Tail Talk Grooming Chronicles with Hound Therapy

From Clippers To Class Rooms: Pet Grooming Education with Hound Therapy

• Shannon & Tanya • Episode 30

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How Did Your Grooming Academy Start?

The leap from clippers to classrooms didn’t start as a dream. It started as a need. We kept meeting groomers with years of experience who were still missing core skills, and clients who expected consistent results without understanding the craft behind them. So we built a curriculum and a culture that treats grooming as a profession, not just a trade, and the difference shows up in safety, quality, and respect.

We walk through what standards really mean in a pet salon. Yes, AKC patterns shape our technique, but most dogs aren’t headed to a show ring. They’re seniors with sensitive skin, puppies learning table manners, or couch companions with busy owners. That’s why we teach judgment alongside scissors: when to modify a pattern, how to prioritize skin health over style, and how to balance client wishes with humane care. Standardized education raises the floor for salons everywhere—clear sanitation, behavior protocols, drying safety, tool choices—and gives groomers the language to explain pricing and set boundaries.

If you’ve ever thought grooming was just puppy cuddles, we lay out the truth. The job is physical, time-pressured, and often thankless. We talk about standing all day, handling difficult dogs with calm hands, and keeping your cool when clients minimize matting or training gaps. Professionalism is more than a smile; it’s clear intake, honest assessments, documented conditions, and the courage to say “not today” when safety is at risk. We share how we broke down our own muscle memory into teachable steps, created a flow that students can rely on, and built a pathway for new groomers to grow without picking up bad habits.

By the end, you’ll understand why education isn’t a luxury but the backbone of better salons, healthier pets, and sustainable careers. If you’re exploring grooming as a career or you’re a pet parent who wants the best care, this conversation offers a transparent look at the craft, the standards, and the human skills that make it work. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves dogs, and leave a review to tell us what topic you want next.

To learn more about Hound Therapy visit:
https://www.HoundTherapy.com
Hound Therapy
3509 E Park Blvd.
Plano, TX
469-367-0009

SPEAKER_03:

Welcome to Tale Talk Grooming Chronicles with House Therapy, the podcast where we talk all things pet grooming, daycare, academy, and more. Hosted by Shannon and Tanya of House Therapy, serving pet owners across North Texas. We're here to share expert tips, hilarious pet stories, and the inside scoop on keeping your furry friends happy and healthy. Our motto, humanity over vanity. And don't worry, we don't fight. Let's get started. Who let the dogs go?

unknown:

Who let the dogs go?

SPEAKER_02:

What happens when groomers become teachers? We're diving into the growing world of grooming education and how it shapes the next generation of pet professionals. Welcome back, everyone. I'm Sophia Yvet, co-host and producer back in the studio with Shannon and Tanya, professional groomers at Hound Therapy. Hi ladies, how's it going today? We're good. How are you? I'm good and I'm great. Um, happy to be back with you both. Now let's jump right in. From clippers to classrooms. Pet grooming education is such a powerful shift. What inspired you to take your grooming experience into the teaching space and start shaping the future of pet professionals?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, it started as a need um versus a want, uh, for sure. Um, I I will say that so grooming is uh is uh it's always been a trade. It's now gone to from from a trade to a profession. And uh I saw that firsthand um, you know, when we opened here, trying to find groomers that came in that were in the trade of grooming, but they were not professional groomers. And so there's, you know, we're still unregulated, we still have so many things, uh, professionalism to teach. There's so many things that just are are are un that are lacking and and the profession, which is the term that we use now versus our trade. And there's a little bit of boasting in that. So um we weren't seeing the standards that that you know, 13 years, 14 years, and they didn't know how to do a standard regular schnauzer pattern. Um, that being said, you know, we do grooming. So for for people who are not going to a show tomorrow, their talk is sitting on the couch, uh, and they have specific needs. So being able to know that uh and being able to do that are two very separate things. So we started school here out of a need, uh out of uh a need of professionals who wanted to step out of the trade world and work, walk into the professional world doing a trade. Um, the lack of standardizing in grooming, uh, it's just education, yeah, we it needs to change.

SPEAKER_00:

It has like something at some point has to go. Like you have so to me, you have a lot of un not really uneducated, but just groomers that don't know how to do it improperly. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

And it's, you know, if you're teaching um a step that is not, you know, in a handbook somewhere, and there are not very many handbooks. There's we have an AKC standard. That is what grooming standard has been for the last 50 years. Yeah. Um, but we're not in a show. Our standard is very different. Uh, we need to have a standard of professionalism, and and we don't. You don't have that across the board. Uh, and it's just it's proper training elevates our pricing, it helps the the the quality, uh, it helps get and earn respect when you look at a client and you're like, look, I've been, I'm professional. These are all things that we need to have.

