Grrr - darn groomers!
I said 'Please don't use the clippers on her, I want to keep her in full coat". They said "We may need to clip out some of the matts, we'll never brush them out". That to me seemed like, we cant be bothered doing the proper brush to get them out. So I have picked her up this afternoon and she has had part of her chest and tummy shaved, all four feet shaved, part of one ear and behind the ear shaved, around the neck shaved... (when i say shaved i mean clipped - you know what I mean). I think i should find a new groomer... I don't suppose, by any long shot, if anyone knows a decent groomer in canberra? |
|
|
| Are you going to be kind to us and post a picture. Your description sounds like it is quite an unusual look. I'm in Melbourne so cant help you with a groomer but its the rare grooming business who will dematt for you. Its time consuming, especially if you're going to minimise discomfort for dog, and "time is money". I have heard of the odd groomer, usually one who specialises in a long haired breed, who will go to the trouble of dematting but again usually only if you go on a regular basis to prevent the matts getting too bad. Hope you find someone. |
This happened to me once, decades ago, with my 1st OES. Mim is correct. 99% of groomers will shave rather than dematt for 1 of / or 2 reasons. 1. It's time consuming for them. 2. It's hard on a dog that isn't used to being dematted. There's a BIG difference between brushing out a dog & dematting even a small area. When it happened to me, it taught me a very good lesson  .......I never let my dog get in that shape again before going to the groomer. Since then I have had show dogs & had to learn how to groom them myself. And yes, at times I get behind on things & have to dematt. I give myself a lecture everytime  |
| Mim - i've uploaded a pic but i dont think it becomes available until tomorrow. Its not a great one, particularly given im not happy with the groom. I guess this post has shown my naivety - i assumed that groomers would brush out matts. Its hard staying on top of Tilly (she is my 1st OES) given she isnt the world's most cooperative subject (far from it!). |
| Also, I think it needs to be noted that there are matts and there are MATTS!!! Heart goes to the groomer about once every other month. Since she is a therapy dog, I am forced to brush her at least 2 times a week! But again,like Marilyn, I get behind, especially with two of them. I guess I am lucky..Pearl rarely matts. When I find matts on Heart, they are not close to the skin, they are more in the middle and I can break them apart and get them out. Also, I have her tummy tunneled which helps with keeping her cool too. I have her armpits shaved to about 2 inches, which, like tunneling does not ruin her overall beautiful line. I also have 2 great groomers who WILL take the time to dematt anything I have missed. I think they know I REALLY try to bring her in free of matts, and they 'feel my pain' when they do find a couple so they WILL work them out for me. I am sure you can find a good groomer in your area, it just takes patience. When I was looking for a groomer that would NOT make her look like a maltese... I took a picture of how I wanted Heart to look. I asked what, if any experience they had grooming OES's~~if they said NONE..I would thank them and move on..  I finally found one who was trained by a groomer who use to show his sheepie, and Meagan is amazing!!! A real keeper!!! She is so gentle with Heart, but I am very generous with my tipping...so we have a great relationship!!! I use a second groomer who will wash and brush her, but does not do any cutting or clipping.So, my advice is.............since she has had a chop job, consider trimming her to even her out. And begin to set a routine of brushing her at least 3 times a week, while she is short so she gets used to it. And find a groomer who IS willing to help you out when you get behind..,,I think they ARE out there, you just have to find 'em......Good Luck!!!!  |
Quote: So, my advice is.............since she has had a chop job, consider trimming her to even her out. And begin to set a routine of brushing her at least 3 times a week, while she is short so she gets used to it. And find a groomer who IS willing to help you out when you get behind..,,I think they ARE out there, you just have to find 'em......Good Luck!!!! Exactly, time to experiment with trimming. You can't do too much damage now. Shortening the overall coat, especially right now when it is clean and mat tree will result in a much better job. I sent Splash and Olivia to a groomer weekly just to be combed out. I did what I could during the week, but just couldn't do the "impossible" areas. The girls loved the extra attention and I loved my fluffy, sweet smelling girls. Alas the groomer left and became a real estate agent, grrrrr. Girls quickly became short coaters thereafter. |
| Bad grooming is what inspired me to do my home grooming (that and it was getting pretty pricey with TWO dogs). Every time Asterisk went to the groomers she would get something shaved. Once it was under her chin, the next was her belly, the final straw was her beard! She looked like a poodle, poor pup! It was a small mat on the right side of her muzzle. I should have just brushed it out before she went. Here's a picture  Sometimes, I'd REALLY like a break and have a groomer do a full groom on the dogs, but I know the end result would be a shaving mess. |
| I have been doing my own grooming and trimming since I got Bella in Nov. just because of the issues you had. I have not had much luck in getting a good shape to her neck, but Madeline recommended a groomer to me who does sheepies. I just got off the phone with her and explained what I needed...Show me how so that I can do it better myself. I am bringing Bella to her all bathed and brushed. I expect she will still find another little mat or two. I am staying there while she does the trim not only so I can learn but so that no unneeded shaving goes on. The groomer seemed okay with this game plan and was more than willing to teach me. Maybe you can find someone that could teach you how so that you can do the grooming and trimming yourself. Would the breeder that you got her from help you find a groomer or teach you how? |
I just peeked in your pictures..  Poor baby!!!!! LOOK at her paws!!!!  I really think you should bring her down to even that sweetie up and go on from there..... And I don't know of a groomer who would DO that!!! JUST shave here and there and leave the rest full coated?????? That is awful!!!...just awful!!! Bad Groomer!!!!!!!  |
