UPSET- Grooming

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by Carlea

I have always used individual groomers in the past. What I mean by that you either took your dog to their house or their small shop. I have never been disappointed with how they trimmed my toy poodle. I had Gizmo groomed for the first time last week by a mobile groomer who was highly recommend by my neighbor. Since we got Gizmo at the shelter we didnt know if his hair was short or he had been groomed. The first thing she did was come in and meet Gizmo and talk to me. Gizmo immediately took to her which was a good sign. I told her what my long term goals were and then she took him out to the van for grooming. She sent word in that Gizmo had definitely been groomed before by the way he was acting. So now we know his hair does grow long. I was very pleased with her. Right now the way he was cut before it will take several months before he will look more like a Yorkie. She explained to me along with showing me that he is in the process of losing his puppy coat which was wiry. Still not sure what the coat will be....top of head is thin and silky. Body hair is thicker and softer but I would not call it silky. Belly is thinner and seems to be silky. So the jury is still out on what type of coat he will have. She has over 30 years experience and she agree with the forum that he is mostly Yorkie mixed with a Chihlula. She only charged me $45 but I provided the shampoo and no bow. She did trim his nails, checked his anal glands, and then took time out to show me how to brush him between visits. She was a blessing especially considering that I am disabled and unable to drive at this time. JMO I personally think a individual groomer gets to know your dog and you dog gets to know them which makes it a better experience for your baby. My vet also has a groomer and she would be my second choice if Tina quit.

Your groomer sounds great but I really don't think a groomer can tell if a dog has been groomed before by how they act. Callie has always been good sense she was a puppy and my moms two beagles who had never gotten groomed before got groomed once by the mobile groomer and did great as well.

[AprilLove]

I am so sorry. The good thing is it grows back , and also a good lesson. I really believe, once you find a groomer you are happy with, you should stick with them, they develop a relationship with your baby and you and IMO, you can't put a price on your babies comfort and happiness when in the care of the groomer.
Petsmart grooming around here is horrid! I always stop by the grooming section when I am in the store and watch them through the window, and I make sure they See me watching. I am always appalled at the lack of a caring/patient and sensitive attitude when the are grooming them. There have been times I sooo wanted to run in there and yell at them, and take the doggy away. I can't believe how some can even get this job. Grrrr, makes me cringe

[CruiserCody]

Originally Posted by KendraE

..... Bad grooming experiences = why I do it myself now!!

Me too.

[baby yorkie]

I used my neighbor's groomer after she was next door grooming her standard poodle. It was Ally's first time and poor little thing was just perfect.....but her hair wasn't. I then took her to Petco, but told them I wanted to be there for the whole thing and not kennel her. (I had prior experience with my pek being kenneled at the groomers for hours.) The groomer was very careful in asking me what I wanted and I watched the whole time, trying not to let Ally see me. I wouldn't trust anyone else with my babies. The groomer is excellent with my girls...and Ally is an extreme DIVA when it comes to grooming! She will yelp before the comb even gets to her hair and shivers when she knows it's her turn for a bath. I've learned to bath them just before I take them (Ally & Tia) to the groomers so it is a little cheaper. I recently took the girls in for just a nail trim and she trimmed them (fixed my handywork) for nothing extra. I will not use a groomer that will not do it in front of me, while I wait. No kennels for my girls! They are frightened enough as it is!

[pinkpatty]

I have used a Mobile groomer for the past 5 years, both in Michigan and Florida and that is the way to go. It is so much less stress for the dog and owner. I like having Keno out in the driveway. They take less time and your dog is not put in a crate to dry.

[Candibee]

I think the most we've taken Silver to Petsmart for is a nail cut. I've read other people's horror stories of Petsmart so I won't take her there to get groomed. So we take her to a local place that isn't like a chain store called Pampered Pets. They always do real good with her, she always comes out so cute, and it's never been over $40(bath, haircut, nail cut, blow dried, ears plucked)

[MI Yorkielover]

I think $35.00 is quite reasonable. We took our first yorkie Baby to PetSmart. She was in the grooming room for about ten minutes or so while I looked around and then over the loud speaker I heard "CODE NINE!. . I literally ran over there thinking the worst and they were carrying Baby. Thank God they didn't hurt her. They said the code nine meant she was too wiggly and that was a code for the supervisor to come to help hold her down. I grabbed Baby and said never mind forget it and groomed her myself. We have Sophie groomed at a private groomer for $33.00 +tip and Sophie loves her. Thank goodness your baby's hair will grow back.

