Ugh - I'm fed up with dog groomers!

[shihtzulover]

I took my dog to a new groomer today. She is fairly new, but she has a nice website, and has a certificate in dog grooming.

I was a bit uneasy, because I had to drop my dog off at her house. She worked from her basement ,and she welcomed me in. It seemed okay, so I decided to try it out.

Since I live a bit far away from her house, I decided to stay in the town and do some shopping. The website had said to allow at least 2 hours, but she said that it would be 3. I wasn't thrilled about that, but I went to the mall and did my shopping.

I actually had my mom with me, so we decided to head back there after about 2 hours and 45 minutes. We figured that he would be almost done. Instead, she did not look happy to see us. She even said (not meanly and kind of in a joking tone, but still) "I haven't called yet, have I?". Then she said that it would be another hour, and that he was too wiggly, so she was not sure that she would be able to finish him properly. She said that he was good, but that he squirmed around a lot.

This is the fourth groomer that I have brought him to, and none had a problem with him. If they were only working with one dog at a time (as she was) it took a maximum of two hours. It just seemed that she did not know what she was doing. He is a dog - of course he is going to wiggle and get impatient with being groomed. To me, a good dog groomer should be able to handle that.

We left and then went back an hour later, and he was ready. I was upset about the whole experience and since she owned the business, i only gave her about 10% as a tip. I wasn't even sure if I was supposed to tip her, because she owns the business, and she was working from her home.

Now I have him home, and this is actually the best haircut that he has ever had. She did a good job on it, and I feel bad for tipping her so little, but at the time, I was planning to never bring him back. Now I'm not sure. I just can't understand how a dog groomer could have so much trouble with him, especially when none others have had any issues in the past. I don't deny that he can squirm around, but he is not aggressive at all (as she even said herself), and he is small.

There were things about the other groomers that I didn't like (I didn't like the haircuts, etc), so I don't want to bring him back to them, either. I'm not sure what to do. At this point, I think that I might just buy a clipper and start grooming him myself.

Thoughts?

 

[kenny]

I've started grooming out own dogs.
There IS a learning curve and a good clipper is not cheap, but in the long run I think it's a good thing.

 

[shihtzulover]

I've started grooming out own dogs.
There IS a learning curve and a good clipper is not cheap, but in the long run I think it's a good thing.

Thanks! I know it will cost a bit at first, but I think I might feel better about just learning to do it myself.

 

[lyra]

We had grooming intensive show dogs. We had a professional do the actual cut, while we did all the maintenance grooming. Then we moved on to grooming ourselves. We have everything: grooming table, professional shears, clippers, combs, brushes, everything! Now we have 2 chihuahuas and a smooth coated terrier. No grooming!

Anyway, point is, with your breed, there is a ton involved in grooming. A good haircut is something that really can take *hours* to achieve. Our dogs were taught to stand still for grooming because they were groomed daily. So if you add an untrained wiggly dog in there, it really makes it a tough job, and since most of the fine work will be done with shears (scissors), it's dangerous too. It sounds like she took her time so she would do both a good job, and not hurt/cut your dog. I've seen some nasty grooming cuts from top groomers.

If you love the cut, I would stick with her for at least one more session. If you want to help make her job go quicker (for you), teach your dog to stand still on a table while you brush him. You'd have to do this part anyway, if you want to branch off into doing your own grooming. Then, look for grooming videos for your breed. You can slowly make the transition. If you're keeping your dog brushed and combed daily, then that is also going to cut down haircut time too. Good luck!

 

[Nashville]

I'd go with the clippers and give it a go yourself. Worst case scenario you lose a little money. If anything it will free up your time a bit.

But honestly, I read the post twice and don't really see anything too out there with the groomer's behavior, at least not enough that it would keep me from going back if the haircut was superb. Sometimes dogs ARE wiggly, even if it's out of character. I can't speak to the tipping thing. I usually tip groomers/stylists 20+ percent, but I'm unsure what is expected if it's the person's home business. If she took her time and did a good job maybe give her another chance?

 

[ChloeTheGreat]

I walk two doggies for my neighbor, one of which is a shihtzu/lhasa apso mix (I don't know if any of that is spelled right!)...She takes her dogs to be groomed at Petsmart. The little shihtzu gets a puppy cut, which I would guess is pretty easy for a groomer. I don't know much about grooming since I have a lab, but it seems like they probably have reasonable prices and high standards since it is a national(?) chain. My father has two large mutts with long hair. They shed a lot. He bought a cordless electric clipper set to give them trims and has been successful, although the cuts are definitely not professional. It'll take time and practice to learn how to get the cut you want! Good luck!

