Vita Canis was named Grooming Business of the Year at this year’s Pet Industry Federation (PIF) Awards.

The award was open to all grooming businesses with the award judges looking for a consistently high level of overall excellence with a high achievement in several commercial areas including customer service and satisfaction, animal welfare and innovation.

On receiving the award, Vita Canis founder and owner Jitka Krizova commented: “We are absolutely delighted to have won this prestigious award. This is recognition of the dedication and hard work from all within the Vita Canis team and our commitment in providing a first class grooming service together with loving pet care. We feel so lucky to work in an industry we love.”

Vita Canis is a professional dog grooming salon and spa located near Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, and Jitka Krizova spoke to Pet Trade Xtra about how the company became so successful.

How and when did you get started in grooming?
In Slovakia when I was about 15 I started to trim my first dog, a Miniature Schnauzer, because there were no grooming salons in Slovakia at that time. Then I started to trim dogs for my friends and family. I started grooming professionally in 1998, working for a local vet who had grooming salon. I opened my first grooming salon in 2000 in Zvolen, Slovakia.

Have you got a favourite breed that you like grooming?
Long legged terriers are my favourite but any well behaved dog with a good coat.

How do you make a dog relaxed when grooming?
Adopting a gentle approach, using minimum restraint and building trust are very important in making a dog feel relaxed. A good understanding of dog behaviour and anatomy is also necessary. If necessary we use our own hand made Vita Canis Aromatic Floral Spray and Comfort Blend for calming nervous and anxious dogs, with great results. These products are also used by many other dog groomers and grooming schools.

Do you own dogs yourself?
Yes, I have 7 dogs.

What piece of advice would you give would-be groomers?
To be a good dog groomer you need to work not only on your grooming skills but also on your customer service. You also need to understand dogs anatomy and behaviour, read their body language, etc. It's constant learning and it's fascinating.



What’s the worst case of poor grooming (or lack of it) you’ve come across, and did you manage to put it right?
The worse cases of poor grooming are usually done by owners who try to trim their dog with inappropriate equipment such as the kitchen scissors. It is really dangerous. The good thing about this business is the hair always grows back and then we can fix it.

Do you enter grooming competitions, and if so, what’s the best competition you’ve won?
I’ve entered many competitions and have won Best in Show at Eurogroom 3 times, British Groomer of the Year, Groomania Best in Show and Mastergroom Best in Show. My favourite was Mastergroom, because I won Best n Show with a toy poodle and also Best All Round Groomer with an English Cocker Spaniel and Toy Poodle.

What’s the secret of your success?
I love working with dogs, am very professional and dedicated to what I do. I also never stop learning.

Main picture above: Vita Canis team from left to right: Klaudia Szonji, Jitka Krizova and Zoe Oakes.

Below: Jitka and Klaudia receive the award from Chris Barrie.