Unhappy with petsmart grooming!!
 

So this is the 2nd time I have had to use petsmart grooming. The 1st time I went I had a horrible experience and my poor Meeka came out looking more like a rat than a yorkie!! I vowed I would never go there again. I found a wonderful groomer about a 45 minute drive from my home and had made an appointment with her the end of may to get all my babies done for the summer. She is always booked well it turned out that I had to miss my appointment with her because of a funeral and tried to reschedule but she is booked clear until the end of July! I was in desperate need of getting the girls groomed so after calling around I found nothing that could get me in without having to wait 3 or 4 weeks at the very least!

I ended up calling petsmart grooming, they gave me an appointment that was about 10 days away (That should have been another red flag for me as to why everyone else was sooo booked up but they weren't!) I explained to the girl my experience last time with them and that I wanted another groomer to groom my girls and not the one I had last time. She assured me that everything would be fine!

So I dropped them off, explained to them EXACTLY what I wanted done to them. I came back about 5 hours later to get them all and my mouth nearly hit the floor!! The ALL looked like they had a horrible experience with the lawn mower! (I had all their body shaved down for the summer) And on top of that they totally wacked off all their hair on the tops of their heads!!!! WHICH I CLEARLY EXPLAINED I DIDN"T WANT TOUCHED! It was sooo bad that they all looked like the sienfeld episode where Jerry doesn't have water pressure and his hair is just flat! I can't even put a bow in any of their hair now!

My husband was furious!! I just started sobbing!! I couldn't even talk and just took my sweet girls and ran out to the car! My husband stayed back and I am sure lost his mind. They told him that they would give us a free groom the next time we came in (WHAT!! THEY ARE CRAZY IF I AM GOING BACK THERE!!) He refused and ended up getting a $20 discount off the groom. So out of the $120 that it normally would have cost me it was only $100 to send my girls to the butcher!!

I am so sad right now, Every time I look at them I just get pissed off that they did this to them!

Be very appreciative to the good groomers out there! Make sure to tip well because they are SOOOO worth having around!!

Sorry about my rant! I will post pics of my sweet girl tomorrow after I clear out my memory card on my camera!:(

Aww, I feel your pain, that would've really put me over the edge! Maybe you need to start grooming them yourself, that's what I do. Granted they don't always come out 'perfect' - but I'm learning:D

When I saw this I got that uh oh feeling cause i just groomed a new YT yorkie yesterday.. But it wasnt me.. I feel MUCH better now

Sorry they screwed up your dogs. I would seriously harm someone if they messed up my dogs. Everyone says its so hard to find a good yorkie groomer, which I dont get because I find them the easiest to groom. Guess is why I groom mostly yorkies

I have tried grooming them myself and let me just say that I am embarrassed to even take them in the car with me after I attempt to groom. I just don't have the hand eye coordination that it takes to groom I guess. But I do however think that if someone is going to groom as a profession that they should do a decent job at it for the amount of money that I pay to have it done. I will stick with what I know is good I guess and if I get desperate I think I will just wait it out until I can get into my normal groomer because this is just ridiculous!

Wow. So glad i'm not the only one! I had the same experience with petsmart and i vow to never go again (to that particular one).

I've gotten her puppy groomed twice always with outstanding results but this past time, just like you said, she looks like a RAT! i was walking her in the neighborhood and someone was like "what kinda dog is that!" mannnnn I am still furious thinking about it.

The one who groomed my gracie wasn't there but I let whomever would listen have it that day. So sad that they can't TELL a bad cut from a good one!

:( Its soo sad. I know alot of groomers don't like when you watch but I don't think I could leave my pup with anyone. If I ever went to petsmart and would have to watch them just to make sure. So sad. That is the reason why i groom my BFs cocker spaniel. I guess I'll have to learn how to groom a yorkie too:D

The other day I was in PetSmart and a lady was grooming a Yorkie. I decided to watch to see how she did it. I have been learning to groom mine. I can't afford to take 3 of them in to be groomed. I have had some interesting results... but I am getting better.
Anyway, I was watching her... and after about 15 minutes, I went to the store manager and told him that I would NEVER bring any of my babies into that grooming facility. I could not believe how rough she was on that precious little baby. He asked why and I told him how rough she was. He said that he would check it out. I don't know if he did or not... I was so mad... I just left. I wanted to march right in there and give her a piece of my mind.
I am so sorry you had such a horrible experience. The Yorkies on here are so beautiful, so I know there are some great groomers out there. Hugs to you and your babies.

Sometimes what one thinks they see is not always really whats happening..
Im not saying all groomers are not rough but, like I said sometimes what you think you see is not really whats happening.
Sometimes when a dog is beyond agressive and trying to eat you and all you are doing is trying to protect the dog and yourself from getting hurt is a totally different thing. And do the untrained eye it can appear the groomer is being rough but in reality in this case they are not.
Now just being mean to the dog I totally am against that. I have worked with groomers like that and it just killed me

I totally understand what you went through, I went through the same thing last summer when everyone was too booked up for Layla. It was the most terrible cut I've ever seen :( Don't worry too much, at least hair grows back!

