What are the opportunities for dog and pet groomers in Los Angeles?
The city of Los Angeles (LA) is the second most populated city in the United States and has approximately 4 million people. However, LA is much larger than just the city. The county of LA, sometimes called the LA Metro area, is home to over ten million people. This makes for plenty of opportunities for Los Angeles dog and pet groomers.
Interestingly while CA is the most populated state in the country, dog ownership in CA isn’t the highest. According to Pawlicy, roughly 40% of CA households own a dog. While that isn’t as high a percentage of households as Alabama (59.8%), the sheer number of people in the Los Angeles area translates to vast numbers of dog owners. When you throw cat ownership into the mix, you have over 2 million pets in this part of the country. All of this is relevant because the population often equates to opportunities, which is certainly true for dog and pet groomers in Los Angeles.
Aside from population, there is also the weather. Los Angeles has a mild climate which means people can take their dogs outside pretty much all year round. This isn’t to suggest that people from other parts of the country won’t spend time with their dogs outside, but let’s face it when it’s -15 degrees in Maine in February, you will be less likely to take your dog for a nice walk than you are when it’s 65 degrees in Santa Monica. The climate coupled with millions of pets makes the Los Angeles area a pet-friendly place.
Finally, there is the sheer immensity of the greater Los Angeles area. While NY might have a larger population, the greater Los Angeles area could easily fit the entire cities of St Louis, Cleveland, Boston, San Francisco, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and have lots of room for the relatively small island of Manhattan. While this blog is not a geography lesson, I mention both geographic size and population to illustrate that in an area the size of Los Angeles, the opportunities for dog and pet groomers are immense.
Geography has also created another somewhat unique groomer opportunity, mobile grooming. Commuting in Los Angeles is notoriously difficult. The city doesn’t have a first-class rapid transit system which means a large part of the population relies on cars. This is why the LA freeways were developed and why air quality in Los Angeles suffered for so many decades. Having to drive everywhere means that people living in Los Angeles will often embrace services that allow them to avoid driving when possible. This is a reason why mobile grooming has done so well in the Los Angeles area.
Aside from mobile groomers, there are hundreds and hundreds of grooming salons in the Los Angeles area. This encompasses everything from groomers working at large pet chains to independent boutiques in some of the most expensive neighborhoods in the nation.
What special skills do Los Angeles dog or pet groomers need?
There are no skills that a Los Angeles dog groomer needs that aren’t required in other parts of the country. What is needed is an understanding of the area to maximize success. For example, in some parts of the Los Angeles area, it can get well over 100 degrees for weeks at a time. This means dogs in this part of the country might require different pet grooms than those in cooler climates. As is true anywhere, the greater the skill and knowledge a groomer has, the more marketable this person will be. This is one reason that Animal Behavior College (a school based in the Los Angeles area) has been teaching their grooming students how to groom cats and dogs.
Animal Behavior College?
Is that where animals go to be trained?
No, it’s where people interested in animal-related careers go to learn the skills required to enter the pet industry. Animal Behavior College was founded in 1998 and has since become the largest pet career school in the nation. The school offers programs that teach animal lovers to become professional dog trainers, cat trainers, pet groomers, veterinary assistants, aquatic maintenance specialists, and zookeeper assistants. Animal Behavior College’s groomer program has graduates all across North America, including dozens working as dog and pet groomers in Los Angeles.
For more information about Animal Behavior College, please go to https://www.animalbehaviorcollege.com/, and for more information regarding their dog and pet grooming program, please go to https://www.animalbehaviorcollege.com/grooming/
Did you mention cat grooming? Is that even possible?
While cats are typically pretty fastidious, professional grooming can keep them cleaner and their coats healthier. Dog groomers in Los Angeles that are also knowledgeable and comfortable grooming cats have an additional skill they can market. These groomers can genuinely call themselves pet groomers instead of dog groomers, and while most grooming business is for dog grooming, the cat grooming market has untapped potential.
