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an idiot groomer shaved my cavalier's entire body!

Caroline Pover-Foulkes

Caroline Pover-Foulkes

New member
I collected my beautiful, fluffy, tri-colour Tommy from the groomer's at the vet after asking for a little trim and leaving written instructions on specifics, to find him completely shaved! I can't believe it — he looks like those dreadful rat dogs. All the beautiful fur hanging down from his back legs gone, and pink skin left in its place. His curly chest is now triangles of bare skin left with odd markings where the clippers were used unevenly. He looks half the size of our other cavalier, who was not groomed because she's just had surgery. I can't believe it.

Will his fur ever grow back the same as before? How long will it take?

Caroline
 
How awful for you!! I would be angry, as well. What did the groomer say when you picked your pup up? Did you speak to an owner/manager? I am sure it will grow back just fine, but will probably take months. My parents Cavalier had to have an area shaved in March due to an abcess and its about 1/2 of the way grown back.
 
I could hardly speak. I was actually trying not to cry — I know it sounds silly but I was in such shock — he looks like a totally different dog. The vet could see I was upset so they didn't charge me, then tried to cover it up by telling me that my husband told them to shave him.
 
I think I'd have been crying -- that doesn't sound silly at all! And even if your husband had somehow said to shave him, how that meant with chunks of pink skin showing though would be beyond me! :eek:

Don't worry, it will come back in fairly quickly to where he won't look so bare. It really depends on how fast his coat grows and if he had a heavy coat to begin with. I've seen some cavaliers go from shaved to fully coated within a summer. I'd say it will be a month or two before he doesn't look totally shaved... but it should all gradually come back.

My Jaspar, who is a blenheim with a fairly light coat, had his leg fully shaved for surgery in February. It now looks pretty normal, enough so that I can't tell which foot had the surgery by looking.

I think it is better to opt for no trimming at all unless you have a very reliable groomer that you know can be trusted.
 
I dont understand why so many groomers want to shave/cut Cavaliers even with explicit instructions!?! It seems like we have heard so many stories similar to this where feathers, slippers, etc were cut-- even when the owners said they didnt want that.

My mom just made an appt for Bentley to be groomed and I wrote a list out for her to take as to what to have done. Sometimes I think the groomers think Im cuckoo when I bring a list of instructions or repeatedly tell them what I want done! :)

I dont blame you for being upset!
 
This happened to a lady on my son's paper round, a few years back. When Paul's loads were heavy, I sometimes helped him out, by transporting some papers and so got to know some of his customers. One day I saw this customer's mother, who looked after her cavalier, with what looked like a tan and white jrt. I mentione this to Paul, who explained that poor Percy had been left at the groomers' reception for his 'usual', but they had a new member of staff...The poor lad didn't even walk like a cavalier. No point when you don't have that lovely plume to wag.

He did grow back to normal, as did Teddy, who was nearly bald on his chest and underparts, due to his allergy, but now has a lovely full coat, with no skin showing.
 
I would have cried too!! I can't believe you left explicit instructions...and it sounds like they just completely ignored everything you said. One piece of relief....it's not permanent. Tommy's coat will come back, it'll just take a while. Both of mine have had areas shaved for surgery and you would never know it, the hair came back so nicely.
 
I'm so sorry -- I would have been bawling! That's a nightmare! What in the world were they thinking?! This is exactly why I have only taken Daisy to a groomer once and I spoke to the woman who was going to be grooming her in person with very explicit instructions. And I still fretted about it till I picked her up. But it sounds like you did the same thing and still ended up with a shaved dog.

Well, at least he'll be cool this summer, right?
 
I think I would have fainted. I hope his hair grows back quickly. I too wonder why people want to shave our dogs.
 
The weird thing to me is -- you'd at least think such people would think, well, it is a small spaniel and therefore I will shave it like a cocker spaniel, the closest breed in size -- eg leaving side hair, feathers and tail and ears!! I just cannot imagine looking at the lovely long coat of a cavalier and thinking, this breed should be shaved like a jrt or a staffie. It is just incomprehensible.
 
The nerve of that groomer!! You're right... he's an idiot. Someone should come in & shave up the groomer... let him see how it feels. :mad:

The good news is that your dog is healthy, and the fur will grow back. So I'd try to focus on that. :)
 
I do feel for you particularly if you wanted to leave some of the cavalier specific coat characteristics. However if your tri is anything like ours it seems to take no time at all to grow back! barney has had a few short back and sides and whilst he looks like a little jack russell for a short time within a few weeks his coat is growing curly again!
 
I would be so angry!!!!!!
I have heard the fur can get curly after it have been shaved.
I use a king coat for my oldest cav., it is ery easy use.
 
Thanks so much for all your kind replies! I've just woken up (I'm in Japan) to all these lovely supportive messages, and encouragement that it WILL grow back, so thank you very, very much!

The stupid thing is, the one instruction they did follow was not to touch his tail. He has about a 30cm long plume that looks like that white fur on the top of the Queen's Guards' hats, and I never let anybody even trim it. So he is wandering about practically bald, except for his tail. We're nowhere near the stage to laugh at how ridiculous he looks though because we miss our ball of fluff too much. But he is happy and healthy, and I know that is what really matters.
 
Make sure you protect your cavalier from getting a sunburn, since he has no coat to protect his skin - try to keep him in the shade or indoors as much as possible until some hair grows back. His hair will grow back naturally again - my dog had her entire hind leg shaved and part of her back, when she had knee surgery, and it all grew back completely within a year or so.

That is really disgusting that someone who calls himself a groomer would do such a thing! :mad: I would try to collect for damages!
 
Idiot groomers like that, that make my life hell. Seriously, I'm a groomer and because some groomers do stuff like that owners automatically think its ok to be rude to you etc. Please remember not all groomers are bad! Make sure when your having your dog groomed you always speak to the person who is doing it. Having an nice chit chat with them allows you to assess if they are the right person and if they know what they are doing. Any good groomer knows cavaliers are not traditionally a dog that is clipped and should double...triple check if they are unsure of anything. I've learnt to not take being treated rudely personally and let my work speak for itself.
Its a real shame you've had such a horrible experience, hopefully in the future you'll find someone who you can trust and will groom your doggies right!
 
If his tail is all there, I'd be so grateful for that mercy! The rest of the coat will be in enough before too long to make him look good again and having a full tail will help. I am sure you will be laughing before long -- and please post a picture! :)

A good groomer is worth their weight in dog toys!! :D

PS -- I Japan I know they love dog clothes -- maybe get him in a t-shirt for sun protection and to disguise the bad trimming job for a little while?
 
One year ago this week my tri was shaved down at the groomer that I'd been to a couple of times before with no problems. He hasn't been to a groomer since and his hair is touching the ground. I do what I can but I really need to find a good groomer. I'm still having trust issues after a year. I feel your pain.:(
 
Funny (related) story. I used to take my 3 Cavaliers to the same groomer for years. One day my mom was going to take hers. His belly was really matted so I told her to have them shave the belly if it was too matted to fix.

I went to collect the dog and he was COMPLETELY SHAVED.

The groomer said my mom said to shave the dog. This was possible since mom was a little oxygen deprived, LOL.

The bottom line? The dog, Timmy, was THRILLED. He was so happy to have all that long hair gone for the summer heat. It was really funny. You're right he did look like a rat (they even shaved his tail), but it grew back.

And it made for a great story.
 
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