animal groomer
Snapshot
Do you love animals and enjoy making them look and feel their best? As an animal groomer, you'll play a vital role in ensuring the health, hygiene, and well-being of a variety of animals, providing essential care and a touch of pampering.
Animal groomers work with a diverse range of animals, primarily dogs and cats, but sometimes also rabbits, birds, and other pets. Your days involve bathing, brushing, clipping, and styling animal coats, as well as cleaning ears, trimming nails, and ensuring overall cleanliness. A crucial aspect of the role is handling animals safely and responsibly, recognizing signs of distress or discomfort, and promoting their health and welfare.
- • Bathing and drying animals using appropriate techniques and products.
- • Clipping, trimming, and styling animal coats according to breed standards or owner preferences.
- • Cleaning and maintaining grooming equipment and workspaces.
Where this occupation is in demand
Reported labour shortages and surpluses, by year. Published for occupation groups, not for individual job titles.
Deeper colour: reported the same way in more consecutive years.
Figures cover Personal service workers — 86 jobs including this one.
In shortage: Hungary.
Select a place on the map to see its figures.
About this source›
Source: ELA/EURES labour shortages and surpluses. Readings are published at occupation-group level, and cover Europe. Editions differ in annex layout and country coverage, so a change between years does not always mean the labour market changed. Countries in grey were not reported, which is not the same as being in balance.
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Could animal groomer fit you?
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Do you enjoy tasks that require Integrity?
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Future Outlook for animal groomer
The outlook for animal groomer reflects a balanced mix of automation exposure and durable, human-led work.
How are these scores calculated?
The Resilience Score (0–100) estimates how structurally protected this occupation is from automation and AI disruption, based on task-level analysis. Higher scores mean more human-judgment-intensive tasks. AI Exposure shows the estimated percentage of task hours that current AI capabilities could affect. These are model-derived structural indicators, not predictions about individual job security.
How could animal groomer change as AI adoption grows?
This role is likely to change gradually, with AI supporting selected tasks rather than replacing the whole occupation.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
How could animal groomer change as AI adoption grows?
This role is likely to change gradually, with AI supporting selected tasks rather than replacing the whole occupation.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
How AI may change this role
Deterministic, model-based interpretation of current role signals — not a guarantee of replacement.
What still depends on people
- treat animals ethically
- apply safe work practices in a veterinary setting
- handle customer complaints
Where AI may become a co-pilot
- manage animal biosecurity
- monitor the welfare of animals
- control animal movement
Tasks most exposed to automation
No single task here is highly automatable yet.
Vital Signs & AI Vectors
AI Exposure Vectors
0-100%Exposure to physical automation, robotics, and sensor-driven task displacement
Exposure to AI-assisted analysis, pattern recognition, and predictive modelling tasks
Exposure to content generation, creative augmentation, and large language model tools
Exposure to workflow automation, decision-support software, and process digitisation
Technical Details
NexFuture v3.0 estimates automation exposure natively from ESCO essential-skill groups, weighted by skill mass and calibrated against expert anchors. Scores are probabilistic estimates, not guarantees. See the NexFuture Methodology White Paper for full details.
Measures automation exposure. It does not measure pay, demand, or how many jobs exist near you.
What people in this role usually do
Agriculture
A typical day as a animal groomer
09 09:00 · Morning dry dog's coat for further treatment
10 10:30 · Mid-morning advise on animal welfare
12 12:00 · Midday apply animal hygiene practices
14 14:00 · Afternoon provide facilities for animal grooming services
15 15:30 · Late afternoon style a dog's coat
17 17:00 · Wrap-up apply safe work practices in a veterinary setting
Task order is illustrative. Individual days vary.
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anatomy of animals
The study of animal body parts, their structure and dynamic relationships, on a level as demanded by the specific occupation.
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animal behaviour
The natural behavioural patterns of animals, i.e. how normal and abnormal behaviour might be expressed according to species, environment, human-animal interaction and occupation.
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biosecurity related to animals
Awareness of hygiene and bio-security measures when working with animals, including causes, transmission and prevention of diseases and use of policies, materials and equipment.
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physiology of animals
The study of the mechanical, physical, bioelectrical and biochemical functioning of animals, their organs and their cells.
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safe work practices in a veterinary setting
Safe work practices in a veterinary setting in order to identify hazards and associated risks so as to prevent accidents or incidents. This includes injury from animals, zoonotic diseases, chemicals, equipment and working environment.
