New Groomer - No Bows & Gets Worse
 

We tried a new groomer today - and I think I am totally done shelling out money to groomers.

Roxie & Bubba have long coats & have not been to the groomer in more than a yr, I've tried to do it and home & now I'm convinced I need to do it all.

First thing, I walk in & there were no bows in their hair :confused: - I have never taken a dog to the groomer & left without a bow. (I had their hair down when I took them in, because I had combed them out before going & thought why put a band in & she's going to cut it out in 10 min.) But she said she doesn't do bows :(

Anyone else have a groomer who doesn't do bows or tie the hair back??

Then when I got home, I was even more upset, once I had a chance to check them over. I had gone in with a list of how I wanted things. This was my list:
Shave Top 1/3 of ears
Pluck inside the ear
Do not cut any hair on the head except near ears
Sanitary cut on tummy
Shave a LITTLE on their bums
Shape feet and trim under them
Clip nails – carefully
Check Anal Glands
Trim & even coat - remove very little

Now the coat overall looked fine - she didn't take too much off. So that was a positive. But I went to pull Bubba's hair up & saw that she cut the front hairs on his head :mad: - Now he has a bunch of little pieces hanging in his eyes or will soon be hanging in his eyes - I am so upset about this. Also she shaved the hair on the bridge area between his eyes - there's no hair there :confused:

Then I checked his bum - she did not even trim at all there or on the tummy!! :eek: This was a huge reason I took them to a groomer, because I can never get them to stand still long enough without being afraid, I'm going to hurt that little area.

Then I happened to notice blood on one of his paws - the nails were soooooo short :( - Roxie had one bloody paw too :( and she had tear stains on her face & she never does, so I know she was crying :( Her private area had not been cared for either. Nor had her ears been done well.

It was $40 for each dog and I'm not sure what she even did! Then after the thread about tipping the groomer made me feel like I was not doing the right thing - so for the first time in my life I tipped a dog groomer :mad: - I will never do that again with a new groomer - they will have to prove to me that they provided good service. It is so hard to check your babies over, when the groomer is working with another dog or another customer.

She did send home a bag for each dog filled with homemade treats & Buddy Biscuits, but overall I am just disappointed & mad at myself for throwing money away, that I didn't have.

Sorry for such a long rant -- what could I have done to communicated better with her? What should I do now? I'm so irritated that their little bums weren't cared for and hair in Bubba's eyes

Sorry you had such a bad experence. My groomer always puts Jewels hair that is longer in a bow and puts a bandana on Chachi. My first grooming experience was bad also then I found this gal and she always does them just like I want. If I hadnt found her I would probably do them myself. I dont think your instructions could have been any clearer

where did you have them groomed at. i dont want to take my babys there.last time I had them done it was at petsmart in ankeny and the girl did a really good job and they feel in love with my poodle ,the girl said she couldnt put her in the cage because she was too sweet she was holding her when i got there.

I've never had good luck with groomers so my husband and I do our own. Granted, they may not look 'beauty shop fresh' all the time but that's o.k. with me.

The last time I took Boog to a groomer I took a list of do's and don'ts along with a color, 11 by 14 picture of him in his usual cut. Well...when we got there to pick him up they made me pay upfront (should have been a sign) and when they brought Boog out I was so upset...his cut was ruined...he looked nothing like the picture and she had to have ignored my list. I asked to talk with the girl that groomed him and her only explanation was...and these are her exact words..."this is my interpretation of the picture". What? Her interpretation? Did she think this was some kind of creative art class or something? I asked for my money back and thay actually refused...I never went there again....her interpretation...yah, right! :rolleyes:

I'm sorry you are upset with the groomer. The first groomer cut Rosie's hair was a place I will never take her. She never put bows in their hair, but that's what you get when you pay only $20. Her new groomer not only puts bows in Rosie's hair, but she also gives us several extras. Last time I think she gave us 4 extras:D She's real good with cutting and with the dogs. I guess it helps since she owned a yorkie before:)

Shear Pawfection in Valley Junction - the gal was nice, so I was so hopeful. I think part of the problem was, she was too busy & was behind schedule when I got there & wanted to be out of there by 4. In the past we have always gone to Blue Ribbon Pet Salon in Clive - but they had more than a 7 week wait & I have had problems there before too - with cutting the hair on the head - when I saw NO.

One more thing a need a Hubby for ;) - I was thinking, I need to find a friend who would hold the dog while I groom or try to get some type of inexpensive grooming table. I had been trying to trim the hair around the paws & a bit of the privates, but I was having a horrid time trying to trim the ends of the coat & an even worse time trying to cut Roxie's nails.

I can see why you would have been upset with someone's "interpretation" of a picture - who does that. These people make good money, it's hard to understand why they don't do more to please the customer!

I know not to go there .theres a lady that lives down the street that does grooming but i never been there i might get enough nerve up and try her this summer.

The one thing, I liked was she carries Artimeis dog food and I had been thinking about trying it. She said she is the only one who carries it locally & she has people come from an hr away to buy it. We did get a sample bag, now if the dogs do well with it, I have to decide if I want to continue to bring business in her door.

i groom mine myself. I bought this table http://grooming.petedge.com/Master-E...CategoryId=192 and this clipper http://grooming.petedge.com/Andis-AG...CategoryId=340 with a 5 and 7 finishing blade. works great!

i don't have a hubby or bf to help me so i do everything myself. its so much easier with teh right tools.

