PetSmart in Greenbelt, MD
 

Yikes, the collapsed trachea is scary :eek: I guess if the smaller pups wiggle around too much on the grooming table, that noose-like leash can really hurt their poor littler necks. :(

For yorkies < 8 lbs. a special, yorkie-only groomer is definitely worth the money. They know the special needs and things to watch out for.

I took my boy to PetSmart (in Greenbelt, Maryland) yesterday in a pinch because it got hot all of a sudden and he needed to get rid of his winter coat. The man shaving him was very patient with him even though my boy was being a little terror! They had him in waiting I guess for about 4 hours (very busy on weekends) and finally started his cut in the 5th hour, which I returned for. (had to make sure they were treating my boy right!) There were a few women there that seemed to hate their job (rolling their eyes when a dog barked, generally looking pissed off) but they were just receptionists. The actual groomers at this store seem very good, patient, and careful.

When going to any "commerical" or general groomer, I definitely recommend being there to watch the actual grooming. If there's a long wait, just come back when they're expected to start your pup. Most places have a plexi-glass wall and if you see them mistreating your dog in any way you can intervene immediately.

I have so many people that want to stay but for safety reasons it is best they do not but I also havea plexi glass window that is covered with a particalluy opened blind. That way people can see in the room, the dogs don't have a great view of who it is and stay calmer. This makes everyone happier. I have only required the owner to stay twice in the past 3 months but other then that it was better for them to be away.
My two yorkies are 3 and 4 lbs and handling smaller dogs is not such a big issue for me, when I was in school many of the others HATED doing small breeds.
I have so many yorkie clients, som big and some small. I still have not had any smaller then kenzie and I am quite okay with that!