# Don't Trust the Groomer!



## J and Paul Anka (May 6, 2012)

Sorry for the rant but errrrrrgggg!! My vet has a groomer that works with him and Dr. Hunter (Who I trust completely, he is fantastic) suggested that his groomer trim Paul Anka's nails because they were getting long. So, what does the groomer do? Shave my 3 month olds face. After I explicitly say to not use a trimmer what does she do? Shaves his face. So now, my puppy who is growing a full coat, has his long puppy coat with a shaved face? How do we think that looks? :frusty:

I have read on here that bad things like this happen but why can't the just understand that when we are trying to grow a full coat that we don't take a trimmer blade to my puppy.


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## motherslittlehelper (Mar 18, 2010)

And what does trimming his nails have to do with shaving his face??? Why would the groomer have even touched his face??? I hope you voiced your displeasure to your vet who recommended this groomer so that this does not happen again. Yikes!

We recently boarded Augie and Finn. They also have a grooming business there. I asked that they trim Finn's tummy as he was matting horribly there (he is in another phase of blowing coat) - they refer to the trim I requested as 'hollowing out'. They did a nice job, no shave burns or anything, although they did trim his 'wick' too short in my opinion. I mentioned to them that I would have preferred about a 1 inch length of hair there to help direct the urine downward. I think they did a minor butt trim on Augie, which is OK; at least no bullseye! After hearing the scary groomer stories on the forum, the previous time we boarded them, I instructed them to please not cut off their topknots should they come loose!


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## Blue_Persuasion (Jan 4, 2012)

motherslittlehelper said:


> And what does trimming his nails have to do with shaving his face??? Why would the groomer have even touched his face???


That was EXACTLY my thought!! WTH?? What RIGHT does this person have to take scissors or shears or anything to the dog when you were only getting nails trimmed???


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## Tuss (Apr 22, 2012)

Same thing happened to me. It's been a month and her face still looks ridiculous.


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## Thumper (Feb 18, 2007)

Thats crazy! Why would any groomer just shave a face?


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

I am so sorry! Yea don't trust the groomer! Learn to groom your Hav yourself. And, remember always, hair grows.


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## whimsy (Apr 3, 2010)

OMG I would be livid too!!!!!!!!


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## J and Paul Anka (May 6, 2012)

I have been working on grooming myself, still working on getting him to sit still enough to do any trimming but I am in a puppy class that helps us with everything! I told them that I was going to do his grooming myself and they laughed at me. Pretty sure that was our first and last visit to a groomer ever. In her defense, The groomer does a beautiful job on other breeds that I have seen but so many people don't understand that it doesn't work the same for the Hav. I have been debating taking him to the National Special and doing the 4-6 month trial just for fun but I don't know if I can now because she clipped him. 

Paul looks constantly surprised now. I am too timid to say anything.


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## tokipoke (Feb 13, 2012)

WTF? Why would the groomer do that?! First off, shaving the face on a drop coat is so weird if it's just the face and leaving everything else long. Unless specifically requested. I am a groomer and I think this is wrong. I'm sorry you had to go through that. Hearing all these terrible grooming stories makes me cringe cause they make the profession look bad, and I just don't know how they stay in business.


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

Who laughed at you the Trainer? Anyone can groom! There is a specific look you want on your Hav and you can achieve it with a little practice.


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## Rene831 (Mar 25, 2012)

The vet tech. trimmed Charlys nails while she was under anesthesia for her teeth removal and clipped her hair "in the way" on both her back feet straight across. I was livid! I didn't ask to have her nails trimmed in the first place. I told them I was getting her use to me trimming her nails at home. I was told they do it as a courtesy for free when ever they have a dog under anesthesia. I asked them if routinely take scissors to all dogs as a courtesy too?


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

I bet they have put on your form "DO NOT CUT HAIR!"


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## Blue_Persuasion (Jan 4, 2012)

HavaneseSoon said:


> Who laughed at you the Trainer? Anyone can groom! There is a specific look you want on your Hav and you can achieve it with a little practice.


I agree. I've been grooming my Maltese for years now, and I'm far from professional.


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## Blue_Persuasion (Jan 4, 2012)

To me, anybody cutting on my dog without my express permission is really crossing a line. To hear these stories that a dog was just taken in to have nails clipped and the groomer started clipping on their face is the HEIGHT of rudeness and inappropriate behavior. What right do they have to determine that how you have left your dog is somehow wrong?? This just really chaps my butt.


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## Rene831 (Mar 25, 2012)

HavaneseSoon said:


> I bet they have put on your form "DO NOT CUT HAIR!"


I hope THAT is the comment they placed in her chart after we left.


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## J and Paul Anka (May 6, 2012)

HavaneseSoon said:


> Who laughed at you the Trainer? Anyone can groom! There is a specific look you want on your Hav and you can achieve it with a little practice.


The Vet tech did. I told her that I was thinking about showing and she was like well then you definitely need professional grooming, you can't do that yourself.


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## J and Paul Anka (May 6, 2012)

tokipoke said:


> WTF? Why would the groomer do that?! First off, shaving the face on a drop coat is so weird if it's just the face and leaving everything else long. Unless specifically requested. I am a groomer and I think this is wrong. I'm sorry you had to go through that. Hearing all these terrible grooming stories makes me cringe cause they make the profession look bad, and I just don't know how they stay in business.


