Made the mistake of going to PetSmart for grooming

[drcollie]

First post here, great forum!

 

I took 8-month old Gracie into the PetSmart in Fairfax, Virginia early Sunday morning to get her first grooming.  I had a very nice conversation with the girl doing the grooming and said 'Don't cut her too much, its cold out and all we really want is her cleaned up, combed out and trim the hair from her eyes".  The gal said she would.  My finally words to her were 'Leave her coat long, dont' shave her".
 

At 1 pm. we picked her up I couldn't believe my eyes.   I went in and the groomer said Gracie was very difficult and she had to go to the clippers.  I said "This is NOT what we discussed, she looks terrible".  Now the dog has no fur and its 20 degrees out.  Shameful.  Here's the before and after photo...lesson learned, no Pet Smart for grooming.  I've never seen such a hack job in my life on a dog.

 

[Sam I Am]

Oh dear...well one good thing is that it will grow back but that doesn't help Gracie in the cold now. Time for a coat. I know how she feels! There are many times I have gone to various hairdressers and told them that I didn't want much cut off my hair and came home looking like a coconut.

She is adorable each way. and welcome... You will find great support on this site...from bad haircuts, to coats and health issues.

[Hillscreek]

Gracie, hello and welcome. You look very sweet and cairnish no matter what length your coat is. And it will grow back thank goodness.

what a shock to see the transformation!

Why can't groomers ( and hairdressers) pay attention!

[Autumn & Lola]

Welcome to the forum!  I hope you refused to pay for the grooming. So aggravating when they don't listen!!  Gracie is a cutiepie either way.

[Ivy & Lucy's Mom]

The same thing happened to Lucy in October. She was only 5 months old at the time. He fur is growing out but right now she actually looks like a fox-poor thing. Gracie's hair will grow back as well but it does take awhile!!

[hheldorfer]

Poor Gracie!  On the bright side:  1) This is your excuse to buy her an adorable winter parka, and 2) Her hair will grow back eventually.

 

As for the groomer saying Gracie was being difficult, aren't groomers supposed to know how to deal with uncooperative dogs?  And if they can't deal with it, the answer certainly *isn't* to take out the clippers.

[Lynn in TN]

I have known many groomers to do this. It even happens at expensive groomers in our area. I know some one who has started recording her conversations with groomers on her phone. She tells them right out I am recording this conversation, after she tells them what she wants done to her dog, she then makes them repeat it. One groomer refused to talk to her if she was recording so she left.

I will say she has not had drastic mistakes like shaving any more. 

 

I have always groomed my own dogs. My reason is I can make those mistakes for free, when a groomer makes them, it costs a lot of $'s.

[dodgestail]

Definitely a poor excuse because they should know how to handle dogs in different manners and behaviors. Through he never lost his cuteness, he might need some coat or shirt to warm.

[Hillscreek]

 

I have always groomed my own dogs. My reason is I can make those mistakes for free, when a groomer makes them, it costs a lot of $'s.

Me too. 

[_whits_]

Poor Gracie! You are still adorable sweet girl, just make sure your uprights get you a coat, or better yet take you some place tropical for the winter!

[pammyfay]

I've usually taken my 4-year-old back to the breeder (who lives at least 30 minutes away in traffic) for grooming, but last week, I took her to a little grooming business 10 minutes away. I repeated "do not use the razor on her" a couple times, and they actually listened. But they cut the hair around her ears crooked and didn't do much to her tail except thin it out (no shaping). I think a lot of the grooming businesses are good at general cutting but don't understand breed specifics, which may be understandable considering the number of dogs they do each day. I bring a cairn terrior booklet with me when I go to a woman who does grooming out of her basement not too far from where I live, but she tends to ask me every 10 seconds what I want versus looking at the booklet.

[Autumn & Lola]

Be thankful they didn't douse her in perfume. That happened twice to us at Petco years ago, with my terrier/poodle mix, Mandy. She came out smelling like a hooker. I told them, "NO PERFUME!" the next time, but she still got it. I was furious. She had skin conditions, was old and sickly, and they are dousing her in chemical crap that made her sneeze. I finally had to call the manager and pitch a fit.

[mom42terrificgirls]

I have had no problems at Petsmart grooming, but one of the customers at doggie day camp had her dog cut at a different location last week and the poor thing had been nicked behind both ears and on the cheek. She said she asked for the manager but nothing was done, and she was still expected to pay. She had told them not to shave the dog when she dropped him off. Why would someone assume you want your dog completely shaved when it's below 40 degrees here?

 

I am so sorry this happened to you. Like I said, I have had only good experiences there and when I contacted corporate about not receiving a coupon I was due, they sent it right away.

[dinib]

Gracie is cute either way, but I know it is frustrating when the groomers don't listen to you.  I had to drop of my Gracie and Buckley at the groomers today, after having them groomed last week.  The groomers didn't take enough off.  They were clear about not taking anything off of their back, but I gave  permission for their head, belly and legs.  They barely got a trim, so back they went today.  This was the second time I've used this groomer (I recently moved and NO ONE hands strips here).  The first time, she did a great job.  The second time, I think one of her helpers groomed my dogs and just gave the basic bath, sanitary cut and nails.  Today, I have the groomer who did them first and showed her a picture of what I wanted. I'm confident she will do a great job because they looked good the very first time I used her.  At least she has heard of hand stripping, even though she doesn't do it.  When I lived in NJ, I was very lucky to have a groomer in town who did hand stripping.  It cost me an arm and a leg, but the dogs looked great.  In fact, it seemed like I saw a Cairn every time I was out in NJ.  Very popular breed there.

[Torgie's mom]

My almost two year old Torgie, also went to Petsmart and came back with 2 sections of red raised bumps.They groomed him, but told me if it got worse to take him to the vet. Could clippers have caused this. We haveonly had Labs prior to this and only rescued him right before Thanksgiving , so I don't know much about the breed.

[TERRY COMSTOCK]

poor gracie that is awful that that lady did not listen to you.thank god it grows back though