I took my doggies there once and that will be the LAST time I ever go. The staff was not friendlly and they chopped my poor doggies's hair up to pieces... it looked horrible!

Now, I go to "Doggie Do'z" or I do it myself. :D

Welcome to my World ..... mine is terrified of them ..... no clue what they did to her for 4 hr .... :confused:

So sorry they did this twice in a row ..... :(

Another petsmart chop job here ... .:mad:
Just picked up jasmine and she got the "summer buzz" :thumbdown ... even after explaining to them what we wanted ... only good news is they didnt completely buzz her face ... :rolleyes:

Very annoyed right now .. .can't wait until it grows back, :aimeeyork

They just confused me...
 

I had called Petsmart to take my Lab in for a good scrub and nail trim. I could barely hear the man over the barking dogs in the background. First, he told me they had early AM appointments and afternoon appointments. Then he asked what kind of dog and when I said "Lab" he said I could ONLY have the afternoon appt. Okay. Then he said it would take about 5 hours. For a Lab???? He said they had to "acclimate" her to the grooming area, then really take their time and go slow with her. I never made the appointment. Five hours for my gentle dopey girl locked up with all that racket...forget it.

It breaks my back, but I do her at home!

They mistreat them as well
 

While at the petsmart in Pasadena Texas Saturday, I watched a young lady grooming a yorkie and I had a fit. The girl kept yanking the leash so hard I thought I was going to see that babies neck break right before my eyes.

I've had very similar experiences with several groomers now. I will explain exactly what I want, I've even had them write it down in front of me and come back to pick Finni up and will end up horrified! :mad:


I've tried my vet's in house groomer, several Pet's Marts and a local groomer. It seems they always have an idea for how they'd like his hair cut, nevermind the owner's opionion!!

Lets just say I've given up on groomer's and I cut his hair myself!!!!:D

Try asking your regular groomer if she has a waiting list for when someone has to cancel. That way you might have a chance of getting in a little earlier. Sometimes people forget their appt. or have to cancel like you did. I kept a list of people who were needing to get in quickly and would call them when something opened up.

Do you have a do-it-yourself grooming shop in your area? That's what I do with my big dog. I'm a professional groomer, but groom from home so I can be home with my boys. So, since I don't have a large tub yet, I take her to a local place called "Doggie Detailing." It costs about $15 for me to bathe, dry and groom her and they have equipment for you to use if you don't have your own. I love it, because I don't have to break my back to do her at home.

Amen to that! I totally understand what you're saying. It's true sometimes you have a dog that's practically trying to kill you. Not all dogs are sweet little angels to groom. I have seen groomers over-react, though and hurt the dog when they were showing slight signs of aggression. That is unacceptable.

I took my girls to Petsmart once. NEVER EVER AGAIN will I ever go there. It wasn't done correctly per my wishes. They also charged me an extra 50$/ 25$ per dog because they had some "tangles". I could have gotten the few "tangels" out myself. Isn't that part of the grooming. Yes they were brushed daily, just went in for the feet, bottoms, face detailing!!!!! :mad:
Never again!

I a can empathize with you. My babies have had two bad experieinces in a row. No body listens anymore to your requests. I hope the hair grows fast, it is sad and infuriating. I am going to try do this myself next time. Good luck to you.

meg and mina

I have a friend who has also had problems with Petsmart, She took her yorkie puppy in with a pretty 6 month old coat, and wanted a simple trim, and came back out in a westie cut, She was very disappointed.

I also have had an unpleasant experience with Petsmart. Coco is 4 months old and not yet used to the groomer. So far, I have give her baths and brushing but, she needed a cut. I was told that she would not sit still and that they had a hard time grooming her. She is hyper but, she is also a puppy. We have an appt on Friday with a groomer that was recommended by a friend of mine, she says that she understands and has groomed many Yorkies. We will see..:)

You will find one eventually that you feel most comfortable with:)

I hate Petsmart grooming with passion. They are unprofessional, these groomers do not know what they are doing. i was very unhappy to see how these dogs were treated.

I never use Petsmart groomer before but I have done research before I go to any groomer and paid a lot for grooming and was never quite pleased. There were twice my boy came back with all 10 nails bleeding even after Quickstop...another time shaved too near till his skin was sore and he wasn't happy at all. I just gave up and I do my own now. Its not too bad..I just watch videos and look at how other people do it and I catch up pretty quickly. At least my boy is happy and comfortable when I groom him.

1st grooming at petsmarts
 

I took mufasa & scar for thier 1st time grooming at petsmarts 1/22/09.
When I first picked them up I thought they were great. After I got them home and really started looking at them, I was a little bit unhappy:(. My husband comes home and adds fuel to the fire and points out all the mistakes he saw:eek:. Needless to say I think we will find another groomer.