'How leaving home to buy a Dobermann changed my life' - Meet Yorkshire master dog groomer Verity Hardcastle

“I no longer recognise that younger version of myself,” she continues, “but it was a journey I had to take, and one that led me to where I am today.”

That Dobermann was Angel – and she paved the way for a career dedicated to dogs for now 38-year-old Verity. Angel’s breeder was a show breeder and at 19, Verity became hooked.

Two decades later, she still spends many a weekend away from home whilst showing her dogs, though these days it’s Miniature and Toy Poodles.

Her four pooches range in age from 18 months to 13 years. Though quite different from the ‘big breeds’ she once obsessed over, they are very much adored – not just by Verity, but also her five and three-year-old children, with whom she lives in Harrogate.

"It’s their hair, their wicked sense of fun, their wonderful intelligence, their loving and fun personalities,” Verity gushes in her book, published last month. “And, despite their fluffy hairdos, they are still proper dogs, with bags of energy, enthusiasm and charisma.”

Happy Dog, Happy You is described as an “ultimate dog-care manual”, with advice on choosing a breed, diet and nutrition, exercise, and behaviour training.

With a focus on mindfulness and wellbeing, Verity also shares her experience as a dog handler and reiki practitioner to help owners create a calm daily routine, highlighting how people can bond with their pets through activities such as massage, meditation and 'doga' (dog yoga).

“Everything I’ve read before was very much like a generic manual, like a car manual A-Z, never looking deeper into why dogs are the way they are,” Verity says.

“I also wanted to write something a bit more modern, a bit more geared towards today’s society. With the pandemic especially, it’s made people focus more on health and wellbeing.”

During the Covid-19 pandemic, thousands of UK households acquired a new pet. “It seemed pretty much everybody who didn’t have a dog, bought dog,” Verity muses. “I think people realised the benefits they can bring to our lives - getting us outdoors, the love and enrichment.

"A lot of people were completely new dog owners, people who haven’t grown up around dogs or even if they had, they were virgin dog owners themselves.

"And there’s a lot to learn with dogs. Every dog is so different just like we are, with individual personalities. I wanted to write a book for everybody, even experienced dog owners.”

Verity trained in grooming, becoming a member of the Guild of Master Groomers and a competition groomer at a championship level. In 2010, she set up business as Verity Hardcastle Grooming and Training and as well as speaking at shows and conferences, she also works in television, having made her debut on Channel 4’s Crufts, and runs her own podcast – Pod on the Dog.

In 2021, she joined the judging panel on BBC One show Pooch Perfect, which pitted 16 contestants against each other with the aim of finding the nation’s best dog groomer.

“It was fantastic, I loved every single minute of it. Our industry is relatively small so some of them I’d come across at shows before,” she recalls.

“It’s lovely because we all have this love and passion in kind and that’s dogs.

"You can’t do what I do without a deep, deep love for dogs. And you can’t stop us talking, we’re like yadder, yadder, yadder about dogs.”

Verity comes from a long line of dog fanatics. “From the moment I can remember I have adored all animals, dogs in particular,” she says. “It’s been inherited from both sides of my family who adored dogs of all sizes.”

Her late paternal grandad kept, trained and bred gundogs, whilst her maternal grandparents favoured the likes of Dalmatians, Norfolks and Tibetan Terriers.

"They always had dogs in twos,” she laughs. “they were very much ‘feed them at the table’ [owners]. I think everybody in my family has dogs, we’re a very doggy family.”

That includes her children Luella and Jenson. “My three-year-old helps me with feeding the dogs every single morning and he loves it.

"He gets their bowls out and helps me get their food prepared. Even though the dogs are all black poodles, and they all look very similar, he knows every single one of them individually.

"They both help me to walk the dogs as well. They always insist on holding the leads, which panics me slightly so I’m always clutching on to the end. But they’re fabulous with the dogs. Hopefully some little prōtegets.”

As for her own career, she credits it all to her beloved Angel, dedicating her book to “the reason I am where I am today”.

A dog who was by her side through many metamorphoses of life, Angel even accompanied Verity on her wedding day, a white flower garland around her neck to recognise her place in the bridal party.

"She was and ever will be my heart dog,” Verity writes. “She was the reason my career has been dedicated to something I wholeheartedly love.”

Happy Dog, Happy You by Verity Hardcaslte is published by Yellow Kite, out now.