Hi! I'm new here!
 

Hello,

I just registered here. I have a Yorkie that I got in July. She's adorable and her name is Paris! She is 7 months old, and I am so attached to this dog, it's incredible! I've never had a small dog before, only big ones (boxers mostly).

Paris had a horrible grooming experience a week before Christmas with a groomer here in town. My husband has been going to them for years to get out dogs nails clipped and thought I would give her a try. When I got there, I knew what a Yorkie was supposed to look like, and I had spent the last 5 months since I had her grooming and training her hair, which grew in very silky and long. When I got there, they asked if I wanted them to cut down her back 1/4 inch - I told them no. Just to trim her up, tip her ears and bathe her.

When they brought her out to me, her whiskers were GONE, the eye brows looked like 2 pom poms on her eyes and those whiskers were GONE. Her back had been shaved (like I told them not to do) and she looked like someone just took a scissor to her and just chopped her up. I didn't examine her close when I got her back because she was TERRIFIED to begin with. When I got home, I took pictures, because they literally chopped my dog up! When I called to speak to the groomer, who was also the owner of the store, she asked if I knew what a Yorkie was supposed to look like, I in turn asked her the same question. And when I told her that I was unhappy and wouldn't go back there again, she said "Then why bother calling, just never come back". I stopped payment on the check. The Monday after Christmas, she called me and told me that she would see me in Small Claims court and to enjoy my day off. To me, totally unappropriate. And she also said that just because I wasn't happy with the cut - services were still rendered and I had to pay. I told her no way! The services I paid for were to have my dog GROOMED, not hacked to bits!

So, would just like to say HI and get some input on this. I've been looking around, and the only thing I can compare her cut to is a really bad Bichon Frise cut. She's all uneven under her neck, her eye hair is short on the left and long on the right, the ears were NOT tipped or groomed inside at all, her anus was NOT groomed at all, they cut the tip of her nose when they shaved it, because I found a scab there that day and she's just very uneven all over!

Did I do the wrong thing?
Would love some input!

Thanks,
Toni

WAY TO GO, TONI!!! I'm with you on this one. She may have "rendered a service", but that service was NOT done in any way as the paying customer instructed. You can take pictures of a correctly groomed Yorkie with you to court, to further show that this "professional" groomer does NOT know her business. I would also take pictures of
Paris "before" and "after" her grooming. And do take a picture of that little scab, too. Don't back down......go to court! I bet SHE won't show up.

Welcome to YorkieTalk and please, please post some pictures of your little Paris......

Thanks for the input!
 

Hi!

Whew! For a minute there, I thought I did the wrong thing! I figured not only did I pay a small fortune for this precious angel, but she is one of the loves of my life and they DESTROYED her. I don't know how to post pictures yet. If you want, I can e-mail you a bunch of her. It looks like they tried to give her a puppy cut from the research that I've been doing on the Internet.

And secondly, the fee for the botch job was 34.80. It's going to cost her 50.00 plus court costs to take me to court, so I have to do all of the research that I can to bring with me. I have a 12 month calender of Yorkies and what they are "supposed" to look like and of course, I have TONS of pictures of her before and after. I will definitely print them up.

Thanks for the welcome. I'm going to like it here.

Now all I have to do is figure out how to post pics. Any input on that and I'll show you what they did to her!!!!

Toni

Well Toni, I can't help you with posting pictures....I'm cyber-challenged and I get my husband to post 'em. You have to reduce their size, and the best thing is to post them to the gallery I'm told.

Oh....I meant to tell you.....their hair grows in pretty quickly, and of course they look just darling in any stage. My Higgins wears a puppy cut because we are outdoors a lot, and he has perpetual "bedface." His first grooming was a Schnauzer cut which took most of his puppy hair off. The hair that grew in was much nicer. Paris will look again!

Links for Photos
 

Ok, I'll try it!

