I took my corgi to Petsmart to groom and would never do that again. I was so afraid she’d try to jump off the table - they just noose them and leave them. I’ve also used other groomers and dogs came back thirsty and frantic, so would be VERY careful from now on.
Lately i’ve been grooming one of my two poodle mixes myself. He’s pretty well behaved with the clippers and a good pair make a world of difference. I still take him to our groomers because I’m not really jumping at the chance to express anyone’s anal glands, thankyouverymuch, and i prefer them to also pluck his ear hair when needed. I’ll shave him down but every other time he’s due, i like to bring him in so they can reshape his poodle fro and beard so it’s easier for me to trace.
I’m really surprised at the price especially at a petsmart… Didn’t know they charged that much. My groomers would probably charge that amount but they’re really good at what they do, each dog gets the same groomer each time unless something comes up (there’s only two of them and they’ll let you know if the regular person can’t do it so you can decide). Owners can decide if they want their dog walking around the grooming area or staying in a crate. My older dog loves it there 
I still take my younger one to the groomer each time but she’s not as patient as he is yet, so I’d rather a pro teach her how to act- and i don’t mind paying for that. Ugh, plus she’s white and loves the mud, so it’s a pain to get her sparkling.
I found my groomers by accident… Or what I thought was desperation at the time 
it was a really busy time and i needed him groomed asap. They were the 4th place I called, (id taken him to two or three different places before) and they were slightly more expensive than the others… But he looked awesome after. Also, they always willing to change something last minute at pickup, like if the tail or ears are too long, etc. One time they accidentally nicked one of them and showed it to me first thing (it was hardly anything, i don’t think I’d have realized it was from the groomers if they hadn’t said). They’re just really easy to work with and friendly, which I appreciate.
They’ve also done a few groomings free of charge for our rescue pups, like the heavily matted poodle types. They’re awesome!
I’m sorry that’s how you were treated. I groom at a PetSmart and that is NOT whatsoever how things are supposed to be. Call corporate. They take things like that pretty seriously. There are really strict rules on what we are/are not allowed to do with the dogs as far as restraint and whatnot goes. The prices are set (we do work on commission only), but it is absolutely against the rules to try to push services people don’t need. We are supposed ask if you want the add ons like nail filing, tooth brushing or the Furminator treatment, but its an ask once and let it alone kind of thing.
Here’s how I handle stuff like this:
If I think a dog might need extra brush fees, I will put one or two (they’re charged in 15min increments) on there explaining that I will remove them should I not use the extra brushing time. The Furminator treatment is supposed to include 30 minutes of brushing, but for big dogs like rough coated collies, Newfies and the like, 30 minutes sometimes really isn’t enough to do a good job getting all that dead hair out. Sometimes it really is difficult to tell when the dogs come in with a dense undercoat how much will come out with the bath/dryer versus how much time I will have to spend brushing.
Seriously though, talk to the manager or call the corporate office. Or both. That should not happen.
If you don’t show your dog, and don’t have one of the necessary-clipping/stripping breeds (poodles, wire-coats), I don’t understand why you’d ever take your dog to a groomer in the first place- most dogs can very easily be dealt with at home. Brush, toenails, bathe, you’re good to go. Most dogs only need to brushed regularly to keep them looking good. Trimming and clipping isn’t necessary for most to maintain health and happiness.
If you prefer a certain trimmed look on your pet, or want to shave em up for summer, well, keep in mind your pet doesn’t care what he looks like and it’ll just grow back eventually. So if you mess up the first few times there aren’t many consequences. You can always blame the vet- there are always dogs out there sporting large uneven shaved patches in odd places due to necessary medical procedures.
Hey Bicoastal, thanks for that link! That groomer is pretty close to me, so Rocky may have a new groomer for his occasional “pro day”!
Thanks… I told her just to do some sort of puppy cut (same length all around… which is about 3/4 inch). Leave her tail (love the fan) but just trim it up to make it even. And shorten her ears. But NOT to shave her. I wanted hair on her. :lol: But her hair is that baby fine/easily knotted kind so wanted to get rid of most of it.
Our best guess is she’s a cocker/cavalier cross of some sort. 
But I really like the cut she got. She did a great job. Cost $50 in total.
What’s a modified cocker cut?
I don’t like the idea of using any animal service provider who cops an attitude. If they treat ME like that, when they know I’m capable of complaining, how are they going to treat my pet? I actually stopped using a vet clinic for that reason. They treated me ok, but every single time I went in the vet techs were snarking at each other in the back room. I worried the bad attitude was going to spill over into rough handling of my animals.
I will check out the thread and the blog, thanks!
The more I look at Carl, the more disappointed I am. It doesn’t look like he was trimmed at all except for his belly area. It looks like all she did was get the undercoat out, brush him, and clip his nails. Seriously, the way he looks this morning is how he would normally look a 1-1.5 months after grooming. It wasn’t worth the stress on him or the hassle for me to take him back there to have him “finished” up.
