I have been reading a lot of posts lately about our grooming profession. They talk abut the heartbreak, the back breaking work, the disrespect, the injuries, the risks. There are shared posts and memes depicting this horrible job we choose to go to every day. Groomers, I think it’s time we change our view of our jobs. 🙂

Can it be heartbreaking? Sure, but let’s be real. We are not euthanizing dogs. We are not going into abandoned houses and finding dogs that have been abandoned and left to starve to death. We have the opportunity to get to know and love hundreds of dogs. Yes we also get the hardship of seeing them pass, and consoling their owners in their grief but also the blessing of being able to love and care for them during their lives.

Can it be back breaking? Sure, many jobs are physically difficult. Most of us are lifting 50 lbs and getting help if we are lifting a larger dog. If we are not getting help, then that is on us. It is up to us to take care of our bodies. It’s not because grooming is so hard, it’s because groomers are hard headed and many push their bodies to extremes.

Hair splinters, cuts, and breathing dog hair are not serious injuries or hazards of the work place. In comparison to other professions, those are so minor to not even be mentionable. We are not running into burning buildings. We are not putting ourselves in the line of fire from some psycho with a gun to protect others. *Breathing in dog hair is serious, but that is why we should be wearing masks.

Are we at risk for bites? Sure, but with proper handling and restraints, serious bites should be rare. If you are getting bitten regularly, it’s time to learn some proper handling techniques. Yes, there are no guarantees and yes somewhere out there is a dog that bites with little to no warning, sadly some groomer has them in their salon, but it’s not like we are wading into a pack of feral dogs to do toenail trims. We are not going into someone’s backyard and trying to catch a dog that has never had human contact other than food thrown out. We have tables, restraints and muzzles. We have very controlled environments.We also have the choice to refuse dogs that we think are dangerous.

Do we see neglected dogs? Yes, but we also get to help them. We can free them of their matts and rid their skin of bugs.

We can find life threatening problems in time for their owners to get needed Vet care.

While our equipment can be expensive, it hardly compares to other professions. We do not HAVE to have 48 pair of shears. 😉

So how about we change our view a little and learn to love our profession again for the good parts?

We are in a profession where we get to do what we love, we get to work with dogs and for some even cats. We get to be the great Auntie who gives them treats. We get to be the person they drag their owners in the door to see. We get to give them warm sudsy massages, and snuggles and kisses. We get to do the fun stuff. We don’t have to clean up the mess when they decided to shred a toy while we are gone, or help themselves to the flour from the kitchen cabinet. We don’t have to replace their carpet or furniture. We don’t have to wake in the middle of the night for potty breaks while they are being house trained. We get the good stuff!

We get to know our clients on personal levels that they don’t always share with other service providers. We can celebrate the birth of a new baby or the addition of a new puppy. We not only watch their puppies grow, but often their children. We are part of weddings and birthdays as we fancy up their dogs with bows to match their wedding colors. We get to be a listening ear and moral support when they are facing tragedies and hard times.

For many of us, we get to set our own schedules. We don’t have a corporation looming over us counting out how many days we took off to chaperone that field trip for our kid. We can travel to dog shows and grooming conferences and call it a business trip for continuing education. We often work with the ability to be creative and artistic. We can take our dogs to work with us and in a pinch our kids too. Many of us were blessed to be able to raise our children right there with us in the grooming salon, where they learned valuable lessons on customer service, dog handling, and business. Even more of us can take our new puppies, making house breaking and training a breeze compared to someone that has to leave their dogs home all day, hire someone for mid day potty breaks, and then only have a few hours in the evening to train.

We get to help homeless dogs. We clean them up, help them get adopted. We are part of the process of teaching them to trust humans again.

We get PAID to hang out with dogs! We get paid to express our artistic abilities. We get paid to learn about dogs and behavior. We get paid while we train our puppies. We get paid while we raise our children. We get paid while snuggling new puppies.

Is it always easy? Heck no, but there are very few jobs out there that are easy and many many that are harder and much more dangerous.

So groomers, learn to love your job again. Remember that those bad things are just a very small part of what we do every day. Start each day knowing you have one of the best jobs out there for people with a passion for animals. How many people get to start their day at work with their customers anxious to get in the door to greet them with kisses and wagging tails?