I'm scared of the groomer!!!!

I made Kingston an appointment with a groomer tomorrow, and I'm SCARED! :shock: They are just going to bathe him, trim the hair between his pads, and clean his ears. I drop him off at 9am and pick him up at 1pm. I don't want to leave him. What's he gonna do for 4 hours? What if they hurt him? Let him fall off a table? Leave him in the dryer too long? Cut a toenail too short?

Okay, I know I'm crazy! They're a reputable place and they require all vaccinations. I called Petsmart and Petco grooming first, but they only ask for rabies shots. Oh the horror!

I have many horror stories about groomers and my experience. I will not share as it will not help BUT........ my advice would be do not leave him, insist that you stay with him. What have they got to hide ? Promise to stay out of their way and don't talk, be willing to get covered in hair but insist.
You have every right to be scared and if most people seen what happens to their dog when thay are not there they would not leave them either.

Sure there are 'bad' grooming businesses... but there are also good ones. If I was a groomer, I'd welcome someone with concerns to look around and talk to other customers... but wouldn't be having people standing over my shoulder. They may not have ANYTHING to hide... but they're WORKING. Anyone that INSISTED would be going someshere else. One man's opinion...

To the OP, I suspect if they actually require proof of rabies shots, most of those dogs will have had the other normal shots as well. For what you're having done, I don't see how PetSmart could mess it up. And you can watch through the window.

KC

I think 4 hours is too long. I agree, insist you stay. If they say no, you can always find somewhere you feel happier with. After all, it does cost a lot of money. There's a small groomer near me and you can see the whole process from the reception. I haven't been myself but I dought they'd ask me to leave. You could do all that stuff yourself though. Wait till Kingston is asleep and do his nails and pads. :flwr:

I agree, four hours is a long time to leave him in unfamiliare surroundings for the sake of what he is having done. If there is no reason you cant do it yourself, for his sake, Id being doing it at home.

If its because he is scared of having his nails done, or hard to handle etc bath him in nice warm water and have him standing in it for 20 minutes or so and massage him. This will relax him, but more importantly it will soften his nails SIGNIFICANTLY and they will be MUCH easier for you to cut, and less pressure he will feel. Also, he will be dreery eyed and a little tired by the time all the massage is finished and your onto his nails.

Kyla

Why not bath him yourself ? I bath all four of mine, trim underpaws and cut nails.

Me too - at the same time. I use human nail clippers to take the tips off the boys nails, that way I know I'm not taking too much off.

molly has been to the groomers and i would drop her of for a few hours there was one time when i picked her up and asked if she could see if her anal glands needed doing and she said they seemed fine but did check them and they were full when she took her back in to the room it sounded like she had plonked her down on to the table and then i heard her cry as she was doing her glands when she had finished molly wouldnt leave me alone she kept jumping up to me to pick her up i did feel uneasy about it she hasnt been back since then that was my second groomer my first cut the end of her tail and all the feather and its never grown back the same since i only asked her to do her coat not her tail....

For the most part I have groomed my 3 cavs myself.

But then I realized I needed some help with Chocolate's coat, which is like a mammoth's. I called her breeder, who also has a grooming business, and we took her there - a 45 minute drive one way, but worth it because we know she loves Chocolate! She made Chocolate look so beautiful that 2 weeks later we took India to her!

I think it's important to find someone who is trustworthy, probably asking friends who own dogs is a good way to start. I would definitely want someone who understands the cavalier coat, and how a cavalier should look (unless you want your cavvie clipped).

My sisters both have lovely "All American" mixed breed dogs, and they are very happy with PetSmart grooming! The first few times they stood outside the window and watched their pups being groomed, and liked what they saw. Since they are now regular customers, their dogs know all the groomers, and the groomers all love their dogs!

I've worked as a groomer for 3 years, it's important I think to go check the place out, see what sort of equipment they use, ask if the dogs are kept in cages or let out to play, meet the person grooming and have a chat, you can usually work out the dog lovers to those who just do it as a job.
There are some dodgy groomers out there but lots of them are dog people,they have there own puppys at home and do the job because they love working with animals.
It takes me 2-2.5 hours to fully clip a cav, trim feet, trim nails, clean ears etc.
I have dogs stay with me all day, mostly they stay for 3-4 hours but that's because i work on my own so i usually do two dogs (clip one then as its being blodryed start another), however if someone wants to get there dog asap we just arrange that, that dog is to be done first and I call them the moment its ready. I have also had people come and stay for the first few grooms so the owners can see what's being done and what the dogs do during the day (which is a dog play session usually around my feet as i try and groom).
For first time grooms I usually have them stay a few hours as I groom them in 10-15min bursts, i find it better to groom them gradually so the experience if fun not scary, this gives them time to get used to the noises in the grooming room, and some play time with the other dogs.
Cav's nails are really really good!!!!! Hardly any cavs seem to have black nails so you can easily see the quick, as for dogs falling off the table, most groomers secure the dog to the table so this can't happen.
If in the end you just can't stand leaving you pup at the groomers i would suggest finding someone who does home grooming, have them come to you so you can be there (only problem is the fur will go everywhere :lol: )
Anyway, don't stress to much!! All groomers arn't scary :lol:

molly+charlies mum said:

molly has been to the groomers and i would drop her of for a few hours there was one time when i picked her up and asked if she could see if her anal glands needed doing and she said they seemed fine but did check them and they were full when she took her back in to the room it sounded like she had plonked her down on to the table and then i heard her cry as she was doing her glands when she had finished molly wouldnt leave me alone she kept jumping up to me to pick her up i did feel uneasy about it she hasnt been back since then that was my second groomer my first cut the end of her tail and all the feather and its never grown back the same since i only asked her to do her coat not her tail....

