[MyRescueCrew]

I am FURIOUS! I took Jake to the groomer today, this is only my second time using her. She came highly recommended from the vet I work for, as they use her, as does many of my co-workers, and a lot of our clients.

The first time I took him, about 5 weeks ago, he had long fluffy shih tzu hair and I requested that he be shaved down completely, head and all, with a #7 blade and to only leave his tail fluffy. This is because he has bad allergies and severe heart problems, and gets overheated very easily. They clipped him as I asked, all was well.

I brought him this morning and first, he was supposed to be ready at noon. They didn't finish till nearly 2pm, making me late for his doctor's appointment. Whatever. I go in to pick him up, and the groomer meets me out front and begins to be a {BLEEP}!

She goes, "I see you requested that he be shaved. Again." I said yes, because of his allergies and his heart. She very rudely goes, "You really think that shaving him will help his allergies? I mean, jeesh!" I said, "Well, my vet recommends that his hair stay short because he is prone to yeast infections. Being shaved makes him more comfortable, and allows his skin to breathe."

She goes, "mmm hmm." And then I added, "Plus there's his heart problems that I have talked about last time."

She goes, "Shaving a dog will not help his heart." I find this comment very rude, and her attitude when saying it was even ruder. I said, "He has several heart problems, and he can barely breathe when he's even the least bit hot. Being shaved will help keep him cooler."

She begins to walk away and says without turning around, "Whatever suits you."

ARGH!!!!!!

How dare she sit there and make me explain my decision for shaving my dog! I find out later from my vet, who has used her for years, that it bothers her to "shave down pure breds" and she "prefers grooming them with a style that suits the breed."

Well, you know what? I'm not going to sit here and make my dog live in misery because she wants to groom him in some common breed cut, as opposed to shaving him down. He can barely breathe most of the time, and pretty much sleeps on the AC vent just to breathe.

Needless to say, I will not return to her, or recommend her to anyone. I will invest in a set of good clippers and will shave him myself. He is relatively well to groom, so it should be fine. My mother was a groomer for nearly 20 years, so it'll be fine.

I am just flaming mad at her attitude today, all because it "bothered" her to shave down a dog as opposed to doing a specific cut. How dare she!

[Sister2Groenendaels]

Wow, I would definately be voting with my feet and taking my business elsewhere. After all, you are the paying customer and should not have to explain yourself to people. It is one thing if the question is asked out of friendly curiosity, but asking in the manner that you described is totally out of line.

[ILuvLucy]

I can understand why you're upset, but try not to let her bad attitude bother you. Jake is your dog, and what you've been doing has been working best for him and his coat.

Her unfriendly manner will cost her customers in the long run.

[alphadoginthehouse]

I hope you let your vet and the others who recommended her to you how she treated you. So uncalled for. It's none of her business why you want to shave him short...so long as you pay her. What ever happened to the customer is always right? If it's not going to hurt him (only her ego...no offense to the groomers on here) what's it to her?

[Purplex15]

unfortunatly, the customer is not always right when it comes to the grooming industry, and groomers very often have to tell owners that what they want isnt right for a multitude of reasons. but what the op is describing is uncalled for. i would understand her saying something if you had a double coated breed, but a shih tzu? the hair grows back fine, they dont need their coat for insulation, and they do just fine shaved down. as a groomer myself, i understand where shes coming from in that it sucks to see so many purebreds who just get basic shavedowns (maybe your dog has a great coat that she wants to do something else with), as an artist in our own right, its hard, but its no reason to be rude to be rude to a customer. im gtlad you wont be using her again.

[Shalva]

As with everything there are two sides to the story.....

I agree the customer is not always right and there are many groomers around here that will not shave dogs to satisfy owners ill conceived ideas that they will be "cooler"

and to be honest shaving does not solve the problem of allergies or hotspots.... oftentimes shaving actually makes the dog more prone to heat stroke....

now I dont know what the groomers attitude was.... but we could have had a rude groomer, and easily could have had a client who didn't like to be questioned.

In either case this well recommended groomer should have just turned down the client and asked her to go somewhere else.... that is the end result anyway.

[blackrose]

Maybe she was having a bad day. Trust me, I work with a bather....we have such bad days at times we are just laughing hysterically because there is nothing else we can do. And if dogs are being butts (like they normally are) we, too, sometimes get behind on the grooms. Not much else you can do when you have a dog on the table that feels it should attack you at any given opportunity and it takes three people to groom it.

Cindy also doesn't like shaving dogs down that don't need it - it is a sore point for her.

On the other hand, I think the groomer should have been more..."sophisticated" in the way she brought the topic up to you. Surely if we can't bite clients heads off when they bring in a dog that is so matted its skin is infected and it is in pain when you groom it, then being *itchy over a shave down is very uncalled for.

[alphadoginthehouse]

Blackrose - it is all fine and well to not like to do something against a breed specific, but I don't believe that it should include being *itchy about it.

