For me, I started as a bather, or the person who bathes all the dogs who don't get haircuts. After awhile of doing that for awhile the managers decided I was up to grooming, so I went to "Academy". Keep in mind, "Academy" in the corporate-pet-store talk means going to another store for a month and being trained in the basics by an experienced groomer. After that I went back to my home store and had to do 100 breed cuts: 20 spaniel cuts, 20 poodle/handscissor cuts, 20 long-leg terrier cuts, 20 short-leg terrier cuts, and 20 shave downs.

If you can afford to go to a vocational grooming school, go for it. It gives you the chance to get into high-end show quality grooming; it's a lot more expensive, though.

You don't need a degree in anything special, but I found my background in sculpting helped me to picture the specific haircut I needed to do. I would say the biggest things you need to be successful at this job is to be very. Very. Very patient. Understand that no matter how hard you try, your groom won't come out as nice as you think it should. Some dogs have bad fur, some dogs don't put up with what you're trying to do. Know that there will be some days when you crack, that you have nothing but bad dogs and rude customers. Don't be bitchy to your coworkers - they're going through the same crap you are.

For the most part, I do enjoy my job. Like I said, there are days that just... suck. Horribly. Terribly. Customers are rude, my dogs are terrible, I'm so behind schedule and all I can do is take an emergency break to cry behind the store. But then I there are days when I have awesome dogs, my favorite customers come in, and everything's really chill and amazing. Those are my favorite days.

Problem dogs tend to come in waves - some days you don't get any, some days all you get are bad ones. Usually I can handle it if it's a smaller one, but if its an older/bigger dog that's giving problems.. well... it can get frustrating.

Yorkies, English Springers, Chihuahuas, Lab/Goldendoodles, German Shepherds can be troublesome, Chow-Chows are doable (but you should pay attention during the check-in, if its aggressive then it's probably not getting done. We don't mess with Chows.). Other than those it's really case-by-case.

I make enough to support my boyfriend and I while he's unemployed going to school.. So, rent, credit card, and groceries. We have to get help from his parents a little, but we get by. A couple of the groomers in my shop that are faster than me and have a solid customer base have been known to take home $1000 a week.. but that's rare. Personally, if I make anything over $500/wk then I did really well. My goal this year is to hit $600.

In our shop, if a dog is injured we immediately take it to the vet. We have one in the store, so it's really easy to get them taken care of quick. We don't charge for the service, cover the vet bill and any followup the dog has to have.

I've heard of smaller shops not covering the vet bill or still charging for service.. I find it ridiculous. Every groomer goes through that at some point.. We're dealing with sharp objects around unruly animals that really don't want us to do what we're doing; we're always one headjerk away from chopping up an ear.

Honestly, I get more stressed when a dog is being bad, not because they're being difficult and I can't do what I need to, but because it isn't safe. A lot of times I'll get an owner who gets a little miffed at me because I couldn't do this or that, but I have to take that over stabbing their dog in the eye, cutting off it's tongue, slicing up their stomach, cutting off a toenail to the paw, etc.

Sorry for the long answers, there's a lot of questions there. ^;