Grooming question for those who would know...

[Laura & Chewie]

I started this discussion in the forum yesterday    http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/another-doodle-got-poodlized

 

There are before and after grooming pics of Chewie included (on page 2 of the thread).

 

When I took him in I discussed with the groomer a good 10-15 minutes trying to be very specific.  She finally told me she would use the longest guard on the clippers to be cautious and then trim from there as needed.  That sounded good, but obviously I know nothing about clippers or guards.  She said he would look just the same, only shorter.

 

Well, you can see the result in the pics.  When I picked him up, she repeated she had used the longest guard and I asked if that meant there was no way she could have trimmed him longer and she agreed.  I said what about only using scissors?  She said with all his fur that would have taken forever and she would have had to charge me a small fortune.  She stated she has been grooming dogs for 35 years and was very proud of the cut she had given him and thought he looked great.  Kind of sounds like a groomer who did what she thought he should have rather than trying to please the customer...ME.

 

Opinions/advice...please.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Are there pictures? I am at work and don't get the full dk so I will check when I get home. Ned has a very thick coat and his groomer has always and ONLY scissored him. Others here who do cut their own dogs would know, but I would think that the face would need to be hand done with scissors unless you were shaving.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Laura. First let me say, I am not a groomer, but I am a double doodle owner that finally got tired of stressing out about taking my dogs to the groomers and spending a fortune and being disappointed when I picked them up. They never looked terrible, but just not always what I asked for. I have just this week given my 1st haircuts at home. Since I didn't hear the conversation you had with your groomer, it is hard to know what the difference is between what you asked for and what you got. I have to say, I don't think Chewie bad at all. Actually, I think he looks cute. The one thing that I see right off the bat that would have made him a little more doodley looking (in my opinion) is if she had left his legs longer than the body (say 1.5 inches on body and taper to 2.5 on legs). This would have kept them from looking long. I'm not sure what the longest guard is for clippers, but if he is in fact 1.5 inches to 2 inches that is actually fairly long. He doesn't look that long in the pics. They have taken our Lucy down to one inch, but left the legs much fuller, and that was a good summer length for her. The thing that I have found, is that as non groomers, it is hard for us to tell them what we want in "groomer speak". Then they toss terms at us that we don't understand either. I always took pictures when I went and wrote on them what I liked and didn't like. There is also a grooming diagram on DK somewhere, I'll see if I can find it.

The other thing that is possibly happening, is you are going from puppy to adult. The adult coat is often very different than the puppy coat. So the long straight shaggy look you are used to was probably puppy coat and now that is cut off, you are seeing more of what the adult coat is going to look like and it seems a little curlier. Many times the little fluff balls that are our puppies become much curlier (and less soft) when the adult coat comes in.

The good news is you did not get a shaved dog back. There are some on here that I would have just burst out in tears if I went to pick my girls up and they had been shaved that much (without my permission). So, you are obviously doing a good job of keeping the mats out. Now before the next haircut you just need to research a little groomer talk so you can express in no uncertain terms what you want.

As for scissor cutting. The times I did take my girls to the groomers I specified scissor cut, that nothing was to be clipper cut or shaved. I did that because I was so afraid if they got near them with clippers, I might get a shaved doodle. My opinion is if you ask, and are willing to pay, they should be willing to do it if they want your business.

Best advice, is look through pictures on DK. Find dogs with coat types like your Chewie, that have haircuts you like, and take those pictures with you.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

http://idog.biz/QuickDownloads/Professional%20Groomer%20Inst.pdf

Here is one, but there is another one if I can find it I'll post it also.

[Charlie and Me (and JoJo, too!)]

Well...I would not despair, nor be too hard on the groomer. I think he looks like velvet in the second picture, silky smooth. Also, at this length, his coat will be much easier to maintain. The only advice I'd add to the good responses you've received so far is maybe requesting the groomer use clippers on the body and then scissor-cut the legs and face. This would be less expensive than to scissor-cut him entirely. My groomer did this with good results the first time my puppy was trimmed.

[Laura & Chewie]

Thanks for the responses. I do think if she had left his legs a little longer and not cut his belly so close so there was some fur hanging" (if you know what I mean), I would have liked it more. I guess when she told me he would look the same, only shorter, I felt confident we were on the same page. I don't think he looks the same at all. BTW, she didn't do his face as I didn't feel it needed much.

Thanks for the grooming chart/diagram L & S's Mom...that will come in useful next time. I will definitely be watching as he grows out to see what length I like and document along the way.

My daughter and I have been joking that before he looked like shag carpet and now he looks like plush. At least now people might believe me when I tell them he doesn't even weigh 25 lbs...LOL.

[Sally, Echo and Emmi]

The same thing used to happen to Echo. Then a friend and myself finally figured out (with the help of Barb at Gemstone labradoodles) that one of the problems is the groomers finish up our dogs with a heat blow dry and a brush out so they come out looking like poodles. Barb explained that these dogs, to keep the bed head look that we like, need to have their coats dry naturally. The groomer can blow some water out at the end (without heat) but mostly they have to dry naturally and then they will look like their cute, shaggy selves but maybe a little shorter! I had to leave one groomer and now I found someone who pretty much follows Barb's instructions with no blow drying and brush out at the end. Now Echo comes off the groomer's table looking handsome and shaggy!!

[Laura & Chewie]

Thanks for this advice...I'll have to wet him a little tomorrow.