Professional Pet Grooming -
600 Clock Hour Hybrid Program
Our diploma program prepares our students in becoming a Professional Pet Groomer. We prepare our students with the necessary skills to professionally groom dogs in a salon, mobile grooming, house call grooming or in a Veterinary practice.
In mastering the art of pet grooming, the program consists of working with grooming equipment, customer relations, bathing, hair drying, ear cleaning, combing, brushing, dematting, breed recognition, first aid, styling, diseases of the skin, perfection of scissor work which is covered in the 550 hours of classroom, lab work in the school and online. The last 50 hours is an externship outside of the school.
The student is placed in a veterinary practice, mobile grooming van, salon or in a house call grooming environment.
This program can be completed in as less than 8 months as a full-time student and as less than 9 months as a part-time student.
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Program will include learning:
- Customer Relations
- Ear Cleaning
- Nail Cutting
- Pad cleaning
- Private Area Cleaning
- Rough Clip Training
- Brushing and Combing
- Pet Bathing
- Pet Drying & Fluff Drying
- Re-clipping
- Blending & Thinning (Finishing touch)
- Mixed Breeds
- Terrier Breeds
- Drop Coat/Miscellaneous Breeds
Externship
The student is placed in an actual grooming “job-like” environment for the last 50 hours. The externship, which is a part of the teaching program, is a non-paid placement. This offers an on-the-job experience, whereby the student can perform the grooming skills learned; including customer relations, time management, sales techniques, etc. A proficiency report is submitted by the salon/supervisor and grade sheets are still a part of this module, including a site evaluation by the Campus director. Upon completion of 600 hours, a diploma is then awarded to the graduate.
Final Test and Completion of Course:
In order to graduate, students must be able to complete a hands-on, practical test on the specifc breeds, according to breed standards set forth by the N.D.G.A.A. (National Dog Groomer’s Association of America)
Open Door Policy for Past Students
If a student attended Merryfield Academy, graduated and/or received a “Completion Certificate” and has decided that they are not fully confident in any area, they may return to school for additional instruction at no additional charge. To learn more about our program, get access to our full catalog here.