 

[dragonfly411]

Shih Tzu - may I offer another viewpoint? My aunts run a dog grooming and sitting business out of home. They do take a bit longer, but they are EXTREMELY careful. They are also careful about wigglers because they don't want to end up with an uneven cut, nor do they want to snip the dog accidentally and hurt it. They take the time to trim nails, and even do bows if owners feel like they want one. They become personally attached to each dog, and get to know them. Do you think perhaps this woman is the same way? Perhaps she is very involved on a one on one basis with the dog, and takes her time?

I'd be worried about the sleepiness coming back from the other groomer. It would make me really uncomfortable.

May I ask how your dog seemed to react to this new woman? Was he happy with her? Did he seem frightened or fed up?

I take Sasha to a groomer down the road. They run a dog paradise type deal. The woman who trims her is the owner and has two yorkies and she gives mine the same doo as her's. Sasha doesn't even LOOK BACK AT ME when we get there. She just trots away into the back. She stays all day, gets the high treatment, then comes home. I always imagine she's telling her adventures to our other pup lol.

 

[shihtzulover]

Thank you for your advice everyone!

I do love the cut, and I kind of feel bad for not tipping more - but like I said, I have no idea how much I am supposed to tip her when it's her business and she is working out of her basement. I was also a bit aggravated because his past groomer in my old town could get him done in two hours, and while his cut wasn't what I envisioned, she did a good job at the cut that she created.

He didn't seem to love her and he was very happy when we got there to pick him up, but he has been like that with every groomer that he has been to. He is very loyal and dependent, so he hates to be left at new places with strange people. I'm not sure that will ever change, but I figure that he must know the routine by now, and that I always come back for him when he's done.

I guess she seemed to not be aggressive at all - kind of like she didn't know how to handle dogs that moved around, and like she let them get away with everything. She was definitely sweet with him, but I'm just not sure about her competence with handling the dogs.

I do agree that shih tzus can be difficult because they have a lot of hair, but I'm not sure that I can understand it taking four hours for one dog. He gets his coat clipped short and has his facial area, legs, and tail cut with scissors, then he gets a bath and nail trim, and then he gets a final touch up on his coat. I would almost understand that this could take awhile, but no one has suggested that he has been a problem in the past, and like I said, his other groomer took half the time.

He has been to four groomers total, and all of them finished him more quickly - it took about two hours when they just had him to do, and usually three or under if they were working on multiple dogs.

I might give her another chance because she was definitely very thorough, but I am also still interested in trying to learn to clip him myself. I have a few weeks to decide.

Thanks again everyone!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I'd give her another shot. Not only was it her first time with a new pup, but it was your pup's first time with her. They were probably just trying to get to know/get used to each other.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Since the cut was so great, I would probably give her another chance. Like Dragonfly said, she could just be ver meticulous, which isn't a bad thing. I do think that 4 hours for a small dog is a long time, but now that you know how long it's going to take, you can plan your day around it so you're not waiting around like you did this time.

I have been to over a dozen groomers and nobody has been perfect. I think that if you can find somebody who give a great cut, it's worth a little extra time. When I started showing our younger dog I took some classes and now do all of my own grooming, but still understand the frustration with trying to find a great groomer!

 

[soocool]

I have been taking my dog to the same groomer for over 3 years. Believe it or not I interviewed a few before deciding on this one. She has been in the business for over 20 years and has one steady worker, plus a couple of others who just bathe the dogs.

Initially she would pluck my dog's ears and when I asked her not to pluck them anymore, there were no questions asked she stopped plucking. I drop my dog off around 9 am and he is usually ready by 2 or 3 pm. That is because they will have at least 10 dogs to groom. I do know that when a dog gets a little agitated she'll stop what's she's doing to let the dog calm down. She'll play with him, take him outside for a few minutes. Like I said my dog has been going there for over 3 years so he knows the ladies and everything there is familiar to him.

Sometimes the problem of arriving early is that your dog knows you are there and wants to go home and he then doesn't want to comply and stand still. Trimming around the anal area and belly are critical and you don't want to cut or nick the dog there definitely.

Any reason why you have not stayed with one groomer? A dog will get used to the same groomer over time and knows the routine so each time he goes it gets easier. Perhaps you would be happy with a groomer who comes to your home instead. A neighbor does this because her dogs never leave the house and refuse to ride in a car.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

What bothers me is not that the groomer took 4 hours (although that does seem like a lot) but that it took that long after an initial forecast of 2 hours and no contact or apology. If I was that far behind, I would have called my client, apologised that I was taking so long (because pup and I had to get used to one another) and ask her to come pick pup up later.

 

[zoebartlett]

I'd give the groomer one more chance since it was the first time she and your dog had met. Then after that, you can see whether you still feel the same way or if you'd like to stick wth her. As far as the tipping goes, I've always been under the impresson that you don't have to tip the owner of a business because they probably add a percentage to their fee to begin with. I still do tip the owner of the salon where I get my hair done (the owner is my stylist), but that's what I've heard anyway.

