I googled Finnish Lapphund. Looks similar to a Keeshond.
Okay, I know this thread is 5 months old, but my dog just got a BAD haircut. I can’t vent about it on Facebook because I figure my FB friends will think that’s such a trivial thing to complain about and probably will unfriend me. And my bf is still at work so I can’t whine to him yet. So I googled “my dog got a bad haircut” and this thread was the first thing that came up. And I happen to post on here, so, here we go!
I have a 9-10 year old Pekingese. He’s been rocking the lion cut for the last 6 years (I got him 7 years ago). Some cuts are better than others – sometimes they leave the mane too long, or cut his long ears (his ears, specifically, take FOREVER to grow back if they get cut accidentally). I’ve also worked for a grooming salon before (I managed the retail side of a grooming salon/pet store), so I’m very forgiving. I’ve seen people get overly upset, or go off on the groomer, and I refuse to ever do that, because it’s silly to get that bent out of shape over a dog haircut (thank goodness for the internet!).
After his Christmas haircut last year, I realized I don’t like the long, skinny, shaved tail with the short poof at the end, which they typically do for lion cuts. My guy’s tail will grow down to the floor if you don’t cut it, and I want to show that off. I’ve been going to the same place for a while now, and they know that it’s: #7 blade, lion cut, boots on the front legs (just means they leave some of the hair and shape it, rather than shave it down), don’t touch the ears, and only shave 1" on the tail from the base, so that the rest can grow out.
Well, today, I picked him up, and he has NO mane whatsoever, and the hair around his face is cut in an awkward way, but his ears are still long so he looks like a bobble head. Since he always gets a mane, they’ve never had to trim around his face, so it looks really weird to me. They also shaved about halfway up on his tail, when I specifically asked for just 1" cut off at the base (which I do every time, it’s in their system). So there was about an inch and a half of new growth that was starting to get pretty long and blend in with the rest, now gone.
At least they didn’t touch the length on the rest of his tail, and I’m glad they didn’t cut his ears (SO glad!), but he looks ridiculous. Haha. I could deal with the tail if they’d left the mane, or forgiven the lack of mane if they’d left the tail, but the combination looks so awful.
I don’t even have a picture of how I want it, because the tail hasn’t gotten long enough without someone cutting it yet in order to take said picture. I drew a little picture instead, and will take that with me next time so they can hopefully get a better idea of what I’m going for. Or maybe I can just ask them to not touch the tail, and either I can show them when I pick him up, or have my bf do it at home with the clippers.
If this was my biggest worry right now, that would be great. But in reality, it was a super rough day, and it’s been a very hard month. I couldn’t really afford to get the dog groomed right now, but he rolls around in bf’s backyard which is really dusty and gravelly and buggy, so I figured I’d do myself a favor (much easier to spot clean when he’s all buzzed down) so I wouldn’t have to worry about it for a while. This is just the icing on the shit cake. Bleh.
ETA: Upon further inspection, they did cut part of one of his ears, to blend in with the non-mane. Luckily it’s the back part, which I think will grow out okay. It’s the dark feathering near the front that takes a while to grow. But still. I asked for no cutting on the ears.
Worst of all, I found a long vertical cut on the front of his neck. It’s not super deep or bloody, it looks kind of like a skinned knee on a human. I know my dog isn’t the easiest to groom, but had they not cut his mane off, there would have been no need to get that close to his skin with the scissors. I’ll keep an eye on it. I doubt it will need any kind of veterinary attention, but I’m still going to call the vet tomorrow to see if there’s anything I need to do to help it heal.
I’m also going to walk over there tomorrow with my dog and show them the cut on his neck, and mention I’m not thrilled with the groom this time. Usually a man grooms my dog, but today the lady up front kept saying “she.” I’m not going to demand my money back, or a free service, I just want to find out who the groomer was so I don’t get assigned to her again. And hey, if they want to give me a little kickback for next time, I’ll take it.
Ack, I would have flat out refused to pay. Sounds like razor burn more than a cut but it is good to bring it to their attention. A professional groomer shouldn’t really have that happen. (I mean, dogs move, etc. but still a “long” razor burn means they probably were just too close/wrong direction.)
My breeder grooms my dogs and she’s an expert and actually raffles grooming sessions at our National Specialty show. I’m really lucky. But getting her here to groom can be a challenge. I’ve started grooming my retired dogs. They don’t look as awesome as she can make them look, but it’s faster/easier to do it myself.
So I can appreciate that not every groomer is as skilled - but shaving off a dog’s mane? That’s bold. That’s the kind of thing that any groomer with any skills should look at and double check - “are you SURE you wanted this gone?” Or, had this groomer never seen a lion cut before? Which…means they haven’t done a lot of grooming before… 
Sorry - that will take a while to grow out.
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Looks cute to me. I gotta say as a groomer, a scissor trim on a few areas takes way less time than a full body clipping. Bet the groomer would be kinda pissed to know that you just wanted a little trim instead of all over and she took that extra time. Communication had to have been off. I’m happy when I just need to do a light scissor trim lol. Much preferred over an all over cut on a double coated dog. It’s hard to get to look smooth with their undercoat…
I think if they used the 7 blade on the neck without being careful they likely caught some of the skin in it or razor burned it. The neck has folds that catch easy in the clipper, especially a 7 blade if they aren’t careful. Or is it possible they used the 7 on the neck where he has a cowlick essentially making that a 7 reverse so it’s super short there? Probably a newer groomer did the haircut, not that it excuses the bad haircut or lack of following instruction. I’d probably put diaper rash ointment on the neck.
Apparently what happened is the groomer brought my dog out to show the front desk lady, who I believe is also the owner and/or manager, to make sure it was what I had asked for. The front desk takes all of the info down and relays it to the groomers, as they don’t speak English very well. The groomer hadn’t cut the mane at all, so it was way too long in relation to the shaved body, so the front desk asked her to trim/tidy it up a bit. Instead of trimming it, she cut it off. Front desk lady took the blame for that one, although it sounds like the groomer misunderstood her.
I called the next day and asked if it was the same person who usually does his haircuts, and she said it wasn’t, and gave me his name so I can make sure I request him next time. From the tone in her voice it sounded like maybe this person wasn’t doing so well with her grooms, and she was very quick to offer me a free groom for next time.
Now that it’s grown out for a week, he looks a little cuter so I’m not quite as pissed, haha. My bf didn’t think it looked that bad, but I’m like – having worked for a grooming shop before, this is the haircut you get when you bring in a severely matted shelter dog and they have to do a total shave down! Haha. And next time I’m just going to make a small sharpie mark on his tail where I want them to shave up to, so they don’t overdo it on that either.
