Every person that is calling for an appointment is making the same comment which is ‘everyone is telling me the same thing, there is no openings for grooming. Why is everyone saying the earliest they can take me is about 8-10 weeks out?’
This is what happened to answer all these questions.
Firstly, a year and a half ago when Covid first happened, and everything shut down dogs’ coats started matting and the pups’ schedules for routine grooming was thrown out of wack. Every Groomer in the area became swamped upon the first opening with not only their own clients, but new ones as well.
Then when the second shut down happened a lot of appointments were cancelled, and this backed up the ones already scheduled to even further out. This all meant leaving no room for new clients for most pets.
Secondly there are SO MANY new dogs that have moved up to Wasaga Beach, Collingwood, Blue Mountains, and surrounding areas. This huge jump in pup population has caused a surge in new clients for Groomers with almost no where to take them to accommodate their schedules. Meaning if you recently moved up and you have your dog on a 6-week rotation, you are competing for spots that are prebooked with existing clients and now your pooch is thrown off their routine for scheduling grooming.
Thirdly and the hardest one on my heart, a few Groomers have shut down. I have heard down the grape vine of people moving to other provinces, changing fields, or having to shut down the business all together. This means that al
l the clients that were with these multiple different grooming facilities are now without a Groomer and having to find a new one that can keep their pooch on a regular schedule.
All in all, the answer is we need more Groomers! This is not a glamorous field by any means. This career has you covered in hair, sweating, sore hands, sore back and do not ever think about having time to care about your hair or makeup let alone eating lunch. This field is for the strong willed and wanting to make a difference in pets’ lives. It has so many rewards at the end of the day when the pet literally smiles at you for making them feel good. When you hear a client get so excited that their dog can see, walk properly, or sees that they are so genuinely happy. If you take care of yourself and look after your hands, back and sanity with a crazy schedule, this is the best career in the world (I am bias)!