Saturday Programs
A Groomers Guide to Working and Herding Group Dogs
Jennifer Bishop-Jenkins
How did Working and Herding Group dogs contribute to the development of modern human economic systems? What grooming techniques are right for these large, intelligent dogs with the natural, often heavy coats? Their grooms and coat types are diverse, far beyond their "Bath/Brush" only stereotype. This session will reveal the origin of all 7 groups of dog breeds, with special focus on the Working and Herding group dogs, and will help any groomer, from beginner to master, categorize coat types and learn the best strategies to groom each type. Learn what grooming tools and techniques are best suited for each coat type. This workshop will describe, breed by breed, the specific grooming needs of all the breeds and coat types in these two groups, while addressing the controversy and explaining the correct care of the most common and natural of all dog coat types: the double coat.
The Rosetta Bone: Decoding Canine Social Dynamics
Khris Berry
By reducing our language of interaction and learning to decode canine social language in a systematical and numerical manner, we can begin to understand our canine partners on a universal level. This one-hour class is a guide to understanding the language of canine social behavior, how it relates to you as a pet professional, and how to apply it to connect more deeply and communicate more clearly with the dogs around you.
Customer Service Survival Skills
Amy Castro
Do you ever feel like you’d rather wrestle a feral cat or a wrangle a fear-aggressive dog than deal with a cranky, caustic, or complaining customer? Dealing with our human customers can challenge the communication skills and patience of even the nicest people. In this fun and interactive program, Communication Expert, Amy Castro will show you how to not only survive, but to thrive in your daily interactions with even the most difficult customers. You will learn how to project a positive and professional image in every interaction, to avoid trigger words that just fire customers up, to handle objections with grace, and you’ll walk away with a 5-step, problem-solving conversation that can be applied to any customer problem or complaint.
Quick and Trendy Poodle Pet Trim
Jonathan David
A great haircut is your best advertisement, but who has time to be a perfectionist? You do! A stylish Poodle pet trim isn't as time consuming as you think with the help of snap on combs, quality shears, and some time saving tips! Poodles are one of America’s most popular breeds and every groomer sees plenty of them, but often owners think a great Poodle trim is too much maintenance. Jonathan will show you how to give a great haircut that's a walking billboard of your work without too much time on your part and too much maintenance for your customers.
Air Cleaning 101: Creating Safer, Healthier Grooming Environments
Annette Uda
Upper respiratory infections in dogs and cats, such as dog flu, canine cough and feline upper respiratory infections can spread in an instant. Grooming environments are particularly susceptible to infectious diseases living in the air thanks to bathing and the high humidity levels created, as well as the constant dander shedding from clipping and brushing. If you care about a clean and healthy business, but you are not cleaning your air, this session is for you! We’ll discuss the way infectious diseases are spread, how pathogens stay in the air, and the science-backed steps you can take to create an even healthier environment for you and your clients by cleaning the air.
Model Dog Madness
Angela Kumpe
Model dogs are the latest fad that has groomers of all levels intrigued. They can be used to learn and improve breed profile trims as well as practice freestyle and creative grooming. In this one-hour class Angela will show you several ways you can trim your new model dog and will also tell you how you can use these to advertise, train, and further your grooming skills.
Everything You Need to Know (and get) for Successful Cat Grooming
Danelle German
Find out what you need to buy, what you need to know, and what kind of space you should create to have the most successful cat grooming experiences. Whether you are currently grooming cats or you are just starting out (or even just thinking about it!), save yourself the time, money, and hard lessons (sometimes with blood involved) by learning from someone else’s mistakes. With nearly two decades of feline-exclusive grooming behind her plus some big wins in the show ring, Danelle has answers, tips, tricks and more to help you get a head start no matter where you are. Live demonstrations on a cat are included!
Terrific Terriers… Sue’s Way!
Sue Zecco
“You can achieve a natural look on a terrier without hand stripping,” says Sue, “that every discriminating pet owner will love.” Sue will demo her winning techniques on achieving the correct lines on terriers using clippers that will offer a natural look on a pet trim. Sue will also discuss the difference in terrier heads.
