I groom my girls myself, having been fortunate enough to have show breeders take time to teach me. (I'm not saying I'm as good as a professional, but I do a decent job, and enjoy doing it.) But, I would not hesitate to have the girls done at the Petsmart here. You can stand at the big glass windows and watch, while they groom your kids. I was there a few days ago, and stood and watched as a tiny male Yorkie was being groomed. The groomer was very gentle with him and she did an excellent job!

Sheila

I took Topaz to Petsmart one time and he will NEVER go back there. They cut his nose down to the skin and it was bleeding when I picked him up. They also cut him so bad under his front leg it left a scare for weeks. I wanted to stay with him and they told me I couldn't. I will groom him myself before I ever take him to any Petsmart again.

I usu take Gypsy to either Petsmart or SuperPetz. SuperPetz did a little better job and was cheaper but they have now closed so it will probly be Petsmart again. They did a wonderful job and they talk me through instructions each time I drop her off. They are very friendly and make sure they understand what I want. They tell me they will groom Gypsy anytime as she is so easy, though last time they sd she refused to give them any kisses. They said she would turn her head like she was saying no way. I said she was saving them for me.

I did have a call last Sat from a groomer at a local shop saying that 2 groomers that used to work at SuperPetz were now working at her shop and wanted to let us know they would love to groom Gypsy again. The funny thing is my dtr did not get a call from them about her yorkie.

I have to agree my yorkie was butchered in a petsmart here as well, I actually saw a lady walking her yorkie and he was wonderfully groomed and that's how I found the groomers I have now, love them, and don't mind paying whatever price they quote...

Petsmart
 

Well I gave my local Petsmart a second try today with both yorkies (it was the puppys first grooming). They did a wonderful job. They asked me how i wanted them cut, and the groomer called to ask me a couple more questions on my preferences. I was really pleased with this trip. It did take 3 to 4 hours but they were busy and there were some larger dogs in for grooming as well. No changes in my dogs behavior, so i don't think they were terrified during the time there. Will I go back? You bet, but gonna get the groomers name and go with her from now on.

PetSmart did mine the same way as well. They shaved him and it was aweful as it takes about 5 months to grow back. They dont want to take the time to do it right they just want to go in there and shave and be done with it.

Im going to say this again....
Petsmart cannot shave your dog down without your permission and signature. You have to sign a form stating your dog can be shaved down.
I would check to see if you had signed this form. Petsmart keeps this forms on file for 30 days.

Pro Groomer Advice
 

I was a Groomer for 27 years. I retired recently. I still do yorkies, but that's about all. Everybody is different. It takes less time and effort to cut the hair short than to brush it out. It is also less painful for the dog. I have seen everything matted. Once it was so bad, that I found a Matchbox car hidden in the mats. (Not a yorkie) I have taken the time to brush out a dog. It really isn't funny to see the dog's skin after that job is done. Im agine your own hair that matted. Anyway, most of the time the dog would come back to me about 6 months later just as matted as before. Moral of the story: If your dog has hair, brush at least every three days if not more. You can be done in about 5 minutes, and baby knows it will not be very long and he will get a treat. Sorry if I am ranting, but this has been a sore spot for me all my years of grooming. It is much easier on the dog to cut it short. If you brush, it will grow back to be a beautiful coat once again.

I had a horrible experience with Petsmart also. It sounds like perhaps your location is different but I DID NOT sign a permission to have Lucy shaved and I read everything before I sign it-it is my annoying nature. I also gave a lengthy written detailed specific note on how I wanted her to be groomed and spoke to the groomer beforehand. The shaved her, nicked her ear, and cut one of her toenails so short it bled. She was a total shaking mess when she came out of there. I did pitch an absolute fit and they did grudgingly give me my money back but they could not put her hair back on and she looked pitiful for several months :( I am most definitely not clumping you in any way personally into "all Petsmarts" but for me it was an awful experience.

i recently had a bad experience with pet co! i was so upset they shaved my Chewy after we said we wanted about an inch gone! watch your baby though, chewy started doing a weird army crawl like thing, and we found he has REALLY bad razor burn on his belly! we were really upset we called, talked to the store manager, and got our money back AND the next cut free if we choose.

I owned my own shop for several years. I checked in all the dogs and went over exactly what was needed and what the customer wanted. In my mind the dog's needs came first. I think somebody needs to talk to these groomers. They are really giving others a bad name. Lat I knew the average career span of a groomer was about 5 years. It's alot more work than you would think. Try to find one that was groomer for at least 7 years. Maybe they will be in it for the long haul.

