the other hand, ensures that practitioners of certain occupations meet standards of knowledge, safety and cleanliness. It is required of human hairstylists, barbers, manicurists and healthcare professionals, but, so far, pet groomers have remained under the radar when it comes to this type of regulation.

As anyone who is a parent or a pet owner knows, accidents do happen. Tragically, there have been cases where dogs have strangled on cables or grooming nooses, broken legs jumping off or tipping over grooming tables or experienced serious allergic reactions to grooming products. Such situations would not happen if the person in charge practiced common sense, was attentive to the innocent beings in their care and observed strict safety precautions. But would government licensing prevent these worst-case scenarios?

Without vocational licensing, pets may well be at risk in the hands of unqualified or unscrupulous groomers. Unless pet owners do their homework, they may never know that their groomer never attended grooming school, apprenticed with an experienced professional or achieved certification as a skilled pet care professional. There are still groomers who hang out their shingles without a background of apprenticeship or formal training.

Like the bills submitted in New York, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, a 2005 attempt to license pet groomers in California met with great concern and criticism from groomers—not about the concept itself, but for the manner in which it would be written.

The problem with groomer-licensing bills is that, more often than not, they are written by non-groomers. The California bill would have required groomers to have water available to dogs at all times, even on the grooming table.

The Massachusetts bill stated that, “Each pet shall be caged separately.” This would not sit well with the owner with a pair of Poodles who insists that her babies be kept together. It further mandated that “pets shall not be left unattended.” No groomer with any common sense would walk away from a tethered dog on a table or in the tub, but exactly how do you define “unattended?” Is that freshly groomed cocker sitting in a cubby awaiting pickup “unattended?”

“Sanitary conditions shall be maintained at all times,” was another requirement in the Massachusetts bill. That’s a laudable goal, but how do you define “sanitary?” That could be a trick question in a room full of animals whose owners may have forgotten to walk them before drop-off.


Certification Programs
Lacking state-imposed vocational licensing, groomer certification programs have emerged as an alternative way to let pet owners know that the pet groomer has sought and received training of his or her own volition and undergone performance testing. While it is not a replacement for vocational licensing, certification can build consumer confidence and provide a higher level of training to pet stylists.

Becoming certified requires time, money and effort. You often need to travel with your pets or those provided by loyal clients to certification sites. It involves both written and hands-on testing of the correct way to groom the various breeds according to the official American Kennel Club (AKC) standard. Written tests cover dog and cat health, anatomy and breed information.

While becoming certified is by no means a requirement to achieving success in this business, it does carry with it a certain pride in the accomplishment, boosting a groomer’s confidence and self-esteem. If it is publicized, as it should be, it lets the public know that the groomer has achieved a level of knowledge and skill, thus making them a better groomer. Certifications should be displayed prominently in the shop and any titles earned should be included in ads and on business cards, signage and the business’ website.

Groomers who avail themselves of the vast array of seminars and hands-on grooming demonstrations at national and regional grooming conventions and trade shows like Groom Expo, Super Zoo, Intergroom, the All American Grooming Show and the annual event offered by the New England Pet Grooming Professionals (NEPGP) should publicize that too. It’s the best form of free advertising. If a groomer wins any awards in the grooming competitions held at these prestigious shows, they should toot their own horn about it.


Kathy Salzberg is a Certified Master Groomer and writer. She and her daughter, Missi Salzberg, own The Village Groomer and Pet Supply in Walpole, Mass., one of New England’s busiest grooming salons, and recently collaborated on the third edition of their book, “How to Start a Home-Based Pet Care Business,” published by Globe-Pequot Press (www.GlobePequot.com). It is now available at bookstores and Amazon.com.