Click to expand...

I actually refuse to do a/g, I think that procedure should be left up to the vet...

I will not cut Tucker's nails myself. It's enough of a struggle for me to cut my own. I'm at that age where my eyesight is changing and I'm struggling with close work. Also, Tucker does not even like me touching his foot pad at all, when I put Musher's Secret Paw Protection on him, he pulls his paws back. I'm lucky, I found a mobile-grooming business. They come in a van, park in front of my house. He's in and out within an hour. Tucker leaps into their arms (2 sisters that alternate) and happily goes off with them. I've heard from other people that when they bring their animals to be groomed they have to leave them there for around 4 to 5 hours too. I wouldn't like the idea of that either, I'm too much of a worrier.

You guys are too funny. And I thought I was a paranoid mommy!!

My shih tzu Stewie is REALLY high maintanace grooming-wise and is a royal pain in the a$% to work with because he is a silent biter. I tried going to several grooming places and never found ONE that would actually listen to my instructions of how to cut the hair on his head. I would say "I want him to look like a dandilion on top" or "don't cut the hair on his head, I like it long" or "leave it like a clean cut version of his natural growth. LONG!!" I even brought in pictures for gosh sakes!!! Every time I picked him up he would have a buzz cut on top. Puppy cut. What is so hard to understand about that!!

I got so irritated about paying $40-$60 dollars for something I didn't want that I started clipping him myself and it is MUCH easier. I started clipping his nails, then got brave enough to pull the hair out of his ears, but I had to buy a mini muzzle (I told you he was pissy!!).

I have some real horror stories about groomers, I would just learn to do it yourself...Cavaliers are a breeze compared to shih tzus....

I thank my lucky stars we have such a wonderful groomer. She had a Cavalier and just loves Jake and Shelby to pieces. I took them to Petsmart a time or two but didn't like the job they did and heard to many horror stories. Then we found Shauna. I leave the pups with her for 4-5 hours and they do great. She is setting up doggie daycare in the next month or so and we'll definitely use that. I feel completely safe leaving them because I know her personally and they get so excited to go there.

Our groomer keeps the boys all day and we have no problem....she and her husband also have designed the studio around their now 3 year old son and he has his own play room there. I drop them off around 11(early lunch hour) and then pick them up at 5 after work. She explained that her reasoning was that she does the dogs in shifts. All the baths and drying, then the clipping and cutting.

She also asked that we bring our dog in for a 3 hour play session where she could get to know them in between grooming the other dogs. Give them a bath and a little massage with no serious clipping so as to make sure the dog has a good experience and will look forward to coming back. This, of course, was cheaper than a regular session.

The do spend some of their time in crates while she works on other dogs but they are in crates at home so we don't see it has any different and at least there I know that they are safe and walked (leashed) in the studio's side yard, etc.

I do not think that she would really want us to stay because she has to, IMO, establish a relationship with them that would be undermined by mommy's prescence. This isn't to say that the first few times I made sure that my husband or I "accidentally" showed up an hour early and apologetically asked if she minded if we waited while she finished up.

Also, I called twice during Dunc's first session and never heard a dog sound upset or distressed through the phone. Over time I have learned thruogh my own observation and that of my friends who now use her that she really is just in love with all of our dogs and is wonderful to them.

How can you go wrong with a place called Cuddles and Bubbles?

I don't think there is much to 'groom' to a cavalier, at least not much that you can't do yourself! I allways do this myself, I give him a bath every 3 to six months (depends on how smelly he is) en trim the hairs on his feat and legs.

Make sure that the groomer hand dries the dogs.

When Charley first went to a "reputable" groomer, I didn't know that the guy put the dogs in cages with a dryer hood pointed right at them!!!!

After a long search, we found a lady who hand dries the doggies.

It was always a bit of long stay, but we booked the 6:30 am appointment, first in, first out.

Mary Alice has much finer "fur", so we're planning on doing her ourselves.

The vet can do her nails....I don't want to hurt her in any way.

Wow, thanks for all the advice! I did end up taking Kingston to the groomer, and he did fine. The reason I chose this particular groomer is because they've been in existence for over 30 years and are very popular. However, I won't be taking him back there. It was way too impersonal. I walked in with him and was talking to the counter clerk when an employee just unhooked his leash and took him away. I didn't even get to say goodbye!

I always clip Kingston's nails myself. The main reason I wanted him groomed was to get rid of all the long hair growing between his pads. I don't feel comfortable cutting it myself.

And to give Petsmart some credit, at least you can watch your dog the whole time through the window. I might do that next time.

did it change him a lot? Show us some pics!

did it change him a lot? Show us some pics!

Click to expand...

LOL, no. he looks exactly the same!