GROOMING AND PET INDUSTRY FUN FACTS

• Pet owners spend $3 billion dollars a year to make sure that their pet is properly coiffed.
• According to the 2007-2008 National Pet Owners Survey, 63 percent of U.S. households own a pet, which equates to 71.1 millions homes.
• Even though poodles are groomed a certain way now for fashion, the poodle cut originated in Europe. Poodles were used as hunting dogs. Hunters used to shear the dogs’ thick coats around the hindquarters so they would not get caught in brush and have better mobility in the water, but left the fur around their ankles, tail, face and hips to keep them warm.
• The first records of dog grooming parlors date back to 17th-century France, when poodles were the official dog at King Louis XV’s court. Later, dog grooming can be traced to England in 1879 and records of specific grooming recommendations such as washing and conditioning first appear in 1893.
• The Saluki is the oldest known breed of dog, which means noble one in Arabic.
• Surprising to many, cats, not dogs, are the most common pets in America. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, there are 72 million pet dogs in the U.S. and nearly 82 million pet cats.
• Before the 1940’s, “doggie barbershops” went into business. The entire operation consisted of three or four cages, a table, and a bathing and drying area.
• In September 2003, 12 students from the Veterinary Science Foundation at the University of Sydney broke the Guinness World Record for the highest number of dogs washed and dried in eight hours. The students groomed 848 dogs before they ran out of dogs with 20 minutes of time left. The previous record was 715 dogs.
• The National Dog Groomers Association of America was established in 1969.
• There are over 703 breeds of purebred dogs. The largest is the Irish wolfhound and the smallest the Chihuahua. The heaviest breed is the St. Bernard. Although any breed can be groomed, some breeds have different types of coats, which make the grooming of each breed unique.
• Despite the misconception that dogs are colorblind, they can see color. Good to know if you plan to dye your dog’s fur.
• Dogs have touch-sensitive whiskers that can sense small changes in airflow. Dogs react quickly when something brushes against their whiskers. Some groomers will clip a dog’s whiskers for show purposes, but clipping whiskers can affect a dog’s ability to play or hunt.