November 11, 2025 • 17 mins
Dog Groomer
Are you dreaming about turning your passion for pets into a rewarding career? In this episode, we sit down with Sarah Gildersleeve, a grooming professional with over 20 years of experience in the pet industry. Discover the essential skills, earnings potential, and the hustle required to thrive as a dog groomer.
From her first job bathing dogs to perfecting intricate grooming styles, Sarah shares her insights into what it takes to succeed in this fulfilling career path.
If you’ve ever thought about exploring dog grooming as a career or even as a side hustle, this conversation is packed with valuable job tips, career advice, and inspiring stories from behind the grooming table.
Want us to cover a specific job? Shoot us an email!
Music credit: Kate Pierson & Monica Nation
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:03):
Doodle people will come and say, Don't poodle my
doodle, and poodle people willsay, Don't doodle my poodle, and
I'm like, I don't know what thatyou know, like you just tell me
what you want and I will do it.
SPEAKER_00 (00:15):
Welcome back to How Much Can I Make?
I'm your host, Miravozeri.
Ever wondered what it's like tomake a living pumpering pups?
Today I'm chatting with SarahGildesleeve, a dog groomer of
many years who turned her loveto animals into a full-time
successful career.
So let's dive right in and hearfrom Sarah what dog grooming
business is all about.
(00:37):
Thank you very much for willingto share your experience with
us.
Absolutely, I'm happy to behere.
Tell me what inspired you andhow long ago to become a dog
groomer.
SPEAKER_01 (00:48):
So I wanted to work with animals my whole life
growing up.
I really had thought about beinga vet or marine biologist, and
then my mom's boyfriend at thetime actually put it into my
head to be to think aboutgrooming.
And I went and visited agroomer, and then I realized the
steps that I had to take inorder to become a groomer, and
it kind of just changed my patha little bit.
SPEAKER_00 (01:08):
So, how long ago was that?
SPEAKER_01 (01:10):
20 years.
Oh wow.
It'll be 20 years in June.
So I'm almost there.
I was 25, I'll be 45 in June.
SPEAKER_00 (01:17):
Do you need any kind of certificate or special
license?
SPEAKER_01 (01:20):
So unfortunately, in New York State, you don't need
anything right now.
I'm on a grooming associationand I'm on the New York
Associated Dog Clubs, and we'retrying to work with legislatures
to establish some kind oflicensing or certificate program
so that because right nowanybody could wake up tomorrow
and call themselves a groomer,and that's dangerous, dangerous
(01:41):
for pets.
SPEAKER_00 (01:41):
Absolutely.
What is the best way for abeginner to get into mentor?
SPEAKER_01 (01:46):
Go go into a grooming shop and say, I I want
to be a groomer, and they'llthey'll probably give you a job
as a bather.
Um, bathing and drying, learningthat is like 50% of doing a good
job on a on a groom on a dog.
SPEAKER_00 (01:59):
So this is exactly what I want to hear about.
What is a typical day for you?
SPEAKER_01 (02:03):
Um a typical day starts at 8, 8:30, somewhere
around there.
First client comes in at 8:30,and then the next one 9, and
then 9.30, and it's just kind ofit rolls along, and uh my bather
will get the first dog in the inthe tub and I'll finish doing
what I have to dopaperwork-wise, but then it just
is kind of like a a system, youknow, a routine.
SPEAKER_00 (02:25):
What kind of services mostly do you provide?
SPEAKER_01 (02:28):
Bath nails and haircuts, mostly.
I mean that that's really it.
You know, I I will have somebodythat comes by just to get their
dog's nails trimmed on, youknow, a lab or something.
Every now and then you'll havesomebody that needs to just have
their eyes trimmed in between agroom.
Um, but mostly people are comingin to get their full groom.
SPEAKER_00 (02:44):
How do you handle aggressive dog?
SPEAKER_01 (02:47):
You need to be able to read a dog, and I think it
takes a little time to learnthat skill.
You're not just born with that,and you need to be very calm and
assertive and confident in yourown demeanor towards a dog
because anything that you putout, the dog picks up.
Like I always say in training,however you are, however you're
(03:07):
walking through life with yourdog on that leash, it will go
right down the leash and intothe dog.
Did you go through a dogtraining workshop?
I took uh like a six-monthcertificate program and I got it
was online, so I took all thetesting online, but there was no
hands-on.
So then I went, got aninternship, and worked for free
all summer long.
And she threw me right in thereand said, Here's a poodle, do
(03:30):
some poodle feet.
And that was my first, you know,I'll never forget that.
I had no idea how to do poodlefeet, but I I do now, you know.
SPEAKER_00 (03:38):
But um is there a certain kind of dog that it's
your is your favorite to work onbesides from Airedales?
SPEAKER_01 (03:46):
Um, I love a standard poodle, I love the
transformation that you canmake, and you can do so many
different trims on a standardpoodle.
Their hair, if they if you havea poodle with good hair, you can
do, I mean, it's limitless.
You can do just about anything.
I do a lot of hand stripping,which is pulling hair out of
mainly terriers.
