# Working as a Bather



## RaeganW (Jul 14, 2009)

So I went around town today, and picked up some applications to bathe dogs at the groomer's in town. I have to add in my references, but then I'm dropping them off tomorrow/Monday. 

And I realized I have no idea what I'm applying for. Bathing dogs (some of the places take cats as well), obviously, and hey that's gotta be better than stuffing tacos, but what else is involved? Would I have to supply my own equipment? I have no experience grooming dogs, beyond brushing my own and driving him to the groomer's, do I still have a chance of getting hired?

I am excited, regardless. I interview pretty well and have some decent hours available, so I'm hopeful. And boy howdy, do I hate stuffing tacos.


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## dtails (Mar 8, 2010)

The reality of what you're applying for: Getting soaked regularly, possibly getting peed and/or pooped on, the possibility of getting bitten, worms, ticks, fleas, and of course properly bathing, drying and maybe prepping dogs for groomers. 

Not trying to scare you or deter you, just wanted you to know how down and dirty grooming can be. As for having no experience, I was hired at a corporate store with no prior professional animal handling so I doubt its an issue. Most people are willing to train the right person.

Have fun gettin dirty!


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

dtails said:


> The reality of what you're applying for: Getting soaked regularly, possibly getting peed and/or pooped on, the possibility of getting bitten, worms, ticks, fleas, and of course properly bathing, drying and maybe prepping dogs for groomers.
> 
> Not trying to scare you or deter you, just wanted you to know how down and dirty grooming can be. As for having no experience, I was hired at a corporate store with no prior professional animal handling so I doubt its an issue. Most people are willing to train the right person.
> 
> Have fun gettin dirty!


Haha, yes. Be prepared for dogs like my pitbull. I will NEVER bathe him at home again. He's an old guy, and my father raised him, but didn't do so very properly. He never gave him baths when he was a puppy so he never has liked the tub. The past summer I *tried* giving him a bath.. ended up pooping in the tub during it.. and of couuurse, I thought it was a chunk of hair because he was blowing coat and picked it up out of the tub, because the tub was dirty as heck and I couldn't tell what it was. Needless to say.. I used a lot of hand sanitizer and the bath ended their. Now I'm gonna take him to people like YOU!


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## luvntzus (Mar 16, 2007)

dtails said:


> The reality of what you're applying for: Getting soaked regularly, possibly getting peed and/or pooped on, the possibility of getting bitten, worms, ticks, fleas...


Also, you will ALWAYS be covered in hair; it will be on your face tickling and itching constantly. You'll probably be introduced to the joy of expressing anal glands... There are lots of big dogs that buck like broncos and ones that will not stand up to save their life. You will spend a lot of time lifting up dog butts so that you can blow dry and brush them out. It can be fun though. Personally I love a good makeover and like making the dogs feel and look so much better.


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

luvntzus said:


> Also, you will ALWAYS be covered in hair; it will be on your face tickling and itching constantly. You'll probably be introduced to the joy of expressing anal glands... There are lots of big dogs that buck like broncos and ones that will not stand up to save their life. You will spend a lot of time lifting up dog butts so that you can blow dry and brush them out. It can be fun though. Personally I love a good makeover and like making the dogs feel and look so much better.


Haha, this too! My dogs must just be the epitome of hard to handle/bathe dogs. Kit's a fatty and won't stand up to be bathed, so I either brake my arm washing her put, or she always has an oily but after a bath because I can't get to it.

Luckily, she's losing weight.


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## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

I was hired as a bather with NO animal background. This thread is a good idea because if you go in for an interview it looks good to know what you're going to be doing. I've expressed anal glands and cut nails and all the stuff they wanted me to do with my dogs forever, so I had a leg up. I also threw out there that I've had every thing that can come out of a dog on me and am expecting it. 

