Ethical Dog Grooming FacilitiesCertification Standards
Read the official All Things Dog grooming facilities certification standards and assessment checklist.
About these standards
Ethical Dog Grooming FacilitiesCertification Standards
Version 0.2
Purpose
The All Things Dog Ethical Dog Grooming Facilities Certification Standards exist to recognise grooming businesses that provide a safe, clean and suitable environment for dogs.
The Standards are designed for New Zealand. They apply to salons, home-based facilities, mobile grooming units and grooming carried out in clients’ homes.
They are deliberately practical.
The focus is on the facility: safe premises, secure holding areas, cleanliness, suitable equipment, reliable water and power, and emergency arrangements.
Grooming techniques, styling, coat care, bathing and drying methods, handling, restraint and individual grooming qualifications sit outside this certification. These areas are intended to be managed by the separate grooming association.
This does not remove the business’s legal responsibilities for animal welfare. Boarding, daycare and dog transport are not certified under these Standards.
The Standards set the required outcome while allowing the business to decide the best reasonable way to achieve it. A small salon or mobile operator does not need the same premises or systems as a large business.
How Certification Works
A grooming business either meets the applicable All Things Dog Grooming Facilities Certification Standards or does not. There are no levels, rankings or star ratings.
All facilities and mobile units operated or controlled by the applicant must be declared and assessed. The certificate must identify the locations, units and operating models covered. Meeting the Standards at one location does not make up for a failure at another.
All applicable mandatory requirements must be met before certification is granted. Reassessment takes place annually, with additional checks where significant concerns or changes justify them.
Assessment may include inspection, observation of normal operation, discussions with responsible people, records and practical scenarios. Mobile and house-call services must be assessed in a normal working set-up.
Written policies or photographs alone are not enough where the assessor needs to see how the facility operates. Dogs must not be put at risk to demonstrate compliance.
2.1 Understanding the Standards
Must / must notA mandatory requirement for certification.
ShouldRecommended good practice.
MayAn acceptable option, rather than the only way to meet a requirement.
ExamplesGuidance only. Another reasonable approach may be accepted where it achieves the required outcome.
Standards 1–7 and 9–10 apply to all operating models where relevant. Standard 8 adds requirements for mobile and house-call services. Vehicle-only requirements do not apply where no grooming vehicle is used. Holding requirements apply whenever dogs wait outside their active appointment, even briefly.
2.2 Assessment Outcomes
Meets Standard
There is reasonable evidence that the applicable requirement is met in practice.
Action Required
A requirement is not met, or there is not enough evidence. The assessor must record the issue, action needed, person responsible, due date and evidence required to close it. Mandatory actions must be closed before certification is granted.
Critical Non-Compliance
A serious facility failure creates an immediate or significant welfare or safety risk, or deliberate concealment undermines the assessment. The immediate risk must be controlled and use of the affected area or unit stopped. Certification cannot be granted or maintained until All Things Dog accepts the resolution. Refusal, suspension or cancellation may be appropriate.
Not Applicable
The requirement genuinely does not apply. The reason must be recorded. This outcome must not be used to excuse missing evidence or non-compliance. Where only part of a requirement applies, that part must still be assessed.
Critical findings may include exposed live electrical parts in a wet area, a serious escape risk, unsafe heat in an occupied unit, sewage contamination or a blocked sole exit. The decision must reflect the actual risk; a minor defect is not automatically critical.
A serious grooming or handling concern must not be ignored because it falls outside this assessment. The assessor must record the facts separately and seek appropriate assistance or referral. It may prompt a certification review, but does not create a new handling requirement under these Standards.
2.3 Legal Requirements
All Things Dog Certification is a voluntary private scheme. It does not replace the business’s legal responsibilities or provide a government licence.
Certified businesses must comply with applicable New Zealand law, relevant Codes of Welfare and local requirements. Where a legal requirement is higher or more specific, that requirement applies.
Requirements may differ between commercial premises, home-based facilities and mobile units. Assessors must seek suitable evidence where specialist or legal advice is needed. They must not assess specialist installations beyond their competence.
2.4 Practical Application and Review
Separate rooms, a particular equipment brand, air conditioning or an outdoor yard are not automatically required. Another arrangement may be accepted where the assessor can verify that it achieves the required outcome. Business size or cost does not excuse an unresolved safety or welfare risk.
The business must review its facilities at least annually and after serious incidents or significant changes. All Things Dog will review these Standards at least every two years, or sooner where relevant requirements or evidence change.
