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Dog Groomer

A dog groomer washes, trims, clips and tidies up dogs to keep them clean, comfortable and looking their best. It suits patient animal lovers who are good with their hands and enjoy hands-on, caring work with pets and their owners.

Dog Groomer

5

Animal Care

AI IMPACT
AI CAN DO5%moving to50%
THE DOOR, NOWB
THE DOOR, 20 YRSD
STARTING PAYnot published
MOAT NOT YET CLASSIFIEDA real score, but the moat is not yet classified. No claim either way.
AI can do very little of this work today
Hands-on work, caring for people and dealing with the real world are among the hardest things to automate, and this job leans on them. We have not yet formally classified its moat, so we make no claim either way, but the exposure score speaks for itself.

The role

The work is bathing, drying, brushing, clipping and trimming dogs of all breeds and temperaments, checking for any health issues and keeping the salon clean and safe. Patience, a calm manner and a gentle but confident touch matter, since you handle nervous or wriggly dogs and need to keep both them and yourself safe.

You will be on your feet, getting wet and dealing with the physical side of holding and lifting dogs, working in salons, mobile units or your own setup, often including weekends. Pay starts modestly and grows with skill and reputation, and many groomers go self-employed and build their own client base.

Many people train through a college course or grooming qualification, or learn on the job alongside an experienced groomer or apprenticeship. You will need insurance if self-employed, and a good way with both dogs and their owners is essential.

Daily responsibilities

  • Bathe, dry and brush dogs
  • Clip and trim coats to breed or owner's wishes
  • Trim nails and clean ears
  • Handle nervous or difficult dogs calmly
  • Check for fleas, lumps or skin problems
  • Keep the salon and tools clean and safe
  • Advise owners on coat care
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AI EXPOSURE = the share of a job's day-to-day tasks AI can already do today, from the same exposure engine used across this site (Anthropic labour market research, 2026, observed real-world AI usage by occupation). Higher means more exposed. It is a measurement of now, not a prediction. THE DOOR = how hard the job is to get into, grade A (easy) to E (extremely hard), from each career's published forecast (OpenAI, "The AI Jobs Transition Framework", Richmond 2026, CC BY 4.0). A card marked MOAT NOT YET CLASSIFIED has a real exposure score but no entry yet in our moat register, so we make no claim about what structurally protects it. Scorecard grades and verdicts are Careermash editorial judgment: we show forecasts as forecasts and own our conclusions. Salary and pathway figures are each career's own published profile. Careermash is a service provided by What School Ltd.

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