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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to be angry at the dog groomer who shaved my dog's coat

182 replies

bevelino · 02/03/2014 09:01

I took my cockapoo for grooming at Pets At Home in Brentford and discussed the grooming. The groomer checked my dog all over and was happy there was no matting and we agreed how short the fur was to be cut. I was then asked to sign a form. However, when I returned 3 hours later to collect the dog I was angry to discover the groomer had shaved all my dog's hair off and disingenuously suggested she was full of matts. My dog is now barely recognisable.

OP posts:
Cocolepew · 02/03/2014 18:34

Maybe I should say shes a labracock?

Dogsmom · 02/03/2014 18:54

I've been a groomer for 22 years and it's horrible when you have to clip a dog short when you know the owner doesn't want it.
I really doubt she'd have done it if it wasn't too knotted to do anything else however she should have checked more thoroughly when you dropped it off.

People often don't realise just how knotted they are, they use brushes on the dogs coat which don't get to the base of it and so the end inch may look lovely but it can be one huge matt next to the skin.

I've had many times when the owner is adamant that the dog is brushed every day and even when I put it on the bench and get a comb to show the owners it wont budge they stand there pulling and teasing a knot and not appreciating that to try and tease every knot out would be extremely painful for the dog and a decent groomer will be unwilling to put a dog through that. The odd knot isn't a problem but when it's more matt than well brushed hair you have to make the decision that the most humane way to groom the dog is to clip it short, let it grow for 6-8 weeks then clip them back into the proper shape.

Regarding PAH I'm not sure how experienced the groomers are, I know our local one has very young girls working there and I've had tons of their customers come to me with poorly groomed dogs that need sorting out.
It's frustrating to a lot of groomers how easy it is to set up, it gives the good ones a bad reputation when dogs go to an inexperienced groomer and comes out with a bad clip or come out stressed.
You don't need any qualifications at all, you can do it without ever holding a pair of scissors although I doubt anyone would, a lot however pay and go on a short course and there's no way they are capable of doing a decent clip, I worked 2 years in a full time parlour before I set up on my own and looking back it was still 12 months before I was completely confident doing it.

Oh and my funniest crossbreed customer is a Cocker x maltese which the owner books in as a Cocktease. Grin

everlong · 02/03/2014 19:04

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Suzietastic · 02/03/2014 19:08
EatShitDerek · 02/03/2014 19:11

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OneMoreThenNoMore · 02/03/2014 19:25

I wish I had a shitticock or a cocktease Grin

This thread has educated me about the differences between a mongrel and a cross-breed. My schnauzer x is definitely a x-breed rather than a mongrel, in that case. Every day's a school day.

We started off grooming our dog ourselves, but it seemed to be never ending and would take us half a day, and the dcs would run into the fur... In the end it was easier to take her to the groomer; at £25 a time she does a fantastic job. We took recommendations from friends and family about choice of groomers. Op if you look locally I'll bet you can find someone cheaper and more experienced than PAH.

giraffesCantBoogie · 02/03/2014 19:39

Can I come and play with your cockapoo? They are the only ones I am not allergic to!

SelectAUserName · 02/03/2014 19:48

To continue the tangent...I have found even fewer reputable, responsible breeders of cross-breeds (as a percentage) who health check, home check and offer to have the puppy back if it doesn't work out than I have of pedigree dogs. The vast majority I have come across are, unfortunately, the type who have jumped onto the "if I cross this dog with this completely uncomplimentary dog it will make a 'funny' name and I can charge hundreds for each pup" bandwagon. I have seen so many odd crosses where the parents are from completely different types - different temperament characteristics, bred for different jobs, have different known health issues - that the only apparent reason for ever crossing them was to get the 'cute' name.

There is also a common misconception (no pun intended) that if you cross two extremes, you will get something in the middle. Genetics doesn't work like that. You are more likely to get a Jack Russell on Chihuahua legs, or a pup that gets all the worst characteristics of both parents and another that gets all the best but no standardisation even within the same litter, let alone different litters. So if the OP's dog is F1 cross, it is impossible to say with certainty that its coat would look like X, because there are several variations possible from a cocker spaniel - poodle cross.

To create a new breed requires patience - this isn't something that would be done in a couple of generations; a clear vision of what the resulting dog's job should be and what it needs to look like to carry out that function, and the self-discipline not to breed from any pups which aren't a step towards that end goal. It does not involve crossing two random dogs.