The Standards
Assessment checklist and outcomes
Ethical Dog Grooming FacilitiesCertification Checklist
Version 0.2 • September 2026
Purpose & scope
These Standards set the All Things Dog welfare bar for the physical environment in which dog grooming takes place: safe premises, secure accommodation, clean facilities, reliable utilities and equipment, and practical emergency arrangements. They apply to commercial salons, home-based facilities, mobile grooming vehicles and trailers, and portable house-call set-ups in New Zealand.
Grooming techniques, styling, coat care, bathing and drying methods, handling and restraint practices, behavioural training, clinical decisions and individual groomer qualifications are outside this certification’s scope. These areas are intended to sit with the separate grooming association. This does not remove anyone’s legal animal-welfare responsibilities.
Facility assessment includes the condition and cleanliness of grooming equipment, secure holding provision and emergency resources. It does not assess how a groomer uses a technique on a dog. Other services, such as boarding, daycare or dog transport, require their own applicable assessment and are not certified by this document.
Practical application
Requirements set outcomes rather than a prescribed fit-out. A modest, well-run facility may comply without purpose-built rooms, air conditioning, a separate outdoor yard or particular equipment brands. An alternative arrangement is acceptable when the assessor can verify that it achieves the same required outcome. Cost or business size does not justify an unresolved safety or welfare risk.
Standards 1–7 and 9–10 apply to all operating models, subject to genuine applicability. Standard 8 adds mobile and house-call requirements. Vehicle-specific requirements do not apply to a portable house-call business without a grooming vehicle. Holding requirements apply wherever dogs wait outside the active appointment, even briefly.
Status of this document
This is a voluntary private certification standard, not New Zealand legislation or a government licence. “Must” and “must not” are mandatory for certification; “should” is recommended practice; “may” permits an option. Examples and assessor prompts are guidance, not additional mandatory requirements. The business must meet any higher or more specific legal requirement.
Local approvals and utility rules vary. A home salon, commercial tenancy and mobile unit may need different evidence. Assessors must not invent legal requirements or certify specialist installations themselves; they may require relevant authority correspondence or evidence from an appropriately qualified person.
How certification works
There are no levels, rankings or star ratings. Certification is granted only when every applicable mandatory requirement is met. The declared operation must include all facilities and units operated or materially controlled by the applicant. Each must be assessed; compliance at one location does not offset a failure at another. The certificate must list its covered sites, units and operating models.
Assessment uses premises and equipment inspection, observation of normal facility operation, discussion with responsible people, relevant records and practical emergency scenarios. Mobile and house-call assessment must include a representative normal set-up. Photos or policies alone are insufficient where working conditions need to be verified. No dog should be exposed to risk merely to demonstrate a control.
Meets Standard
There is reasonable evidence that all applicable mandatory elements of the clause are met in practice.
Action Required
A mandatory element is unmet or evidence is insufficient. Record the defect or evidence gap, required action, owner, due date and evidence needed for closure. No certification is granted until mandatory actions are closed.
Critical Non-Compliance
A serious facility failure creates immediate or significant welfare or safety risk, or deliberate concealment undermines assessment integrity. Control the immediate risk and stop use of the affected area or unit. Certification cannot be granted or maintained until All Things Dog accepts the resolution; refusal, suspension or cancellation may be appropriate.
Not Applicable
The clause genuinely does not apply to the declared operation. Record the reason. N/A cannot replace missing evidence or excuse non-compliance. For a partly applicable clause, assess the relevant elements and explain which elements do not apply.
Immediate-risk examples include exposed live electrical components in a wet area, an insecure boundary with a credible escape risk, uncontrolled heat in an occupied unit, sewage contamination in an occupied work area, or an unusable sole exit. Classify the actual risk and evidence; not every minor defect is critical.
Certification reassessment occurs annually. The business reviews its facilities at least annually and after serious incidents or material changes. All Things Dog reviews this pilot standard at least every two years and sooner if relevant requirements or evidence change.
An out-of-scope handling or grooming concern must not be ignored. Record the facts separately, seek appropriate assistance and refer to the responsible association or lawful authority where warranted. A credible serious welfare concern may require certification review, but does not authorise the assessor to invent a handling standard.
Use this checklist with Standards version 0.2. Every EG clause below reproduces the mandatory requirement. Record a result for each clause, evidence and facility/unit references. Use an additional section sheet for each site or unit where needed; do not collapse mixed results into a single pass.
