What I Had To Do To Become A Certified Master Groomer.

Here is the criteria for testing to become a Certified Master Groomer. It takes 2 days of testing. The first day is the written part, and the second day is the practical part. The practical part consists of actually grooming the dogs listed by the National Dog Groomers Assoc. of America. My final score was 99.5% overall. I became certified in 1994, at Intergroom in Newark NJ.

Certification is the standardized method to obtain professional recognition for those pet groomers whose knowledge, techniques, abilities and skills have been tested and thereby Certified as having met the high standards set forth by the National Dog Groomers Association of America. Certification can only help our profession. Individuals wishing to certify must display exceptional knowledge and skill in both the written and practical skills testing procedure. Only then will you earn the prestigious title of "National Certified Master Groomer"®

• Practical Skills - You are required to demonstrate your grooming skills on one breed for each group, two for Terrier exam. You will be graded by our certiers and upon successfully passing both practical and written portions will attain certification in that group. It is strongly advised and highly recommended that you attend at least one accredited NDGAA workshop, this and obtaining official NDGAA breed profile guidelines will help prepare you for the testing procedure.

• Written Portion - A written exam will be administered with each phase of the practical skills testing procedure; Non-Sporting, Sporting & Terrier, of 100 questions each.

• National Certified Master Groomer® Exam - This written exam consists of 400 questions covering all of the groups not previously taken including working, toy and hound groups, anatomy, breed standards, breed identification, glossary of canine terms, general health, pesticides, clipper I.D., and cat questions. Applicants will be allotted two hours to complete the written master examination. In order to attain NCMG status you must obtain an 85% overall average of all phases.