I am not happy about this!
 

:mad: I am VERY frustrated right now….. Here’s the background – Brutus is 1.5 years old. He is a Yorkie/Pom mix that has a cotton coat and he has a tail. The first place we took him to get groomed was our Vet Clinic – I was new to dog ownership and figured why not have one stop shopping. He ended up looking like a rodent, squirrel to be specific so he never went back. I then got a referral from a friend of a friend for a mobile groomer. I loved that idea, so we tried it out. I don’t know that Brutus "loved" Miss Mandy, but the service was great, he always looked and smelled awesome and I felt more comfortable that he was only a few steps from me. Unfortunately, our mobile groomer up and moved to Texas with no notice and no calls to cancel standing appointments – pretty bad service if you ask me.

Because we used a mobile groomer, out Vet did not feel the need to give Brutey the KC booster when he had his shots last Sept. So, he had to go to the vet last Fri for his booster because there are not any other mobile groomers around.

It is soooo hard to find a groomer that actually makes an appointment. I don’t like drop-offs. I don’t like my little guy in a cage all day at some weird place. I finally found a place that made an appt. for a specific day, but said the dogs are groomed as a first dog in is the first dog out basis. You can bet your butt that we were there at 7:30 am (opening time) and I saw only one other person there. I will admit that I have not done a good job taking Brutey places with me. He now associates a car ride with the vet, so needless to say he is shaking the entire trip there. It just broke my heart to hand him over, and his anxiety was causing me to have anxiety. My DH and I worked it out that I would drop Brutey off, and DH would stay home until they called so he could go pick him up. At 9:30, DH calls and they tell him that Brutey has only had a bath and he won’t be "ready" until this afternoon as there are SIX dogs in front of him! Where they all came from, I have no idea.

I live in the 2nd largest city in Indiana – how hard should it be to find a good reputable place that actually takes real time appointments? I don’t walk in a place and sit and wait to get my hair done, why would I want my dog to do that?

Sorry for the rant, but I just had to vent!

Now Brutey needs to be groomed in your home if you can arrange that. I use a groomer that comes to my house. She used to groom at a pet shop. Call a yorkie breeder and see if she has a lead. Pray for someone. Do not drop him off at a petshop. Some groomers are mean to dogs. They razor burn them. All else fails, get a book, clippers and start grooming yourself. Thats what I would do before Spuddy and JoJo go to a shop. If you can't pop their anal glands or clip their ear hair and nails take em to the vet. Otherwise its time to start grooming!

That poor baby. They bathed him and left him sitting for hours? It should not take more than an hour to and hour and a half to groom a little dog and if all they do is shave him it should take far less time.

Hopefully there is a good groomer some where in your area but finding them takes a lot of investigation. Most pet owners let grooming go and only take their pets to the groomer when the coat is pretty far gone so groomers are accustomed to just shaving the dog down. A good groomer should know how to trim a dog with clippers and scissors so they look exactly as the owner wants. Look online for more groomers but don't take your dog there until you go and check out the place for yourself. Check out the facility and ask questions. Make sure you see the area where they "store" the dogs and make sure the place is clean and that they clean out the cages between dogs. You should be able to wait for your dog and not have to come back to get him. You should be able to stay nearby the first few times just to make sure he is OK.

Personally, I won't take my little girl to a place that treats her like a dog. After a couple of bad groomers I finally found a good one. I make an appointment, I drop her off at the appointment time and they call me as soon as she is done. It's never more than an hour and a half. I pick her up as soon as she is done. I live about 5 minutes away. If you go to a groomer that let's people drop the dog off at various times then they will squeeze someone else in while your dog has to wait.

Sorry your little guy has had to go through this. Anyone can pick up a set of clippers and call themselves a groomer. No license or training needed. That is why the let the tech at your vet shave your dog.

Like you, I would be at the groomer at 7:15am....and when I left, I would ask the groomer, "Since I was the first here with my baby, what time do you anticipate him being finished so I can come get him?" It makes it almost impossible for the groomer to "invent 6 other dogs" right there during the check in time, when you can actually SEE you were the first person there....