You you know, you do a littlebit on other dogs, but mainly
terriers, it's pulling the hairsout, which is how I groom my
(04:08):
aireds for for show.
Um, I love doing that becausethe transformation, I just had a
border terrier the other day,and it goes from being this wild
crazy to very trimmed and sleekand and and beautiful.
I love that.
SPEAKER_00 (04:21):
You mentioned you have you did a show dog, is it
different?
SPEAKER_01 (04:24):
It's very different.
Um, so I have airedales, and ittakes me about 10 hours to get
her into a show coat a week andto keep her in coat.
Whereas if I'm trimming anairedale, a pet airedale, and
I'm clipping that airedale, it'slike you know, a two and a half
hour job, maybe.
So it's very different.
SPEAKER_00 (04:41):
Takes you 10 hours?
SPEAKER_01 (04:43):
Yeah.
Why?
Because you're pulling hairs onon air on airedales and many
terriers to show them, and thatkeeps the coat structure intact,
it keeps the color and thetexture, which is what you have
to have in order to show them.
SPEAKER_00 (04:56):
And you learned all that on the job.
SPEAKER_01 (04:58):
And I learned all that through through a mentor.
Through a mentor, my mentortaught me all of that and gave
me my first uh my first showdog.
And it doesn't hurt the dog whenyou pull the no because you you
lose the the root ball on theend of it.
Like when you pull your, youknow, when you wax your
eyebrows, if you keep doing itand you keep doing it, it gets
easier to do it each and everytime.
It's the same kind of thing.
SPEAKER_00 (05:18):
Is there any high season for grooming?
SPEAKER_01 (05:21):
Christmas is usually crazy, right before Thanksgiving
is nutty, and then you know,springtime.
It's like springtime shaveddown.
You know, everybody lets theirdogs go all winter because it
gets cold and they they thinkthey should let them grow all
this coat, and then you know,March or April comes and it's
mud season, and now they havethese hot messes of a dog, and
they need to, you know, clean itup.
SPEAKER_00 (05:41):
I can understand that, but why Christmas?
SPEAKER_01 (05:43):
For me, I think everybody has to have, you know,
when they're having people over,family over, or they're going
somewhere, they have to havethis beautiful dog.
SPEAKER_00 (05:52):
What's the craziest client you have?
What demands do they have?
SPEAKER_01 (05:56):
Eyelashes are huge.
Um, don't trim their eyelashes.
It can be great if you can seethem.
And if you can't, then it's atotally other thing.
Um, doing poodle feet on like aschnauzer.
That stuff kills me.
Doing like, you know, I mean thethe people the you know, the
doodle owners, and I know Imight get some pushback for
that, but you know, doodlepeople will come and say, Don't
(06:18):
poodle my doodle, and poodlepeople will say, Don't doodle my
poodle.
And I'm like, I don't know whatthat, you know, like you just
tell me what you want and I willdo it.
But I don't so there's somefunny things, there's some
really fun things as well,though.
SPEAKER_00 (06:32):
Would you say there is a trend in grooming?
SPEAKER_01 (06:35):
Yeah, you can definitely get into a trend,
like right now with all thesedoodles, and there's many
different kinds, you know.
You're I mean, they're makingburner doodles and sheep a
doodles down to you know, alabradoodle, and everybody's got
the same quest of like this Iwant this doodle-looking dog.
SPEAKER_00 (06:52):
That's funny.
Okay, let's talk about money.
How much can a dog groomer make?
SPEAKER_01 (06:57):
So I think when you first start out, you're kind of
working really, really, reallyhard for not a lot.
And you know, and as a bather, Ithink that's probably between 15
and 20 dollars is what a batheris making, I think, right now.
I think there's there's placesout there where they do
commissions.
So if there's you know, you'regetting a 50% commission, and if
you're doing a dog for a hundreddollars and it takes you two
(07:19):
hours.
SPEAKER_00 (07:20):
What is usually the charge to groom a dog?
SPEAKER_01 (07:23):
Um, I think in this, it's so it varies.
In this location, um, I thinkyou can probably expect to pay
for a small dog somewhere around$75 to$80.
I think it goes up to a largerdoodle type dog of you know,
upwards of like$200.
But you're think you gotta thinkabout, you know, at$75, it's an
hour and 20 minutes.
(07:43):
It takes me about an hour and 20minutes, hour and a half to
groom that dog.
So if you break that intohourly, and then you have to pay
your bather, then you have topay your taxes, and then you
have to pay your electric bill,and then you have to that goes
into it.
So you have to you know, youhave to know your worth.
SPEAKER_00 (07:56):
You make more money on grooming a show dog, right?
SPEAKER_01 (07:59):
No, not really.
No, because so I groom my ownshow dogs, and I obviously I
don't get paid for that, and youknow, I still am charging a
certain amount for grooming a ashow dog, but they're coming to
me much more regular.
You know, to keep an aerodaleand coat, if they're coming to
me every other week, or to keep,you know, even a smaller dog,
(08:20):
it's still the same, it's notnecessarily more money, it's
just it's it's a little easierbecause they're coming so
regularly and they're so used toit.