25 Things Every New Groomer Should Know
Barb Hoover
If you’re new to grooming or even have been doing it for years, you’re sure to learn something new in this class where Barb will share some insider secrets to help you out in various situations that may arise. From equipment maintenance to how to deal with disgruntled customers, this class will help you be prepared for all the expected and unexpected things that can arise in a grooming salon.
The German Trim
Judy Hudson
Learn some great techniques to dress up this often-overlooked trim in our salons. This adorable trim is great for Poodles that hate their feet trimmed and for owners looking for a mustache and beard.
The Science of Scent: How Fragrances Are Used in Grooming Products
Dr. Dale Sanson
When we use shampoos or conditioners should we worry about the fragrances used in our grooming products? You may have not known that the fragrances in our own personal care products as well as in the grooming products we use on pets can either be naturally harvested from flowers, mosses, barks, etc. or can be synthetic. The Fragrance Wheel will be discussed and how it is used by Fragrance Houses to put desirable fragrances in your pets’ products. Fragrance “Notes” will be discussed and some popular fragrances used in grooming products will be broken down into individual Top, Middle and Bottom Notes. A real fragrance blend will be broken down during an on-site odor evaluation.
Cindy Knows Mobile!
Cindy Oliver
Come join Cindy for a fun, informative hour about mobile grooming! See how her long-running mobile businesses has been successful and how yours can be too! Listen to tips, experiences, funny stories, and more. If you’re just getting into mobile grooming or are a seasoned mobile groomer, this class is for you!
8 Key Things You Must Do Well on Facebook to Grow Your Grooming Business
Bella Vasta
Have you ever been frustrated by not getting leads for new customers like you want? Wish you knew how to make Facebook not suck all of your time? You won't want to miss this! Bella Vasta will share practical key systems you can put in place that will help you maximize the results you can get using the powerful place of Facebook to get more phone calls, messages and positive branding for your grooming business.
Super Styling Heads
Jay Scruggs
First impressions are everything in the art of grooming. The first thing your client should see when the dog is groomed is a great expression. In this informative seminar, Jay will take you through the grooming steps of different head styles. You will learn breed specific techniques as well as different head style options. This seminar is for those groomers who want to fine tune their techniques to wow their clients immediately upon seeing their dog.
Enzymes vs Antibiotics: Alternatives for Problematic Skin and Ears
Jennifer Greene
Offer relief for those pets suffering from allergic skin or painful infections of the ears and skin. In this session, you will learn the difference between enzymes and antibiotics and how to easily incorporate enzyme-based products in your service to improve the comfort and health of those pets in need. You will also learn tips for client education, at-home care, and you will be equipped with information on the cleaning and care of infected ears as well as shampoo therapy for calming irritated skin.
Reducing Stress in Grooming: Introductions Count
Terrie Hayward
In the first hour of this series, we’ll cover the importance of first impressions and how to make them count. Terrie will explain the concepts of desensitization and counter conditioning, talk about the importance of properly identifying body language and discuss choosing the appropriate environment to set everyone up for success.
Creative Grooming for Your Salon
Cindy Oliver
Come join top Creative competitor, Cindy Oliver for a fun filled, live demo seminar on creative grooming! She will cover creative techniques you can implement in your salon to wow your everyday clients. Some of the topics covered will be temporary and permanent color, airbrushing, and detailing. So, if you’re just dipping your toes into creative, thinking about competing, or anything in between - you won’t want to miss this class!
Grooming Double Coated Breeds
Chris Pawlosky
This is a must see for beginner groomers or bathers/brushers that finish double coated breeds. Chris will walk you through the procedures that will help you create the ideal image on any double coated fluffy in record time. This session will demonstrate many helpful products and techniques to make those customers with double coated breeds with extreme shedding come back again and again.
