Imagine the following scenarios.
- You are grooming a dog when you hear a sound in the area where your holding cages or runs are. You look and find a dog lying on the floor, having a seizure.
- Using a 7F blade, you are clipping through the very matted coat of a senior citizen Maltese, being as careful as possible. You see a drop of blood and find that you have nicked the back of the dog's leg.
- A customer leaves two pets to be groomed. You put them together while they wait to be bathed, and they suddenly get into a vicious fight. You manage to separate them, but one has a deep wound on its ear.
- A large, old dog slips on the damp floor of the bathing room and falls. When it gets up, it limps.
- As you take the last tiny snip of the one teeny hair you saw sticking out on a dog's muzzle, it flicks its tongue out, and you accidentally cut the edge of the tongue with your scissors.
- A struggling dog slips out of the safety loop, falls off the table (or out of the tub), and is injured.
These are all scary examples of things that can easily happen in any grooming environment, even under the watchful eye of the most caring, careful, professional groomer. Accidents and emergencies are always a possibility when working with live animals. How we react when a situation like any of the above happens is paramount.
For this reason, taking a pet first aid course is crucial for groomers. There are a variety of courses available; some can be taken hands-on, which is great because you can try resuscitating and bandaging techniques on model animals, and others can be taken via the internet from the comfort of home, which has its own benefits.
Becoming educated in basic first aid for animals will help you understand what first aid supplies you need to keep on hand and how to respond quickly and efficiently to any medical emergency. It will demonstrate that you are committed to the well-being of the pets in your care while grooming them. Pet owners will be reassured knowing they are entrusting their pet to a groomer who will know how to respond appropriately in case of an accident or illness.
Prices for classes vary widely. You can search online for courses in your area or offered online. Some well-respected classes are Pet Tech and those provided by the American Red Cross
