The grooming programme, in association with British Dog Groomers' Association and KD Grooming Studio, involved some of the country’s leading groomers, and the demonstrations highlighted the knowledge and expertise required to successfully complete all traditional grooming techniques.

KD Grooming Studio’s Kelly Davis, who is also Director for BDGA, said: “We thoroughly enjoyed running interactive demonstrations at PATS and we couldn't have been happier with the turnout. The entire event was really fantastic and the PATS team were an absolute pleasure to deal with throughout.”

Here Kelly gives her verdict on the new-look Grooming Workshop, and reveals why she thinks there is growing interest in this sector of the trade...

What pleased you the most?

The event was so well organised and there was such a good turnout that it's difficult to choose what we enjoyed most. The atmosphere was great and the visitors seemed to thoroughly enjoy taking part in our demonstrations, which was great. I always jump at the chance at teaching people about what we do so it was a great opportunity for my team and myself to be able to demonstrate our passion for grooming in a really fun and informative way. 

The audience seemed to enjoy playing a part in proceedings, that must have been pleasing?

We are really pleased with how many attendees we had and how much people were engaging with our demos. We were so busy from start to finish so we couldn't have been happier with the turnout. 

Did you get a good mix of groomers in the audience?

It seemed like quite an even mix between experienced groomers and beginners, which was great. We made sure that our demos were appropriate for anyone wanting to learn regardless of their skill level. 

How many breeds of dog took part in the demos?

We used eight different dog breeds for our demos. 

What was the most commonly asked question?

‘What blade are you using?’ seemed to come up quite a lot. 

Will you repeating this style of workshop at a future PATS show?

We literally can't wait to come back to PATS. We will be attending Sandown as visitors. We want to keep our seminars fresh and exciting for our attendees so I'm afraid everyone will have to wait until the next Telford show to see what else we have up our sleeves.