Let me first start by clarifying that this blog post isn't targeting a specific individual or grooming business but instead highlighting a worldwide industry flaw that hinders the progression of professional groomers around the world and subsequently the quality of care an animal receives.
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Why is an unregulated grooming industry a bad thing for animal welfare?
The professional grooming industry is typically unregulated, though there may be some places in the world where a vague grooming licence is necessary in order to trade.
This means that anyone can profess to be a dog groomer and open up a business irrespective of whether they have had any form of training and/or a qualification to support them.
How does an outdated grooming industry harm animal welfare and what is wrong with existing qualifications?
Professional dog grooming certifications and qualifications that currently exist tend to reflect an outdated ideology to dog care that seems to disregard what we know today about the advancement of dogs, particularly their emotions and how this might influence the way we work.
But say for arguments sake, you select a person who has obtained some kind of formal training prior to opening up their business, one of the areas vaguely covered will include the relevant legislation involved in operating an animal-specific business particularly and probably most importantly, the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
In most Level 2 and 3 training, grooming students will be taught the Five Freedoms in relation to their work and that they are obliged to adhere to them, yet the issue with the freedoms is that they are vague and often open to misinterpretation and/or manipulation especially in the context of a professional grooming environment.
What are the Five Freedoms in the Animal Welfare Act 2006?
For reference, here are The Five Freedoms:
Freedom from thirst, hunger and malnutrition
Freedom from discomfort
Freedom from pain, injury, and disease
Freedom from fear and distress
Freedom to express normal behaviour
How To Find Your Nearest Holistic Groomer
In what ways do conventional grooming practices often breach The Five Freedoms?
But a glimpse into a commercial grooming environment would demonstrate countless examples of even the most basic five freedoms being breached on a regular basis under the assumption that it is necessary and unavoidable.
To give you an example of what I mean here let's take freedom number four (freedom from fear and distress) and think about the average dog being groomed in a professional grooming environment.
While we may market a grooming session as a "spaw day" or "pamper session", the reality is that in the majority of cases, dogs really dislike and/or are afraid of being groomed and because of this, experience a great deal of distress and fear. This is because little is done to help a dog adjust and/or desensitise to the grooming process.
Grooming is certainly not a walk in the park for the average companion dog and it's not uncommon for groomers to pass off an uncomfortable environment as 'part and parcel' with the job without actually understanding where this industry myth stemmed from in the first place. It has simply always been the way and is therefore expected - no questions asked!
Sadly too many professional groomers are unaware that there is an alternative way to do things that can reduce if not entirely, eradicate fear and distress.
Not enough groomers are encouraged to invest in the relevant and reputable CPD courses to improve their skills in working with and achieving cooperation during a grooming session.
If we take another example using freedom number five and combine it with freedom number two (freedom to exhibit natural/normal behaviours and freedom from distress) and think about the general approach to grooming a dog, particularly the way groomers are taught to handle them during a grooming session, could we honestly say that a dog's natural behaviour is respected?
And do you think that by stopping a dog from removing himself from an uncomfortable hold, like the chin hold demonstrated in the next image, would cause a dog discomfort?
In conventional grooming rules are bent to accommodate to a groomer's lack of knowledge in canine behaviour, psychology and communication because it isn't expected that we know much about any of those things.
"A groomer's job is to groom a dog - we are not behaviourists or trainers" or, "the grooming environment will never be stress free so I don't bother trying"
Are just two common statements I have heard and they couldn't be farther away from the truth!
This outdated mindset and approach all stems from neoteny and the bad side of anthropomorphism - our desire to look at pretty things alongside our assumption that dogs like to look pretty make the demand for styling more important than the need to provide an exceptional standard of care.
Many groomers don't know how to look at the bigger picture where welfare is concerned, they just get the job done as quickly as possible while counting the hours before they finish for the day.
What other important factors influence conventional grooming practices and what are the implications as a result?
Over the years, entities like our beloved Kennel Clubs have bastardised the purpose of grooming and as such, our sector is considered more of an art form that exists to support and help to demonstrate breed standards, over and above everything else.
What's more, the majority of people tend to identify and rely solely on Veterinary professionals and behaviourists to safeguard the wellbeing of a dog.
Our value as pet professionals is often measured based on how good we are at getting a coat clean and working with a pair of scissors.
Because of this the grooming industry isn't involved in any serious conversations when it comes to making any real difference to the quality of life a dog has, which you can read more about on my other blog post here.
The problem with this is that countless dogs needlessly suffer at the hands of groomers and the issue barely ever addressed because people are unaware of what is exactly involved in a grooming session. My friend and associate, Dr Marc Bekoff wrote about this very thing after a conversation we shared back in 2022, here.
Basically, not enough dogs receive a grooming service focused on their individual needs since it is still believed by the majority of dog groomers that a set methodology is more effective and makes the groomer more money.
The implications of an outdated grooming industry is a great worry since scientific studies already highlight the devastating consequences of emotional trauma on the overall lifespan of a dog.
In short, when grooming is approached without consideration and respect for the Five Freedoms for example, there are consequences that often go undetected for many months before they become more chronic and visible to the human eye.
A dog subjected to prolonged stress over an extended period of time will have an increased likelihood of developing life-threatening health disorders.
This combined with the psychological impact of emotional distress and the physiological consequences of force through physical restraints, only adds to the pain a dog experiences over the course of his life.
Over the last seven years I have researched, observed, assessed and reviewed hundreds of cases of dogs with significant grooming-related trauma* and have concluded that in most cases the injuries and emotional trauma a dog experiences is often so deep-rooted that in the best case scenario, only mindful management through a bespoke care plan can make future experiences of grooming less stressful and traumatic.
Since we are living in the 21st century it is my belief that the professional grooming industry requires a complete review and face-lift should it wish to be considered a valuable service to the wellbeing of dogs.
There are many things to consider before deciding whether this means regulating or licensing the industry, which I'm sure I will discuss in another blog post but what we can all do now is actively seek-out and invest in CPD that will challenge us to do better than we currently are for dogs.
*significant grooming-related trauma relates to grooming events that have resulted in learned helplessness, injury to a dog and/or extreme survival responses including but not limited to defecating and/or faint.
How To Find Your Nearest Holistic Groomer
If you are a pet care professional and/or dog carer looking to find a professional groomer who can provide a more bespoke and holistic service for your dog, please check out The Holistic Groomer's Online Global Directory to find your nearest HGA Approved Groomer. Look out for the 'certified' badge at the top of a listing for graduated students.
Students and graduates of The Holistic Grooming Academy are taught an advanced education in canine behaviour, psychology, safe handling and positive dog training in the context of a professional grooming environment, and are actively invested in their ongoing CPD. Check out the HGA Groomer's Pledge to find out more.
I do advise you still carry out your own due diligence when selecting a pet professional for your dog.
Further Recommended Reading
To learn more about the Five Domains 2020 - an updated framework based on the Five Freedoms that takes on a more 'wholistic' approach to the welfare and wellbeing of dogs, visit here.
To learn more about my advanced enhancer course designed for professional groomers looking to learn the fundamentals to all of the areas currently missing in conventional training, please visit here.
To book a dog carer consultation to review and discuss your dog's bespoke grooming care plan, please reach out to me here.
Bibliography
Animal Welfare Act 2006 - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/45/contents
Science Report on Emotional Trauma and Lifespan of Dogs - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159110001243
Science Report on Emotional Arousal Implications on Health Conditions of Dogs - https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/3/465