[yorkiedallas]

Sorry you had such a bad time there. I never took my Dallas there. I was super lucky to find a wonderful lady who does grooming out of her home. I asked around my neighbors who have little dogs and everyone went to this woman and raved about her. My Dallas' hair grows sooooo slowly I really only have to take him 4 or 5 times a year.

Give your baby a hug from us, hope she is ok after her ordeal.

[Roxiesmama]

I have been taking Roxie to Petsmart since I got her...and I just finally gave up on them a few months ago. The last straw was when I paid over $50 and she didn't even look like she had been groomed or cut.

I found a really good groomer about 20 minutes away. I paid the same price as Petsmart, but she looked really excellent. It's a bit inconvenient, as Petsmart is literally down the block and this place is 20 minutes away, but if it's what I have to do to get a good grooming for her, then I will do it.

[Princess10]

Sorry you had a bad grooming experience, I have, too. One thing I did afterwards was write reviews on every online review site I could. I have found a new groomer who does her nails & sanitary sometimes & I really like her-but I've still been grooming Princess myself. I did love it though, that she'd seen my review online, if she did I'm sure more did, too.

What I noticed as well is she used to never mind going to the vet, but after a tooth extraction she's scared to death to enter that building. This is how she acted with the previous groomer. I should've picked up on it but just figured she was scared of the clippers or dryer. She lets me clip her just fine.

New rule: I listen to what Princess tries to tell me.

[danniko]

We take Sophie to Petsmart - there is only one groomer there that does it exactly how we want it and she is never there for more than an hour because we told them she can't be crated, so they call as soon as she is dry.

However, we do have a horror story. About 2 years ago we took Sophie in and had booked her appointment with our usual groomer. We dropped her off and had to pick my mom up (first and last time we ever left her at the groomer without us close by).

We came back to pick her up and to our surprise she looked like a chihuahua - they had shaved her right down to the skin from the tip of her nose to her tail. I cried. She normally has her body shaved and her head and tail just neatened up/trimmed, and this time she was completely shaved and it was the middle of the winter! Turns out, after we dropped her off, our normal groomer had an emergency and had to leave so the new groomer took over...we were so angry and now in our file it says that if our usual groomer can't do it or has to leave we are to be called to either come get her or tell them to continue.

We now only shave her from April-October and then let her hair grow in over the winter. At least this way if she ever ends up being shaved completely it would be when there is snow on the ground.

We pay $55, which is a lot, but we only do it a few times a year and our groomer knows how we like it.

[chestermama]

I take chester to petsmart all the time and do trust them, never a problem, and his groom is 40.00 and I have his nails drummled which is 11 extra

[southernbelle04]

So sorry you had a bad experience! Do you know if your PetSmart location has one of those 'you are happy or it's free' policies? I was walking around our local PetSmart and the groomers there were walking by customers and inviting them to the grooming salon and I was told that if you were not 100% satisfied, it was free.' Does your location offer that? I would definitely be letting them know I was not happy! I personally have not used them, but have used a local Petco. They did a great job with Katie Scarlett, but I didn't let them do much. Just trim up her ears, around her paws, the sanitary trim, and clip nails. I think when it comes time for the styling cut I will go to a professional grooming salon in the large town next to ours.

[Baily341o]

So u just wrote back this really long post... And then it logged me out. Long story short; thank you all for your advice! It really helped. We are going to find a new groomer and I will never go back to petsmart. We have had two really had grooming stories and I wrote them all until it got deleated. I hope to find a new one I the next 6 weeks before she gets groomed again!

[My lil friend]

Originally Posted by KendraE

..... Bad grooming experiences = why I do it myself now!!

I havent ever gotten any farther than interviewing a groomer. There are poodles,pom and yorkie here. I havent ever met anyone that I trust enough to pass them over and walk off. Ive watched through the window at both of the big petstores and the dogs always look terrified. I dont mean a little nervous.
After grooming 3 poodles for many years, I can tell you that a yorkie takes half the time and effort. If something doesnt look right, I have only me to blame and I am going to be WAY more careful than someone else.