It's a good thing she didn't cut their coats or shave them! I would be VERY upset if a groomer cut the hair in between Lacy's eyes or gave her "bangs" too! That takes SOOOO long to grow out! I think a lot of groomers assume they should trim the hair in those areas...unfortunately I think you specifically have to tell them NOT to cut there.

I would call the groomer tomorrow and take them back up there. Show her what she did that was wrong and tell her you are upset about it. Also stay there with them and have her redo the areas that weren't touched. That way it will get done and you'll be there and KNOW that she's doing it right. Since she didn't do it right the first time, she shouldn't charge you anything more to fix it.

I think it's really important to let a groomer know when you are unhappy. And I hate to see you lose your money and not have things done. I know she already messed up the noses but at least you can get the sanitary cuts done like you need.

So far as no bows at all...I think that's wierd. She should at least have the little rubber bands and some ribbon...

I used to work at a grooming shop/dog boutique and learned how to groom Lacy myself (I only tip ears, trim feet, and do sanitary areas). And I just don't trust anyone to cut Lacy's hair. I trust the people where I worked to take good care of her of course but the thought of leaving her to get her hair cut and taking a chance that they *might* forget my instructions and mess up just scares me. I know it's just hair but it's important to me. So I just groom her myself now. That way I know I'm not going to cut anything off I didn't want cut!

I'm sorry you had a bad experience :( Finding a good groomer can be sooo frustrating.

No bow and can't follow instructions? Step into my office 'cause you are FIIIIIRED!

I'd try to get some recommendations for another groomer, and write a list of exactly what you do and don't want done.

Oh, thank you! See I could get the little table & everything and spend less than I did today.

Do you have problems keeping the dogs still? I'm afraid my Roxie would be twisting and turning on me, to try & keep me from getting to her. Where do you put the table? I'm assuming you have to put it on another table.

As long as their bangs are long enough to pull up, my groomers have always put bows in..now haley, I keep her bangs cut, so she also shaved in between her eyes, which was fine with me..the only thing I noticed this time, was that Haleys hair on her stub(tail) is really long..I asked her to cut that, and she forgot, but, shes my next door neighbor, so she can do that anytime..she said they never cut that hair unless someone requests it, and I requested it and she forgot..do any of the groomers you use cut the hair on their tails or let it keep growing and growing? I was really happy though, it was only $46 to have 2 dogs groomed.. sorry you had a bad experience..there are good ones out there, just have to find them..

Yes, it is so irritating, especially when I said do this & don't do that. She even asked me if I wanted the list back when I went in there - so she did have it. I know I should go back there, but I'm such a wimp about stuff like that - but she did tell me to call if I had any questions. I'm just not sure, she's open on Saturday's & I'm swamped with things to do tomorrow & so much to do this next week before Christmas. I'll just have to call her, the worst she can tell me is no - and if that's the case that will be even more telling.

Hair's important to me to - we work so hard to look just so & a few hrs with the groomer & nothing is the same for mths.

Oh, I am so upset that your little ones had bloddy paws and tear stains:(

Oh, don't be afraid to call or go by there. Make sure you get everything that wasn't done finished right. And tell her that when you said not to cut anything on the face, you meant not to cut ANYTHING! I'd just at least have her finish the sanitary areas like you wanted. I know how messy that can be if it's not done

If a yorkie has a long coat, then no the tail should not be cut at all. Nothing should be cut at all except the ears being tipped, paws trimmed, and sanitary areas trimmed. Nothing else should be trimmed unless the owner says too. Honestly, the groomer should specifically ask the owner if the want the ears tipped or not, whether or not they want the hair trimmed between the eyes, whether or not they want the dog to have bangs or a visor, and if they want the hair tied up in a topknot or left down.

On puppy cuts, I've always seen the tail hair left the same length as the body hair. So if the body hair is an inch long, so is the hair on the tail. I have seen a couple dogs get a puppycut and their owner wanted the tail left long (I guess similar to the typical shih tzu cut).

I used to groom both of my Bichons myself before I found my groomer, who is great and has 20 years' experience grooming Bichons. It's very hard to find a good groomer. I use a card table with a rubber bath mat on it for comfortable footing. I have a grooming arm that I can use to put a leash around the dog's neck or abdomen (to keep him/her from sitting down) and to keep him/her quiet. I don't use the arm any more because both of mine are used to being groomed and will sit/stand still. My granddaughter's Yorkie is very wiggly and I may try the grooming arm with her to see if I can get her used to being groomed.

Well, then that explains as to why she didn't cut the hair, as Haleys hair is long..I just think it looks kind of funny with the hair hanging long on the tail. She's supposed to come by and clip it off for me..I had just never noticed it being left this long before..and it looks kind of scraggly..
She didn't ask me about shaving between her eyes, but, then again, she's been doing my dogs for years, and she knows I don't pull haleys hair up anymore, now, with ginger, I'm going to have to let her know, I'm trying to grow it out, and don't be cutting between the eyes..

the first couple times i used the table i put the neck lead on and i got a leash and put it around her waist to keep her from sitting and wiggling (not tight around the waist but short so that she couldn't sit). now she just stands there while i do what i have to do.

oh and i put it on another table or the dryer so that's its at a comfortable height to work with.

New Groomer-
 

I have had horrible experiences with groomers. I am going to learn to do it myself. :confused:

So sorry you had a bad experience! I had a girl shave turbo's nose out here and I about flipped! It is still growing out to this day! I would def. go back and make her finish the job, show her what she didn't do right! It isnt fair she didn't do what you ask for and be paid for all of it, nor is it fair for you to be out that kind of $$$