 

[shihtzulover]

I am definitely still thinking that I might take him back to her at least one more time.

He has been to four different groomers now:

1. This groomer cut his coat way too short, and he actually had little sores all over his body afterward. Then, when I went to pick him up, one of the workers there started seriously hitting on me. He freaked me out, and he seemed like the type of person to follow me home.

2. Next was the groomer that my FF uses. He lives in another city, fairly far away, so right now, it's not always convenient for me to take my dog there. The place is great, except my dog seems really tired when he gets home from there - more tired than I have ever seen him. I thought that it might be normal, but I noticed that he was not nearly as tired yesterday (when I brought him home from the new groomer). I don't have any proof about anything, but it makes me a bit suspicious. Also, this new groomer mentioned that it looked like he hadn't had his nails done in months, and I just had him at this groomer 6 weeks ago.

3. The third groomer was one who worked from her van. She did a good job and was fast, but she was the most expensive and I didn't like her cutting style. She was actually the groomer I used when I was living in another city (I lived there briefly, but moved back home after I realized that I wasn't happy there). I probably would have continued to use her if I was still living there, since I probably could have worked with her regarding the cut that I wanted.

4. The groomer that I brought him to yesterday was the fourth one.

 

[lilyfoot]

I groom our Shih Tzu myself. He (Junior), was my husband's dog from before we got him, and it didn't take very long for me to get tired of paying the groomers $50+, and not getting the cut we wanted. So for about the past 5-6 months, I've been doing it myself, and I've had no problems so far

ETA: Your most recent post just reminded me that I also noticed that Junior hasn't had any skin problems since I started cutting his hair. Before, he used to always be itchy, and have sores on his body all of the time from licking, scratching, etc. That's another huge plus for me (and Junior!)

 

[Amethyste]

I had a Grooming Business for 5 years - and it is REALLY HARD work. Trying to give an estimate to a customer is a hard thing to do... It all depends on the dogs you have to groom that day. If you have a matted mess on a certain dof - it really can consume your whole time and put you way behind. Grooming moving targets is really hard too - wiggly dogs, biting ones, escape artists, barking ones... Grooming is probably the HARDEST job I have ever done. I lost my hearing in my right ears because of loudness of hair dryers - incessant barking - equipment...

i always said to come pick up the dogs at the end on the day - it was too stressful trying to comply to a scheduled time. Back then, cell phones were not really a popular thing - so i would assume that now, it would be easier to get a hold of people...

It takes time for a dog to "love" a groomer. When a new dog comes in - the dog goes through separation anxiety cause it is left in a new place and new person touching/grooming - surely, the dog is anxious to go home. I saw dogs relaxing in my care after their fifth time. Of course having a good attitude and telling the truth is the way to go - i always told my clients if i was behind and what to expect. The last thing i wanted was a screaming client because i shaved a matted mess instead of "combing it out". Too much suffering for the poor creature - who wants their hair pulled for 3 hours?

It was a very hard business - it made me old very fast lol - I really do NOT miss it.

 

[PinkTower]

I had a Grooming Business for 5 years - and it is REALLY HARD work. Trying to give an estimate to a customer is a hard thing to do... It all depends on the dogs you have to groom that day. If you have a matted mess on a certain dof - it really can consume your whole time and put you way behind. Grooming moving targets is really hard too - wiggly dogs, biting ones, escape artists, barking ones... Grooming is probably the HARDEST job I have ever done. I lost my hearing in my right ears because of loudness of hair dryers - incessant barking - equipment...

i always said to come pick up the dogs at the end on the day - it was too stressful trying to comply to a scheduled time. Back then, cell phones were not really a popular thing - so i would assume that now, it would be easier to get a hold of people...

It takes time for a dog to "love" a groomer. When a new dog comes in - the dog goes through separation anxiety cause it is left in a new place and new person touching/grooming - surely, the dog is anxious to go home. I saw dogs relaxing in my care after their fifth time. Of course having a good attitude and telling the truth is the way to go - i always told my clients if i was behind and what to expect. The last thing i wanted was a screaming client because i shaved a matted mess instead of "combing it out". Too much suffering for the poor creature - who wants their hair pulled for 3 hours?

It was a very hard business - it made me old very fast lol - I really do NOT miss it.

I agree with you fully. I have a standard poodle and a labradoodle and I do most of their grooming myself, and supplement by having their grooming professionally about 5 times yearly. It is very hard work, and creates a lot of tension in my neck and shoulders. I respect anyone who does this for a living.

 

[soocool]

Just picked up my dog from the groomer. I am so happy that I found them and couldn't be happier. There was another groomer near me but they are so much in demand you can't even get an appointment. I guess I never realized how difficult it is to find just the right one.

Kind of like looking for a great hairdresser.