Why Dog Grooming Must Evolve: Introducing the Applied Behaviour & Welfare Framework
Dog grooming has never only been about appearance - it is a physical, emotional, physiological and psychological experience which makes the professional groomer, ethically responsible to prevent unnecessary suffering in all of those domains.
Professional dog groomers make an important contribution to canine health and wellbeing.
Groomers maintain the skin and coat, prevent painful matting, support hygiene, and improve overall physical comfort. They also build relationships with dogs across the majority of their lifespan - from first puppy introductions to end-of-life care.
The work of the groomer requires a great deal of technical skill, patience, observation, physical resilience and professional judgment. Yet the knowledge available to us during our training days often fails to update us on what science has revealed over the last decade or two.
Society now understands more about canine emotion - how dogs learn and experience the world around them, and how they feel in response to those learning experiences. We can acknowledge that dogs are more than capable of feeling an array of emotions including, but perhaps not limited to:
stress
pain
fear
love
anticipation/dread
happiness/joy
anger
frustration
loneliness
disgust
And in knowing this, we also (should) understand why our education is in need of a universal upgrade.
A good dog professional understands that behaviour is not something we should strive to “control” but strive to understand more.
A good dog professional respects that behaviour is the response of an internal feeling, and that what we see on the outside is vital information that can help us to adapt processes to make the experience better for the dog.
This knowledge is the difference between ignorance and competency in the field - once you learn how to speak dog, you become duty bound to respect it.
And this is why The HGA have developed The Applied Behaviour and Welfare Grooming Framework (ABWGF).
Grooming is more than a technical procedure
Historically, grooming education has understandably focused heavily on practical styling skills with students learning how to:
bathe
dry
brush
clip
scissor
fluff dry
style
They also learn about equipment maintenance, coat types, salon hygiene and safe working practices through a human-specific lens.
While these skills remain useful and necessary with the various demanding coat types that we continue to see, the framework has been designed to remind the groomer that every practical procedure has an influence on how the dog on the table is feeling, and this is significant if we strive to work ethically, compassionately and competently.
While some may argue that a grooming session is hardly significant to how a dog feels overall, there’s now a great deal of science to say otherwise - we now understand that regular bouts of acute stress can lead to various chronic health conditions that go on to affect not only how a dog experiences one grooming session in isolation, but every other aspect of their day-to-day lives.
In other words, our grooming sessions actively contribute to, and influence, a dog’s life beyond the grooming salon and the question is:
Are we contributing in a positive way, or are we contributing in a negative one?
Every grooming session therefore, is both a practical procedure and an emotional event.
Recognising this allows the groomer to think more intently about each procedure to ensure welfare isn’t compromised, and a dog’s emotional threshold not breached.
Every grooming appointment teaches the dog something
Everything a dog comes into contact with, is an experience for the experiences bank.
Just as humans remember, dogs do too which means that they learn through association, repetition and consequence.
Through their experiences they learn what is safe, which people understand and listen to them, and what communicative tools get the point across - for example, if a groomer ignores a lip flick, the dog learns to advance the communicative cue to something more obvious like bearing teeth or a warning growl. Equally, if a dog bares teeth and the groomer stops the procedure, the dog will repeat this behaviour the next time he feels uncomfortable because he has learned that it was effective in getting what he needs.
Sadly for many trainee groomers, centres are still promoting a dominance-theory based approach to how dogs should be handled. If referring back to the examples in the paragraph before, this might look a little like this:
The dog lip licks and the groomer misses the cue to slow down
The dog escalates to bare teeth the groomer stops because she’s worried she might get bitten
The trainer in the centre might encourage the groomer to be firm and show authority to the dog (be alpha)
The groomer in training might decide to muzzle the dog for her own protection and resume with the grooming task despite the clear warning from the dog
The idea that dogs want to be alpha derives from studies of captive wolves - research that was quickly debunked by the researcher, Professor David Mech himself.
It is an outdated belief that stopping a groom is submitting to the dog since we know that cooperation relies on the dog trusting the handler and feeling safe in the environment.