I took my Izzy to a groomer who did a fairly decent job on my maltese. Big mistake. If Carla( the owner) who had done my maltese had done her I think it would have been alright. however she let one of her assistants groom and trim her. My poor baby looked like a deranged schausner. She said bring her back and she would fix her. First of all there's no hair to fix. Second why would I take her to a place that can't be trusted? I feel for you and your baby. Good luck.

You guys are making me feel so blessed! I had found a groomer who did a beautiful job, but kept Cali ALL day. She would come home exhausted, but beautiful. I fortunately found a Yorkie breeder who also grooms and boards and it has been heaven ever since. She is only there about 45 minutes and I sit and wait for her. The groomer has also given me great tips on things I can do at home.

So guess my thought would be to find a good breeder and get some suggestions.

I been using the same groomer for over 30 years. Never had one nick, razor burn or horrible haircut. I have an appointment and Piper is always ready to go home in 2 hours.

I wish I could do his hair myself, but I have a very unsteady hand and can't hang a picture straight - let alone park a car. I just called again and they are finally grooming him right now. I found another place to try out.
Pooch Parlor Home

They actually have real appt's. I'll be honest, I feel so guilty because I was trying to find a place closer to my house - to make it easier for us! Blah! I thought he would be there 3 hours tops - not half a freaking day.

Poor baby! I hate dropping my pups off to the groomers.. I hope the new place is much better than this experience.

Im in Indiana too Indianapolis. Most groomers want you to bring them in at a certain time and them work them in when they need to. Thats how mine does anyway I dont like it but she does such a good job with grooming I cant complain much. I hope you find a groomer you are comforatable with

I dont take mine to a groomer but I do get my hair done. When I have an apt,I expect to be in and out in about 2hrs (hair color). Anyway,I dont understand WHY groomers cannt keep an apt for a furbaby. Could someone explain this to me please. I can groom and bathe one of the poodles with a pair of scissors in 2 hrs and that includes a potty break for them and lunch for me.

I would not leave Callie in a groomer place all day either but most of the places I went had a fast service where you paid extra and they would do your dog and then you could come get them. We did that at a few different grooming places. Also remember when checking out places not to chose one that does the cage blow driers they can get very burnt by those.

Ugh, so frustrating! We, too, have a mobile groomer. I'm pretty happy with it. I've always been very happy with the hair cuts, except one time she messed up around his face. But she has nicked him twice. So I'm not really sure what to do. I really like her, Jackson is as comfortable as he's going to be (it doesn't matter how many times he goes to the groomer, he will freak out no matter what, so it's not a personal thing towards her, lol). I will never drop him off somewhere. I used to do that when he was a younger, I was always a nervous wreck. I am wanting to try to learn myself but I just don't know if I have the guts.

Ohhh ~ groomers. Bailee's dad's owner was grooming him (and perfectly). She moved so I found a mobile groomer. Bailee was groomed by the mobile groomer 4 times, and I realized she was only bathing him and trimming his nails. I asked her to trim his hair ~ only to find that she didn't. A bath was costing $50.00. Now I have an appointment in a few days with another groomer. The groomer has good references. Saying prayers!!! Next step is 'do it myself.'

:)

I feel for you! Ive been grooming mine myself for the past few years but have finally found someone close to home that I LOVE! I can drop off 2 at a time and they are the only ones there....I can pick BOTH up within an hour! I really hope you can find someone you trust. I would never trust a pet store!

