Hi.

I was curious if anyone could give me some information on what the pet industry in the UK like. I am from the Pacific Northwest of the US, and the pet industry here (and all over the US) is pretty big. People love their dogs. My girlfriend and I own a very successful mobile dog grooming business. She has been a groomer for about 9 years, as well as recently becoming certified in low stress, anesthesia free teeth cleaning for dogs.

Would anyone be able to provide some resources or first hand knowledge as to the demand for these types of services in the UK (England or Scotland)? Is there a need for/shortage of skilled groomers in general? In certain areas? Or not at all? I am really just doing some research for now, but any help would be much appreciated.

Thank you!

Nobody has any insight?

If it makes a difference, my girlfriend has a UK/US dual citizenship and is thinking of moving back in order to be closer to family. We were curious as to whether or not the extensive experience she has built in the pet industry will sustain us upon her return or if a new career choice is in order.

I am finding it very difficult to find any information or resources online regarding regional salaries, and/or how perceptive the UK market is to spending money on their pets in regards to grooming or holistic veterinary services, especially in comparison to the US (as it is our only field of reference).

Again, I appreciate any information others may have. Thanks!

Britain as a nation are most devoted to their pets and this is reflected in the strong emotion that they invest in pet related issues, media stories and debates, to which the pages in this forum attribute - even if their spelling is not so good.

Five minutes with Google suggests that there are very roughly about 1 grooming company per 10,000 residents in our region. Other data suggests that between 25-30% of UK house-holds have a pet dog, that figure seems high to me but comes from a census data web-site .

Again 30 seconds with Google suggest that a manger of a Grooming Store will earn about £20,000 per year. So there are jobs out there, it would be wise for your GF to construct a portfolio of her work both as stills photographs and video as that will speak volumes about her skill set. There will be an expectation to carry some qualification, so some research about any US based certification and it's UK equivalent would be time well spent. In the UK a base level is the "City and Guilds Dog Grooming Certificate" and the "NVQ Level 3 in Dog Grooming", you can Google those phrases.

Being self-employed and mobile is a popular path that many people have already put into practice, so there is competition. Although from my observations those that seek this as a job do little to promote their business either on-line or in the real world. I guess if one can brush a dog they can not use a keyboard?

Disposable salaries in the UK have taken a dip due to the economy and inflation, so where a dog may have been 'professionally' groomed monthly it might now be bi-monthly for people being careful with money.

There are a few mobile dog grooming franchises(random example) vying for business so you might consider buying into such a network, but for a small self-op business is there any point considering that you would just be doing all the work anyway and paying a percentage just for the benefit (?) of using someone else's company colour choices for stationary, van logo and a web-site front end. Doesn't take a genius to do that yourself IMHO.

Start up capital might be difficult so either come with cash and work hard or start small and work very hard.

From general observation grooming is a step up from a very popular solution to earning dog related money which is dog walking. Lots of unskilled people looking to do this - some better than others in terms on business and dog awareness.

If you were to combine the grooming, holistic veterinary** and the dental care that would be an interesting mix and stand out from the "me too" crowd.

I do not know if you would need to re-certify** to practice within the UK or if there is a reciprocal arrangement, maybe through these people.

Reiki is growing as a therapy and I only mention it as we have a practitioner within the family.

As for marketing to promote your business I could imagine setting up a stand at one of the many Pet Superstores locally to offer a free trial of clipping their dog's left front paw, other paws for £5 - or do a tie in with the store as a promotion or product tie in.

Also in the UK car boot sales are popular that would be an interesting venue to pitch at as many people will combine a dog walk with a Sunday morning looking at people's junk on sale, whether such people are in your target demographic I could not tell you.

Thank you so much for the information, was very helpful.

The effects of the current economic state, and pet owners willingness to indulge their pets while strapped, is the source of much of our concern. This will also factor into where we decide to relocate, and whether or not we want to find work in established shops or stay as small business owners. Does say, the high cost of living in and around London negate any potential income that comes from being in a more cosmopolitan city?

We are planning on taking an extended trip within the next few months to get a feel for these things first hand, but I like going into things with as full a knowledge as possible.

Thanks again.

If you are planning on running a mobile service it would be wise to locate yourself in a cheap town but within a short commute to more affluent areas where one might expect a bulk of customers to live. Find UK fuel prices in your target region here.

Maybe not morally sound but working for a grooming shop in your target area to gauge custom then become self-employed. However you might be able to gauge such custom by the number of shops in a given area - then use Google Street-view to see if the business has been there long enough to have been captured. Certainly a few emails to find out if companies in your target area can fit in your dog at short notice and what fees apply will help fill in the fuller picture.

When timing your trip you might try to take in a UK dog show in the region you are looking at to talk to and gauge some of the would-be customers.

There is probably little real benefit in tackling the centres of cities running a mobile service as traffic jams mean that you will spend a lot of non-earning time handling a steering wheel and not dogs. Also when you get to your client parking may be a problem. Most affordable GPS units will allow you to type in a Post Code (Zip Code) to find your client's address, but there are many cases of a GPS map being out of date and directing a zombie driver along One Way streets the wrong way or into rivers. Being non-native this will be a bigger problem than you might consider at first glance.

Being mobile and in the service sector you would be wise to plan your business day to avoid the commuter rush hour, better to be earning during rush hour than being part of it.

I live in the North Buckinghamshire area of England, about 40 miles North of London. There is certainly a demand in this area, I work with a couple of local salons who get very busy. We have 5 dog grooming salons in town off the top of my head, but I'm not sure how many mobile.

My friend works in one but she only gets paid £6 per hour, but I know groomers who are more experienced are paid more.

Actually this area is probably quite a good area, relatively low unemployment and some affluent areas. There are rural areas as well as a large population in 'the city'.

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http://www.furbuddiesphotography.co.uk

Hi,

As a dog walker I wanted to know the demand for dogs in my country Australia as well as how we compare to the rest of the world.

I hope that its ok to put this link up, but it directly goes to answering your questions about dog demand in the UK Dogs global online search comparison trends - 3

Basically a lot of the government data can be old or biased. What I have preferred to do is use 'Google keywords tool' (you can search for this) for the specific dog services I am interested in. You can also use GOOGLE TRENDS data to see the weekly search volumes for the last five years or so. While it isn't a perfect correlation, if you find that there are a mass of people looking for dog grooming on Google in the UK, they are probably looking to get their dog groomed. Same for dog walking etc.

The report shows that the UK is the MOST highly searched 'Dog associated' country on google on earth - More than the USA or Australia. This shows a high involvement (per person) of UK people with their dogs. But like I said, using google data can give you weekly or monthly specific search term information which is great if you are looking at building a web site or just interested in being a dog business. Hope that helps.

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MY OWN DOG SITES: dog walking guy | best dog treats | Healthy Dog Treats on facebook

Ongoing research says that the UK country love their pets more due to security or as domestic pets for family, companionship need.

The UK country has approx 27 million pets in country. The owners of dogs are making pet's best part of their landscape. Leading experts in dogs industry has listed the research and celebrated the Great British Pets. The pets purchasing trends is leading in the UK country.

All this conclude that in the UK country pets industries are more in demand. Hope this information is useful knowledge for you.

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netpetshop
Burns Dog Food

You can make good money mobile dog grooming buts its never going to make you rich and setup costs are quite high for a mobile unit!