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Liza Smith — large editorial portrait
About Liza & The Pet Studio
More Than 26 Years in the Making
The story behind The Pet Studio.
The Pet Studio did not become what it is today overnight. It has been shaped by more than two decades of dogs, clients, students, learning, mistakes, experience and a determination to keep improving.
Liza Smith began The Pet Studio in 2000 and has spent the years since building a career around professional dog grooming and education. What started as a passion for grooming grew into a successful salon, a team of professional groomers and eventually an Academy where Liza could share her knowledge with people wanting to enter the industry themselves.
Today, The Pet Studio brings those two worlds together. It is a place where dogs are professionally groomed every day and where the next generation of groomers can learn their craft inside a genuine working environment.
26+
Years of experience
Groomer
Hands on every day
Educator
Qualified to teach & assess
Mentor
Invested in students
MEET LIZA SMITH
Dog groomer. Educator. Business owner.
After 26 years in the industry, it would be easy to talk only about how long Liza has been grooming. What matters more is what she has done with those years.
She has worked hands on with thousands of dogs, including dogs who find grooming challenging. She has built and developed The Pet Studio as a business, employed and worked alongside other groomers, taught aspiring professionals and watched former students create successful careers of their own.
Alongside her practical experience, Liza is fully qualified in professional dog grooming, teaching and assessment and has undertaken additional education in canine behaviour. Her expertise has also led to appearances on BBC's The One Show and Good Morning Britain.
Yet the part of the work she remains most passionate about is sharing knowledge. Whether she is explaining something to an owner, supporting a nervous dog or watching a student finally master a skill they have been struggling with, teaching and communication sit at the heart of what she does.
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Liza teaching — demonstrating a technique to students
WHY TEACH?
Knowing how to do something and knowing how to teach it are not the same thing.
Liza wanted The Pet Studio Academy to give students access to the knowledge that only comes from years of doing the job, while also providing structured professional teaching. Students should be able to ask why, see techniques demonstrated, practise them, receive constructive feedback and understand how their learning connects to real professional grooming.
The Academy also allows Liza to pass on something that cannot be captured fully in a manual: judgement. Knowing when to adapt, when to stop, when to ask another question and how to respond when the dog in front of you does not behave like the example in a textbook.
A business that has grown with the industry
Dog grooming has changed enormously since The Pet Studio began. Expectations have changed, knowledge has developed and owners are increasingly interested not only in the finished groom but in the experience their dog has during it.
The Pet Studio has grown and changed too.
Continuing education, canine behaviour and a deeper understanding of how individual dogs experience grooming have all influenced the business Liza leads today. That willingness to keep learning is also something we want students to take into their own careers.
Because 26 years of experience should never mean believing there is nothing left to learn.
Our values
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What we believe
We believe professional grooming deserves to be treated as a skilled career.
We believe dogs deserve to be treated as individuals.
We believe students deserve honest, practical training that prepares them for the reality of the profession.
We believe experience should be shared rather than guarded.
And we believe that whether you are trusting us with your dog or investing in your future, you should feel confident about the people standing beside you.
COME AND MEET US
A website can tell you about our experience, but it cannot completely show you what The Pet Studio feels like.
If you are considering training with Liza, come and spend time with us. If you are looking for a groomer, talk to our team about your dog.
The best relationships usually start with a conversation.