I don't mind paying a decent amount of money for a professional to do my dog's hair. The problem is that anyone can call themselves a groomer without a bit of training or experience. The chain pet stores hire inexperienced people off the streets and train them themselves. This is more than concerning to me and I will not leave my dog at one of those places.
I have also tried a few privately owned groomers with mixed results. Find out what their experience has been. Who trained them and what kind of cuts they usually do? There are many people who only take their dog to a groomer when they need the bathe and shave thing done and don't really care much about a particular hairstyle and so groomers get used to doing mostly the same type of thing all the time. "Bathe and shave." or vise versa.
The best groomer I have ever met is my present groomer. She spent many years breeding and showing Shih Tzu's. She has groomed for show dogs for many years. She knows what they are supposed to look like and has the intelligence and respect to do exactly what I ask and no more. I did not leave Gracie alone there until I was comfortable with the safety level as well as the kindness afforded these animals. Now she calls me as soon as she is done. Gracie is never there for more than an hour and a half and always looks and smells fantastic when done. She is not traumatized at all by the visit which is very important to me.
Hope you have a good first grooming experience. |