I have been doing it for 12 years.. Somedays I say WHY?? lol
but when you get that little kiss on your nose it makes you remember why. Its all about the dogs!!

i'm sorry that happened to you! i havent ever been to any type of store like that to get Odie groomed...but i did take him to a local groomer and i asked if his leg hair could get dematted and he said no you will need to just shave all of it off....and so thats what the guy did. i allowed him to be cut like that but i dont want to ever do it again....but here i am again with his hair on his legs all matted and i just dont know what to do.

is there any type of cut i can have him get so that his legs arent like that?!

That was a very nice offer.. maybe the OP should take you up on this offer and in time her/his dog will be looking the way they want...

Where in NJ do you live and work.. I have a cousin in Layfayette...I would go and visit her to get a yorkie groomer to do my dogs.. I could have you come to her house and do all 4 of mine... LOL

I think that is way north of me. Im closer to Philadelphia and about 40 mins away from Atlantic City.
Speaking of 4 needing to be groomed my own dogs are a mess right now lol

God Bless ya. I did it for 27 years. Yes, the kiss and the little smile always did it for me too.

I just wanted to say the only groomer SoCo has been to is at a Petsmart. I went in terrified, but Petsmart is too convenient for us when we go cross-border shopping to not give them a chance. I warned them I'd heard bad things, and I had a list prepared of exactly what I did and did NOT want done. No cut the 1st couple of trips and I was thrilled. 3rd trip we got a cut. I was 95% happy, and the other 5% I wasn't even UNhappy, just didn't LOVE the look of his feet lol. (I wasn't specific about his feet, my fault) The women in there are great (he's had 2 groomers) and they say he's such a good boy for them. This is why we keep going as I get attacked when the brush comes out at home.

They did have me sign a form that specified whether or not they could shave him (I refused) though I did say they could shave to tip his ears. They told me the reason they shave is because they refuse to cause the dogs pain by brushing out bad matts. To me that's a good thing! I also told them that's fine, if they find bad matts (they should find a few minor ones, he's a modified cotton) to leave them and I will take care of them when I get home, and I knew that might limit how pretty he looked when he came out. He's been stunning each time.

Now if only they could figure out a way to make him STAY looking that nice - but that's not Petsmart's fault that he has a cotton coat and looks homeless 12 hours after he gets home... rofl

Sounds like my ladies at Petsmart are just like Chrissy0277 :)

Tara :)

this is true. when i took Kash to Petsmart to get washed, i filled out a form and at the very bottom there's a check box that says something like, can we shave your dog? Yes, No?

although that's not my problem with my local petsmart's grooming center. they're pretty unorganized. Kash had to sit in the back for an hour before he got washed because the two groomers that were there didn't communicate with each other, and both of them thought the other was going to wash him, so when i came to check if he was ready to go, nothing had even been done! and the two groomers were like, "i thought you were washing him." "no, i thought you were." (you get the point).

i'm not downing all petsmarts... just this particular one and their lack of communication. although, i wouldn't let this one incident keep me from coming back. if it happened again, then i would probably stop.

Thanks :)
I have to say I take great pride in saying I work for Petsmart. Now only if I could find a way to groom nothing but yorkies lol
I get teased and am called the yorkie queen

Kalina and Matty Lu have some kisses waiting for you on Tuesday!! :)

I know a few girls who work at pet-somethings and they are great groomers!!

Groomers are like hairdressers, some suck and really don't care, others take pride in their work, love their work and want to make YOU the owner happy (like me:))

You do need to look around, and ASK around, word of mouth is my best advertising. In my area there are some really awful groomers (who bring me tons of business) and some neat and tidy love-to-shave-em groomers and then a couple (once agian me!) who love to do fluffy fancy cuts.

I too talk with the owners, if the dogs are too matted I ask to shave, they don't want me to shave that is fine, I can show them the best tools to demat show them how (my time for free) and send them home and tell them to call me when they are dematted (99% of the time they call back in 2 weeks and we shave them down and start with a fresh coat).

I also have a cottony yorkie who matts if i stare at him crosseyed...so I have gotten VERY good at dematting, the other groomers in the area send me anyone who is desperate to not get a shavedown and if I turn them down for dematting they know it is over.

In my area 100% of the dogs that come in matted, always return matted, so we try to find a length and style that works for the owners lifestyle and combing habits.
I am hoping for my own little optmistic mind that their are owners out there that comb more often then my customers:)

I love it when people come in and they are specific, I also love it when they let me do what I want:)

Look around and call groomers but more then anything if you see a really cute well groomed dog on the street, even a different breed ask who grooms their dog.
I cannot tell you how many clients my standard poodle has picked up for me:)

As always looking forward to seeing my girls