Dog lovers unite! This Introduction to Dog Grooming is an ideal entry to becoming more informed and confident when handling dogs. Taught by an award-winning groomer and Crufts champion, we’ll show what it’s like to be a groomer. Explore their day-to-day duties as you tackle the essential theory: health checks, coat types, breeds and starting a business. With 8.9 million pet dogs in the UK, there’s always more room for groomers. What type of dog groomer will you be? Start your journey today with Oxbridge, with optional practical experience.
Looking after people’s pets is one of the most rewarding and fast-growing occupations in the UK today. Although grooming dogs can be physically hard work and challenging at times it is a very rewarding career that can give you a great deal of job satisfaction. Being a dog groomer can be a flexible job opportunity which allows you to build up your business at the rate you want to.
Dog Groomers are trusted with beloved family pets so need to be competent in their skills. To be a successful dog groomer, you should have the ability to handle all dogs firmly but gently and be able to calm and control nervous dogs. You will also need patience and attention to detail often following standards for how different breeds should look.
This Oxbridge course will offer you:
- The perfect introduction to dog grooming.
- All the theory to dog grooming from dog types to types of coat
- An optional practical experience to gain full dog grooming status
- Supportive tutors to guide you through the course and you will have the best possible attention
- Real, long-term job and career prospects (once you’ve gained the right practical experience)
- As with all of our courses, this is flexible and able to be studied when it’s convenient for you.
On this Dog Grooming course, you will:
- Discover the requirements that are needed to start your own dog grooming business and discuss the requirements the owner has.
- Learn different techniques that will work for different dogs, their anatomy and physiology, their behaviour and how to handle dogs safely.
- Study in-depth the equipment that is used to restrain, prepare and groom a dog and the essential equipment required and how to use them properly
- Study the step by step procedures for inspecting a dog, brushing the coat to remove unwanted hair, clipping or using scissors, bathing, drying and finishing.
- Gain a knowledge which enables you to perform basic health checks of the dogs
Discover how to care for dogs and learn skills required in one of the most rewarding occupations in the UK today.
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Study with winnersWe’re an award-winning learning provider and have been recognised for our cutting-edge learning techniques.
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At your own pace
Study this course as quickly or slowly as you wish; we’ll work at a speed that suits you.
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Unlimited Tutor Support
Get as much help and support as you want from your personal course tutor via email and phone.
- Awarding body: NCFE Customised Qualifications
With a heritage stretching back over 150 years, NCFE is one of the largest awarding bodies in the UK. Over 340,000 students were awarded certification by NCFE last year. Our NCFE Customised Qualifications are bespoke, unregulated qualifications developed to meet the needs of our learners. They’ve also been accredited by NCFE/CACHE after meeting strict criteria, demonstrating great quality and rigor. Completing Customised Qualifications does not lead to an OFQUAL regulated qualification, but they can be used as evidence of knowledge and skills towards future study.
Study Hours
We recommend spending 120 study hours on this course; this is around 30 minutes a day over 8 months. However, additional hours may be required for reading writing and research. For the TQT hours, read the course duration section below.
Study Method
Throughout this course, you may be expected to complete assignments, essays, research projects, posters, leaflets, presentations, video/audio recordings, work-based and practical learning sessions to meet the requirements of your course. This information will be included in your study pack detailing exactly what you need to do to accomplish your goals as a student.
Course Duration
You have up to a year to complete this course and we have included a suggested number of study hours. The TQT is 450 hours, which is more than ample time for learners, even with full-time jobs and other commitments. Don’t worry if you go over the year though, we can organise an extension to your course for an additional fee, which also extends your tutor support.
Assessment
The dog grooming course covers 18 units of study, with five assignments and a final multiple choice test. Your assignments will have a practical elements to them, which will require you to record your work on an actual dog.
Optional Practical Assessment
For an additional fee of £60 (per half day), you make take part in a practical course with our partner Dog Groomer in Birmingham. You will be able to see first-hand how a working dog groomer clips and styles her dogs and also try out techniques that you have learned during the diploma. You may take part in as many of these half-day practicals as you wish and you can attend at any point during the diploma. Please contact the College at any point during your course and we’d be happy to arrange this for you.
Course Outcomes
At the end of this course, successful learners will be awarded an NCFE Customised Qualification. The training courses have been designed specifically to meet the needs of learners who prefer to study from home. You can read more about NCFE here.
Additional Information
Difficulty - Level 3
Entry requirements - There are no formal entry requirements for this course, however, it is recommended that you have an intermediate ability to read and write English.
Course Content
- Introduction
- Personal experiences of working in the dog grooming industry
- Personal challenges of working in the dog grooming industry
- Introduction
- Preliminary health check
- Eyes
- Ears
- Mouth
- Nose
- Skin/Coat
- Underside
- Paws
- Introduction
- Single vs Double
- Grooming tips for double-coated breeds
- Coat textures
- Coat length
- Introduction
- Pre-bath grooming
- Bath and blow dry
- Finishing touches
- Introduction
- The wolf inside the poodle
- Reading dog behaviour
- Dealing with fear
- Dealing with pain
- Dealing with aggression
- Introduction
- Nail trimming tips
- How to clip your dog’s nails
- Aggression and nail clipping
- Cutting dark claws
- If you cut the kwik
- Introduction
- Make it positive
- Using the right tools
- Follow the rules
- When something isn’t right
- Introduction
- Preparing for a grooming emergency
- Assembling a first-aid kit
- Emergency know-how
- Muzzling a dog
- Performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation
- Handling minor grooming accidents
- Introduction
- What is the difference between sanitising, disinfecting, and cleaning?
- Cleaning routine
- Frequency of cleaning
- Cleaning grooming tools
- Additional tips and advice
Show 11 more modules
Frequently Asked Questions
We have some answers to common student questions, but if you can't find the answer you're looking for then please contact us and we will do everything we can to answer your questions.
You will have access to your personal tutor, via email and telephone, who will mark your assignments and guide you through the course. In addition, you will be supplied with a comprehensive Study Guide which will help you through the study and assessment process. Your personal tutor will be highly experienced in their subject area and qualified to teach.
You don’t need any prior skills in the subject area to start. However, as with all of our courses, we recommend a reasonable level of English reading and writing ability.
We provide all the specially written learning materials you require to study this course at home. The course fee also includes tutor support for 12 months.
You will receive everything you need to complete this course within the study pack we send to you.
No, this course is assessed by coursework alone.
No, all of the study materials are supplied within your learning pack.
Most students finish comfortably within the course duration period given. However, if you do need more time, your personal tutor support can be extended for an additional fee.
That’s fine, this course can be studied anywhere and is completed by submitting Tutor marked assignments (TMAs).
Please check our FAQs section or Contact Us, we are happy to answer any questions you have.