SPEAKER_00 (08:27):
How often do people come for uh to groom their dog?
Oh, every four to six weeks.
So you mentioned the beginnerswill start with a minimum wage,
but how much can they grow?
What is the potential?
SPEAKER_01 (08:36):
I mean, there's I think there's you could grow
your businesses as much as youwant.
You could go out and get thisreally high upscale, especially
in this area, this upscalesalon, and you could line five
tables in there and hiregroomers and just manage your
salon.
You could potentially make a lotof money, or you could stay
small.
What happens if somebody comesand they don't like the haircut
(08:58):
you gave?
I'll fix it.
However, I can make somebodyhappy.
I would rather make them happy.
To a certain point, you know,you have some people that are
like all over the top and andyou're never gonna make them
happy.
SPEAKER_00 (09:08):
Do you have a story like that?
SPEAKER_01 (09:10):
Oh, I had yeah, I do.
I have this one little poodlelady I she had gone around from
groomer to groomer to groomer,and I had groomed her dog.
I've worked at two differentsalons in this town, and I
groomed the same dog in both ofthose salons over the course of
like three or four years.
And she came to me here and shewas like telling me how to groom
the dog, and then she would takethe scissors and move my
(09:33):
scissors away as I'm trying togroom the dog's, you know.
I oh, it was it was it was shewas a lot, and I I had to let
her go.
SPEAKER_00 (09:41):
Do people come to you with photographs of a dog?
All the time.
SPEAKER_01 (09:44):
And I I I want that, you know, give me an idea.
And and I I can explain to themhow realistic that is or not
nicely, you know.
I mean, if you're bringing me apicture of a puppy and your dog
is 10, we have two totallydifferent hairs, you know, it we
we have to kind of compromise onsomething.
SPEAKER_00 (10:01):
Do you have to get some sort of insurance because
you're dealing with scissors andsomebody can get hurt?
I carry a liability insurance.
SPEAKER_01 (10:07):
I don't know if you need to do that if you're
working for compensation for ifsomebody's you know sharing
their profit with you.
I don't know if they carry theinsurance or if you carry your
own.
SPEAKER_00 (10:16):
Is it good to specialize in a specific grid?
I think so.
SPEAKER_01 (10:19):
I think so.
I think you should get good.
Like I'm known as the terrierlady.
People come to me with theirterriers from Canada and from
the bottom of New Jersey andfrom you know, people.
That's a long way away.
It is, it is.
People travel from New York Citywith their terriers up here, and
people travel to go.
Because people are crazy.
But if you know, you know, saysay somebody knows how to do a
(10:41):
standard poodle perfectly, theywill travel for that.
You know, it's like they'rekids.
It really is.
SPEAKER_00 (10:48):
What's the surprising thing about your
business that people don't know?
That it's probably one of thedirtiest dog jobs.
SPEAKER_01 (10:54):
I mean, it really is.
You know, people they they thinklike you you sit there and you
play with puppies and you havethis great life, and then they
don't realize like the dog nextto you just puked in his crate
and the other one had explosivediarrhea, and you've been peed
on today.
It can be really gross.
I could go on further, but I'mnot going to.
I mean, you you're I'm just aglorified pooper picker upper
(11:15):
sometimes, you know.
It's like and then you step init and you're like, oh, it's
just good luck, you know.
You just gotta laugh it off.
But you know, people think it'sit's like this great, you know,
you just get to play with dogs,and it's just not and have you
ever got bitten by a dog?
SPEAKER_00 (11:31):
Oh, yes.
SPEAKER_01 (11:32):
I have uh I just finally I got bit on my finger
and it was all black and blue.
It finally just peeled off.
But is the owner responsible forthat?
Or no, it's part of the job.
I mean, yeah, it's just kind ofit's a hazard.
You're gonna get bit.
Is there a physical demand?
So I don't sit down all day,pretty much.
You're you're walking around,you know, walking around your
(11:52):
table.
I mean, I've had carpal tunnelsurgery from holding scissors.
Really?
I have half a bicep tear rightnow because I picked up
something, but it's because Ihad bicep tendinitis from
probably from hand stripping andbrushing out a long-haired dog.
So physically demanding.
SPEAKER_00 (12:09):
Yeah, sounds very demanding.
So let's talk about reward.
What is the most rewarding thingabout your job?
Watching them walk out likethrough all that in a bag of
chips.
SPEAKER_01 (12:18):
And watching, I've had I've had owners come back
and especially like a first-timegroom on a puppy, and their
owners come back to get theirdog and they cry.
SPEAKER_00 (12:26):
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (12:26):
Um, you know, when when somebody says, you know,
even just like gives you a shoutout on Facebook and say, I have
this amazing groomer.
I mean, it's just it's thelittle thank yous.
It's because it's a thanklessjob for the most part.
But when people take a take aminute and really say, you know,
we appreciate you and thank youfor taking care.
When a dog passes and they sendyou a, you know, they send you a
a a little email or a note justsaying thanks for taking care of
(12:48):
Buddy for the last, you know, 15years or whatever.
