Animal lover Stephanie Peter fulfilled a childhood ambition when she recently opened her salon dedicated to pampering pooches.

"I was into sport so I went to University to do sports studies. I worked in the leisure industry for some years before deciding I'd had enough."

Studying nursing prompted the move from her native Lincolnshire to Bradford. "But I couldn't stand the sight of blood!" she laughs.

She spent the majority of her working life managing a team of staff dealing with PAYE enquiries at the Inland Revenue in Bradford before deciding to pursue her childhood ambition.

"I was only in my mid-30s and I thought I've got another 30 years in work. I took a step back and looked at where I was and thought I would like to work for myself doing something I really love doing - working with animals."

Researching the rapidly expanding pet industry, Stephanie decided dog grooming was a profession she would like to pursue. She embarked on a Starting in Business course through Business Link and undertook a six-week intensive training course with Groomers dog grooming centre in Shropshire.

"Dog grooming is becoming very popular but you actually don't need any qualifications to do it. They are talking about doing a degree, making it a proper qualification, but there is no legislation.

"I wanted to do it as a professional career and there are so many breeds out there I wouldn't have known which brush to use on what dog."

While on the course, Stephanie learned everything from choosing the correct shampoos to suit the many different coats to clipping, scissoring and styling.

"They teach you right from the basics of grooming a dog, covering every type of dog, bathing and drying processes," she explains "There are so many different techniques. They also taught us how to style, scissor and clip for different cuts and how to do nails and ears as well because certain breeds get a lot of hair in their ears and can get infections," explains Stephanie.

After completing her training, Stephanie was keen to get going. She converted the garage of her Wrose home into a fully-equipped salon. There's a bath, shower, a hydraulic table for clipping and a wonderful blaster hair dryer to achieve that overall salon perfection!

Hair and Hounds - a name suggested by a pal of hers - officially opened last month and already Stephanie, who shares her home with her six-month-old four-legged friend, Tilly the deerhound, is building her custom base from leaflet drops around the local area.

The most recent customers to her salon, registered with Pet Care Trust, were a beautiful Siberian Husky and some Cocker Spaniels. Stephanie is also a member of the British Dog Grooming Association.

"I grew up with horses, dogs, cats, guinea pigs even mice! They have been part of my life forever. I love being with animals and dealing with them and they seem to like me," says Stephanie.

But she appreciates they're not always the easiest customers to deal with. "It is certainly an acquired skill. There are a lot of things you need to know about dogs and how to groom them out. You also know how to handle them because they're not like us, they won't sit still!" she laughs.

For more information about a dog grooming career visit the Groomers website www.groomers.co.uk or contact Hair and Hounds on (01274) 531971.