How to Find and Keep Great Groomers
Melissa Verplank
Staffing your grooming department can be a huge challenge. Melissa knows. She’s been there countless times herself. Over the years, she has learned what it takes to find great groomers – and keep them. In this session, Melissa shares her secrets to recruiting talent; talent who wants to grow their own skills and see the company succeed. She’ll talk about what to look for when hiring and ideas on how you can encourage personal growth within your team. Plus, she will discuss a unique compensation plan when it comes to paying your grooming team. Melissa’s methods are time-tested and proven. When used correctly, they ensure longevity and job satisfaction. These two areas are important when it comes to growth, profitability and a smooth-running grooming operation.
6 Tactics You Must Do to Network Your Pet Business
Bella Vasta
Come join the excitement and brain explosions as Bella bursts with 6 tactics that you can do as soon as you arrive home to get all the clients and community contacts you ever wanted. Bella will show you all the different ways to network, give you actual scripts you can use and tactics that hundreds of pet professionals have proven to work. Some ideas might seem off the wall, and other you might not have ever considered. Rest assured, you will leave feeling excited, challenged, and enlightened while learning how to be the talk of your town and other business owners rolling over to work with you and your business.
Sporting Dog Grooming Techniques
Michell Evans
There are multiple techniques applied to Sporting breeds. In this demo Michell Evans - The Grooming Tutor will explain how to properly work the short double coat on the jacket and how to achieve natural looking furnishings. She will discuss bathing and drying the coat as well as demonstrate how to rake, card, thin and trim the coat. The techniques learned in this class can be applied to many breeds in the Sporting group as well as many breeds in other groups. Join Michell to learn the difference between shaving the back coat and working the back coat!
Perfect Bichon Head
Olga Zabelinskaya
Trying to achieve the perfect Bichon head is something every groomer strives to do. Olga quickly became one of the most well-known and respected for her achievements with Bichon Frises. In this seminar Olga will share her tips to make your Bichon heads perfect every time with easy to follow guidelines. Lots of common mistakes are made when it comes to this breed’s profile and trying to correct those after the hair is gone can be a nightmare. Let Olga show you how to avoid these mistakes and make your next Bichon competition ready.
Pricing Your Way to Profit with Cat Grooming
Danelle German
We all want to be profitable in our businesses. Pricing structures, special fees, add-on services, and marketing all lend a hand in the effort to increase profits, especially when it comes to cat grooming and the lack of nearby, direct competition. During this lecture, you will discover ways to grow a business by making it more efficient so that you can put more money in your own pocket at the end of the day. Danelle will share with you the very things she has used over the years to turn negligent, irregular cat owners into 4-6 week forever fabulous clients!
Buyer Beware: Where Are My Shears?
Dara Forleo
Have you ever had the feeling that selection of shears, thinners and chunkers were so overwhelming you could not decide between them? Dara will talk style, steel and edge, and how to shop for your perfect set. Bring your shears, they can tell you a story!
House-Call Grooming: You Do WHAT in People's Homes?
Laura Hearn
Want to go mobile but don't have the funds for a grooming vehicle yet? Laura shows you how to still be a mobile groomer by actually grooming the pet inside the client's home. We'll cover business expenses, equipment needed, hair containment, safety concerns, and setting prices. Learn a bit more about this niche way of mobile grooming!
Reducing Stress in Grooming: Collaboration with Caregivers
Terrie Hayward
In this hour we will discuss how to set yourself up as a resource and expert. From building a small shop course to expanding your reach, you will learn how to use your knowledge to work towards client compliance.
Snap-On Comb Techniques
Jodi Murphy
Using snap on combs will save you so much time from unnecessary scissoring. These combs can wreak havoc on your trims if they are not used properly. Jodi will demonstrate different techniques that will help you get your dogs done in a timely manner. Learn when to use a blade as opposed to using a comb attachment and how coat texture will help you decide which tool to use.
Leader of the Pack
Cheryl Purcell
Learn how to be the pack leader of your salon - and not just with the dogs. You need to be the pack leader of your employees and clients, too. Cheryl will teach you how to be an effective alpha without having to face a challenge at every turn.