Here is my Paris!

http://www.snapfish.com/slideshow/Al...38/t_=10169721

Let me know if you guys can see the album or not!
It's on snapfish.com

Tonihttp://www.snapfish.com/slideshow/Al...38/t_=10169721

Ug!
 

Forget it!

I give up. You would all have to sign up to Snapfish.com to see the pictures, and that's a pain in the butt!

My husband is a systems architect. I'll just have him do it for me. I think he has his own domain name and things. I'll just have him make a Paris page for me. :)

Toni

Hey there you did the right thing I would have went off on her. I took Lilli to a groomer once and I will not go back the first thing they did is told me to be back and get her at 1:00 I said ok so when I got there they said she told me to be there at 3:30 I was like ok what ever so came back when I got there the Groomer was brushing her out after she was all done and Lilli was screaming and going on I got Lilli and told her I wouldnt be back she was hurting her so bad with that brush and she did not have any matts when I took her so I want to know where those came from.I felt so bad for Lilli I told her she wouldnt go back and now she is scared of Groomers so I do the grooming for her. Yorkies bellies are so sensitive anyone has to be careful with them.So I am glad you stood up and stopped that check thats what she got coming to her:)
Kristi

Well, where I live, it should be of no surprise that this woman didn't know her a$$ from her elbow. I should have known better. But since my husband had been going to her for years, I trusted it. We have all short haired dogs, this is my first little Yorkie!

Paris was terrified too, and even now, when I give her a bath, she's so scared and when I blow dry her, it's even worse. When I went to get her, the groomer said to me "She likes to lay down when she gets dried, doesn't she"? and I said Yes she does. Now when I blow dry her, she stands up vibrating from being so darn scared and I have to calm her down and tell her that mommy will NEVER hurt her. It's amazing how smart these dogs are. She is so attached to me. I just can't express how much I love this dog and how ANGERED I was when they not only butchered my little Paris, but finding out a couple of days later that they must have done SOMETHING to her.

And...the groomer told me to come back at 11:15 to get her. I was there and she said "It's not 11:30 yet". I said "You told me 11:15". She said "No, I said 11:30". I gave her the benefit of the doubt...I should have known when she made me wait until 12 to bring her out, I should have known that something was wrong.

Now, I can't wait to go to court with her. I just wish I could show you pictures of her. I took some the day she got back. The pictures really can't show what you can see in person - but you can definitely see that the grooming is NOT right.

I hope I win and show her who's boss. :mad:

Toni

A start
 

Well,

Hubby managed to put up a couple of pictures of Paris. Both are "after the assault" as he named the links (LOL), but he said tonight we will sit down and I can show him the pictures and then you all can take a look. So for now, you can go to www.girl-like-that.com and on the left side of the page, click on the link called Paris and there you can see a picture of her, then there are 2 more links to 2 different pictures under that. Just so you can get an idea of what she looks like. These aren't 1/2 bad pictures of her, it doesn't show the damage really - but I'm sure if you look closely, you can see her little pom pom eyes and crooked brows!

www.girl-like-that.com

Toni

Welcome to YorkieTalk, Toni and Paris! Paris is a cutie!! Our Toto [girl] is 17 months old and we know exactly how you feel about your baby!! Toto has had a couple of bad grooming experiences also. I only let our vet [who raises Yorkie show dogs in addition to being a great vet] groom Toto now. Her coat is long and we are still waiting for her hair to grow back where a groomer shaved her nose months ago! Be sure to keep an eye on those stubby hairs near her eyes as those prickly hairs can cause eye infections. You're a much nicer person than I ... I'm afraid there would have been some "hands on" for that groomer! Yep! See her in court ... armed with all the pictures and also examples of what a Yorkie looks like! Good luck ... keep us posted. Paris' hair will grow back ... fear of the dryer I don't know about. I always wrap Toto in a couple of fluffy towels and we snuggle for a couple of hours until she is just damp dry and then we brush and comb. She loves it and so do I. ;)