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signs of animal illness
Physical, behavioural and environmental signs of health and ill health in various animals.
- animal species
- animal welfare
- animal welfare legislation
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dry dog's coat for further treatment
Dry a dog’s coat and skin and prepare it for styling and finishing, using the appropriate equipment and products.
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bathe dogs
Prepare dog by removing excess hair, knots and tangles. Bathe and clean a dog’s coat and skin.
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provide facilities for animal grooming services
Provide appropriate facilities for animal grooming services. This includes selection of the types of equipment and ensuring hygiene and bio-security standards.
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plan dog grooming work
Assess customer wishes and plan dog grooming work; assess the dog's head shape and its type of coat, recognising signs of abnormalities, and select the appropriate methods and equipment.
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groom animals
Prepare the environment for grooming, select the correct grooming equipment and grooming methods for the animal. Apply occupational health and safety principles, of basic animal anatomy and physiology, including the identification and reporting of any abnormalities.
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style a dog's coat
Style and finish a dog's coat using various trimming methods. Make sure to follow the standards for how different breeds should look.
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manage animal biosecurity
Plan and use appropriate biosafety measures to prevent transmission of diseases and ensure effective overall biosecurity. Maintain and follow biosecurity procedures and infection control when working with animals, including recognising potential health issues and taking appropriate action, communicating site hygiene control measures and biosecurity procedures, as well as reporting to others.
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monitor the welfare of animals
Monitor animals’ physical condition and behaviour and report any concerns or unexpected changes, including signs of health or ill-health, appearance, condition of the animals' accommodation, intake of food and water and environmental conditions.
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provide first aid to animals
Administer emergency treatment to prevent deterioration of the condition, suffering and pain until veterinary assistance can be sought. Basic emergency treatment needs to be done by non-veterinarians prior to first-aid provided by a veterinarian. Non-veterinarians providing emergency treatment are expected to seek treatment by a veterinarian as soon as possible.
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apply animal hygiene practices
Plan and use appropriate hygiene measures to prevent transmission of diseases and ensure an effective overall hygiene. Maintain and follow hygiene procedures and regulations when working with animals, communicate site hygiene controls and protocols to others. Manage the safe disposal of waste according to destination and local regulations.
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treat animals ethically
Carry out activities according to accepted principles of right and wrong, including transparency in work practices and conduct towards clients and their animals.
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control animal movement
Direct, control or restrain some or part of an animal's, or a group of animals', movement.
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handle customer complaints
Administer complaints and negative feedback from customers in order to address concerns and where applicable provide a quick service recovery.
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apply safe work practices in a veterinary setting
Apply safe work practices in a veterinary setting in order to identify hazards and associated risks so as to prevent accidents or incidents. This includes injury from animals, zoonotic diseases, chemicals, equipment and work environments.
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handle veterinary emergencies
Handle unforeseen incidents concerning animals and circumstances which call for urgent action in an appropriate professional manner.
Skill DNA
Work personality traits and values that define this role
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Where does animal groomer fit?
Similarity scores based on skill overlap from ESCO data.
Frequently asked questions
- What kind of training or experience is needed to become an animal groomer?
- While formal qualifications aren't always required, completing a grooming course or apprenticeship is highly recommended. These programs teach you essential skills like animal handling, breed-specific grooming techniques, and safety procedures. Experience working with animals, such as volunteering at a shelter, can also be beneficial.
- Are there specific safety precautions I need to be aware of when grooming animals?
- Absolutely. Animal safety is paramount. You'll need to learn how to recognize signs of stress or aggression, use appropriate restraint techniques, and handle sharp tools safely. Understanding animal behavior and being able to adapt your approach is key to preventing injuries to both yourself and the animal.
- Is this role typically employed or self-employed?
- Animal groomers are typically employed by pet salons, veterinary clinics, or mobile grooming services. While some groomers choose to work independently, most find employment within established businesses.
- Animal Groomer — is there a shortage in Europe?
- No. In the 2025 ELA/EURES edition, a surplus was reported in 7 of the 8 European countries that assessed this occupation group: Austria, Czechia, Germany, Denmark and 3 more. One country reported a shortage. These assessments are published per occupation group rather than per job title.
- Animal Groomer — what does it pay in the United States?
- $33,470 a year at the median, as of 2025-05. State medians run from $26,970 to $44,210. Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is a United States figure and not a projection for Europe.