A true professional groomer experiences or has already experienced what could be called “ zoo-cosmetological ” pleasure: a sensation that is very difficult to describe to neophytes who do not have never experienced this, but which corresponds to what our senses feel in general, but more particularly our hands, and especially our fingers, in contact with the skin and the hair, treated with shampoos, creams and quality care, adapted about groomed.

Usually the sight is also in awe at these times, and a general feeling of fulfillment is felt.

It is a real pleasure that you feel when you bathe, and maybe even more when you blow-dry and then finally cut. But again, very difficult to explain.

Just know that if you become attentive to such sensations, you will soon be able, with your eyes closed, just in contact with the coat, to recognize the creams and shampoos used without being mistaken! ... Be careful, addiction obliges you. On the other hand, it will be very frustrating to go back to low-end cosmetics, without technicality or equivalent result.

In France, the groomer can only be conceived as a priority, only with a brush, scissors or clipper in the hand. Well ... he is okay, because he has to, bathe from time to time even if he will quite easily entrust this task to the last trainee to arrive.

Nothing to do with other countries, where groomers see themselves primarily as hygienists: not only do they not shy away from washing and drying, but they like to do it, because they know that Contrary to appearances, these actions require know-how, experience, finesse (in particular for the choice of products), and that you also need excellent equipment to be economically competitive. This bathing phase could be compared to the foundations of a house: no need to hope to do a good job, if you neglect the base ... and sometimes you will even spend so much time catching up / compensating for the faults of your bathing way. .... that you burn yourself out and stupidly eat away at the profitability of your living room.

What the owner of the animal "remembers"

During this period, we questioned the customers, when they left the dog with us, on what they had appreciated (or had not appreciated) in the days or weeks following the last grooming.

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Were therefore cited:

• the absence or presence of parasites (45%)
• the duration of the brushing aspect of the grooming (44%)
• the fact that the dog scratched (or did not scratch) (40%)
• the quality of the "colors" of the coat (for dogs treated with
• hair removal) (27%)
• ease of maintenance between grooming sessions (17%)

"wash dogs", anyone can do it, you tell me! It's unprofessional!

And indeed that is exactly what so many grooming salons believe where baths are left to the less experienced apprentice, with results that are unlikely to surprise owners much ...

Because the truth is that the bath requires facilities and a real level of professionalism , with a good knowledge of coat metabolism and ​​the action of products , to be able to be given in an efficient and economical way ! Not at all within the reach of the poor apprentice who has just arrived in the living room!

As long as French groomers continue not to make hygiene their main religion, they will continue to miss the true potential of their profession. And they will continue to give all their chances to others, younger, who will understand ... they are already on the way !

What is most likely to vary the time we spend at a toilet , all professionals will agree with me, is the state of tangling of the fur that we are offered, or more precisely, the time that we will spend to untangle it

Let's face it, disentangling can become a groomer's nightmare! Yes, it is a thankless, tedious, tiring job that can cost us an enormous amount of time!

To make "the dog suffer", there is no question of it!

"We can avoid it, at least for the most part, but for that we need to use products which are very effective (it is true), but which are expensive, even very expensive (it is still more true).

- Okay go for the products, but how much will it cost me? "

The dialogue is engaged, the operation " disentangling " has become " salable ".

If it doesn't, we can always suggest a mowing , bearing in mind that it is always a bad solution: imbecile from the cynotechnical point of view (a dog is made to wear its fur, and not to be "shorn"), counterproductive from a commercial point of view (a shearing is a dog that we will not see for a long time).

Let's stop selling our " disentangling time ", let's learn how to sell a global operation , including the use of products and the technique, our specificity, the use of these products!

It must indeed be understood: the true zoocosmetologist actually experiences, physically, what I am used to calling the "zoocosmetological pleasure" in working with furs; but this requires developing a particular sensitivity, an ability to feel and observe certain effects on the coats, a sensitivity that is far from being uniformly shared, and of which a large number of people are in fact lacking. The "zoocosmetological feeling" is cultivated and developed, but in my opinion, it begins by being innate, and it would be a waste of time to want to initiate who does not show a certain prior aptitude for it .

the cutting market, and even more so the mowing market, these are quite often crowded markets ! The most skilful marketing will not change the fact that your prices will be limited more or less by often very real competition and likely to seriously reduce your room for maneuver!

In contrast, the terrain of zoocosmetology is much more open ! Superbly ignored by the majority! Why ? To me, it’s a mystery! A mystery, no doubt, but a very certain fact.

However, this is a very paradoxical situation! Think about it! What percentage of dogs require fur shortening work (in any form)? 10%, 15%, maybe 20%? This last estimate is certainly the most exaggerated.And this is the paradox: a majority of professionals compete on the smallest customer segment, while the th main segment, at least 80% of the market, is practically neglected by all !

"the intelligence of grooming" should lead, almost inexorably, to "intelligent grooming" , which by its very genesis will have three consequences, which, far from opposing each other, will be supported between they:

• the best physiological comfort for animals ,
• the greatest satisfaction of their owners ,
• the highest level of professional development , seated, let us say it clearly, on its two foundations: satisfaction with the work accomplished , and the quality of its remuneration