Hi Bonnielynn. I groom My Yorkie myself since she doesnt have that much hair, but I do take my Shihtzu cross to the groomer as she has a tonne of hair .Tia is on average at the groomers for 4 hours sometimes a little longer if they are really busy , so that length of time is not unusual for a grooming parlour.If little atticus is not use to going to a groomer he would be a little stressed,but this will get better the more often he goes.It sounds like this shop cares how you feel and would like to keep you as a client. If you are not ready to groom atticus yourself just yet I would give them another chance.The first time I took Tia to the groomers I was surprised at how long it took, now I dont worry about it,and my groomer does an amazing job on Tia ( she hand scissor the legs and feet ) .I had to take Tia to a different shop once and they had her in and out in an hour and a half and what a chop job they did! oh my god ! it took months for the hair to grow out so that Shelly my regular groomer could get it all even again.Well Im rambling on here....so dont feel bad ,atticus will be fine, and if it was me I'd give the shop another chance
Eileen