PetSmart Grooming
 

Let me start by saying my mom is the one person with Lacie the majority of the time. So, she's the one that deals with the non-stop puppy energy.

She has been unable to properly brush/comb Lacie's hair in the last 2-3 days. Today she noticed there were matts that just weren't going to come out. We've hesitated on the hair cut for a bit because we just haven't known where to take her. The groomer we've used in the past has always done a great job, but she also just had twin boys a few weeks ago (so, we're just going to assume she's on maternity leave).

As a last resort, my mom decided to just take her to the PetSmart groomers. They told her it would be an hour, so my mom decided to take advantage of some free time and run some errands at a nearby store. She came back a bit earlier than that to find Lacie already in a holding crate with her hair cut shorter than what my mom was expecting, and the itty bitty bit of hair left on top of her head was pulled back tightly with a hair bow that was wrapped on very tightly. It looked like her head was bald and her eyes were being pulled back. Nothing against putting in a top knot- but it looked ridiculous and we had to cut the bow out.

When my mom took her from the assistant, the girl looked at her and said, "She was being a brat when the groomer tried to brush her out. You need to schedule another appointment in 4 weeks."

Is that rude or is that normal?? I'm sure Lacie was being a pain to work with. It was her first time getting groomed and she's a curious, hyperactive puppy. It just doesn't seem to me like very good manners to call a customer's puppy a brat. And aren't they supposed to be used to the puppy energy? Not to mention we wonder what she did to Lacie to try to keep her from being a "brat."

Anyway... in the meantime, while we're waiting for our groomer to become available again. What do you guys think of our taking Lacie to a grooming school for her next hair cut? Do you think that would be disastrous?

I was going to take Zach to Pet Smart to get groomed because my friend takes her Shih Tu there and she's always happy, but Zach is very Hyper and I'm afraid now. I am thinking about calling a mobile groomer that comes to your home this way I know he is right outside my door.

Definitely call the Petsmart customer service line and complain. I work at Petsmart and they take customer reviews very seriously.

Wow! That is something that is definitely NOT supposed to happen. That is very unprofessional. I work at Petsmart (not as a groomer) but at the one I work at, all of our groomers are extremely friendly and do a wonderful job. I'd be very disappointed if I heard any of them say something like that to a customer! Where in Michigan are you located?

I have heard bad things about Petsmart in Huntsville with grooming. I take my babies to my vet who has a groomer. I have never tried Petsmart so I am just going on what I have heard. You can find bad groomers everywhere. I'm sorry you had a bad experience.

The same thing kind of happened to me. The groomer told me Lizzy wasn't very good at all and that I should bring her in more often to get her use being groomed, which makes since, but I just got scared to think they might have corrected her, and started grooming her myself. She isn't hard to do, I just bathe her once a week and let all the hair grow except I do cut bangs, shave her bottom and the hair between her toes. Before the IG puppy started thinning Liz's hair so much, I would also trim the ends of her hair to even it up.

I cannot believe they spoke to you that way! I think Petsmart is hit or miss for grooming - it really does depend on the individual groomers that work there. I'd definitely call customer service and complain.

I take Levi for his nail trims at Petsmart, and usually the groomers there are great with him (and he is totally a wiggleworm) - but I am ALWAYS there with him since it takes just a few minutes. I'm sure they wouldn't be as pleasant and cuddly if I wasn't there.

Levi's former foster mom still cuts his hair for me, and he behaves wonderfully for her but he knows her very well and trusts her. I could totally see him being awful in a "professional" grooming environment with strangers handling him and cutting his hair.

I have heard absolute horror stories about getting breed specific cuts done at PetCo... So I called around and found a little hole in the wall place... I'm sure I annoyed them with my concern, but I was very specific about DO NOT SHAVE MY DOG!!!! I went over it in detail where I wanted trimmed and how much... I even brought a picture of a puppy cut... I lucked out and she did a wonderful job!!!

But as for little Lacie, most dogs are hyper, that isn't a good enough excuse for being rude!!!

Ive never had a good experience with Petsmart grooming

Thanks everyone- we WILL be calling to complain about the rude comment. We might give them one more try next time, and I'll just offer to stay & watch if my mom wants to go run errands again. I know my mom was upset about the style as well, but it looks like a normal puppy cut to me. I think we'll probably ask for a "schnauzer cut" around the face next time- we've always liked that style a bit more.

Thanks for the thread. We were headed for Petsmart this weekend to get Harlie groomed...not any more...

Can someone post a picture of a fresh puppy cut? This will be Harlies first trip and I would like to see what I should expect. Thanks...

Petsmart FTW!!!