I know how you feel about pet store grooming. Unfortuanately I can't find anyone else to groom my saint, Shelby. most places don't have the equipment for such a large dog. However the rescue that I volunteer with is in a pet store every weekend for adoptions. Our dogs are right outside the grooming windows where we can see and hear everything going on. Needless to say I don't take my maltese or yorkies there. I have never seen so many shaved dogs or heard so much yelping. If people would stay and watch their dogs get groomed the grooming area would go out of buisiness.

can you find a small owner operated place, mine lets me sit and wait while she cuts and trims Lola but I do bathe her first. I also have a yorkie pom, I would love to see more pictures of Brutus

I usually go to a groomer not far from my bouse when I do have him groomed professionally. I mostly do it myself, but let the groomer do the feet and nails (while i wait). I have taken Huey to the local Pet Smart several times with wonderful results. I had some trepidation the first time because a friend had a bad experience there with her cat, but I gave them a try. I just get the "touch up" package which is 15 min(?) of whatever you need done. I wait on him and can even stand at the window and watch the whole time. They usually get his feet and nails, facial trim and hygene trim in that time period, and I have never had a bad experience there.

Did you ask this new place how long it will take them to do your dog and how they will care for it? It kind of looks like a doggy grooming assembly line.

A groomer with a smaller scale shop that is not cramming dogs in all day long usually will work by an accurate appointment schedule. My groomer has a salon in the back of her house. She is busy but does one dog at a time. She has a small dog daycare and one employee. She has her own show dogs (Shih Tzu's) and has done show dog grooming for over 20 years. Most of the groomers you see out there now were trained by other groomers or had classes that were very basic.

It seems like every where you turn there are people ready to take advantage of people who either want a dog or have one and need help caring for it.

No, I haven't talked to the "new" place - yet. I figure I have 5 weeks to go visit them instead of a phone call. I also got a referral to another place and it looks (online) great. I want to check them both out in person.

On another note - poor Brutus ended up looking like a squirrel - again. Really irks me since I showed her a picture of him in a cut I wanted. She did something weird to his ears - they have the tips shaved????? Reminds me of bat ears. I'll see if he will cooperate and let me get some pic's - he wouldn't last night (I think he's embarrased).

AWWWWWW..... Hey there!!

Sorry to hear about your grooming troubles ...
I have yet to find anywhere here that I would feel comfortable taking Riley...
I have always done him myself. I kind of just go with it. He lets me do whatever I want to him but sometimes it takes me several days because I will do sections at a time. Not only does he get a litte antsy but it is a lot for me too.
Hoping you find a nice place to take him in the next five weeks!! :)

I take alfie to the groomer parlour but i make an appointment and go in with him and stand while she is cutting him. I tell her what i want done and she explains to me while she is doing it and asks if i am ok about what she is going to do. We are in Scotland so dont know if the grooming parlors are different here.

I am probably the one person out of the normal who does her Yorkie to a Pet Store for grooming. Sophie Kate has been groomed by Petco in Milton GA for the last 3 years.

After trying a few other groomers and having horrible luck I finally found an awesome groomer at my local Petco. This was totally by luck, I had Sophie Kate with me in the store once after a really bad grooming (hair not even on her face, they shaved her legs) and I was talking to the cashier about the bad grooming experience. The cashier called out Angela who is the Manager, she offered to clean up Sophie Kate for me which she did and my baby looked almost perfect (minus her hairless legs).

Angela gave me a tour of the grooming area and a list of references who use her (note she has been grooming for over 20 years). I also asked about the "ovens"/drying pens and was told that if I specified that Sophie Kate could not go in them they would make sure she is dried with a dryer.

I am by no means stating that all pet store or even all Petco's operate under the same guidelines. What I am really trying to get across is the point that I had a lot of problems with groomers in the past and learned early on to tour the facility and be very specific on what they can and cannot do with my dog.

Bat Ears!
 

Mine does that too BUT he is not in a cage waiting... He gets to go play on the daycare side and everybody that works there loves him so he gets spoiled :rolleyes:

Perhaps there were other dogs that were left overnight or were being kennels that were due for pick up that needed grooming services?

Bat Ears!
 

Before Picture
 

that doesnt look like a yorkie cut usually the face is longer than the body and the hair on the ears is longer and feathered I dont blame you for being upset. I can give you the name of a groomer in Indy that knows how to cut yorkies but thats most likely too far for you to go