How to Become a Dog Groomer: Training, Cost and Pay

There are four routes into dog grooming: trade school, a corporate academy at a chain like Petco or PetSmart, a salon apprenticeship that starts you as a bather, or teaching yourself. Most take two to six months. No U.S. state licenses individual groomers, so the decision comes down to time, money, and how you learn.

How do you become a dog groomer?

Every working groomer arrived by one of four routes, and they suit different circumstances. Trade schools give you structured breed-cut instruction and a certificate in a few months, but you pay up front and earn nothing while you study. Corporate academies reverse that — Petco trains groomers through an 800-hour, 20-week program (Petco) and pays them through it, in exchange for a work commitment. Apprenticeships put you on a salon floor as a bather and let you learn handling from someone experienced, which is slower and the most realistic about what the job actually is. Teaching yourself is the cheapest route and the hardest: you have to find your own dogs to practice on.

Published prices as of August 2026: Animal Behavior College lists $3,499 paid in full for its grooming program with the toolkit included, or monthly plans from $190.59. Paragon School of Pet Grooming sells its certification by level, starting at $1,299. In-person trade schools vary too much by region to quote a useful range, so ask each one for a total that includes tools and exam fees. A headline tuition number usually leaves both out.

How long does it take to become a dog groomer?

Most structured programs run 8 to 16 weeks. Petco's is longer at 800 hours across roughly 20 weeks, because it is paid and includes floor time. Animal Behavior College's online route takes about 12 months, since you study around a job.

Those numbers describe how long it takes to finish a program, which is a different question from how long it takes to be good. Groomers generally describe a first solid year of full-time work before breed cuts feel routine and a difficult dog stops ruining the afternoon. Budget time for the program and for a year of practice after it.

What qualifications do you need to be a dog groomer?

No U.S. state licenses individual groomers, which is why the four routes above all lead to the same job. Some places regulate the business itself: Connecticut requires a state grooming facility license (Connecticut Department of Agriculture), and some cities require a permit or general business license. Check locally before you open your own salon or mobile service.

Credentials still matter, because clients and salon owners use them as a shortcut for judging skill. The one that carries the most weight is a certificate from a recognized grooming school. Pet CPR and first-aid certification is the one worth doing regardless of route — it is short, inexpensive, and it is the credential that reassures an owner handing over an anxious dog.

How hard is it to become a dog groomer?

You can learn grooming in a program. Handling difficult dogs is what decides whether people stay in the job.

A full day is six to eight animals, some of them frightened, arthritic, or unwilling. You are standing throughout, working with sharp tools on a moving target, and reading body language continuously to catch stress before it becomes a bite. The physical toll is real — wrists, shoulders and lower back are the common complaints. Learning to recognize a dog that has had enough, and to stop, is a genuine skill and takes longer than learning a breed cut.

Is becoming a dog groomer worth it?

Financially, it depends mostly on how you set up the work: employed, booth rent, or your own business.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median annual wage for animal caretakers — the category that includes most groomers — at $35,360 in May 2025, with the top 10% above $50,060 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). That bucket includes a lot of part-time kennel and daycare staff, so it reads low for experienced groomers. Self-employed and mobile groomers set their own prices, so their income depends on how full their book is. We covered the full picture in how much dog groomers make.

Set the two numbers side by side. The most expensive route in the table is $3,499, and two of the six cost nothing because you are paid while you learn. Against a $35,360 median, $3,499 is about five weeks of gross pay. Grooming is one of the cheaper skilled trades to enter, and it is one of the few where the fastest route in also pays you.

What do groomers earn beyond the grooming itself?

Once you are working, clients ask you what shampoo to use, what brush suits a double coat, and what helps an itchy dog. That advice is part of the job from your first month, and most groomers give it away.

Americans spent more than $158 billion on their pets in 2025 (American Pet Products Association). Some of that spending follows recommendations made at a grooming table. A groomer can stock a retail shelf, which takes cash and space, or curate an online storefront of the products they recommend and share the link with clients. Here is how pet professionals earn from the products they recommend.