What is a pet groomer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Yvette Gonzales

Pet groomers provide grooming services for pets such as dogs, cats, and other animals. They are responsible for bathing, brushing, trimming nails, cleaning ears, and grooming fur to keep pets looking and feeling their best. Pet groomers may also provide other pet-related services such as flea treatments and haircuts. They work closely with pet owners to understand their grooming needs and preferences, and ensure that pets are comfortable and well-cared for during the grooming process.

What general advice would you give to a pet groomer?

Yvette Gonzales

Immediate Past President, National Association of Professional Pet Sitters

In this year of Covid-19, the pet care industry has taken a hit. Since pet care services are provided in-person, travel restrictions and the movement to work from home has changed the face of how our business is done. Meet and greets, which are normally done in person, may now first be done via a Zoom conference, and dog walks are now initiated via porch or driveway pick up. The lack of business and recreational travelers has very much put a halt to long trips for clients, so the pet sitting portion of businesses has come to mostly a standstill. Once the world begins to travel again, our business will see a boom as clients are anxious to get back out and travel the world, this will mean our industry will see an increase in new hires, it's also believed that many new businesses will form, as those who lost their jobs during the pandemic may now turn into entrepreneurs. Grads entering the workforce pre-vaccination will find the opportunities in pet care to be limited; however, if the desire to begin a new business venture is still appealing, now is the perfect time to get organized, begin to market their business, and be assured they won't be immediately overwhelmed with clients. It's good to begin slowly so that when the rush begins everything will operate like a finely tuned machine.
Technology has allowed pet sitters to advance their skills online as well as stay in touch with clients and colleagues this trend will continue post Covid. GPS and online scheduling programs allow for pet parents to easily book services, as well as track their sitters/pets' movements, allowing for greater ease of service and peace of mind.

ScorePet GroomerUS Average

Salary

2.5

Avg. Salary $32,139

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.7

Growth rate 28%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.46%

Asian 2.62%

Black or African American 4.26%

Hispanic or Latino 17.93%

Unknown 6.36%

White 68.37%

Gender

female 86.00%

male 14.00%

Age - 29

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 29

Stress level

6.7

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.0

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.1

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a pet groomer?

Pros

Work with animals
Chance to improve animal health and appearance
Opportunity for entrepreneurship
Ability to build strong relationships with clients and their pets
Satisfaction of seeing the results of your work

Cons

Exposure to pet-related injuries and illnesses
Physically demanding work
Potentially hazardous chemicals and equipment
Difficulty dealing with difficult or aggressive animals
Difficulty handling pet owners' expectations and demands

Key steps to become a pet groomer

Explore pet groomer education requirements

Most common pet groomer degrees

High School Diploma

36.3 %

Bachelor's

24.7 %

Associate

23.8 %

Start to develop specific pet groomer skills

Skills	Percentages
PET	76.34%
Dryers	20.33%
Pet Care	1.20%
Salon Services	1.01%
Cleanliness	0.31%

Complete relevant pet groomer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New pet groomers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a pet groomer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real pet groomer resumes.

Research pet groomer duties and responsibilities

Achieve detailed grooming including skin, ear, nail care, coat clips and dental care.
Manage all breeding, whelping, raising of puppies, grooming and showing of dogs for owners in the AKC.
Perform animal grooming duties such as washing, brushing, clipping and trimming coats, cutting nail and cleaning ears.
Dedicate to building rapport with pet owners by proving excellent customer service and individualize care.

Prepare your pet groomer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your pet groomer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a pet groomer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable pet groomer resume templates

Build a professional pet groomer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your pet groomer resume.

Apply for pet groomer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a pet groomer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do pet groomers rate their job?

5/5

Based on 1 ratings

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Pet groomer reviews

5.0

A zippia user wrote a review on Mar 2020

Pros

Repeat clients with well behaved and cute pets.

Cons

Wild non trained. Once a lifetime into groomers..biters. wiggly , jumpers., Barker's non stop clients who can't understand why you take so long or understand why we do some of things we have to do.

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2020

Pros

Working with animals and caring for the animals. Feeding the animals and bathing and grooming the animals and learning new skills.

Cons

Working late night's shift. I LIKE to work day time so I can spend more time with family and friends.

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2019

Pros

Working with animals

Cons

Lifting heavy dogs, endless cleaning, being wet all the time.

What is a pet groomer and how to become one

What general advice would you give to a pet groomer?

What are the pros and cons of being a pet groomer?

Pet groomer career paths

Key steps to become a pet groomer

Explore pet groomer education requirements

Most common pet groomer degrees

Start to develop specific pet groomer skills

Complete relevant pet groomer training and internships

Research pet groomer duties and responsibilities

Prepare your pet groomer resume

Choose from 10+ customizable pet groomer resume templates

Apply for pet groomer jobs

How did you land your first pet groomer job

Average pet groomer salary

How do pet groomers rate their job?

Pet groomer reviews