We have tried 2 different groomers at our local petsmart. One was excellent and the other was acceptable but just OK. We make sure when we schedule our appointment to always get Doug. He is great. He always gives Miley an A+ on her scorecord.

Don't write them off yet- give them at least one try if that was your original plan. I would just make sure you stand and watch in a place where they KNOW you're watching them :)


I couldn't get a good picture of Lacie- she was not interested in posing for the camera. We decided she must have thought she looked absolutely dreadful. ;)

Wobie is awful when he is being groomed. He has gotten slightly better over the years, but at three years old, he is still a terror. But what I love about my groomer is that she still gets excited to see him and is very patient, and has nothing bad to say about him. Honestly, she is just an average groomer, not amazing, but her gentleness and sweetness with him make me keep coming back. I would rather have someone that is nice to Wobie, than someone who is the best groomer but mean to him.

Just curious if you are near Lansing? We have a great groomer, she is so patient :)

Not really that close to Lansing. We live on the SW side of Grand Rapids. We have a groomer we really like; we just need to give her some time to "recuperate" after giving birth to twin boys. Thanks, tho! :)

You're welcome :) It's too bad though, I would love to live close to another YTer ;)

We recently took Toby to Petsmart to be groomed and they cut his neck then denied doing it. I wasn't that upset that they cut him because he fidgets constantly but the way they flat out denied doing it to aviod a conflict with me. On top of it all the charged extra for a "special handling " fee.:mad:

We had a great experience at Petsmart with both grooming and boarding. As for grooming they did exactly as we asked, we will go back. It's too bad that a rude groomer at one store could give the entire chain a black eye...

That is one of those things that only a momma can say about her pup or her human kids. I can say mine are being brats because I love them. A groomer saying that will not get a repeat visit! They should have said he was being uncooperative and more frequent groomings might help. That would have been professional. Their words were definately not! But I too, beleive it all depends on who the groomer on duty was. You could go another day and be treated liek royalty. I would make the complaint and ask around for good referral if you want to try them again.

As for the grooming school -- I would say that would be a hit or miss situation too. Although they should have an instructor that can fix minor errors if you have a problem. I would call your regular and see if she is going to be out long. Some people go back to work sooner than you would think, especially if it is part time.

We take Gypsy and Puff to our local Petsmart. We have only had 1 "bad" experiece. I specifically asked the not to cut the hair on Puff's tail. Her tail curls up and has a "flag'. When we picked her up we noticed the flag was cut. I said something about it and the receptionist looked at the paper that was filled out when Puff was dropped off. It clearly sd do not cut it. She showed it to a groomer who sd the manager had left for the day and she (manager) was the one who groomed her. Said it must have been matted so she had to cut it. I sd they should have called and talked to us before cutting it. I know it was not matted when we dropped her off.

I totally agree! I'd rather have a groomer that my boys love and don't stress on and get an "average, not amazing cut". It took four different groomers before finding the lady I use now. She is such a loving and patient person and I can tell she enjoys both of my boys. Neo used to be such a neurotic mess after his groom, but Lisa has the right touch and he is never upset anymore! That is worth its weight in gold!!! :D

I recently had Copper groomed for the 1st time. I had been doing it myself up until then. I visited several groomers with the dog in hand and asked them if I could observe. The ones that said no, I avoided. I found one lady who agreed, but said that if Copper was not cooperative while I was there, would I mind stepping out. I have worked with small children for years and know how they can misbehave when parents are in the room, so I got that and agreed.

Well, Copper was a wild man, but not because I was there. (The dryers were going loudly in the back and that set him off.) Copper's neck is so small he kept slipping out of the leash. I told the groomer I would do anything to help. She let me hold his hind end while she groomed the front and the front while she groomed the back. I didn't mind at all and in the process got to know the groomer. It was a great experience and I'm happy with the results and the groomer. I loved being able to participate!

We're concerned now that if she was too wild, a newer groomer may have attached a lead to her collar & collapsed her trachea. Either that or she picked up Kennel Cough (even tho she's been vaccinated). :( Something's just not right... Her next vet appointment is this coming Thursday if we don't decide to take her in sooner. She's acting fine during the day- plays just fine. But at night & in the morning she's "hacking." It still could be all the crud she eats outside is upsetting her stomach. But she's not really throwing anything up- just a little spit tonight.

:( Poor baby gets a questionable haircut AND sick?! I would maybe call your vet and see what they say. I'm always the kind of mom that runs to the doctor and doesn't mind looking stupid when it's nothing :p

I always take my girls to PetSmart. But I always request a specific groomer. Heather takes her time and treats them gently. If she's not there. I walk away.