SPEAKER_00:

And I will say if you walk into those unprofessional salons, like you know it pretty quickly.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean it's night and day difference.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. The business of education is a whole separate um business of than than dog grooming. So it's uh, you know, we're dog groomers and now we're we're educators. So it's which is an odd shift. And there's been groomers that have been teaching grimmers for years and years. Um it's the we have to take a step back on what they've been teaching and what you've been taught. I was taught AKC regulations um with a a slight twitch to make the client happy. So I was taught the AKC standard way, but I was also taught by somebody who's very professional and worked in the professional world of dog grooming uh for shows. So we just have that lack. There's a there there became a disconnect for sure. And um it's really difficult to find that fine line. Um so yeah, there's a lot uh coming up with a curriculum, uh, you know, as a as a dog groomer, like what to teach, how to teach it. We've we've got a really good flow now. It's written down and it's you know, it's on papers and books.

SPEAKER_00:

Teaching everybody your every little mm minuscule move for the five.

SPEAKER_01:

It's fun. Yeah. Um, but that's kind of how we started. Uh it it was more of a need.

SPEAKER_02:

So my next question for you is what are some of the most common misconceptions new students have about crew me?

SPEAKER_01:

Oh gosh. That it's fun.

SPEAKER_00:

Or that it's easy. That's the that's the best one. Or I love this, I can do it. Uh you some people just don't have it. Like some people have it, and then some people you have to really work for it, and others just the the disconnect.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, well, I would say the m the myth the one the number one thing that I think people do not understand is that what we do, and I just said this to a new um student coming in, it is unappreciated. Uh, the work that we do with the animals that are here, um, the ones that appreciate us the most uh are the dogs that are difficult and their owners know that they're difficult or they're old or they've been turned down. But these big dogs that come in that, you know, people they're they live in a very privileged household. They're overfed, you know, they're they're they're the babies. We get zero. And it is a lot of work to train these dogs to stand on a table, to blow dry them, to brush them out, physical work. We stand all day. We do not eat, we do not have a scheduled time to eat. We are working on somebody else's schedule all of the time. We have dogs jumping in our face, uh, anal glands squirting all over, nail clippings, you know, hair in your eyes. Nobody at the end says, Oh my God, thank you so much for everything you're doing. Yeah, we don't get that. You don't get that. They get, oh, you know, Dozer looks amazing. Fluffy looks great. Thanks, guys, but they're not, it's not a whole lot of things.

SPEAKER_00:

It's almost like a lighthearted, like not even lighthearted.

SPEAKER_01:

I'm I'm sure it's genuine, but like and today's today's workers, today's students, people that are coming into grooming, they're they're either in the corporate world uh and they're coming here because they want, they want to be appreciated and liked, or they haven't felt that obviously where they are, they're making a career change. Yeah. Um, or they think that this is easy work. Um, or we get young people that come in thinking, well, I love dogs, so you know, this is the next, this is the regional step. Well, all of those are great. We clean on a daily basis. I mean, we are maids, we are um hairstylists, we are uh trainers, we are uh vet techs, we are, you know, the entry gateway to all things that are um infectious. Uh, we have to know how to maintain and treat every dog's safety in here. We have to know, you know, what good things look like, what what smells are behaviorists.

SPEAKER_00:

We're behaviorists.

SPEAKER_01:

We're everything. We're everything. So it's it is it is a very difficult, um, time-consuming job to know that and to be able to do that with a professional attitude when somebody is quite literally looking at you and you know that they're lying to you, you know that this dog is not trained, you know that this dog was not brushed yesterday, you know that this hot spot didn't develop overnight. And you look straight at these people and they look at you with a smell like, oh no, it, I just did it. It it and they're proud of it. Or you should put that up. I can see that that coat was matted. Yeah. They're like, whatever, I don't care. I've got to, you know, they're they're busy about their day. They don't care about the job that we do from point A to B, not wholeheartedly. They want to drop off their animal, they want to have good care and be well maintained and come home looking and smelling good, but they don't want to do, and and I've asked many, I said, come back, look, let's take a look at your dog together. I don't have time. Uh, I do I have to? I'm not prepared for this today. You know, I'm like, well, okay. Then we're just gonna charge you. And they're like, okay, great, no problem. So it's more of a money consumption um than it is uh a thankless job. So people come into this thinking that it's this high rewarding, awesome thing that we're gonna play with puppies all day. And that is not at all the type of uh profession that we are in. It is it is a very delicate balance.

SPEAKER_00:

That's not your day-to-day anyway. Like, yes, we get to play with puppies. Yes, it is fun some days, but that's not every day. You have to love the chaos. Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

Um and embrace the chaos. Yes. And if you don't, it's gonna be a very difficult job. Um, you've got to learn to leave your stress at home. Uh, we're not a stress, we are a very high-level stress uh profession. Uh it's it's difficult to do every day and see the things that we see every day and maintain a smile when you know that um, you know, this dog is not being treated like it should be.

SPEAKER_00:

Um and not lose your faith in humanity.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

It's hard some days.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

So hopefully that answers some of your questions.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, yes, it it certainly does. And I could only imagine what high stress you both are surrounded by on the day-to-day. Well, Shannon and Tanya, thank you for sharing your passion for teaching and elevating the grooming industry. We'll see you next time.

SPEAKER_03:

That's a wrap for this episode of Tale Talk with Hound Therapy. Ready to book your pet's next groom daycare stay or grooming academy tour? Call us at 469-367-0009. That's 469-367-0009 to schedule an appointment or visit us online at www.houndtherapy.com, serving North Texas with expert pet care. Until next time, keep those tails wagged.