Hello

Hi my name is Shona I am the moderator of this forum. My hope is to unite all Canadian Groomers and make our profession a fun and educated one. Please join us!

hey shona
i was just trying to make up a site for our group last night!! but couldn't think of a name...
any way hope this goes well. let me know if you have heard anything from sally....

about me.... i have a shop in waterloo ontario, i opened it a little over 2 years ago and things are really hopping now... i learnt to groom in BC by sandy potter of animal haven. i started my IPG certification shortly after finishing my grooming course, and now.. finally... have gathered up the courage to complete the testing!
i attend seminars as often as i can and believe i must do so to keep interested in the industry and to keep learning new things. i have started a small groomers group in my area to try and build a better network for all. i feel we learn to groom and that is it. most of us have to biz training and are winging it! so i hope through the group i have organized we can all learn from each other and try to ad more professionalism to our trade. i feel that canadian groomers have a back seat in the industry, but hopefully one day we will have tradeshows like Hershey does!!! sorry my first time going was this year and was lovin it!!

Welcome Becky, so glad you could join us. A grooming show like Hershey???now there's a good idea. Haven't heard anything back yet but keeping my fingers crossed.

Hi, I'm a groomer living in Nova Scotia. We moved here from Ontario two years ago and I set up my business from my own home one year ago. I am getting busy with the holiday season coming up, which is good, I've been a little slow since September. I took my grooming course in St. Catharines, Ontario and operated my business from home for just a few months before we moved to NS. I was happy to find this Canadian forum for groomers, I hope it does well.

I am not Canadian,but i decided to register for this board,as there is always something to learn from fellow groomers,no matter where they are from.
My name is Tammy,and i am a groomer in Australia.21yrs grooming now.recently i closed my salon after 16 yrs,and now work full time at my home studio.
Looking forward to meeting you all.......and Thanks Shona.I hope your dreams of making a better groomer environment in Canada ,come true. We Aussie groomers are in much the same position

Hi Tammy, nice to see you here. I'm Gibby from the GTG groomer's forum. You are right, we can lament together about the lack of groomer-related activities in our respective countries .

Hey Tammy & Gibby, thanks for joining in!

Found this site, it's great to be able to talk to some groomers, Hi everyone.
I am starting to book appointments before hand this December. Hoping this will reduce last minute rushes. I work part time at a vet clinic so I don't have full weeks to give my clients. I really do enjoy having the vet as well as my own grooming shop at my home.

Welcome Pennypup, thanks for joining us. Where are you located? We are booking up also for Christmas it's going to be a busy one!!

Hi, I'm Angela
I'm looking forward to meeting some more groomers and joining a new group! I look forward to chatting to some of you in the chat room when things get busier. Oh yea, I went to Western Dog grooming school over a year ago. I hope to keep learning

Welcome Angela
This is a great fourm for info, as there are a few groomers here that have been grooming a long time. `What also is great, is we have new groomers that can bring info to us old timers heheheeh

Howdy!

I got bit by the grooming bug about 8 years ago, but it took me a couple of years to get in motion and get a job working as bather/receptionist for PetSomething. Eventually, I taught myself how to groom and learned from friends and especially the BBS!!! Later, I groomed fulltime for a few years and now I'm in Canada (transplanted from Texas) but not working as I'm waiting on immigration at the moment (and I had a baby in the middle of 2007, so busy with her!!)
I hope to open my own grooming business when I'm able to work again.
My favourite breeds to groom are yorkies (crazy as hell but EASY!), westies, welsh terriers, anything cute who behaves LOL... Also LOVE grooming firsttime puppies... I really enjoy socialising pups to the grooming process. Least favourite breeds to groom - COCKERS (the nasty ones that ooze green fuzzy goo... those I could live without! The not so nasty ones I can handle.), AKITAS, anything that will drag me around the salon. haha I also love grooming cats.
I have two shih tzu, a cat, a husband and an 8 month old daughter.
We live in Northern Ontario, Canada about 6-7 hours from Toronto and Ottawa.

Welcome puppysbreath (love the name!). Congrats on the new baby! Are you planning on opening your shop from home or having a retail location? How long does it take to get your imigration status changed so that you can get started on your plans?

Well, I have a lot of dreams... But as soon as immigration comes through (we're hoping by May), I should be able to get everything rolling. I have been calling around trying to get info on insurance, business expenses like phone, software, etc. I have most of the equipment I need, but I have some items I still need to acquire before I can go fullscale.
Right now, we are renting a house in the country, and it is very small. I have groomed dogs in my kitchen and living room, using the clawfoot tub as my bathing space, but it's awkward and cramped. We also have a very shallow crawlspace, so grooming down there would be murder on my back. I have entertained the idea of grooming on the picnic table in our backyard LOL!!! (just my own dogs, of course).
With the financial burden of immigration, having a baby with no health insurance and all kinds of bills in our lives, I think I will start with a house-call grooming service. I have done this for friends and a couple of local breeders. The convenience is definitely a plus for the people with whom I've shared this service. Later, when finances are in better shape, I'd like to open a store front grooming salon in or around town. (We're about 7 minutes from town right now) When that happens, I want to have a very posh grooming salon with all kinds of flashy niceties, but for now, I am willing to lug around a grooming kit on wheels.

Hello everyone!
I am excited I found this Canadian Groomers forum, awesome!
My name is Leslie, I am 28 years old and have been grooming since 2004. I went to Nancy Bryson’s school. I love my job! I love talking about grooming and learning more.