| I have groomer that will charge by the hour to de-mat, and NEVER shaves unless instructed to do so. And I've taken Tonks and Luna in to her in pretty bad condition. Here is what I did to find her, though I pay more for it, I think. I found a groomer that specializes in show Standard Poodles and show Bijon Frise. Both are coat that I think would require extra care. So I knew she'd be a better choice than most groomers. It also helped that a board member here said they had good results with the same groomer. But once I talked to her and found out that she grooms show dogs, i knew that she would understand the importance of NOT shaving out mats and instead maintaining coat. Can you seek out groomers that specialize in show dogs? Specifically some of those coats that take more time and care? |
| I took a peek too and that is ridiculous. I understand that a dog may be too matted but I wish the groomer would place a call "We cannot do her paws as they are too matted. Would you like us to shave them OR should we just groom the rest of her and you can work on her paws at home?" To me it is SIMPLE - do not shave the dog without the owner's permission to do so. That is the reason I have started trimming Harry myself - at least I am saving money for him to look bad.  |
maddog - I took the liberty of pulling up Tilly's picture: How old is she? I would strongly consider having her evened out, as she will be going through a nasty coat transistion soon (if she's not already) and when it's done you will have a coat that is a lot easier to deal with. But trying to keep a full coat on a puppy going into the next coat is really quite a LOT of work and frustration. Add in the fact that she is hacked down a lot on her feet and other places, she will look a lot better as it grows back if it's all one length. |
| I've seen the shaving the feet tactic before. I've seen groomers in wetter climates do it, I think it's called "poodle feet"? It's supposed to be easier to keep the feet clean when they get into mud, etc. At least your puppy doesn't seem to be embarrassed! She still looks lovely, despite the feet!! |
* Capt. Obvious Danger wrote: I've seen the shaving the feet tactic before. I've seen groomers in wetter climates do it, I think it's called "poodle feet"? It's supposed to be easier to keep the feet clean when they get into mud, etc. At least your puppy doesn't seem to be embarrassed! She still looks lovely, despite the feet!! My last OES foster came to me with poodle feet and poodle snout. It was a home done job, so it was not the best. I had him trimmed down, as it was too hideous to take him out in public like that!  He came with grooming issues as well, so we opted for a fresh start all the way around. |
| Ah yes I was right it is a most unusual look for an oes. Tilly is still really cute though. I'd be inclined to go with the suggestions of taking some off all of her coat to make it less obvious and to help with keeping up with the matts. She does look a bit like she's had a poodle clip. I clip my Mum's mini poodle about every 6 weeks. We keep her in a pet clip. About an inch all over, with shaved feet, shaved throat and muzzle, shaved tail (except the pompom). I shave her armpits and tummy as you cant see that and its cleaner and cooler and she matts terribly in the arm pits an my Mum cant keep up with them. It's Mum's job to keep her fairly matt free in between though. |
| The good thing about hair is it will grow! So she had a bad hair day and now you will look for another groomer. Lesson learned. Don't beat yourself up over it. The hair will grow back and meantime you won't have to worry about her feet getting matted for a while She doesn't seem to mind and is quite the adorable little baby! Hey, I've had some bad haircuts on myself! It will grow, don't worry. |
| Yep, I would be ticked!! I have 3 high maintenance dogs. A Collie, A Bearded Collie and of course an OES. I have been going to the same groomer for many years now but how I found her was literally getting out the phone book and calling every groomer in town until I found one who would not just take the simple way out and shave my dogs. My philosphy is they can shave anything on them as long as I can't see it. If they shave behind the ears, I better not be able to tell. Now I do let them clip down the tummy area but thats about it. My OES is almost 8 months old and even though she is an indoor dog along with the rest of them she is a MESS! She loves to play and play so Lily goes to the groomers every Friday. She always has a mat some where even though I take her weekly. The thing is the mats are easily brushed out so to me there is no excuse to just shave them. Now my Beardie is 9 years old so she doesn't go to the groomer as often because she isn't a maniac like my OES. lol In the event I skip like several months on my Beardie my groomer will do the brushing in several days. I will take her to the groomer for a couple hours one day and they might get just the head brushed out. I take her back the next day and maybe they will get the feet. On the third day they actually bath her and finish the brushing. That keeps the dogs from hurting due to the brushing and its easier on the groomer. They only charge me one price no matter how many days it takes them to do it. My groomer actually gives me a pretty good deal on grooming. Well, I think its a good deal but maybe its not. lol I pay $25.00 a week for my OES. Thats bathed, brushed, nails, bows in the hair, conditioning, you name it, its done. Unfortunetly if you want to keep your dog in a longer coat you have to take them more often to the groomers. Which really adds up! I figure I would rather take Lily weekly then pay out one lump sum of 50.00 to 60.00 or more because they have to spend all day brushing her. No groomer is perfect but if you say NO shaving, than they should not shave them. Next time tell them to call you and ask you before shaving anything and see if that will make a difference. By the way, I truly am a great person to work with when it comes to my dogs. lol I guess I sound kinda picky but really I'm not. I always figure if they can't do it than there is someone out there who can and I can always get out the phone book again. lol |
| $25 a week!!! That's so cheap!!! |
| My groomer does either the complete clip or a nice groom - IF Baxter is short enough ! And it costs me AU$100 - AU$125 a hit. So I've started to look at home grooming - including the prerequisite clip prior to summer. Unfortunately, we are probably going to have him clipped back fairly soon. We have been away for about 3 weeks, which is just long enough for him to matt up terribly. Working at that now, but I'm not making much headway, and he isn't he most patient of big fellas ! But your puppy still looks lovely, and as everybody in the forum has said, at least there isn't any embarrassment. But by clipping her back now, you will save lot's of time and angst during coat transition ! Cheers and enjoy the cold mornings in Canberra ! |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|