Animals are groomed for a variety of reasons:
There are 10 lessons in this course:
Grooming is a natural behaviour in animals. It is often considered an innate behaviour which means it occurs without obvious environmental stimuli. Grooming also serves to establish and cement hierarchies and relationships within animal communities.
Some examples of natural grooming include cats scratching on posts (or furniture, or trees), licking, preening and dust baths. You will often find animals in herd or group situations grooming each other. A commonly recognised example would be monkeys picking each other’s coats for parasites. Some of these actions serve to sharpen or maintain claws, some to rid coats or features of parasites, some to smooth the coat – but all to also maintain the integrity of the integumentary system.
The integumentary system, which is discussed in detail in Lesson 2, comprises the skin, hair and nail features of an animal. This system is integral in protection of the internal structures, hence regular maintenance serves to enhance overall health.
Grooming is a key component of any animal care regime. It is essential to an animal’s health and welfare and can also provide aesthetic value. This aesthetic value may be used to promote an animal’s genetic potential for either commercial or social reasons. Grooming is widely preformed on pets, livestock and wildlife. People need to perform grooming tasks on animals which do not have direct access to their natural grooming systems and processes.
In essence, by keeping and breeding animals out of their original environments, we have limited their ability to perform these tasks for themselves. Therefore, to maintain optimal health, we must do it for them.
Of course, animals exist in many different shapes and size, colours and textures. Some have long or short fur while others have scales or feathers. These physical and anatomical variations serve different functions for animals and can be aesthetically pleasing. However, these variations mean humans have to conduct a variety of grooming tasks in order to maintain the animals in their care.
Some services are essential to the animal’s health and wellbeing, while other may be more about marketing than any practical benefit. While most grooming techniques have been developed to fulfil practical necessity some techniques have been developed for aesthetic reasons. This mostly applies to companion animal grooming, especially dogs. Dogs may be groomed to fit a breed standard or in a way to suit their owners taste. For example, the classic poodle clip looks very different to the way poodle fur naturally grows. This also demonstrates the psychosocial role of grooming in some companion animals – it reflects on the owner and the value they place on how they are socially perceived.
However, these enhancements are also applied to livestock in show situations, the purpose of which is to demonstrate their suitability for breeding and the superior traits which may be preserved by breeding with this stock.
Running a successful grooming business involves more than just being able to groom. You need to decide on the services you will offer, how you will package and deliver those services; what you will charge; and then manage the business itself.
Managing a grooming business involves the whole operation from the accounts and administration, marketing and advertising, customer service and client liaison and of course animal handling and grooming well!
This course will help you to understand all aspects of grooming, the needs and considerations of a grooming business, and guide you towards confidence and success in the industry!
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The following academics were involved in the development and/or updating of this course.

Veterinary scientist and surgeon with expertise in agriculture and environmental science, with over 25 years of experience in teaching and research in agriculture, veterinary medicine, wildlife ecology and conservation in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Post-graduate qualifications in Education, Wildlife Conservation Medicine, Aquatic Veterinary Studies and Wildlife Biology & Conservation.
Gareth has a B.Sc.(Hons), B.V.Sc., M.A., M.Vet.S,. PhD, Grad. Cert. Ed.(HE), Post-Grad.Cert. Aq.Vet.Sc., Post-Grad. Cert. WLBio&Cons., Dipl. ECPHM, MRCVS.

Biologist, Business Coordinator, Government Environmental Dept, Secondary School teacher (Biology); Recruitment Consultant, Senior Supervisor in Youth Welfare, Horse Riding Instructor (part-completed) and Boarding Kennel Manager.
Jade has a B.Sc.Biol, Dip.Professional Education, Cert IV TESOL, Cert Food Hygiene.

Alison brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to ACS students.
She has worked as a University Lecturer, has also run a veterinary operating theatre; responsible for animal anaesthesia, instrument preparation, and assistance with surgical techniques and procedures. She has worked in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
She has extensive experience of handling, husbandry, and management of a wide range of both small and large animals and has a particular love for nature and wildlife.
Alison has a BSc (Hon) Animal Science.
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