Cat Grooming Employment Inquiry

Hello!

I am urgently looking for a full-time job. I've been looking since January, and avoided applying to major pet stores because I was told by family and friends that I may have to have a minimum of a year-long contract and I intend to move states within a year, but I don't really care at this point. I need better pay and hours, and local shops don't seem to be serious about their job listings!

Currently, I work at my family's cat grooming business. I can only work so much there as everyone in my family is involved and needs work, so I am seeking employment elsewhere. I have groomed cats since I was a kid, but have never groomed a dog before. I am worried about this because it seems that dogs are primarily groomed.

To clarify, I LOVE dogs (and cats of course), and had a dog growing up! I just have never had the opportunity to work with them.

I've been doing research on my own, but I figured it'd be simpler and receive more up-to-date information if I asked some questions I have here.

I am wondering the following:

  1. Will my lack of experience working with dogs decrease the likelihood of employment at PetSmart?
  2. Do I apply as a Pet Grooming Trainee or regular Pet Groomer?
    1. I would need to be trained on how to work on dogs, but I am fully capable of working on cats.
  3. What is the range of hourly wages for people who groom cats at PetSmart?
  4. What days are busiest?
    1. I would like to work on said days.
    2. I know it won't pay any more, I just want to be of more use as I would like to only work 4 days a week.*
    3. Also, I know it probably varies by location, but I mean generally.
    4. I looked at Google's activity statistics for the location I'd like to work at and it seems to be Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday; does that sound right?
  5. What are minimum and maximum full-time hours?
    1. I have calculated how I could work 4 days a week, but it would only amount to 32 hours.
    2. I will work an extra day or two if 32 does not suffice for full-time.
  6. What is the transferring process?
    1. As mentioned previously, I intend to move states next year, or whenever I have saved enough money.
    2. There are PetSmart locations in the area I am moving to, and assuming I enjoy working at the company, I would like to continue over there.
  7. What other non-grooming tasks would be expected of me?
    1. I know most likely working at the counter or re-stocking, which I am okay with.

* I want to work 4 days a week because I am attending an asynchronous online university. I allocated 2 days for completing coursework, and it would be nice to have one full day off. I am willing to sacrifice the day off if it's absolutely necessary to be considered a full-time employee as I want the benefits.

If this helps in answering these questions, some additional skills that may be applicable to I have are pet business administrative duties (client file management, bookkeeping, inventory, phone/text/email correspondence, scheduling etc.), customer service, and cleaning pet grooming areas.

Any additional information you think would be of use to me is appreciated. I am not familiar with how big pet stores function.

Thanks!!!