It's you know, it's moments likethat that really make it.
SPEAKER_00 (12:54):
So if you go down the street and you see one of
the dogs you worked on, yourecognize immediately.
SPEAKER_01 (12:58):
Yeah.
I usually recognize a dog beforeI recognize a person.
SPEAKER_00 (13:03):
I have one more question.
You mentioned before you putthem on the table.
So just describe to me.
You have a sink to wash the dog.
SPEAKER_01 (13:10):
Yeah, I have a big sink.
It's like a it's a sink thatit's electric, so it goes up and
down so that I can have a bigdog walk in and then I can raise
it up, or I just you know, it'sraised and you lift a little
dog, and then I have the samekind of table.
I have a big four foot-longtable that goes all the way down
to the ground and comes all theway back up, all the way back
up.
That makes it a lot easier.
(13:31):
It makes it a lot easier.
It makes it makes you able to doa big dog by yourself because
otherwise you need two people tohelp lift up a big dog.
SPEAKER_00 (13:38):
So, how many dogs can you get you can do a day?
SPEAKER_01 (13:40):
I mean, I've done as many as 10 recently.
Um I try and keep it to like sixthough.
SPEAKER_00 (13:46):
Six, six clips.
Fantastic.
And that's kind of a job.
AI is not threatening your yourjob at all.
SPEAKER_01 (13:52):
I would love to see a robot or a robot groom my
18-year-old cockpoint.
I mean, I would love to seethat.
I it's you know, it's prettyrecession proof.
It's pretty people will stopgetting their hair done as much,
but they will still get, youknow, maybe they'll stretch it
like an extra week, but they'renot gonna not come.
SPEAKER_00 (14:11):
Did it happen to you that somebody groomed a dog at
home and it was awful and theycame to you and said, Please
help?
Oh yeah.
Oh, all the time.
SPEAKER_01 (14:18):
Oh, you should see what so I have this one lady,
she has two old Englishsheepdogs and two Yorkes, and
she brings them to me everysingle time.
She's like, I just cleaned it upa little bit.
And she like gave him like aflat top on top, and she's like,
Can you fix it?
And I'm like, I can't.
I mean, I gotta glue hair back.
I'm like, I don't know how tofix that, but I'll try, you
(14:38):
know.
Oh, every time she does it everysingle time to me.
And I tell her, and she's a wehave a good working
relationship, and so I can tellher all the time, like, I'm
gonna come take your scissorsaway.
Cause I can't there was nothingwrong until you did that.
It's easy, but it's not.
It's not, dogs move, you know,dogs are un so unpredictable.
(14:59):
So you know, and it happens.
I mean, mistakes happen.
I used to have this littleYorkie again, and it would lick
all the time.
And so as you're trying to, youknow, clean by the face and and
trim by the face, you'd have tolike just pray to the scissor
gods that you didn't chop histongue off.
And groomer before me did itbecause it had he had two little
nicks in his tongue, and and Idid it once, you know.
(15:21):
It's horrible.
You feel horrible.
You don't want to hurt a dog.
That's not why we're here, youknow.
SPEAKER_00 (15:26):
How many years have you been doing it?
SPEAKER_01 (15:28):
20.
This is my 20th year.
And you still love it?
I still love it.
I do.
I still love it.
There's some days where I'm alittle more tired.
You know, there's some dayswhere I'm like, I have a little
less patience, and you just kindof gotta take a step back.
But I love every single dog thatcomes in here.
They're good.
SPEAKER_00 (15:43):
Is there a dog that you will not accept?
SPEAKER_01 (15:45):
Yeah, the big argumentative ones, like, so
because I I have four herniateddiscs as well in me.
So I'm not lifting up big SaintBernard's, and I'm not doing
great dance, and I'm not doing Ijust can't.
I can't like let I know there'splenty of 25-year-old groomers
that would love to do that.
SPEAKER_00 (16:02):
Do people ever come with German Shepherds?
Uh-huh.
All the time.
I love them.
SPEAKER_01 (16:06):
Those are they're just big babies, they're great.
Wow.
I have one right down thestreet, and he comes to me just
about every like every fiveweeks or so.
And uh big tall guy, and hewalks in with a German shepherd,
and he gets on the table and hewhines and cries the whole time.
He's the biggest baby ever.
Biggest baby.
He's great though.
SPEAKER_00 (16:24):
Wow, I think that's a good thing.
SPEAKER_01 (16:25):
He doesn't think that they get groomed.
So every dog gets groomed.
Every dog needs their nails cutand their ears cleaned, you
know, whether they net they areshort-haired or long haired,
they still need to get theirnails clipped.
How often do you recommend forthem to get a bath?
I think you can give a dog abath every time it feels you
feel think it's getting smelly.
With a good shampoo andconditioner, you're not gonna
dry out coat, you're not gonna,you're not gonna hurt them.
(16:47):
Well, Sarah, I can't thank youenough.
I could talk about dog groomingforever.
It's bad.
SPEAKER_00 (16:53):
That's how much you love it.
Yeah, yeah.
That is great when you love yourjob.
