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Useful experience for pet groomers includes:

• paid or volunteer work with animals
• cleaning experience
• customer service experience
• hairdressing or nail salon experience.

Pet groomers may do some or all of the following:

• consult with pet owners about their requirements
• de-knot and brush animal hair
• bathe, shampoo and dry animals
• trim, shave, shape and dye fur 
• trim and paint animals' nails
• empty dogs’ anal glands
• clean, inspect and maintain the salon and cages
• sell animal care products
• make records and carry out office work.

Pet groomers who run their own businesses may also do tasks such as marketing, managing staff and keeping accounts.

Not enough pet groomers to meet demand

Demand for trained, experienced pet groomers is growing each year because:

• people are spending more money on their pets
• designer dog breeds are popular, and many of these dogs need regular grooming
• fewer pet owners are willing to groom their pets themselves
• not enough people are training to be pet groomers.

Many pet grooming businesses are hiring people from overseas to meet demand.

According to the Census, 714 pet groomers worked in New Zealand in 2018.

Chances best for trained pet groomers

Chances are best for pet groomers who have completed a grooming course and gone on to do at least three months of training in a grooming salon. This is because most pet groomers are too busy to give on-the-job training.

Types of employers varied

Pet groomers may work for:

• grooming salons
• veterinary clinics
• mobile grooming businesses
• shops that sell products for animals.

They may also set up their own businesses.

Pet groomers may progress to set up their own grooming businesses, or move into management roles.

With further training they may become animal care attendants, veterinary nurses or veterinary technicians.

• Animal care attendant job information
• Veterinary nurse job information

Pet groomers need to be:

• practical
• caring towards animals
• able to pay attention to detail
• responsible and able to follow instructions
• good communicators as they may have to deal with demanding pet owners
• patient and calm.