PetSmart Grooming

[Diane Denney]

I have had difficulty with the PetSmart here where I live.  Everytime I bring Lincoln to be groomed they tell me he is matted, and that they will have to charge me matting fees.  I walked in today to see if they could just clip his head around is eyes etc..., and they run their fingers through his head and tell me once again that it will cost two demattings and that there isn't any time.  She takes the very narrow comb, and goes to comb through all his hair at once.  I've walked out on them twice now.  I'm not subjecting Lincoln to that.  They had over an hour and a half to just do his face and head.  Lincoln has the very kinky poodle hair.  It's very curly.  I brushed him out today.  He doesn't sit still for me to brush him properly, and is always going for my hands, but I do brush him pretty well.  He always rolls his head in the snow so whatever I do doesn't last anyway.  I am going to bring him to his regular groomer this week.  They have never charged me for a de-matting.

[Diane Denney]

The groomer I take Lincoln to usually came highly recommended and is a Veterinary Office with the Vets being the no. 1 vets in our area.  They also have no. 1 groomers as well.  Here is their site: 

http://www.woodlandanimalhosp.net/

 

What really gets me about PetSmart is that they always want to charge me extra dematting fees when he is not matted.  Yes his hair is super thick, and I go through it the best I can, but isn't this a cash grab.  I mean isn't that what a groomer is suppose to do...groom...  It's like matts aren't suppose to happen at all to animals and if they do they'll make you pay.  As I mentioned Lincoln loves to roll his head in the snow, and it definitely doesn't help my cause :D  It is funny to watch though LOL...

[Diane Denney]

Actually if you look at the photos on their webpage you will see two Goldendoodles :D  I just noticed that myself.  A woman I met in PetSmart told me that's where she took her Goldendoodle, and he was so cute:D

[Pat and Traveler]

Traveler is my first dog, and I just assumed all groomers were professionals and dog lovers.  I learned the hard way that this isn't true, but also learned that the doodle coat is often a real challenge.  Trav is 15 months old now, getting close to three months since he was shaved.  I've decided to groom him myself, rather than leave him with a stranger for four hours in an environment I know nothing about, or even in a mobile van with a groomer who has a tight schedule.  The good thing about his having been shaved is that I've had three months to comb, handle and fuss with him when there were no mats or problems.  He was also a hand-grabber and roller with a curly poodle head. Thanks to weeks of play-grooming and lots of treats, I can now handle his ears and feet and easily comb his body and legs.  I just used some thinning shears on the top of his head as I don't like the poofy look.  Thanks to DK, I now always substitute the word 'comb' for the word 'brush.'  :)  Good luck with your grooming adventures!

[Diane Denney]

@Pat What are thinning shears?  Are they the same as what human thinning shears are with the jaggedy teeth?  Lincoln's poof it sky high.  I did bring him to Petco once, and they were very sweet, but she also was a groomer in training and I don't think she realized how long it actually takes to groom a Doodle.  He is very good for the groomers!!  Why can't he be good for me???  I will keep practicing.  Right now in winter I don't have a doggy dryer or a good sprayer so I'd have to buy these things.  The groomer at Petco shaved him before washing him, and he had all kinds of longer pieces left over that I had to clip myself.  She did her best though.

[Pat and Traveler]

Hi, Diane!  Yes, the thinning shears are human-hair, jaggedy teeth ones.  I got them at a beauty supply store and they were a bit spendy--around $50 or so, if I remember correctly.  I really like them, you can trim just a little or a little more depending on whether you cut once or several times.  I wanted a good quality tool to help make up for my lack of skill, and these shears are great!

It might be a good idea to just try some gentle comb action around his 'trouble' areas without actually pulling any fur, and then doing lots of praise and treats, just trying to get him to associate you, comb and goooood stuff!  It really took a lot of work to get Trav to the point of letting me comb him without reacting by trying to grab my hand or rolling over, or heading for the hills if he saw a grooming thing in my hand. I think I was too impatient and probably too rough way back in the beginning of really trying to groom him, and I've had to gradually work my way back from that.   

 

 

[Diane Denney]

Thanks Pat.  He does the same things to me.  Rolls over, grabs at my hands or the brush...LOL  How clownish they can be :D  I do the treats too, but he is so smart that he even out smarts me with grooming and treats so I got as you say impatient ;(  I'll try again with a calmer and more gentle movements with treats next time.

[Kim]

I took Allie to Petsmart to be groomed once.  They used a furminator on her Poodle hair and told me they had to muzzle her.  I wouldn't have minded the muzzle part until I asked her regular groomer about it and she told me Allie is wonderful to groom and she has never had to muzzle Allie.  She believes they were tugging on her with the furminator.  I will not step foot in Petsmart anymore - let alone have her groomed there.

[Diane Denney]

I understand that some dogs need to be muzzled when groomed, but what worries me is that they have to sweat and breath through their mouths, and I just don't think it's safe.  Muzzling should only be done for short periods of time unless they can open their mouths.  A woman told me once that they broke their toy dogs leg while grooming.  It's not hard to do with the small breeds :(

 

To the others that have had good experiences I'm glad you found qualified groomers at PetSmart, and I'm sure they do exist as I knew one girl as I mentioned earlier who was good, but not one since.

The thing that really gets me is the girl was so rude to me, and I was being so calm.  I even said I was willing to shave him down, and she still went on and on about how this and that he was, and he wasn't.  She just didn't have the time because it was near Christmas.  Not to mention I just lost my dog Scott a few days earlier.  I did tell the store manager btw.  I haven't seen her since.

[Karina]

I understand your frustration. I decided early on to do my own grooming. with trial an error i am getting much better at it. once Rosie was matted to the skin after a week at the beach....that costs me 16 hours of hair cutting....that was the worst. when i started it took me about 6-7 hours and now i am down to 3. having good sharp oiled blades is the key. i have a 5/8, 10, 15, 7 and 4...all are wide professional metal blades. to be honest we are bad at brushing Rosie, so we keep her relatively short and when we get lazy there comes a shave down.

[Diane Denney]

@ Karina...how cute :D

[Diane and Alma]

I actually like the Petsmart groomer we use.  She is friendly and clips Alma just the way we want.  I've been there several times and to other groomers too.  So far, she is my favorite.  You should shop around and find one you like.

[Karan Johnson]

I have taken Nick to Petsmart for years. There is a WONDERFUL groomer there - she does all the doodles in town I think. She knows just how to groom them, and Nick has never had a bad haircut from her. Nick loves going to Doreen, and Doreen raves about Nick.

I don't think it's fair to brand all Petsmarts because of a bad experience with your local store. And Petsmart does sell quality food - I buy Wellness Core there, rated very highly by WDJ; they also carry many other highly-rated foods.

 

And no,LOL, I don't work for Petsmart and I actually prefer shopping locally but I've had bad experiences with the several times I have tried groomers who work on their own. This was Nick after a grooming from a local place that charges a lot and was recommended to me:

So I have learned it's all about the GROOMER, not the store/salon.