Because you don't really work aday in your life.
That's fantastic.
Okay, that's a wrap for today.
If you have a comment orquestion or would like us to
cover a certain job, please letus know.
Visit our website at how muchcan I make that info.
(17:13):
We would love to hear from you.
And on your way out, don'tforget to subscribe and share
this episode with anyone who iscurious about their next job.
See you next time.
Doodle people will come and say, Don't poodle my
doodle, and poodle people willsay, Don't doodle my poodle, and
I'm like, I don't know what thatyou know, like you just tell me
what you want and I will do it.
SPEAKER_00 (00:15):
Welcome back to How Much Can I Make?
I'm your host, Miravozeri.
Ever wondered what it's like tomake a living pumpering pups?
Today I'm chatting with SarahGildesleeve, a dog groomer of
many years who turned her loveto animals into a full-time
successful career.
So let's dive right in and hearfrom Sarah what dog grooming
business is all about.
(00:37):
Thank you very much for willingto share your experience with
us.
Absolutely, I'm happy to behere.
Tell me what inspired you andhow long ago to become a dog
groomer.
SPEAKER_01 (00:48):
So I wanted to work with animals my whole life
growing up.
I really had thought about beinga vet or marine biologist, and
then my mom's boyfriend at thetime actually put it into my
head to be to think aboutgrooming.
And I went and visited agroomer, and then I realized the
steps that I had to take inorder to become a groomer, and
it kind of just changed my patha little bit.
SPEAKER_00 (01:08):
So, how long ago was that?
SPEAKER_01 (01:10):
20 years.
Oh wow.
It'll be 20 years in June.
So I'm almost there.
I was 25, I'll be 45 in June.
SPEAKER_00 (01:17):
Do you need any kind of certificate or special
license?
SPEAKER_01 (01:20):
So unfortunately, in New York State, you don't need
anything right now.
I'm on a grooming associationand I'm on the New York
Associated Dog Clubs, and we'retrying to work with legislatures
to establish some kind oflicensing or certificate program
so that because right nowanybody could wake up tomorrow
and call themselves a groomer,and that's dangerous, dangerous
(01:41):
for pets.
SPEAKER_00 (01:41):
Absolutely.
What is the best way for abeginner to get into mentor?
SPEAKER_01 (01:46):
Go go into a grooming shop and say, I I want
to be a groomer, and they'llthey'll probably give you a job
as a bather.
Um, bathing and drying, learningthat is like 50% of doing a good
job on a on a groom on a dog.
SPEAKER_00 (01:59):
So this is exactly what I want to hear about.
What is a typical day for you?
SPEAKER_01 (02:03):
Um a typical day starts at 8, 8:30, somewhere
around there.
First client comes in at 8:30,and then the next one 9, and
then 9.30, and it's just kind ofit rolls along, and uh my bather
will get the first dog in the inthe tub and I'll finish doing
what I have to dopaperwork-wise, but then it just
is kind of like a a system, youknow, a routine.
SPEAKER_00 (02:25):
What kind of services mostly do you provide?
SPEAKER_01 (02:28):
Bath nails and haircuts, mostly.
I mean that that's really it.
You know, I I will have somebodythat comes by just to get their
dog's nails trimmed on, youknow, a lab or something.
Every now and then you'll havesomebody that needs to just have
their eyes trimmed in between agroom.
Um, but mostly people are comingin to get their full groom.
SPEAKER_00 (02:44):
How do you handle aggressive dog?
SPEAKER_01 (02:47):
You need to be able to read a dog, and I think it
takes a little time to learnthat skill.
You're not just born with that,and you need to be very calm and
assertive and confident in yourown demeanor towards a dog
because anything that you putout, the dog picks up.
Like I always say in training,however you are, however you're
(03:07):
walking through life with yourdog on that leash, it will go
right down the leash and intothe dog.
Did you go through a dogtraining workshop?
I took uh like a six-monthcertificate program and I got it
was online, so I took all thetesting online, but there was no
hands-on.
So then I went, got aninternship, and worked for free
all summer long.
And she threw me right in thereand said, Here's a poodle, do
(03:30):
some poodle feet.
And that was my first, you know,I'll never forget that.
I had no idea how to do poodlefeet, but I I do now, you know.
SPEAKER_00 (03:38):
But um is there a certain kind of dog that it's
your is your favorite to work onbesides from Airedales?
SPEAKER_01 (03:46):
Um, I love a standard poodle, I love the
transformation that you canmake, and you can do so many
different trims on a standardpoodle.
Their hair, if they if you havea poodle with good hair, you can
do, I mean, it's limitless.
You can do just about anything.
I do a lot of hand stripping,which is pulling hair out of
mainly terriers.
You you know, you do a littlebit on other dogs, but mainly
terriers, it's pulling the hairsout, which is how I groom my
(04:08):
aireds for for show.
Um, I love doing that becausethe transformation, I just had a
border terrier the other day,and it goes from being this wild
crazy to very trimmed and sleekand and and beautiful.
I love that.
SPEAKER_00 (04:21):
You mentioned you have you did a show dog, is it
different?
