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Dog grooming businesses are thriving. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there are currently over 103,000 dog grooming businesses in the United States. Dog grooming businesses, of course, are establishments that offer hygienic services for dogs. If you’re thinking about starting your own dog grooming business, there are several essential tools that you’ll need to succeed.

#1) Clippers

You’ll need clippers to succeed as a dog groomer. Clippers are handheld, electrically powered tools that are designed to trim hair or fur. Some of them are intended for human hair, whereas others are intended for animal fur. As a dog groomer, you’ll need the latter type. The problem with human-hair clippers is that they produce excessive noise and vibrations. When using them on a dog, human-hair clippers can cause injury. Instead of using human-hair clippers, choose clippers that are intended specifically for dogs.

#2) Shears

All dog groomers need shears. Shears are long scissors — typically measuring at least 4 or 5 inches long — that are used for manually trimming hair or fur. Unlike clippers, they aren’t electrically powered. You’ll have to use them manually by inserting your fingers through the handle holes, followed by opening and closing the shears around the dog’s fur. Shears are typically used on dogs with long or thick coats.

#3) Shedding Blade

Another essential dog grooming tool is a shedding blade. Shedding blades are different than clippers and shears. While clippers and shears are used to trim fur, shedding blades are used to remove excess fur. All dogs shed. Contrary to popular belief, there’s no such thing as a non-shedding dog breed. All dog breeds shed, with most of them shedding their coat twice a year: once during the fall season and another time during the spring season. When grooming a client’s dog, you can use a shedding blade to remove the excess and loose fur from the dog’s coat. A shedding blade is a tool consisting of a looped piece of metal that catches loose fur.

#4) Curry Brush

You may want to invest in a carry brush when working as a dog groomer as well. Curry brushes are soft grooming brushes. Most of them are made of either rubber or molded plastic. They still have bristles, but the bristles as well as the curry brushes themselves are made of a soft material. You can use a curry brush to remove excess and loose fur from a dog’s coat. At the same time, curry brushes will remove dander and debris that’s stuck within the dog’s coat. A curry brush is a versatile tool that all professional dog groomers need to own.

#5) Rake

Don’t forget to invest in a rake when starting a dog grooming business. Like shedding blades and curry brushes, rakes are designed to remove excess and loose fur from a dog’s coat. They are known as “rakes” because they look like a miniature gardening rake. They consist of a T-shaped tool with a long and straight handle that’s perpendicularly connected to a row of bristles.

Rakes, however, are more effective at removing excess and loose fur from tangled coats than shedding blades and curry brushes. If a dog has a tangled coat, you may struggle to run a shedding blade or curry brush through it. Rakes offer a solution. With their T-shaped design, they can both remove excess and loose fur while simultaneously detangling the dog’s coat.

#6) Nail Clippers

You can’t start a dog grooming business without investing in nail clippers. Dogs need to have their nails clipped regularly to prevent them from becoming ingrown. Just like our nails can become ingrown if not clipped, so can a dog’s nails. For some dogs, monthly nail clippings will suffice. For others, weekly nail clippings may be required. Nail clippers are tools that are designed to clip a dog’s nails so that they become shorter.

There are several types of nail clippers for dogs. One of the most common types is the scissor style. Scissor-style nail clippers live up to their namesake by featuring a scissor-like design. There are also guillotine-style nail clippers, and there are automatic nail clippers. Since different dog breeds have different types of nails, you may want to choose several types of nail clippers for your dog grooming business.

#7) Slicker Brush

You may want to invest in a slicker brush for your dog grooming business. Slicker brushes are grooming brushes that feature fine, wire-like bristles mounted to a flat base. They are used primarily on dogs with medium or long fur. Slicker brushes can dig deeper into a dog’s coat to provide a more complete grooming experience.

In Conclusion

The right tools are essential to your dog grooming business’s success. As revealed here, some of the top grooming tools include clippers, shears, a shedding blade, a curry brush, a rake, nail clippers and a slicker brush.