Continued Education: Why Is It Important?

We all know our doctors, nurses, firefighters, police officers, and even veterinarians do continued education courses every year. We have all heard about trade shows for everything from the automotive industry to all things home and garden and even science and technology. Did you know there are trade shows and continued education courses for groomers and other pet professionals as well?

Its true! Trade shows and classes happen all across the country all year long. There are single day, specialized classes hosted by groomers and salons that cover very specific topics such as how to groom a specific breed or how to achieve perfect faces. There are small, 2 day, home town type shows as well as huge, week long expos! There are grooming competitions for all breeds and breed groups. There are creative grooming competitions as well where groomers show off their dying and scissoring skills. There are classes taught by the captains of the industry on everything from breed standards to breed cuts to techniques for using clipper combs to hand scissoring to handling cats and even information on skin and coat health. There are certification courses for things like safety and sanitation and first aid. The trade floors hold more products than you could ever ask for! New shampoos and conditioners, the latest and most updated equipment, bows and bandannas, scissors and brushes, grooming wear like smocks, pants, and aprons, and even things like leashes, collars, and toys for the awesome pups in your life! There are often folks who sharpen blades and shears as well as folks who can give you all the information you ever wanted about nail grinding accessories and electric tables. A day or week at a good expo can be a groomer’s dream come true. Yours truly dreams of going to Super Zoo in Las Vegas some day!

It isn’t all fun and games though. Mostly it is, but there is a serious side to these expos too. Those classes I mentioned before can be vital for groomers of all skill levels. Even the most seasoned groomer can learn a thing or two by attending seminars.

Each year, we attend a grooming expo in the St. Louis area. We spend our time at the show in order to gain new knowledge we then use to help your pets have the best grooming experience they possibly can! Even though we have spent almost a combined 25 years in the pet industry, Stacey and I admit that we do not know everything there is to know. While we have diverse backgrounds and training, there are still “holes” in our knowledge. Attending these trade shows is one of the best ways to “fill in the blanks” as it were.

We have taken classes on things such as Asian Fusion grooming to learn how to make those adorable round, teddy-bear looking faces. We have taken classes on using clip-on combs to achieve a natural looking hair cut. We have gained tips and tricks for making poodle top knots absolutely perfect. We have learned how other salons operate and taken some of what they do to make our salon what it is today. We have gained new knowledge about the cycle of skin growth, how shampoos and conditioners affect a dog’s skin, and even how to keep our salon as safe and sanitary as possible. Every year, we look forward to the new knowledge we will gain so we can pass it along in what we do!

We understand that it can feel a little frustrating when you try to make an appointment somewhere only to find out the business will be closed for a few days. However, when we close for trade shows, please remember that we are going so we can provide the very best for your pets!

Trade shows aren’t the only places we learn though. In this day and age, everything you ever wanted to know about anything at all is available with just a few clicks of a mouse. YouTube is a great source for learning, though you do have to take any information gained with a small grain of salt since there is no way to really know a person’s actual qualifications and background. Even keeping this in mine, there are innumerable videos on tips, tricks, and techniques on everything from how to shave a reluctant poodle’s feet to how to achieve a perfectly layered yorkie style head in under 10 minutes. There are product reviews to watch. There are handling tips. There are just plain fun grooming videos of happy dogs and happy groomers!

Books and magazines play a role in a groomer’s continued education as well although these tools might contain out of date information almost as soon as they hit the shelves. The world moves so fast now that print can hardly keep up! However, printed books about breed standards and proper breed cuts will always have a place on a groomer’s book shelf. Many magazines will contain more product and tool reviews that can be referenced later on. Some will even have step-by-step guides for certain cuts or techniques that can be handy to have nearby!

We will never consider our education to be complete. There will always, always, always be new things to learn, new places to learn them, and wonderful new people to learn from. As we learn new things, we will be sure to bring them home to our little salon in order to create the best grooming experience possible for your furry friends!