SPEAKER_01 (04:24):
It's very different.
Um, so I have airedales, and ittakes me about 10 hours to get
her into a show coat a week andto keep her in coat.
Whereas if I'm trimming anairedale, a pet airedale, and
I'm clipping that airedale, it'slike you know, a two and a half
hour job, maybe.
So it's very different.
SPEAKER_00 (04:41):
Takes you 10 hours?
SPEAKER_01 (04:43):
Yeah.
Why?
Because you're pulling hairs onon air on airedales and many
terriers to show them, and thatkeeps the coat structure intact,
it keeps the color and thetexture, which is what you have
to have in order to show them.
SPEAKER_00 (04:56):
And you learned all that on the job.
SPEAKER_01 (04:58):
And I learned all that through through a mentor.
Through a mentor, my mentortaught me all of that and gave
me my first uh my first showdog.
And it doesn't hurt the dog whenyou pull the no because you you
lose the the root ball on theend of it.
Like when you pull your, youknow, when you wax your
eyebrows, if you keep doing itand you keep doing it, it gets
easier to do it each and everytime.
It's the same kind of thing.
SPEAKER_00 (05:18):
Is there any high season for grooming?
SPEAKER_01 (05:21):
Christmas is usually crazy, right before Thanksgiving
is nutty, and then you know,springtime.
It's like springtime shaveddown.
You know, everybody lets theirdogs go all winter because it
gets cold and they they thinkthey should let them grow all
this coat, and then you know,March or April comes and it's
mud season, and now they havethese hot messes of a dog, and
they need to, you know, clean itup.
SPEAKER_00 (05:41):
I can understand that, but why Christmas?
SPEAKER_01 (05:43):
For me, I think everybody has to have, you know,
when they're having people over,family over, or they're going
somewhere, they have to havethis beautiful dog.
SPEAKER_00 (05:52):
What's the craziest client you have?
What demands do they have?
SPEAKER_01 (05:56):
Eyelashes are huge.
Um, don't trim their eyelashes.
It can be great if you can seethem.
And if you can't, then it's atotally other thing.
Um, doing poodle feet on like aschnauzer.
That stuff kills me.
Doing like, you know, I mean thethe people the you know, the
doodle owners, and I know Imight get some pushback for
that, but you know, doodlepeople will come and say, Don't
(06:18):
poodle my doodle, and poodlepeople will say, Don't doodle my
poodle.
And I'm like, I don't know whatthat, you know, like you just
tell me what you want and I willdo it.
But I don't so there's somefunny things, there's some
really fun things as well,though.
SPEAKER_00 (06:32):
Would you say there is a trend in grooming?
SPEAKER_01 (06:35):
Yeah, you can definitely get into a trend,
like right now with all thesedoodles, and there's many
different kinds, you know.
You're I mean, they're makingburner doodles and sheep a
doodles down to you know, alabradoodle, and everybody's got
the same quest of like this Iwant this doodle-looking dog.
SPEAKER_00 (06:52):
That's funny.
Okay, let's talk about money.
How much can a dog groomer make?
SPEAKER_01 (06:57):
So I think when you first start out, you're kind of
working really, really, reallyhard for not a lot.
And you know, and as a bather, Ithink that's probably between 15
and 20 dollars is what a batheris making, I think, right now.
I think there's there's placesout there where they do
commissions.
So if there's you know, you'regetting a 50% commission, and if
you're doing a dog for a hundreddollars and it takes you two
(07:19):
hours.
SPEAKER_00 (07:20):
What is usually the charge to groom a dog?
SPEAKER_01 (07:23):
Um, I think in this, it's so it varies.
In this location, um, I thinkyou can probably expect to pay
for a small dog somewhere around$75 to$80.
I think it goes up to a largerdoodle type dog of you know,
upwards of like$200.
But you're think you gotta thinkabout, you know, at$75, it's an
hour and 20 minutes.
(07:43):
It takes me about an hour and 20minutes, hour and a half to
groom that dog.
So if you break that intohourly, and then you have to pay
your bather, then you have topay your taxes, and then you
have to pay your electric bill,and then you have to that goes
into it.
So you have to you know, youhave to know your worth.
SPEAKER_00 (07:56):
You make more money on grooming a show dog, right?
SPEAKER_01 (07:59):
No, not really.
No, because so I groom my ownshow dogs, and I obviously I
don't get paid for that, and youknow, I still am charging a
certain amount for grooming a ashow dog, but they're coming to
me much more regular.
You know, to keep an aerodaleand coat, if they're coming to
me every other week, or to keep,you know, even a smaller dog,
(08:20):
it's still the same, it's notnecessarily more money, it's
just it's it's a little easierbecause they're coming so
regularly and they're so used toit.
SPEAKER_00 (08:27):
How often do people come for uh to groom their dog?
Oh, every four to six weeks.
So you mentioned the beginnerswill start with a minimum wage,
but how much can they grow?
What is the potential?
SPEAKER_01 (08:36):
I mean, there's I think there's you could grow
your businesses as much as youwant.
