Sorry off on a total tangent first just because things have already been said that are bugging me otherwise I'd have stuck solely to the grooming aspect, but I will get to that.
I cringed at the allergy comment too Lacking. It is so annoying the silly misconceptions these names give. Also as you say, Crossbreeds being healthier is a myth. You are just as likely to have issues from both breeds rather than just one, not to mention that many breeds have the same health issues meaning that if you cross two breeds with these same common issues you are just as likely to double up on the faulty genes as you would be breeding pure if health testing is not carried out stringently yet is often an excuse given by these 'breeders' as to why the dogs aren't tested.
Yes many of today's dogs are made from crossing pure breeds, the difference is, many moons ago breeding practices were very strict and the culling of puppies that didn't conform to remove them from entering the breeding pool was common practice, making type quicker and easier to achieve, these days crating a new breed is almost impossible because this is no longer seen as ethical and is prohibited meaning that everyone jumps on the bandwagon without a care about conformation or without proper knowledge and nothing is achieved.
The labradoodle was actually started out by a man in Australia who's sole purpose was to try and create a dog that had the working ability of the lab with the coat of a poodle to enable blind people with pet allergies to be able to have a guide. He succeeded with a few but many failed to have the desired none shedding coat type. He didn't realise it would be a trend that would catch on and now everyone is doing it and the cause behind it has been lost. He also say's he thoroughly regrets what he started with this type of cross as its popularity has caused a lot of problems and a lot of damage with many of them being completely crazy.
Also a cross is not a mongral as some are stating. A cross-breed is just that a cross between 2 pure breeds. A mongral is a dog of multiple/mixed heritage (just like mine).
Ref the groomer: If the dogs coat is similar to that of its spaniel parent then it is not necessarily unreasonable for the dog to have been shaved, many 'pet' spaniel owners do have their spaniel's coats clipped right back so possibly an easy mistake to make? Did you ask why it was so short?
I don't think you can generalise about PAH either, surely its down to the individual staff in the individual store. Prior to working at a place with its own grooming studio I used pets at home local to me a few times, I found the staff were lovely and the dogs well cared for often being completed in far less time than anticipated. My boy doesn't like being cooped up and would go mad if they put him in a kennel so they used to tie him up behind the desk and give him cuddles instead, unlike Snobby Dogs who almost killed a friends dog leaving it unattended on the table with the neck strap on, the dog jumped of the table to follow and basically hung itself!
(Don's hard hat and runs for cover!)