With this in mind, we can appreciate that each grooming session will leave the dog with feelings based on the experience, such as:
safe or threatening
predictable environment or not predictable and therefore unsafe
manageable tasks or overwhelming
collaborative or forceful
What the groomer makes the dog feel during one session will become their anticipation the next session, leading to a higher risk of more advanced fear and fear-induced behaviours.
Behaviour is feeling and must be understood
When the groomer learns to stop treating behaviour like a label (e.g. the dog growls which means he’s aggressive) and begins identifying behaviours with feelings, communication becomes fluid.
Dogs use posture, movement, expression, muscle tension, vocalisation, orientation, avoidance, stillness, and their willingness to participate to communicate. Some dogs express subtly, others have learned to express more obviously and it’s important to be aware that every dog is different.
A quiet dog isn’t necessarily a comfortable and happy dog.
A dog who is still isn’t necessarily cooperating.
The groomer can learn how to read the context and determine what individual behaviours mean when combined to reveal the bigger picture - context, learned history, how healthy the dog is and the procedure itself all helps to tell the story.
The Framework encourages our industry to think bigger than merely one behaviour in isolation, at surface-level… it teaches groomers to look deeper into the minds of dogs to better understand what they need in order to thrive.
Welfare is more than preventing physical injury
For several years, animal welfare was discussed primarily in terms of preventing physical suffering.
Avoiding:
injury
illness
hunger
pain
severe distress
But contemporary welfare thinking asks the professional to consider more than the absence of harm we can see clearly, and consider the psychological, emotional, and physiological impact our choices have on the dog beneath what we see with our eyes.
Because welfare also includes how well a dog is coping, how many opportunities a dog has to actively choose how he is handled and/or cared for, and how predictable and positive their day-to-day lives can be.
The Five Freedoms are already mentioned in the theoretical part of grooming curriculum, but the Framework emphasises the importance of including The Five Domains in salons as well.
Within a grooming context this means considering factors such as:
physical comfort
pain and mobility
temperature
noise
handling intensity
fatigue
opportunities to pause/rest
predictability with fluidity
choice where appropriate
emotional state and individual threshold
individual resilience
A groom does not automatically become welfare-friendly because no visible injury has occurred - a dog with a bite history is not immune to harm merely for having a muzzle on and not being able to bite. A nervous dog with no positive experience to muzzles and/or grooming tasks will have left a grooming salon traumatised both emotionally and physically.
Sometimes the most ethical (and responsible) decision a groomer can make is to stop a groom.
Why a professional framework is needed
The industry is already consumed with dedicated, highly-skilled technicians who care deeply about the dogs they work with, but behaviour and welfare education has not always been consistently embedded within conventional grooming training. Some professionals have received excellent guidance and support, while others have been expected to learn through their own experience, informal advice, or after something significant has gone wrong.
This creates a variation in how behaviour is interpreted and how welfare-related decisions are made.
It may also leave groomers feeling personally responsible for situations they were never adequately trained to understand.
A professional framework can help created a shared foundation and baseline.
The ABWGF has not been developed to provide a single technique or a rigid set of instructions nor does it suggest that every dog must be groomed in exactly the same way. It supports a more fluid and adaptive approach to grooming processes that respects that no two dogs bring the same combination of genetics, health, age, learning history, temperament, sensory needs, and emotional responses into the grooming environment.
Ethical practice cannot be reduced to a one-size-fits-all method.
The framework instead provides a structure through which professionals can observe, interpret, assess, adapt and reflect based on each dog, during each session. It supports thoughtful decision-making processes without removing the flexibility required to meet individual needs.
Introducing the ABWGF
The Applied Behaviour and Welfare Grooming Framework brings behaviour science, welfare principles, practical grooming and professional judgement together within one professional structure.
Its purpose is to support better outcomes for:
dogs
groomers
guardians
education providers
grooming businesses
the wider animal care profession
It is intended to be relevant across different working environments, including salons, mobile services, home-based businesses, veterinary settings, educational centres and multi-disciplinary workplaces.
