Heidi Anderton shares her thoughts on how to limit the impact of COVID 19

Lockdown for Pet Groomers

Heidi Anderton is principal of Absolutely Animals and London School of Pet Grooming, with over 30 years in the business, Heidi is a highly qualified and experienced industry expert in teaching dog grooming as well as an awardwinning groomer, former Groom Team England member and founder member of the British Isles Grooming Association (BIGA). Heidi shares her thoughts on the implications of coronavirus on groomers:

By the time you read this the UK will no doubt be in lockdown alongside its European neighbours and most of the world, during the Covid-19 pandemic. I have made plans to close my dog and cat grooming business in London, my staff will be sent home to comply with isolation requests for the two to three weeks minimum period of isolation and indeed possibly for the foreseeable future. We will also need to postpone and reschedule events which were planned in April. In fact, I know some of you who are in vulnerable situations have already taken yourself into isolation. It’s going to be hard for everyone in so many different ways, but it has to be done.

At the moment, on the run up to the Lockdown we have been busier than our Christmas period, the phone is ringing off the hook. With dog and cat owners pre-empting the inevitable lockdown, having a clean pet in the house seems to come high on the to do list when pets may not see their groomer for a while. There are two major things for us to consider in this situation, loss of income and the welfare of the animals. Loss of income being the most immediate.

The government has put together packages for all workers to tap into, so

Heidi and Prada

let’s hope the financial implications are limited and will see us through these dark days.

The British Isles Grooming Association (www.mybiga.org) has regular updates on their website, Facebook group and email list as well as links to credible sources of information, including the World Health Organisation, Federation of Small Business, British Veterinary

Association and current Government information links, to aid you in this financial crisis. Keep updated and make sure you apply for everything you are entitled too. Keep strong and keep calm. I personally do believe this situation will become very serious as it has in other countries, but I am optimistic, if we isolate and stay safe, the majority of us will come out the other end healthy and recover financially.

I don’t believe during isolation time there is an animal welfare issue around pet grooming, as the grooming can be kept up at home. Even if it’s not, a dog can go a few weeks and months without much coat care. However, we can all use this time to educate our own regular customers in keeping their pets groomed, healthy and knot free at home.

Please send your clients links of video tutorials to encourage them to groom their pets at home or even better, make your own.

I advise my clients that it doesn’t matter how long the coat is, just that it is kept clean and knot free as much as possible and that in front of the eyes and hygiene areas are kept short, clean and dry. This can easily be done at home with the most basic of equipment which most of us will have at hand.

It will be interesting to see how many owners actually do care for their pets’ coat in the lockdown period. The usual excuses won’t be any good. I know some owners will be meticulous at the bathing, drying and combing of their dog or cat. These pets’ coats probably won’t have a knot in them when they return for their next haircut. And then, on the flip side, we will also all need to have our 7f ’s at the ready, when this crisis is over for those who haven’t been able to upkeep the coat care of their pet. Of course, this won’t always be the fault of the owner and it is important that we are mindful of this when we are required to resolve the situation. I find that wet clipping a matted coat is much easier on a dog and your equipment. You can also get a longer clip than you can pre clipping.

How matted can a dog’s coat actually get before it becomes uncomfortable or a health issue? If we look at such breeds like the Spanish water dog and alike, they are rarely groomed in their home countries and are shaved short one time per year. They will go all year growing their coat which becomes huge and matted, until it is all shaved off when the nights get warm in early summer. Thus, the process starts again. No doubt it may become slightly uncomfortable for them at the end with the heavy coat, but in our current

My personal concern is not really with the dog’s but with the cats. They are generally such a neglected pet in regard to coat care that I know some will suffer.

situation, I doubt the time frame will be so long.

My personal concern is not really with the dog’s but with the cats. They are generally such a neglected pet in regard to coat care that I know some will suffer. Right up to closure we were still receiving cats with such poor coat neglect; we are literally freeing them from their strait jackets. It’s so sad. Spring is a very busy time for cat grooming and especially for those who have gone all winter without any grooming. Isolation is going to prolong the suffering for those pets, for sure, and this makes me very sad.

I am so proud of our industry in these difficult times, already I have seen individual groomer professionals helping each other with information and support as well as free online webinars. I have seen questions being answered on business and financial queries and help being offered freely where possible. It seems out of the darkest situations there is always some light. I would like to finish on a positive note. We do have a huge advantage over a lot of other businesses and Industry, our clientele is not lost but only deferred to a later date. We should think ourselves lucky. Our clients will be queuing up when the lockdown is over for their appointment. In no time we will be back to normal.

I hope your losses are minimal and you and your families stay safe. Big virtual Huggs. Heidi www.absolutelyanimals.biz