Train your own special care groomer — or refer the case to us.
We come into your clinic and train the groomers you already have to work safely with dogs that need special care. If you would rather not take the case on, send it to us — we take the dog on and groom it to our own written plan.
A relationship built over years deserves a grooming referral you can trust.
- Plan
- A written grooming plan for each dog, in the same format we use in our own studio
- Record
- What was done, what was not attempted, and why
- Training
- Your own groomers, trained and assessed on your own cases
- Contact
- One named person at our end for questions after the training ends
Six grooming situations already present in your practice.
- The senior dog who can no longer stand for a full groom.
- The dog recovering from surgery, cleared by you but not by the salon.
- The dog your groomer has no procedure for. Standard grooming training may not fully prepare groomers to recognise pain, manage stress or know when veterinary input is needed.
- The anxious dog that panics the moment the dryer starts.
- The care that could stay connected. Assessment, planning, handling and reporting — work that belongs in the building that already holds the history, and is paid for somewhere else today.
- The client who goes elsewhere for grooming — and takes the visit history, and the income, with them.
However much of it you want to keep in-house.
Refer a case
Your client books with us directly; your clinic's name goes on the referral; and the case is ours from there.
Refer a caseTrain your own groomers
We train the groomers you already employ, so the skill stays inside your clinic.
Train your own groomersBecome a special care groomer
We can put forward a groomer we have trained and assessed ourselves, so the case is handled in-house.
About the trainingYour own dog
Book a special care consultation for your own dog — the same assessment, the same written plan.
Book a consultationWhy train your existing grooming team?
Three ways to support a special care grooming case: train your existing groomer, bring in an experienced special care groomer, or refer the case to an external provider. The first two options allow grooming to take place within your clinic, helping your team coordinate care and maintain shared records.
Build on the information and relationships you already have.
Your clinic already holds valuable information about the dog's health, medication, mobility and care history. Training helps your grooming team use this information to plan each session, identify support needs and recognise when veterinary input is required — before grooming begins.
A written procedure supports clear, consistent decisions.
We teach a structured process: identifying special care needs, gathering relevant information before booking, documenting the grooming plan, defining the groomer's responsibilities and recognising when to stop and seek veterinary advice.
A written standard operating procedure (SOP) gives the team a consistent framework while allowing each dog's needs to be considered individually.
A service you can price, staff and deliver consistently.
- Priced as a dedicated service, rather than simply an add-on to a standard groom.
- Planned around the dog's ongoing needs, with records updated after each visit.
- Supported by shared procedures and appropriately trained staff, reducing reliance on one person.
- More than a single appointment — a plan for ongoing care.
It is not one appointment. It is a plan for ongoing care.
Ryohei Otaki
Special Care Grooming Specialist & Educator
Founder, Filicious Pet Services
Creator of the Special Care Dog Grooming program and the Puppy Classroom program (puppies under 16 weeks)
- Creator of the Special Care Dog Grooming program and the Puppy Classroom program for puppies under 16 weeks
- Trained at Yamazaki Gakuen College of Animal Health Technology, Tokyo
- Groomed inside Takano Pet Clinic in Japan, alongside veterinarians on live cases
- Senior groomer across Vetmed veterinary clinics in Sydney
- Invited by Pet Forest Trimming School in Japan to run a special care seminar for around 15 of their groomers
- Volunteer groomer at Monika's Doggie Rescue
What your clinic receives.
A complete SOP for special care grooming — from first enquiry to written plan. The same procedure we work to in our own studio.
- How a special care case is identified, and what makes it one.
- How the consultation is booked, and what is asked before the dog comes in.
- The grooming plan template, and the report that follows each visit.
- The handling procedure: lifting, positioning, pressure, breaks and stop points.
- The escalation point, and who to contact at our end.
Bonus, after the program ends
- Follow-up review — send us your first completed plan and we will read it with you.
- One live session — we watch one of your groomers with a real case and give feedback on the handling.
- Template updates — any change we make to the SOP comes to you for 12 months.
Not sure whether this fits your clinic?
Request the program outline and we will send the full structure — formats, group size and what happens after assessment.
Request a program outline