I don't know where you'll be working, but what can come with a bath and a brush is obviously a bath and a brush (you will probably be trained to do deskunking, medicated baths, flea baths, etc) ear cleaning, nail trims, sometimes owners request anal gland expression, and shaving paw pads. Just a word of caution and this highly depends on the type of people you work with and what your job requires of you, but I started at PetSmart, where you are responsible as a bather for your own appointments- not the groomers. Some groomers will bully you into bathing their dogs for them. My own boss did it to me before I stood up for myself. Don't let them bully you into a grooming assistant position when you're a bather. That isn't to say you can't help by washing groomers dogs during your down time, but never let it interrupt your own schedule.


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## Tankstar (Dec 30, 2006)

You will be SOAKED lol.
covered in hair.
hair in eyes, hair splinters.
dogs will try to jump out of the tub, bite you, pee on you, poo on you. 
Some dogs hate with a passion the blow dryer, and will through a fit. 

But remember not all dogs are like that. Majority we have come in the shop have been coming for years and are perfect little/big dogs and know how to behave.

As their owners even teach them proper manners. and bathe them at home often as well. so they are used to it

I started working as a bather, have been working my way up the "food chain" there now. I still do all the bathing but I also do more clippings and what not too.

I never have had to buy my own tools. Although I have bought them, just becuase I wanted/needed them for myself. 

Before I started working the grooming shop. I didnt have any experience working with dogs. I worked with horses for years, and figured how hard can it be lol. Horses were hands down much more respectful then half the dogs that show up lol.

But it is lots of fun, And Ims ure you will enjoy it much more then stuffing taco's. No need to dress up, do your hair or make up. I literally roll out of bed through on scrubs grab some breakfest and am out the door in 30 mins or less. Much better then my office job where I have to look nice and well maintaned lol.


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## RaeganW (Jul 14, 2009)

Are there ways to prevent bringing worms/ticks/fleas home? My dog is UTD on every shot the vet gives out, but I live in an apartment complex with LOTS of dogs.

I'm not too afraid of being bit, though I'm careful obviously. Fluids I am... less enthusiastic about but I'm capable of not being a wuss about it.  I'm actually kind of excited about the dog hair, I miss the feel of fur! (as opposed to Schnauzer hair).

I applied to Petsmart ages ago as both a trainer and a groomer and they never got back to me. Luckily there's like five grooming shops in town (seriously, small town Wisconsin? Five?) so I'm applying to them this time around. 

Thanks for the advice everyone! Gatsby is a dream to bathe, so it's good to get a reminder than not everydog is as good as mine.  Still. Better than tacos.


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

Better than tacos.


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## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

Usually before I went home I would change my clothes, and my grooming clothes would immediately go into the wash with no contact with the dogs. Quick check my body for ticks and made sure my hands were clean. 

The only thing I was really anal about was my shoes. I never wore my boots home. You can track A LOT of things on the bottom of your feet, especially stepping in urine, poop, vomit, etc. all day. I left my boots at shop and cleaned them when I left and again the next morning.


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## GroovyGroomer777 (Aug 21, 2008)

They covered all the icky stuff - but yes, better than stuffing tacos! I LOVED being a bather. It was very hard work sometimes - also very physical, but I still loved it. I still love what I do. 

The best part is that if you like being a bather, you can train to be a groomer, and that is a start to a very rewarding career.


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

RaeganW said:


> Are there ways to prevent bringing worms/ticks/fleas home? My dog is UTD on every shot the vet gives out, but I live in an apartment complex with LOTS of dogs.
> 
> I'm not too afraid of being bit, though I'm careful obviously. Fluids I am... less enthusiastic about but I'm capable of not being a wuss about it.  I'm actually kind of excited about the dog hair, I miss the feel of fur! (as opposed to Schnauzer hair).
> 
> ...