In a service oriented business there are times you just have to suck it up and do what the client asks. Or tell them you can't do as they ask since it is something you are not comfortable doing. It would have been better if the groomer had said this from the beginning rather than do it and then belittle the customer for wanting it.

Groomers have a lot to deal with (I know I couldn't do it...kind of like working in the food service business) and an unhappy client should not be one of them. Better to say no first than be rude after the fact. JMHO.

[Shalva]

Originally Posted by alphadoginthehouse

In a service oriented business there are times you just have to suck it up and do what the client asks. Or tell them you can't do as they ask since it is something you are not comfortable doing. It would have been better if the groomer had said this from the beginning rather than do it and then belittle the customer for wanting it.

Groomers have a lot to deal with (I know I couldn't do it...kind of like working in the food service business) and an unhappy client should not be one of them. Better to say no first than be rude after the fact. JMHO.

I dont think anyone has to suck it up and do something that will be harmful to a dog.... perhaps if the person hears professionals tell them no over and over they will rethink their decision to do it....

we don't know how rude this groomer really was.... people tend to hear animosity where it doesn't exist especially if they are questioned about their decision and do the "its my dog, I will do what I want" and dig in their heels....

I agree though it would have been easier for her to just turn down the client and tell them to go elsewhere

[Criosphynx]

while her attitude sucks, and her comments were inapropriate to say...

I must admit i agree tho with the groomers opinion. Though i wouldn't have voiced my concerns that way to you. nevertheless She does have a point and although rude, she is just concerned about your dogs well being.

::::ducks waiting for flames::::

[MyRescueCrew]

I will say, that I was very polite when speaking with her and never caught an attitude (I am a very shy person and avoid confrontation at all costs) so I just tried to be very polite and figured I wouldn't be returning anyways. Another reason I was so nice is because my boss has used her for over 15 years, and I have to be the one to bring his dogs to her every few weeks for grooming, so I didn't want to be rude and still have to go in there in the future for business reasons.


That said, she did very much have an attitude and I felt as though I was being interrogated for my decision to have him shaved. I live in south Louisiana and it's nearly 100 degrees here. He stays inside at all times, and can barely walk out to pee without getting out of breath. I refuse to have him with long thick hair that will only make him hotter (whether it insulates or not) as opposed to having a nice, short haircut.

He was shaved by her a few weeks prior and she was fine with it. She never made a comment, and even recommended an allergy shampoo for him.

As far as allergies, I will say that his allergies are MUCH better when he is shaved. When his hair was long, he suffered a great deal more from itching and yeast infections. With his hair short, his skin can breathe and he itches a lot less.

I would prefer my dog be comfortable, no matter what haircut he has. Haircuts don't matter to me, so long as my dog is happy.

I will say, she's into grooming competitions, and does standard poodles for show. For her, it's all about the "look". Guess I'll never get the whole "look" thing with dogs. <Shrugs>

Anyways, I'm better about it today. I let it roll off my back, so to speak, and I just plan to groom him myself in the future. I am always so busy, a groomer was more convenient, however he stresses easily when at the groomer's so home-grooming is probably a better option anyways.

[Criosphynx]

Originally Posted by MyRescueCrew

I will say, that I was very polite when speaking with her and never caught an attitude (I am a very shy person and avoid confrontation at all costs) so I just tried to be very polite and figured I wouldn't be returning anyways. Another reason I was so nice is because my boss has used her for over 15 years, and I have to be the one to bring his dogs to her every few weeks for grooming, so I didn't want to be rude and still have to go in there in the future for business reasons.


That said, she did very much have an attitude and I felt as though I was being interrogated for my decision to have him shaved. I live in south Louisiana and it's nearly 100 degrees here. He stays inside at all times, and can barely walk out to pee without getting out of breath. I refuse to have him with long thick hair that will only make him hotter (whether it insulates or not) as opposed to having a nice, short haircut.

He was shaved by her a few weeks prior and she was fine with it. She never made a comment, and even recommended an allergy shampoo for him.

As far as allergies, I will say that his allergies are MUCH better when he is shaved. When his hair was long, he suffered a great deal more from itching and yeast infections. With his hair short, his skin can breathe and he itches a lot less.

I would prefer my dog be comfortable, no matter what haircut he has. Haircuts don't matter to me, so long as my dog is happy.

I will say, she's into grooming competitions, and does standard poodles for show. For her, it's all about the "look". Guess I'll never get the whole "look" thing with dogs. <Shrugs>

Anyways, I'm better about it today. I let it roll off my back, so to speak, and I just plan to groom him myself in the future. I am always so busy, a groomer was more convenient, however he stresses easily when at the groomer's so home-grooming is probably a better option anyways.

Thats what im all about. It honestly doesn't take long to shave a little dog. It takes me, oh i don't know, less than ten minutes to give Critter a lion cut. If your not concerned about looks (i know i'm not) just DIY, it saves alot of money and stress on the dog.

[Gryff'sMom]

Do all of you a favor-don't go back. Ever.