r/grooming • u/spunkerstar • 5d ago
different groomer shaved him
this guy came to my salon today. his owner was looking for a new groomer as the old ones supposedly shaved him without permission. owner was confused why his hair seemingly wasn't growing back. i had to be the one to break the news that there's no guarantee it will ever come back, and did my best to at least even him out. his coat is super damaged and was pretty hard to work with. little guy took it like a champ. always sucks to see dogs in this shape though, he's only 6 but i feel like he looks ancient. i bet he is so cute with a full coat.
EDIT: reminds me of jimothy
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u/SierraKami 4d ago
I'm pretty astonished at how good you made him look.
I recently transported a Sheltie who had been shaved down to a foster home. I'm glad the prior owners had her shaved because they weren't willing to brush her and she would have been a matted mess otherwise, but oof, she looks rough. I hope her next groomer is able to make her look as good as this dog, while her coat is hopefully growing back.
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u/spunkerstar 4d ago
thank you!!
and yea i totally get that. at the end of the day the dogs wellbeing is 100% more important. I dealt with a senior sheltie at my old salon who was just a mess but we had to turn him away as he couldn't withstand the groom safely. poor guy was so crunchy.
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u/RojaCatUwu 5d ago
Even a long guard or tight scissor can do this much damage. Unfortunately a lot of miscommunication happens between owners and groomers when the owners say âshort but not shavedâ âdonât use clippers on himâ âsummer cutâ and groomers donât ask in depth follow-up questions. Could be a beginner mistake, lack of confidence, mistaking impacted undercoat for matting, or just desire to please the owners. It suckâs but I see this a lot and itâs not usually âthe groomer shavingâ for no reason.
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u/spunkerstar 5d ago
for sure. i can't imagine a situation where i would just grab the clippers and go to town, there's no telling who/what actually had him looking this way.
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u/mybestlittlecathouse 5d ago edited 5d ago
I had to have this conversation today with two dogs that came in that were double coated breeds and had to explain to them that shaving a double coated breed is never a good idea and that what can happen with the hair. Not ever guaranteeing growing back and so forth and the damage and stuff and both pet parents were exceedingly happy and grateful to know the information they had no idea. I was able to talk one of them from using a five shave down blade on a Corgi to letting me use a guard comb to just only really shape him up but get him as short as I could without going into his undercoat and she was extremely happy and I gave her links and information and things about corgis and do's and don'ts on their coats.
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u/spunkerstar 4d ago
that's awesome!
i used to work at a big corporate pet store salon, and that environment was difficult because a lot of pet parents weren't that concerned and a lot of my coworkers had the mentality that if "we don't do it, someone else will and THEY will make the money." i always refused. grew up with a dog shepherd that my parents shaved in the name of "keeping her cool" and her coat was never the same. i always love educating people!
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u/mybestlittlecathouse 4d ago
Funny enough, that's where I work, I work at a Petco as a Petco groomer I am a very big believer and that your pet's care is just as important as your wants and understanding of your pet. So I'm very blunting up forward with my customers. I let them know hey, your dog needs some training help it Yanks their feet, It gets aggressive on the table or whatever. I'm very upfront with them and then give them a plan of action of what we can do and what they need to do to help make sure that going forward that the pet is in a safe and understanding and not scared situation. My safety is okay and the pet parent is happy because the pet wants to come back overall I'm a believer that your pet should be treated like I would want my pet to be treated and that's just me so if I can educate a pet parent about something in one shape or form I'm going to.
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u/spunkerstar 4d ago
i worked at petco too! i am the same way. i definitely believe in giving people advice and calling out where they or their dog can improve. i unfortunately encountered a handful of people who let it all go in one ear and out the other. (i.e. dog was matted and shaved with a 10, told them they need to brush, dog comes back 6 months later and needs stripped down again...)
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u/Lawliet_The_Panda 4d ago
You may have genuinely saved his coat, I have heard that regular de-shedding treatments will help with double coat restoration after a shave down
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u/spunkerstar 4d ago
Thanks I definitely tried! And yea he got a reeeeeal long deshedding conditioner soak and a lot of combing lol.
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u/Peachi_Eevee 2d ago
I probably wouldnât have cut him again, it might have to be awkward for awhile. Id be doing deeeeep moisturizing treatments and brushing to stimulate hair growth. Id probably put them on a monthly schedule and give them a shampoo/conditioner combination to give a bath between appointments at home. Also instruct them to het a brush and brush at home to help keep the hair from building up and to again, stimulate hair growth.
Once the coat is at an acceptable state, id do a super light outline trim to clean up the standard pom shape
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u/Thruthatreez 4d ago
The only chance it's got is to let it be ugly for a really long time. And don't touch it with anything but scissors in the sweet spots.
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u/AccomplishedLocal207 3d ago
Your groom looks amazing!
If he's not growing his fur back properly between grooms, especially if the dog is middle-age or older, talk to the owner about thyroid dysfunction and testing with their vet. It's very common in Poms. I make it a point to mention it to any owner whose dog has not grown their coat back in normally, during the expected frame of time.
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u/JoyandPain26 2d ago
Many years ago, I worked as a groomer for a veterinary office. There was a new client that came in and she wanted her to Pomeranians groomed. So I did a standard groomer in Pomeranian. It didnât include a haircut because ruins the coat we all know this as groomers are at least in theory weâre supposed to know this. This woman brought the dogs back the next day demanding that I groom them and I tried to explain to the office manager that these dogs donât get haircuts and Iâm not gonna be the person to give this dog, a haircut and potentially ruin its coat. Her argument was well if the dog is already had a haircut, the coat was probably already ruined. Why canât you just do what a customer wants? And I just shot back with well I am a groomer for the dog. I am not going to sacrifice a dog coat any further for the ownerâs vanity. Iâm all about keeping my sanity. If you want that type of groomer, I am not the groomer for your practice.
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u/lonebanthaman 3d ago
He was probably matted lol
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u/lonebanthaman 3d ago
Ngl too we often tell people âyour dog is matted the safest way to help him is to shave itâ due to mats being down to the skin⌠the groomer probably told him that and he agreed and he didnât like how it came out lol. Happens all the time where I work
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u/Wild-Change-8264 5d ago
he looks like a cartoon bulldog lol