Dog Grooming Schools

Last week the 10 o’clock news did a report on the grooming industry. The individuals that the reporter interviewed were shocked to find out that the grooming industry is not regulated and that groomers are not required to be licensed. There is a very active and emotional debate about this subject going on within the “Industry” and the outcome of those debates are still “up in the air”. People have been calling me for information. At this time, I would recommend that pet parents choose groomers based on: veterinarian recommendations, referrals from other pet parents who are satisfied with their doggie’s grooming experiences, and/or by doing onsite visits and talking directly to the groomer themselves.

I’ve also been getting many calls from individuals interested in enrolling in our grooming academy. Petite Pooch Chateau Dog Grooming Academy has gone through the required procedures to become and remain a school “in good standing” with the regulating body for trade schools which is the Texas Workforce Commission Career Schools and Colleges (please see their website for more information). The school is audited by a TWC State Representative each year and I’m proud to say that we have been and continue to be in compliance with all of the regulations.

I’ve also been fielding a few calls lately about the difference between “Private vs. State Schools” so I went straight to the source for information. According to the Texas Workforce Commission Career Schools and Colleges - Texas Administrative Code Chapter 132 - All career schools must apply to TWC and follow the procedures outlined below. Although the industry is not regulated, trade/career schools in Texas must adhere/abide by the Texas Administrative Code or TWC will take action. Thanks to those of you who called me for information…I encourage anyone thinking about going to grooming school to do their research. There are many fine schools to choose from, you just have to choose one which will accommodate your needs and please ensure that, at least in Texas, that the school you choose meets the standards for a career school/college.Â

 ”The definition of a career school or college is found in Texas Education Code, Section 132.001:

(1) “Career school or college” means any business enterprise operated for a profit, or on a nonprofit basis, that maintains a place of business within this state, or solicits business within this state, and that is not specifically exempted by this chapter and:

(A) that offers or maintains a course or courses of instruction or study; or

(B) at which place of business such a course or courses of instruction or study is available through classroom instruction or by correspondence, or both, to a person for the purpose of training or preparing the person for a field of endeavor in a business, trade, technical, or industrial occupation, or for avocational or personal improvement.

The statute requires that a business have either an exemption, or if it is a career school or college, have a Certificate of Approval, prior to advertising or operating.

The statute requires that a number of things occur before we issue a Certificate of Approval. The major parts of the process are listed below:

The courses of instruction must be submitted and approved.

A school director is required. The application for that individual must be approved.

Applications for the instructors must be approved.
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Applications for representatives (the employees of the school that discuss the school with the public) must be approved.

The facilities and equipment must be inspected and approved.

Audited financial statements must be submitted and approved.

Typically, two to three months pass from the time that we first receive an application packet to the time that all of the requirements are met and we can issue a Certificate of Approval.”
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Multiple Dog Syndrome (MDS)

Oh…My…God! You have 7 dogs!!! I hear that all the time. I know, it’s crazy. Thank goodness I have a husband who understands me…who gets that I just absolutely love dogs. Especially those dogs who need a second (or third or fourth or last) chance. Yes, I admit it…I have MDS. I never wanted 7 dogs, I only wanted 2…but what do you do when one presents himself/herself to you? Well, sometimes you take them in and sometimes you have to give someone else a turn to “stand up” and do the “right thing”.  I had to realize that I must look at my/our resources for paying for all of the things a pooch needs, ie: health care, dental, vaccinations, blood work, heartworm preventative, parasite preventative, spay or neutering, food, vitamins and/or medications, grooming, boarding…not to mention your time, love, attention, exercise, stimulation (and poop patrol). There’s a fine line between becoming a “hoarder” and being afflicted with MDS. I quickly (or not too quickly) learned that love alone is not enough to sustain life. I have to assess and evaluate that for myself all of the time. 7 is my limit. I hope that for those of you who can welcome another furry family member into your home…that you do so, but please do alot of “soul-searching” first…know your limit for the sake of the dog. Once you’ve decided that you can adopt another pooch, I hope that you will go to a local shelter, rescue league, petfinder.com, or consult with a veterinarian and their staff to find a dog in need.  So whether you are lucky enough to have 1 dog or 1+ dogs…welcome to the club…the dog lover’s club. It’s a lifetime membership of pure joy!  Love, Norma

One Day to Spay

Petite Pooch Plus has added a new staff member to our “family”. We weren’t looking for any applicants but she was presented to us by one of our hotel staff members. When this young lady interviewed with us, we observed that she was sweet, extremely shy and nervous, thin, not very social or experienced, and not the best-looking gal in town but our management staff wanted to give her a chance. The Petite Pooch Plus manager, Lorena Evans, volunteered to work with her and felt that after some training, she would grow into being a valued member of our team. There was one thing we didn’t know about during our interview with her…she wasn’t spayed. Oh, I guess I forgot to mention…our applicant is a dog.

Her name is “Baby” and she’s a 2 year old female medium-sized Rottweiller mixed breed doggie. She belonged to Melanie Foster’s sister. Melanie works at Petite Pooch Chateau. Her sister was only 32 years old and she died at home about 4 weeks ago after falling into a diabetic coma. “Baby” was with her at the time. Melanie tried to keep “Baby” but for a variety of reasons, she wasn’t able to. Soooo…she introduced “Baby” to me.

I’m a big softy when it comes to these types of situations, especially when it concerns any staff member of Petite Pooch. I could see that Melanie was distraught. She felt guilty about not being able to keep her sister’s pooch and she didn’t know what to do. Realizing that I have 7 pooches of my own and 8 dogs was appealing but not a practical option at my home, I decided to take “Baby” on as a “shop dog”. But first I had to get her assessed by a vet at the Animal Clinic of Farmers Branch.

I know that Melanie’s sister took good care of “Baby” because the veterinarian told me that she was heartworm negative and she was free of any intestinal parasites. After the vet reviewed the vaccination record Melanie gave me, there was no need to update her vaccines…the only thing that needed to be done was to spay “Baby”

I never met Melanie’s sister and she left this world too early in life. I won’t ever have an opportunity to have a conversation with her about the spay vs. not-to-spay debate. I only know that for some reason, she chose not to spay “Baby”. Maybe it was a money issue, maybe it was a philosophy issue, or maybe it was just an issue of not having enough time in the day to get it done. I would encourage every pet parent to get their pet spayed or neutered for all the reasons we already know about…afterall, it only takes “one day to spay”.

Love to all,

Norma