The environment may change, the equipment may differ and the practical plan may adapt but the commitment to behaviour-informed, welfare-focused decision-making should remain consistent and non-negotiable.
The Six Pillars of the ABWGF
The Framework is organised around six interconnected pillars. These pillars represent the foundations through which professional grooming decisions should be understood and applied.
Behaviour Foundation
Behaviour is the starting point for understanding how a dog is experiencing grooming. This pillar encourages professionals to recognise communication, consider emotional state, understand learning history and acknowledge behaviour as meaningful communication.
Welfare Focus
Physical and emotional welfare must remain central to every grooming decision. This includes comfort, pain awareness, coping ability, fatigue, environmental suitability, agency and the overall effect of the experience on the individual dog.
Science Informed
Professional practice should be supported by current, credible knowledge. Scientific evidence does not replace experience, but it helps us examine experience, challenge assumptions and make informed decisions.
Practical Application
Knowledge must be transferred into competent action. This pillar considers how behaviour and welfare principles influence handling, session struture, environmental design, procedure planning and the decision to continue, adapt, pause, stop or refer.
Professional Relationships
Good outcomes rarely depend on one person alone. Clear communication between groomers, guardians, educators, veterinary professionals, behaviour professionals, and colleagues supports continuity, trust and more effective, synchronised, care.
Continuous Growth
Professional learning does not end with a certificate or qualification. Reflection, education, feedback, collaboration and ongoing professional development allow practice to evolve alongside new evidence and experience.
The pillars are not separate boxes to complete, they all work together.
Behavioural understanding supports welfare. Science informs practical action and practical decisions depend on communication.
What the framework is, and what it isn’t
The ABWGF is:
a professional decision-making framework
an evidence-informed foundation/baseline
a shared language for behaviour and welfare
a structure that supports individualised care
a basis for education, research and CPD
a developing body of work that can evolve alongside evidence
The ABWGF is not:
a rigid grooming method
a step-by-step method
a claim that one technique suits every dog
a replacement for practical grooming competence
a substitute for veterinary or clinical assessment
a criticism of professionals who were never given access to this education
Its purpose is not to tell experienced groomers that everything they have done is wrong, it is to ask what becomes possible when practical, styling skills are strengthened by a deeper understanding of the animal receiving that care and service.
What this means for The Holistic Grooming Academy
The ABWGF and The Holistic Grooming Academy are closely connected, but they serve different purposes.
The framework establishes the broader professional principles and proposed standards meanwhile the HGA provides education that helps groomers understand and apply those principles within their work.
The HGA Behaviour Grooming Diploma is one educational route through which professionals can develop their knowledge of canine communication, learning, welfare, handling, professional reflection and behaviour-informed practice.
The wider vision extends beyond one programme. Through this new HGA website, the framework will be supported by:
industry research
survey findings
case studies
evidence reviews
educational resources
professional articles
future publications
continued collaboration with practitioners and other animal-care professionals
The intention is to create an accessible and evolving professional ecosystem rather than a framework that exists only on paper.
This work must remain collaborative
Meaningful professional change cannot belong to one person, business or organisation.
The future of grooming will be shaped by groomers, educators, researchers, veterinary professionals, behaviour specialists, guardians and professional bodies who are willing to share knowledge and learn from one another.
It will also be shaped by the dogs themselves. Their behaviour provides constant feedback about the environments we create, the procedures we use and the decisions we make - the challenge will be whether we are prepared to notice and respect it.
The ABWGF is not presented as the final word on ethical grooming. It is a foundation for continued discussion, research, reflection and improvement. It will need to develop as new evidence emerges and it must be open to scrutiny.
It should be strengthened by the experiences of professionals working in different environments and with different populations of dogs because this is how credible frameworks grow.
Explore the framework
Discover the 6 Pillars of the Applied Behaviour and Welfare Grooming Framework, explore our developing research library and follow the continued progress of this work right here on this website!
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