You could go out and get thisreally high upscale, especially
in this area, this upscalesalon, and you could line five
tables in there and hiregroomers and just manage your
salon.
You could potentially make a lotof money, or you could stay
small.
What happens if somebody comesand they don't like the haircut
(08:58):
you gave?
I'll fix it.
However, I can make somebodyhappy.
I would rather make them happy.
To a certain point, you know,you have some people that are
like all over the top and andyou're never gonna make them
happy.
SPEAKER_00 (09:08):
Do you have a story like that?
SPEAKER_01 (09:10):
Oh, I had yeah, I do.
I have this one little poodlelady I she had gone around from
groomer to groomer to groomer,and I had groomed her dog.
I've worked at two differentsalons in this town, and I
groomed the same dog in both ofthose salons over the course of
like three or four years.
And she came to me here and shewas like telling me how to groom
the dog, and then she would takethe scissors and move my
(09:33):
scissors away as I'm trying togroom the dog's, you know.
I oh, it was it was it was shewas a lot, and I I had to let
her go.
SPEAKER_00 (09:41):
Do people come to you with photographs of a dog?
All the time.
SPEAKER_01 (09:44):
And I I I want that, you know, give me an idea.
And and I I can explain to themhow realistic that is or not
nicely, you know.
I mean, if you're bringing me apicture of a puppy and your dog
is 10, we have two totallydifferent hairs, you know, it we
we have to kind of compromise onsomething.
SPEAKER_00 (10:01):
Do you have to get some sort of insurance because
you're dealing with scissors andsomebody can get hurt?
I carry a liability insurance.
SPEAKER_01 (10:07):
I don't know if you need to do that if you're
working for compensation for ifsomebody's you know sharing
their profit with you.
I don't know if they carry theinsurance or if you carry your
own.
SPEAKER_00 (10:16):
Is it good to specialize in a specific grid?
I think so.
SPEAKER_01 (10:19):
I think so.
I think you should get good.
Like I'm known as the terrierlady.
People come to me with theirterriers from Canada and from
the bottom of New Jersey andfrom you know, people.
That's a long way away.
It is, it is.
People travel from New York Citywith their terriers up here, and
people travel to go.
Because people are crazy.
But if you know, you know, saysay somebody knows how to do a
(10:41):
standard poodle perfectly, theywill travel for that.
You know, it's like they'rekids.
It really is.
SPEAKER_00 (10:48):
What's the surprising thing about your
business that people don't know?
That it's probably one of thedirtiest dog jobs.
SPEAKER_01 (10:54):
I mean, it really is.
You know, people they they thinklike you you sit there and you
play with puppies and you havethis great life, and then they
don't realize like the dog nextto you just puked in his crate
and the other one had explosivediarrhea, and you've been peed
on today.
It can be really gross.
I could go on further, but I'mnot going to.
I mean, you you're I'm just aglorified pooper picker upper
(11:15):
sometimes, you know.
It's like and then you step init and you're like, oh, it's
just good luck, you know.
You just gotta laugh it off.
But you know, people think it'sit's like this great, you know,
you just get to play with dogs,and it's just not and have you
ever got bitten by a dog?
SPEAKER_00 (11:31):
Oh, yes.
SPEAKER_01 (11:32):
I have uh I just finally I got bit on my finger
and it was all black and blue.
It finally just peeled off.
But is the owner responsible forthat?
Or no, it's part of the job.
I mean, yeah, it's just kind ofit's a hazard.
You're gonna get bit.
Is there a physical demand?
So I don't sit down all day,pretty much.
You're you're walking around,you know, walking around your
(11:52):
table.
I mean, I've had carpal tunnelsurgery from holding scissors.
Really?
I have half a bicep tear rightnow because I picked up
something, but it's because Ihad bicep tendinitis from
probably from hand stripping andbrushing out a long-haired dog.
So physically demanding.
SPEAKER_00 (12:09):
Yeah, sounds very demanding.
So let's talk about reward.
What is the most rewarding thingabout your job?
Watching them walk out likethrough all that in a bag of
chips.
SPEAKER_01 (12:18):
And watching, I've had I've had owners come back
and especially like a first-timegroom on a puppy, and their
owners come back to get theirdog and they cry.
SPEAKER_00 (12:26):
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (12:26):
Um, you know, when when somebody says, you know,
even just like gives you a shoutout on Facebook and say, I have
this amazing groomer.
I mean, it's just it's thelittle thank yous.
It's because it's a thanklessjob for the most part.
But when people take a take aminute and really say, you know,
we appreciate you and thank youfor taking care.
When a dog passes and they sendyou a, you know, they send you a
a a little email or a note justsaying thanks for taking care of
(12:48):
Buddy for the last, you know, 15years or whatever.
It's you know, it's moments likethat that really make it.
SPEAKER_00 (12:54):
So if you go down the street and you see one of
the dogs you worked on, yourecognize immediately.
SPEAKER_01 (12:58):
Yeah.
I usually recognize a dog beforeI recognize a person.
SPEAKER_00 (13:03):
I have one more question.
You mentioned before you putthem on the table.