I called the DIY bathing/grooming place and they actually have a couple groomers there too, so I took him up and they trimmed him up a little bit and made him look better than he did. I think we will try them next time he needs another full groom.
They did a decent job. He looks much better than he did after Petsmart groomed him yesterday. Here he is today after getting home from the “clean up” trim: http://www.flickr.com/photos/43390118@N07/6836756860/in/photostream
[QUOTE=wendy;6194702]
If you don’t show your dog, and don’t have one of the necessary-clipping/stripping breeds (poodles, wire-coats), I don’t understand why you’d ever take your dog to a groomer in the first place- most dogs can very easily be dealt with at home. Brush, toenails, bathe, you’re good to go. Most dogs only need to brushed regularly to keep them looking good. Trimming and clipping isn’t necessary for most to maintain health and happiness.
If you prefer a certain trimmed look on your pet, or want to shave em up for summer, well, keep in mind your pet doesn’t care what he looks like and it’ll just grow back eventually. So if you mess up the first few times there aren’t many consequences. You can always blame the vet- there are always dogs out there sporting large uneven shaved patches in odd places due to necessary medical procedures.[/QUOTE]
He’s a Bernie/Shepherd cross (or at least that’s our guess… the lady we got him from said Collie mix but I don’t see it). He has a very thick long Bernie coat… we do regular bathing/brushing at home, and when I am home from school I can get his undercoat out myself, but we do like to keep him looking presentable and not scruffy. If we don’t have him trimmed/clipped up he does start to look scruffy and messy. We take him to the groomer to just shorten him up and clean him up a bit.
We got him last summer from a bad neglect situation and he was so matted that the groomer had no choice but to shave him completely. We plan to shave him this summer again since it gets hot here but not to the extent that he was last summer. We’ll leave a little bit of fur on him, just not the full coat. When that time comes I probably will try to do him myself since if I screw it up he’ll just be shaved anyway and it won’t be noticed.
[QUOTE=Bicoastal;6194032]
There is a thread titled To Shave or Not to Shave where several of us are learning about thorough grooming (technique, products, etc).
This woman is in MD and I really enjoy her blog: http://petgroomingthegoodthebadthefurry.blogspot.com/. From reading her blog, I would not mind leaving my dog with her if I need pro grooming services (I do it myself).[/QUOTE]
That is a really interesting blog! I kinda wish she lived near me, just so she could do my dog’s nails (and I swear I wouldn’t tell her she was too scared to clip enough offf:lol:)
Tradewind - I totally agre with not going the corporate route. My groomer (who I LOVE and where my dogs go every month) lives up the road from me and is working from home. I was one of her first clients :winkgrin: and I sat watching her. I am so pleased with her work I leave my very timid puppy with her 2 days a week for socialisation. I also willingly hand her card out to anyone who asks … and I know people who bring their dogs >60kms to have her groom them.
And every time I pick those dogs up - I could walk straight into the breed show ring with them. And when I have a big obedience show coming up - she always fits in a “special” groom for my older girl.
Milo,
The 2nd groom is much better - he looks great!
[QUOTE=RaeHughes;6196150]
… and I know people who bring their dogs >60kms to have her groom them.[/QUOTE]
Finding a really great groomer is hard. My breeder grooms show dogs and people will bring them from 3+ hours to be groomed.
I had only ever had a dog groomed once and found it to be very expensive and the dog didn’t look that much better when they did it than when I did it. Then I found Tradewind! I don’t even recognize my dogs when she is done with them! And the best part is she has a much better technique than I do because both my dogs HATE when I brush them but don’t mind it when she does it. So we are both happier when she does it. I can take before and after pics on Wednesday to prove it if anyone is interested.
When I saw the picture of Carl the first thought I had was he’s a Collie mix. I totally see collie in him…My Aussie gets a kind of messy coat where he needs the undercoat stripped out and the outside neatened up. Since we are supposed to have a beautiful weekend, that is probably what I’ll be doing. I refuse to pay a groomer when I can do it all myself.
[QUOTE=PRS;6197240]
When I saw the picture of Carl the first thought I had was he’s a Collie mix. I totally see collie in him…My Aussie gets a kind of messy coat where he needs the undercoat stripped out and the outside neatened up. Since we are supposed to have a beautiful weekend, that is probably what I’ll be doing. I refuse to pay a groomer when I can do it all myself.[/QUOTE]
He could be… we’re not really sure. He for sure has some shepherd in him. He does have a coat like a collie. Whatever he is, we think he’s adorable That’s how his coat gets too. He doesn’t need to have a full professional groom every month like some dogs I know but every few months we have it done to remove the undercoat and just neaten him up a bit.
Rarely read this forum and was just skimming through…but had to chime in and tell Milocalwinnings: Handsome dog! wow, he’s cute!