That's not to say that a) pedigree breeders always got it right; sadly we know from some of the health conditions currently prevalent that that certainly isn't the case or that b) the OP is wildly irresponsible and single-handedly fuelling the trade in unscrupulously bred designer crosses, but not to be aware of the risks, the myths and the realities is to do the dogs a disservice and is one of the reasons so many of them end up in rescue. It is a fact that physically and/or temperamentally unsuitable dogs are being deliberately bred together to produce puppies with a 'quirky, cute' name.

OP, I'm sorry you're not happy with your dog's trim. I echo the suggestions to get a word of mouth recommendation for a good groomer when the next trim is due, and I hope your dog's coat grows back quickly.

MrsDeVere · 02/03/2014 20:00

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SaggyOldClothCatPuss · 02/03/2014 20:01

I can attest to that Select. Saggy dog is hound/sheepdog/retriever. You never know which character trait you will get on any specific day. He thankfully has lots of the best ones, will walk for miles of you want to, will mooch about the house for a few days if you need to, picks up training quickly, has half a brain...
But he will also lapse into hound on a lovely, lead free ramble and sod off after a sniff and get lost, or go all sheepdog and destroy things randomly if you don't play ball for 63 hours at a time on one random day out of all the others.
Amy friend has a labradoodle. Hes mental, humongous and has a coat which is a complete mix of labrador and poodle. He has a labrador smooth under layer and poodle curls on top which go all matted into dreadlocks. frankly, he is a mess!
The thing about a pedigree is that you know what you are going to get in general.

everlong · 02/03/2014 20:04

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splasheeny · 02/03/2014 20:09

I love this thread.. can you imagine telling people you own a cocktease?

I'm currently cuddling my jippet. She will never be a designer x but is a lovely dog, and didn't cost a fortune (I paid a small amount for her vaccinations and food).

WelshMaenad · 02/03/2014 20:09

There actually isn't a difference between 'mongrel' and cross breed. They're the same. At risk if being labelled a pedant as well as a twat and a dick, Oxford English Dictionary defines 'mongrel' in relation to animal breeds:

"1 A dog of no definable type or breed:
[AS MODIFIER]: a mongrel bitch

1.1Any animal resulting from the crossing of different breeds or types"

splasheeny · 02/03/2014 20:10

And yy to select. There is such a variation amongst the litter people don't believe they are related.

clam · 02/03/2014 20:18

Am I missing something? I thought this thread was about a grooming disaster, not a chance to take a pop at people who have cross-breeds.

Although, for the record, I was told that a cross-breed is where two different breeds have been crossed, and a mongrel more than two - over generations, of course.

LtEveDallas · 02/03/2014 20:20

According to friends MuttDog is a SpringBoard or Sprollie.

No she isn't.

She's the result of an accidental mating between a Springer Spaniel and a Boarder Collie. Except she probably isn't, because she has Pointer and Whippet traits too.

She's a Mutt, nothing more nothing less. Thankfully she doesn't need clipping because she's short flat coated.

(Friend has just had her Spanish Water Dog clipped short. Oh my God she's about 5 kilos lighter and 6 inches thinner!)

reup · 02/03/2014 20:35

I thought spaniel lab crosses were spanadors.

To the op I heard good reviews of the south Ealing place too.

caseyjones · 02/03/2014 21:14

I have a Maltese terrier which I once took to Brentford Pets at Home and they also shaved him. I was shocked. When i collected him I said to the 'groomer' (sheep shearer!) it looks liked you have sheared him and she said yes look and picked up his fur/hair ( think mini sheepskin) to show me. I paid and left stunned! He wasn't matted and I have 2 Maltese aged 7 & 8 who get groomed quarterly and neither has ever been shaved before. Have never been back obviously.

MerryInthechelseahotel · 02/03/2014 21:15

Thanks crabby I hadn't realised that about no photos in AIBU

Maryz · 02/03/2014 21:18

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LadyBeagleEyes · 02/03/2014 21:48

Mine is a beagle/collie cross though you can't see any collie in him, hence the name.
He's either a Bollie or a cogle.
He was free from a friend of a friend, that guy could have made a fortune.

Maryz · 02/03/2014 21:50

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MrsDeVere · 02/03/2014 21:59

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Chippednailvarnish · 02/03/2014 23:11

I had a Heinz 57 when I was a kid. I wonder what today's trendy type name would be "soupy fusion".

As for saying that calling a dog a mongrel is an insult to the owner...

ZombiesAreClammyDodgers · 02/03/2014 23:17

Wtf is wrong with a mongrel anyway? Angry