So just describe to me.
You have a sink to wash the dog.
SPEAKER_01 (13:10):
Yeah, I have a big sink.
It's like a it's a sink thatit's electric, so it goes up and
down so that I can have a bigdog walk in and then I can raise
it up, or I just you know, it'sraised and you lift a little
dog, and then I have the samekind of table.
I have a big four foot-longtable that goes all the way down
to the ground and comes all theway back up, all the way back
up.
That makes it a lot easier.
(13:31):
It makes it a lot easier.
It makes it makes you able to doa big dog by yourself because
otherwise you need two people tohelp lift up a big dog.
SPEAKER_00 (13:38):
So, how many dogs can you get you can do a day?
SPEAKER_01 (13:40):
I mean, I've done as many as 10 recently.
Um I try and keep it to like sixthough.
SPEAKER_00 (13:46):
Six, six clips.
Fantastic.
And that's kind of a job.
AI is not threatening your yourjob at all.
SPEAKER_01 (13:52):
I would love to see a robot or a robot groom my
18-year-old cockpoint.
I mean, I would love to seethat.
I it's you know, it's prettyrecession proof.
It's pretty people will stopgetting their hair done as much,
but they will still get, youknow, maybe they'll stretch it
like an extra week, but they'renot gonna not come.
SPEAKER_00 (14:11):
Did it happen to you that somebody groomed a dog at
home and it was awful and theycame to you and said, Please
help?
Oh yeah.
Oh, all the time.
SPEAKER_01 (14:18):
Oh, you should see what so I have this one lady,
she has two old Englishsheepdogs and two Yorkes, and
she brings them to me everysingle time.
She's like, I just cleaned it upa little bit.
And she like gave him like aflat top on top, and she's like,
Can you fix it?
And I'm like, I can't.
I mean, I gotta glue hair back.
I'm like, I don't know how tofix that, but I'll try, you
(14:38):
know.
Oh, every time she does it everysingle time to me.
And I tell her, and she's a wehave a good working
relationship, and so I can tellher all the time, like, I'm
gonna come take your scissorsaway.
Cause I can't there was nothingwrong until you did that.
It's easy, but it's not.
It's not, dogs move, you know,dogs are un so unpredictable.
(14:59):
So you know, and it happens.
I mean, mistakes happen.
I used to have this littleYorkie again, and it would lick
all the time.
And so as you're trying to, youknow, clean by the face and and
trim by the face, you'd have tolike just pray to the scissor
gods that you didn't chop histongue off.
And groomer before me did itbecause it had he had two little
nicks in his tongue, and and Idid it once, you know.
(15:21):
It's horrible.
You feel horrible.
You don't want to hurt a dog.
That's not why we're here, youknow.
SPEAKER_00 (15:26):
How many years have you been doing it?
SPEAKER_01 (15:28):
20.
This is my 20th year.
And you still love it?
I still love it.
I do.
I still love it.
There's some days where I'm alittle more tired.
You know, there's some dayswhere I'm like, I have a little
less patience, and you just kindof gotta take a step back.
But I love every single dog thatcomes in here.
They're good.
SPEAKER_00 (15:43):
Is there a dog that you will not accept?
SPEAKER_01 (15:45):
Yeah, the big argumentative ones, like, so
because I I have four herniateddiscs as well in me.
So I'm not lifting up big SaintBernard's, and I'm not doing
great dance, and I'm not doing Ijust can't.
I can't like let I know there'splenty of 25-year-old groomers
that would love to do that.
SPEAKER_00 (16:02):
Do people ever come with German Shepherds?
Uh-huh.
All the time.
I love them.
SPEAKER_01 (16:06):
Those are they're just big babies, they're great.
Wow.
I have one right down thestreet, and he comes to me just
about every like every fiveweeks or so.
And uh big tall guy, and hewalks in with a German shepherd,
and he gets on the table and hewhines and cries the whole time.
He's the biggest baby ever.
Biggest baby.
He's great though.
SPEAKER_00 (16:24):
Wow, I think that's a good thing.
SPEAKER_01 (16:25):
He doesn't think that they get groomed.
So every dog gets groomed.
Every dog needs their nails cutand their ears cleaned, you
know, whether they net they areshort-haired or long haired,
they still need to get theirnails clipped.
How often do you recommend forthem to get a bath?
I think you can give a dog abath every time it feels you
feel think it's getting smelly.
With a good shampoo andconditioner, you're not gonna
dry out coat, you're not gonna,you're not gonna hurt them.
(16:47):
Well, Sarah, I can't thank youenough.
I could talk about dog groomingforever.
It's bad.
SPEAKER_00 (16:53):
That's how much you love it.
Yeah, yeah.
That is great when you love yourjob.
Because you don't really work aday in your life.
That's fantastic.
Okay, that's a wrap for today.
If you have a comment orquestion or would like us to
cover a certain job, please letus know.
Visit our website at how muchcan I make that info.
(17:13):
We would love to hear from you.
And on your way out, don'tforget to subscribe and share
this episode with anyone who iscurious about their next job.
See you next time.
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