Assessment details & declared scope
Business / legal entity: __________________________________________________
Trading name: __________________________________________________
Owner / operator: __________________________________________________
Responsible person: __________________________________________________
Assessor: __________________________________________________
Assessment date: __________________________________________________
Assessment type (initial / annual / follow-up): __________________________________________________
Fixed and home-based premises in scope: __________________________________________________
Mobile unit identifiers / registrations: __________________________________________________
House-call operating model and sampled location: __________________________________________________
Shared areas or utility responsibilities: __________________________________________________
Declared maximum dogs for each facility: __________________________________________________
Facilities visited and dates: __________________________________________________
Records / operating conditions sampled: __________________________________________________
Use an attached register where more space is needed. Identify every facility, its responsible person and capacity.
Scope declaration: All facilities and units operated or materially controlled by the applicant have been declared. ☐ Confirmed ☐ Action required
Facility compliance declaration: Applicable permissions and facility obligations have been identified and evidence supplied. ☐ Confirmed ☐ Action required
Operator name / signature: __________________________ Date: ______________
Development Sources and document control
Development Sources
These sources support the legal and safety context. The EG requirements are All Things Dog’s certification rules; they are not presented as verbatim law or as requirements endorsed by the organisations below. Sources checked September 2026. Use current versions and confirm site-specific requirements.
Animal Welfare Act 1999
Underlying duties of owners and people in charge; applies alongside this private scheme.
MPI — Code of Welfare: Dogs
Species-specific welfare requirements, including shelter and housing.
MPI — Temporary Housing of Companion Animals
Check applicability to any temporary holding offered.
WorkSafe — Testing and tagging electrical appliances
Safe equipment is required; blanket testing and tagging is not mandatory.
WorkSafe — Ensuring safety of plug-in electrical appliances
Electrical protection, including RCDs where necessary in damp conditions.
WorkSafe — Electrical and gas safety for caravan, motorhome and boating
Connectable installations and applicable electrical warrants; specialist confirmation for a unit’s configuration.
WorkSafe — Hazardous-substance inventory
Inventory duties and applicable exceptions.
WorkSafe — Safety data sheets in the workplace
Safety information and relevant consumer-product exceptions.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand — Building fire safety
Fire responsibilities, evacuation procedures and schemes according to the building.
Watercare — Trade waste agreements
Auckland example: requirements depend on discharge risk. Other areas must check their own provider and council.
Document control: Version 0.2, September 2026. Replaces the version 0.1 grooming-service framework with facility-only certification. EG identifiers have been reassigned; use only the matching version 0.2 checklist. Standard review due no later than September 2028.
Assessment summary, declaration and corrective action records
Certification summary
Business: __________________________ Assessment date: ______________
Enter the overall finding for each standard and cross-reference any open actions. Use the most serious applicable finding; record N/A only when the whole standard is inapplicable. A summary does not replace clause-level results.
No.
Standard
Finding / action ref.
1
Facility Responsibility & Certification Scope
2
Layout, Surfaces & Physical Condition
3
Security & Temporary Holding
4
Ventilation, Temperature, Lighting & Noise
5
Water Supply, Drainage & Waste
6
Cleaning, Laundry & Infection Control
7
Equipment, Electrical & Chemical Safety
8
Mobile Units & House-call Set-ups
9
Fire, Emergencies & Service Interruption
10
Facility Records, Induction & Review
Overall assessment
☐ Certification requirements met — all applicable mandatory clauses demonstrated.
☐ Action required before certification — mandatory actions remain open.
☐ Critical non-compliance — immediate controls and certification review required.
Open action references: __________________ Next assessment due: __________
Assessor declaration
I have assessed the declared facilities against version 0.2 within the facility-only scope. Findings reflect the sites, units, conditions and evidence inspected. Specialist installation or legal questions have been referred for suitable evidence. Grooming techniques and handling competence have not been certified.
Assessor / signature: __________________________ Date: ______________
All Things Dog decision / reviewer: __________________________________
Corrective action & critical finding record
Complete one record per finding; duplicate this page as needed.
Action reference
_________________________________________________________________
Facility / unit
_________________________________________________________________
EG clause(s)
_________________________________________________________________
Finding: Action Required / Critical Non-Compliance
_________________________________________________________________
Issue and supporting evidence
_________________________________________________________________
Immediate risk controls / affected area taken out of use
_________________________________________________________________
Action required
_________________________________________________________________
Person responsible
_________________________________________________________________
Completion due date
_________________________________________________________________
Evidence needed for closure
_________________________________________________________________
Evidence received and verification undertaken
_________________________________________________________________
Closed by / date
_________________________________________________________________
Status: Open / Closed
_________________________________________________________________
Certification decision / reviewer / date
_________________________________________________________________
For N/A decisions, document the operating fact that makes the requirement inapplicable on the relevant clause sheet. Record out-of-scope concerns and referrals separately from EG scoring.