Popular and talented groomer Jitka Krizova will be sadly missed as she decides to retire from competing in order to devote her time to developing the training side of her business Vita Canis, based near Uttoxeter.
Highlights of Jitka’s competition career are too numerous to mention but do include Best in Show wins at British Dog Grooming Championships, Eurogroom and Mastergroom. She has also been a member of Groom Team England for the past six years. Considering she was someone who started out doing an Animal Health degree and found grooming boring and not something she was particularly interested in, she has achieved an incredible amount! “I feel I have achieved more than I ever wanted and with different breeds of dog,” says Jitka. “My inspiration to compete was seeing some of the top groomers competing in Europe. Before that I wasn’t convinced that grooming was ever going to be the right kind of career for me. You can learn a lot from watching those who are at the top of their game.” Jitka has always provided specialist training days for those groomers wanting to improve their handstripping skills or concentrate on terrier-types but having recently acquired PIF’s recognition as a Premier Accredited Training Centre she can also deliver and assess City & Guilds grooming qualifications at levels 2 and 3.
Jitka has a natural knack for being able to translate the art of grooming into easily digestible chunks and groomers who have
attended her specialist training days say they always come away with some useful tips that they can use in their own salons. She has also inspired groomers who have watched her at the many demos she has given when not competing! For now Jitka is happy to impart some of her knowledge and experience to the next generation of up and coming groomers. And nothing gives her more pleasure than seeing some of her students go on to win. So what is Jitka’s advice for new groomers in the industry? “To succeed in grooming you need to be passionate, determined and not afraid of hard work. Doing City & Guilds qualifications is just the start as learning never stops and you should never underestimate the worth of hands-on experience. Attending competitions, seminars and training days will all help you develop your skills and I don’t mean just in grooming. There are lots of other things to consider if you want a successful career, for instance customer service and how to manage a business.” As well as offering training Jitka also offers a boarding service for her customers. She has also developed a passion for essential oils used in aromatherapy and has been impressed by the impact they can have on a dog’s behaviour. As a result she and has decided to take her interest further by undertaking some courses and I wonder how long it will be before she is concocting her own lotions and potions for groomers and their dogs alike! She will be missed in the competition- world but I’m sure we’ll it won’t be long before we see one of her students raising the GOY trophy in the future. She will also continue to support the development of the grooming industry in her home country Slovakia.
Introducing the new…
Newcomer to competition Rich Smith has taken the dog grooming world by storm and showed how a bit of support can go along way. His first competition this year was Mastergroom and his last the British Dog Grooming Championships where he won reserve Best in Show!
Rich has always been interested in dogs as his dad used to show English Setters and he would often accompany him to the shows and help him prepare the dogs for the ring. “I’ve always had an interest in the different breeds and the skill that goes into making them all look unique,” say Rich. When he left school he couldn’t really find a job that suited him but liked the idea of becoming a groomer, especially as there wasn’t a salon in the town. A loan from his step dad helped pay for his training and he’s now been grooming for 11 years. “I started out on my own in a small shop in Kettering town centre but the business gradually grew so I moved to new larger premises in 2008 and now have two employees,” says Rich. “I did my Level 3 Intro to dog grooming at Look North with Zoe Duffy and I’ve literally just finished my three dogs for the diploma last weekend at vita Canis so it’s on to the highers next!” For several years Rich was quite happy grooming away in his own salon and as long as his customers were happy so was he. He admits he was in a bit of a bubble so a few years ago he decided to give his grooming a boost and improve his skills by taking further training with a lot of the top groomers in the country. “I used to go to the British Dog Grooming Championships every year and say to myself that there was no way I could groom in a competition with everyone watching me,” he says. “But then I did some training with Colin Taylor an he basically told me I had to enter Mastergroom so it’s all his fault! As my grooming started to improve and with encouragement from Jitka Krizova and Alison Rogers I decided to give it a go. I’ve learnt so much this year from going to the competitions and I’d recommend it to anyone who
hasn’t tried it. It has really helped improve my salon work.” Rich admits to being really dazed and finding the whole experience somewhat surreal doing so well at the British Dog Grooming Championships. He’s determined to continue learning as much as he possibly can and I’m sure this year is just the start of many competition successes for him.
