A Profession of Love

Class Curriculum

Title of Program

All Breed Dog Grooming and Shop Management

Total Hours of Program

450 hours

Career Course Days

Monday through Friday 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM
30 hours per week for 15 weeks.

Career Course Evenings

Monday and Tuesday 5:30 PM – 9:00 PM
Wednesday and Thursday 5:30 PM – 9:30 PM
15 hours per week, 30 weeks of instruction.

This program is designed for the person wishing to become a professional pet groomer in the pet industry. The course covers all breeds of dog and cat grooming. There will be daily practical work and classwork along with homework.

Curriculum Clock Hours
* Clock hours are an instructional unit of time consisting of a minimum of 50 minutes and a maximum of 60 minutes.
Basic combing, brushing, dematting, bathing and drying of dogs 125
Nail clipping, ear cleaning, style, balance and scissoring 75
Poodles and Non–Sporting breeds, Mixed breeds; Clipping and scissoring of various styles and patterns, a heavy emphasis will be placed on hand scissoring and pattern setting throughout the course 85
Sporting Breeds (Spaniels, Retrievers, Setters) Clipping, pattern setting, use of thinning shears 47
Long Coated Breeds (Lhasa, Yorkshire Terrier, Afghan Hound, Old English Sheepdog and Shih tzu); Dematting, use of proper brushes and combs. Clipping and hand scissoring of these breeds according to the AKC Standard and pet trims. 30
Terriers; Clipping, pattern setting, use of thinning shears, scissoring 52
Cat Grooming; Brushing, bathing, dematting, handling, control, coat care 6
Practical Work (supervised grooming of pets) Course Total 420
Classwork (Lessons and Homework) Clock Hours
* All facets of instruction and testing are geared toward preparing the student for Master Groomer Certification.
Introduction to Pet Grooming Equipment cost, use and maintenance Product Uses and Health Hazards Shop Sanitation, Job search and placement assistance 10
Anatomy, Nutrition, Skin function, Skin care, Coat care, and Nutrition as it pertains to skin and coat 3
Shop Management, Marketing Techniques, Continuing Education Requirements for Certification by the National Dog Groomers Association of America, Simple Recordkeeping and Smart Business Procedures Style, Balance, Scissoring and fault Correcting, Professional Demonstrations on Various Subjects including an Extensive Text Library Available to All Students 4
  • AKC Standards and Breed Recognition
  • Identification of Breeds, and Specific Breed Standards History, Origin, Faults of Individual Breeds
  • AKC Group recognition Grooming requirements of each breed
1
  • Cat Grooming
  • Breed Recognition
  • Handling
2