Hey I think my 5 year old could have done a better job. I would take her to court and have her licence taken away for good. She does not need to be doing anymore damage to anymore dogs and I am truley sorry it had to be yours I hope you find a great groomer in your town if you have to I would stay there and watch if they dont let you tell them to kiss your butt and go some where else! Hope everything goes well Kristi

i've heard a lot of horror stories like yours and all i can say is sorry .......... i am really afraid to take my toby to teh groomer..... i know petsmart has a "full service grroming" for only $15 (im a college student who just moved out on my own....... lol........ enough said on teh cheap pricing)...... but then again i think i would prefer the puppy cut coz i dont want to manage the long hair...... good luck in court, the important thing is EVEIDENCE, make sure the pictures are excellent.... and even see if you can bring your dog into the court house (bring a hairdryer too so you can DEMONSTRATE how terrified she is of it)....... im sure she wont get away with it....... keep us posted ...... Oh, unfortunatly her hair might have been grown out and looked somewhat better by the time you get called to court (if the woman isnt bluffing, i think she might just let it go, it is not worth the cost to go to court AND shell lose.....) Good luck, and keep us posted

The puppy cut is good and I know Petsmart is good I keep Lilli's hair long and it is alot of work everyday I have to sit down and comb and comb and I try to do this everyday some days she only gets it once but she loves it so I love it she is the true DIVA!!

kewl thanks for the reassurance kristi, another thing i liked abotu the ppetsmart grooming is that you are able to WATCH, you dont just leave and come back and pick up youre dog in a couple hours, you are able to watch every move the groomer makes...... but thanks for the feedback, i think i will try petsmart for toby's first grooming :) i cant believe how fast their hair grows

hi toni, sorry to hear about you bad experiance you might also consider taking her to another groomer and get their advise on the bad hair cut and see if they will back you or write an affidaved (sry spl) stating that she was not properly cut. if you can find someone who is willing to get involved in the situation with you. just got to cover all your bases. hope everything works out for you and your baby...........lynne, mo,macey,abbey

bad groomer
 

I am also new on this board. This is my first reply.I had a very bad experience with a groomer before the holidays also. I have 2 yorkies Max 4 yrs and Gidget 4 months. I have always groomed Max myself but I had a picture I saved for a year of a medium cut that was so cute. I thought it would be great for the holidays. I took him to a local groomer. She called and said he was done to come and get him when I did she said there was no charge and put him on the counter. He was shaved ugly and his eye was full of blood. She had cut his eyelid. I rushed him to the vet. They had to put him to sleep to repair his eye. Then he developed an ulcer in his eye. It was soooo horrible by the time it was all done, he had been to the vet 4 times. The groomer did pay all vet bills and did said Max did not move that it was her fault. I am now leary of groomers and he looks horrible. It was a very traumatic experience. The poor little boy now is scared to death of the vet and he never was before this.

So sorry to hear about that. If you could find another groomer that comes with a great recommendation, I'd go for that. Other than that, perhaps try to groom her on your own? Best of luck to you in court!

gidgetsmom, that was a horrible story, but at least she paid for the damage she did and claimed responsibility.....

:mad: :mad: !!!! Please make sure to stay and watch when you take your baby to Petsmart, I made the mistake of dropping my yorkie off before I went to work, asking them to bath, clip his nails, tip his ears, and shave the hair under the pads of his feet, and not to touch his coat....when I picked him up he was shaking and had been cut all over and shaved to his skin on his thigh and leg area his mustache or hair around the mouth and chin area was cut completely down also, and I was so upset....and you could say that I had a few choice words with the whole crew of Petsmart grooming techs, because they are being paid to do as the owner asks, and I feel if I wanted his hair shaved or cut I would have told them that....I will never return to the petsmart here just because of the cheap price...I have been so worried, and my little Nemo's coat is not a fast growing coat, and so many people noticed and commented on why was his hair missing from this thigh and leg areas....I was completely disappointed in the service I received, and that I would have stopped payment on my check to Petsmart, but after I left there I am sure a lot of jaws dropped, because I did not hold back anything, I treated it the same way I would treat it if I arrived at the beauty salon and all of my daughter's hair was cut off after I specifically told them not to cut her hair.