Good luck, I think you'll like it  The people who HAVEN'T worked out as bathers for us were people who were practically afraid of getting their hands a little dirty, and hated dog hair (WTF? LOL why even apply!?) If you're willing to work hard and get dirty (and soaking wet ), you should be fine. I hope you get the position! Are the grooming shops you applied to small, family run businesses? If it's a small shop, you should (hopefully) get to know the groomers well, and if down the road you're interested, they may even be willing to teach you to groom. I worked as a bather for years; then I decided to learn to groom. I kind of miss bathing (we have a bather, and she is worth 10 times her weight in GOLD!)
You will probably get ones like everyone's said, that fight, bite, want to jump out of the tub, etc. But if you get them as regulars, it's very rewarding to help the dogs work through the things they fear and/or dislike.  We groomed a corgi who DESPISED getting his nails cut. No joke, all I had to do was ask my mom to stand in front of him and tell him how handsome and awesome he was, and he didn't mind when I cut his nails. If no one was complimenting him, he fought me. You'll meet nice customers, nice dogs, and occasionally not so nice people and not so nice dogs, but the kind people and pleasant dogs make up for the jerks


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## dtails (Mar 8, 2010)

RaeganW said:


> Luckily there's like five grooming shops in town (seriously, small town Wisconsin? Five?) so I'm applying to them this time around.


That's surprising that you have five! I'm in Wausau WI and other than PetSmart and Petco there's 4 including myself in a town of over 50,000!


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## Kina_A (Jun 8, 2009)

Wow, I never ever thought of a dog bather as a job! I'll try to remember this thread if I'm ever in need of a job! Beats working at the coffee shop anytime!


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## Cheetah (May 25, 2006)

Hey, I'm a bather! It's not an easy job, but I have to say, I LOVE it. I love being able to work with dogs every day, even though there are difficult ones.

I agree with all the others above about being wet and hairy ALL the time, having to clean up poop and pee, the risks of bites and scratches and all that. I've had to use a catch pole on a couple dogs now who turned aggressive during the bath. There are some dogs you'll have to muzzle or cone just to do nails or brush certain areas etc. There are picky, angry customers for no reason. There's anal glands. Etc. etc.

Despite all that, it's worth it being able to keep dogs clean which help them stay healthy, getting regular clients and tips! One dog I started getting a couple months ago used to be pretty bitey and grumpy for everything, but he's been back like 5-6 times now and he's getting so much better. =3


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## RaeganW (Jul 14, 2009)

Guess who's employed!!!

I start on Wednesday. I had a working interview last week where I bathed a couple of dogs and I LOVED IT. I was a little nervous because this thread was a little "bathing is HARD WORK" and I am all about avoiding hard work, but I seriously loved it. SO MUCH BETTER THAN TACOS.


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## Tankstar (Dec 30, 2006)

Congrats.

I loved doing it, I hardly do it any more since when this thread started. I do mostly grooming now.
It can be hard and easy, all depends on the dogs. Dont be nervous, Its not rocket science, but there is more to bathing dogs then people think, and most people after a day wouldnt want to do it, you really need the love for dogs for it.

My boyfriend always says how my job is easy yadda yadda. Lucky for him we are in dire need os a assistant 2 saturdays for now. And he said he would come in for a case of beer (typical male canadian. its how most favours are paid around here lol) Cant wait to see how "hard" it is for him that day. lol. Cant wait until Ricky the 110% most agressive chihuahua I have ever met comes in that day. lol Im mean



Cheetah said:


> Despite all that, it's worth it being able to keep dogs clean which help them stay healthy, getting regular clients and tips! One dog I started getting a couple months ago used to be pretty bitey and grumpy for everything, but he's been back like 5-6 times now and he's getting so much better. =3


 I love that. You know you are doing your job good when the mean guys start to turn nice(er). We have a very human and dog agressive golden retriever that come sin every 6 weeks. At first he was just HORRID and scary. But since he has come in about 10 times, he has changed so much. I always do him, so he can build a good trust to me. He came in last weekend, bounding towards me tail wagging, I still muzzled him as he can and will still bite. But he is so much better


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