WestGROOM – Welcome to the Dog Groomers Association of Western Australia Inc.

Seminar Information

STYLING THE LABRADOODLE WITH COMB ATTACHMENTS

Helen will be demonstrating how to move around the labradoodle with speed and efficiency all while setting him into a stylish trim using comb attachments.

THE POODLE

Melissa will be going over the basics of grooming the Poodle, from what the breed represents, setting the face, feet and tail to demonstrating how to groom your poodle into to a nice easy maintainable modern trim.

RAKING, CARDING & PULLING

Getting the polished finish on your silky coated dog (think spaniel’s and setters). Helen will take you through when and how to use the techniques of raking, carding and pulling and its many benefits to the dog and the end results of your groom.

SETTING AND SHAPING HEADS

Chuckie and Naomi will be showing you how to set balance and shape to multiple head types with ease and style.

MOBILING FOR SUCCESS

Emily will take you through all you need to know to run a successful Mobile business.
She will be discussing: Scheduling, efficiency, networking, understanding your business purpose, structure profits and more!!!

BUSINESS MARKING AND SOCIALS

Emily will be sharing tips and tricks, and guide you through how to simplify marketing your business, using social media, Google, community marketing and more

DE SHEDDING SIMPLIFIED

Monika Termann will be telling us all we need to know about the de shedding process and the techniques and tools to use to get the best in show results with ease and efficiency.

CANINE MASSAGE

Julie Edwards will be giving us a brief intro into the benefits and rewards of soft tissue canine massage and the use of therapeutic herbal products. She will also be talking about self-care and looking after the groomers body.

EQUIPMENT MAINTENACE

David will be take you through all you need to know to get longevity out of your tools and to have and keep them operating with maximum efficiency.

MONEY TALKS

Joe from Taxpro will be chatting all things bookkeeping. More info to come soon.

Speakers and Judges

Helen Forester - Judge and Speaker

Helen Forester is an accomplished, Cert 4 Nationally Recognized Groomer who continuously upskills attending workshops and seminars across the country. She has been grooming for 20years now,
teaching grooming at TAFE in that time and now running a successful homebased salon south of Perth after being a Mobile operator for 9 years. Competition grooming is area Helen is passionate about as it has expanded her knowledge and lifted her career to multiple highs. Most recently being awarded placement on the Australian 2020 Groom Team.

Helen is a proud ambassador to Botany Bay Imports the distributors of OSTER Professional and Shear Magic products. To which she is also a member of the Botany Bay Groom Team. After undertaking further training in the UK Helen has returned to the field of training where she enjoys passing gained knowledge on to fellow colleagues and aspiring Groomers and Stylists.

Sally Baxter - Judge

After being unable to attend last years DGAWA Spring Competitions Sally is very much looking forward to being involved in the WestGROOM.

Sally has been grooming in an recreational way for many years with her own show dogs. She has prepared Australian Silky Terriers, Portuguese Water Dogs(curly & wavy), Norfolk Terriers/ Cairn Terriers( handstripping), Gordon Setters( Hand stripping, carding and breed trim) and now Poodles. Her grooming career changed from amateur (show grooming her own hairy dogs) to professional when she retired from Teaching and tried her hand at a career change. It has now blossomed to owning her own grooming Salon, and a full time occupation.

"Judging with any area is, I believe a wonderful way to both return our commitment to our chosen profession and a learning/ mentoring process that goes both way between competitor and judge.I have competed in several grooming competitions, an activity that has stretched my learning and focus. I regularly undertake seminars and professional development to enhance and refine my skills."

Melissa Vanhoe - Speaker

Melissa is a qualified trainer and assessor for Companion Animal Services and Veterinary Nursing. She has bred and owned Standard Poodles for the past 15 years under the ‘Bouffant’ prefix. Originally a ‘self-taught’ groomer her skills naturally progressed over time. Over the years Melissa has shown Poodles in 4 countries, owned, bred and handled multiple best in show winners. Melissa also holds her qualification for a Certificate III in Pet Grooming, and put the same qualification on scope for a government training institution.

Her salon ‘Poodle Works’ is a small salon that focuses on groomer training and presentation of Poodles.

Monika Termann - Speaker

Monika’s introduction to double coats and Spitz Breeds was at the tender age of 19, when she acquired her first Alaskan Malamute puppy from a registered breeder. Since then, she has gone on to co-own, co-breed and show Siberian Huskies to Best in Show, become a qualified Companion Animal Trainer and Chairperson for Husky And Malamute Rescue Inc.

Monika first began Musky Paws in 2009, when she realised she had a unique skill with Arctic Breed coats and there seemed to be a gap in the grooming world for them at the time. Since starting Musky Paws, Monika has gone on to develop and hone her own methods for de-shedding and the general maintenance for our Arctic Breeds and double coats, which has also led her to providing seminars and workshops for TAFE students and groomers alike.

Naomi Fantuz - Speaker

Having worked for many years as a Teachers Aid, and enduring one too many recess duties, Naomi embarked on a career change in 2015 by studying grooming and starting her own business. Oh My Dog caters for dogs of all breeds, sizes and styles as well as grooming a select group of feline clients.

Naomi’s keen interest to expand her skills, has lead her to take every opportunity to work with breeders, skilled groomers and industry mentors. Naomi's focus in breed standard grooming was sparked from a desire to an understand how breeds were developed, used in day to day life and therefore the purpose of their groom. Over the years Naomi has enjoyed sharing grooming knowledge and learning from with in the grooming community at seminars and at local and interstate competitions.

Naomi's passion is hand stripping Terriers for a quality finish, but also because she likes saying “i am a stripper” at family gatherings.

Chuckie Lund

Chuckie’s salon Pimp My Pet nestles amongst the lush gardens of Fur kidz resort in Canning Vale.

Chuckie first started out as a private mobile hydrobath operator. She found the passion for grooming 16yrs ago and hasn’t looked back. Attending many seminars and pestering breeders to perfect her skills Chuckie now competes in grooming competitions when she can and is currently grooming and exhibiting dogs in the show ring for breeders. She feels it is a way to keep learning and improving.

Chuckie specialises in Hand Stripping Terriers specifically the Aussie Terrier, West Highland, Cairn Terrier and Irish Terrier. She is always happy to share the skills she has learned mentoring students from TAFE and passing on her knowledge and love of grooming.

Emily Slevin

Emily has been a mobile groomer and franchisee with Aussie Pooch Mobile for over 11 years where she has seen great success. Over the years she has built up and sold 7 mobile businesses and she now owns and runs Aussie Pooch Mobile WA which has 28 franchisees, contractors and employees in her team. Over the years she has won numerous business awards with her most notable one winning the WA Woman in Franchising Award in 2018.

Emily has a passion for business with a purpose and mentoring new groomers into the mobile grooming industry as well as a passion for educating dog owners on responsible pet ownership. Her focus on understanding all different aspects of running a mobile grooming business has seen groomers she has mentored become not only fantastic groomers but also confident business owners who understand what it takes to have long term success within their own businesses, and she is always happy to share her tips and knowledge to others within the industry.

Julie Edwards

Julie Edwards has been a renowned health practitioner for over 20 years. As an Exercise Physiologist she has worked with elite athletes managing strength and conditioning programs along with injury rehabilitation. Julie then spent 6 1/2 years working with neurosurgery, reconstructive plastic surgery, oncology and other specialist surgical patients at The Mount Hospital. During this time she completed study in herbal medicine and myofascial release therapy for small animals. Julie has more recently completed study in Permaculture and Sustainable Agriculture. Her current businesses are: Wellness Centre for Dogs & 4 Paws & Friends Herbal Products.