Ya, I was just sick about it. Even worse, its wasn't a good job. He must have been squirming so where she shaved between his eyes is like all chopped up and uneven. Love my vet, the groomer that is in his office, not at all. And the sprayed some **** on him that has made him smell awful! I just gave him a bath! The outrage!!!!


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## Laurief (Nov 7, 2006)

I would not have paid these people a DIME!!!! that is just unbelievable!!!!


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

J and Paul Anka said:


> The Vet tech did. I told her that I was thinking about showing and she was like well then you definitely need professional grooming, you can't do that yourself.


THE NERVE!?? WTH!?? we CAN do it ourselves, thank you VERY MUCH! :frusty:
and I firmly believe our dogs are MUCH happier having US do thier grooming anyway!!! :frusty:


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## anaacosta (Sep 1, 2011)

HavaneseSoon said:


> I am so sorry! Yea don't trust the groomer! Learn to groom your Hav yourself. And, remember always, hair grows.


What's the best way to do that? I'm interested in learning. I've been practicing brushing her teeth myself and cutting her nails too. The final frontier for me is the hair cutting....


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## morriscsps (Aug 17, 2010)

J and Paul Anka said:


> And the sprayed some **** on him that has made him smell awful! I just gave him a bath! The outrage!!!!


Yikes! Bad vet tech. Bad vet tech. Don't you just wish you could ... I don't know... trim their hair?

Anyway, did they do anal glands? That may be where the bad smell came from. Trust me, you WANT the spray they use to counteract that smell. uke:

Sorry that things didn't go well.


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

anaacosta said:


> What's the best way to do that? I'm interested in learning. I've been practicing brushing her teeth myself and cutting her nails too. The final frontier for me is the hair cutting....


It is just a matter of doing the clipping and getting the practice. If you want your Hav kind of long and shaggy, you won't have a lot to do.

The first two years as the hair is growing is very stressful with the "blowing of coats." You might have well trim them down and save both of you the aggravation, stress, tears, and constantly combing hours that will take hours each day.


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## Diann (Apr 25, 2011)

Hello. Last week I was home on a rainy day and I was bored. So after combing Lucy's hair for two hours, I decided I didn't need to be a Havanese Purist and I chopped a little off the ends of her hair. Then I cut it some more. Then I checked all over the web (Youtube) for hints/videos on how to scisssor cut a long 3-4 inch puppy cut. I didn't find much so I cut some more. Her hair was almost to the ground when I started and now it's about 4 inches long. I made a grooming appointment for her next Friday but I've been having second thoughts. I hate the thought of her being stressed. She usually falls asleep when I groom her. It's our quiet meditation time, mixed in with a little massage time. And then I read more horror stories about groomers. 

So tell me, how to I learn to do a long puppy cut with scissors? How do I hold the hair and not make it look so blunt/chopped/uneven? I don't know how to do her legs at all. 
How long does it take for their hair to grow back?  

One more question, what sort of collar do your dogs wear. I'm beginning to wonder if Lucy's collar is part of her matting problem.


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## J and Paul Anka (May 6, 2012)

I think the cutting just takes practice and probably a few bad haircuts . I think they hair growth rate depends on the dog. Paul Anka had his face shaved down (the rant of this post) and it has grown quite a bit since then. He is still in his puppy coat yet. Cutting less than more is a good start! I think its just a matter of taking the plunge and figuring out how to do it.

As for the collar, I hear the rolled leather ones do the best on long coated breeds. Also, taking the collar off at night is another suggestion I have heard really helps.


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

Diann said:


> Hello. Last week I was home on a rainy day and I was bored. So after combing Lucy's hair for two hours, I decided I didn't need to be a Havanese Purist and I chopped a little off the ends of her hair. Then I cut it some more. Then I checked all over the web (Youtube) for hints/videos on how to scisssor cut a long 3-4 inch puppy cut. I didn't find much so I cut some more. Her hair was almost to the ground when I started and now it's about 4 inches long. I made a grooming appointment for her next Friday but I've been having second thoughts. I hate the thought of her being stressed. She usually falls asleep when I groom her. It's our quiet meditation time, mixed in with a little massage time. And then I read more horror stories about groomers.
> 
> So tell me, how to I learn to do a long puppy cut with scissors? How do I hold the hair and not make it look so blunt/chopped/uneven? I don't know how to do her legs at all.
> How long does it take for their hair to grow back?
> ...


Yay! good for you learning to groom!! I let Tillie grow out over the last year, partly because I wanted her long, partly because I was too scared to mess her up by trimming her myself!! LOL I trimmed her about 2 months ago and think I did a pretty good job for my first time. I hear we need "thinning shears" to trim ... otherwise it CAN look choppy. I don't have them yet, but will invest in them soon. Hair grows VERY fast, you'd be surprised. Doing your own grooming is a great feeling and if you make a mistake, there is NO one to be mad at! LOL just see it as a learning experience, try to comofluage it the best you can and know that in a week you will barely even see your "mistake"!!  I think I will keep Tillie in a long-ish puppy cut from now on, she looks super cute and still totally hav-ish and trimming them is SO fun and addictive!!!


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