I'm so sorry you had to go through this horible experience.
I'm glad she paid for the charges but that just does not make up for what the poor puppy had to go through. Poor thing.

gale, i would never just drop off my dog to be groomed though, when i do go to petsmart, i will stay within sight of my baby at all times.... did the petsmart you went to not allow you to do this?? because ours down here has glass windows and a waiting area so you can see what is going on at all times....

YIKES...poor Paris! I'm sorry you've had such a bad experience. Bad haircut or not, she's precious! I'm taking Max for his 1st grooming today & praying all goes well. We've already visited the place (we as in me & dh, before Max came home), and talked with them about Yorkie specific things, and they seem to be knowledgeable, so we'll see.

post pictures of before and after........ i wanna see how max turns out

yes you can stay and watch, but unfortunately I work a lot and did not expect my dog to be bald on his thigh and leg area when I picked him up, I asked for his coat not to be cut and they should have left it alone, and done the job they were suppose to do.....If I would have been able to stay I would have, but they are suppose to be professional, some people just can't stay at the groomers when they take their dog in, and should not have to worry about something other than what they asked for being done to their dogs....I'll never take him to the Petsmart here again, I have found out since there has been quite a few people with complaints about the grooming techs...

gale........ i am sooooooooooooo possesive about my baby that i would go out of my way to stay by his side...lol........ it is trial and error finding a good groomeri from what i hear, but i think im going to try cutting him myself and if it doesnt work out (aka he looks really stupid) then i will take him to a groomer....... but i think grooming is just like anything else, i wouldnt even leave my car to get washed :p
i think thats just the way i am, i have things that are "mine" and i dont want them botched up by inexperienced people (unless im teh unexperienced one that does the botching :rolleyes: )
You have every right to be angry with youre experience, i certainly would be too
I hope you can find a groomer you trust, maybe get some referals from other dog owners you trust?

I agree. I am NEVER taking Paris to be groomed ever again. Not even at Pet Smart. I am going to buy the tools myself and groom her. I mean, even I know what a Yorkie should look like. I know there are different cuts, but I know what I want and that's what I'm going to do. They sell these really great beard trimmers that are great for the ears, and I have very pointy and sharp scissors to trim the edges of her ear. I was doing it for months, but decided that I wanted to have it done once, so I could just keep up with it. It didn't work out that way though. :-(

Oh, by the way, the groomer sent me a letter with a copy of my cancelled check requesting me to pay the money that I owed her for "services rendered" and the bank fee. Ha! My husband said "Don't bother". So I'm not. She wants the money???? I'm waiting for the court papers, to be honest, I think she's bluffing because for 34.00 , WHY would you take me to court when it costs 75 to do it? Well, obviously, she isn't that educated, because in ANY business that I have ever worked in, the customer is ALWAYS right. Except in my town. LOL :D

Well, if anyone wants the name of this groomer who is in my area, give me a shout through e-mail.

Thanks for all of the input!
Toni

Welcome Toni!
 

Hi Toni! Welcome to the site! Sorry about your bad experiences for poor little Paris! And she is a cutie. I checked out your website. I need to get one, because I don't know how to put pics on here either. I have 2 gurl yorkies, Chewy and Sierra, 6 years old. I don't take them anywhere to get groomed, because they hate going to those places. I learned how to use clippers, and I keep them with fairly short hair, because we live out in the country, and there are too many yukkie things outside for them to get into. I keep their face hair long, they look cute. But I am too afraid to do their nails, so I take them to PetsMart where I can watch them and stay with them. I was not getting their nails cut regularly, because I hated to take them to those places (until I discovered Petsmart), but their nails got so long, and they said I need to take them at least once a week so their "quick" with shorten up.