Charlie has been shaved

Charlie, Tess's friend who lives a few doors down from us has been totally shaved ! An uncle of the family claimed to be a dog groomer, but has mutilated this dog beyond belief. He has shaved even the scraggy hair underneath his legs !. The owners ar distraught. Poor Charlie is shivering all the time and seems to has sprained his back right leg. I am guessing where he put up a fight..I am totally appauled at this. Mum to Charlie keeps crying all the time. Charlie is not allowed out during the day, as the owners are so ashamed...awful...just awful..I will try and get a pic for you today. This lovely Black & Tan Cavalier looks like one of those Mexican fashion dogs !

Aww poor Charlie. It is Summer over there and he will grow his coat back! But still it's not nice for Charlie or his owners. I used to clip my last dog because I used to worry about the heat. I decided I wasn't going to do these two and keep their coats. As I was told it is a natural air-condition believe it or not.

It won't make them feel any better but this is a very common occurence with (so called!!) *professionals* as well. Go thru the archives and there are so many posts from people who have had this happen at groomers! It is extraordinary how few groomers know how to groom a cavalier -- most -- and I do mean MOST -- shave them so they look like fat jack russells without ever discussing this with owners that rightly end up very distraught and furious.

I can understand how a groomer in a country that has few cavaliers, like the US, *might* not know how to do a cavalier (which is supposed to be no trimming whatsoever except undersides of feet and anything else should be carefully cleared with the owner in advance!!!), but I cannot see how anyone running a salon an calling themselves a professional groomer in the UK or Ireland could possibly be this stupid and uneducated about the single most popular toy breed in those countries where there are thousands and thousands of cavaliers.

Fortunately the coat will gradually grow back in.

If an actual salon did this I would be threatening small claims court and would at least want a full refund and would give them a piece of my mind about their total lack of professionalism.

On the sore leg -- I think they should check this with a vet -- it is probably unlikely to have happened during grooming. If this is a young dog it could be luxating patella but there are also many other things that should be looked into if it doesn't immediately go away.

PS If he's is shivering I'd put Charlie into a dog t-shirt and/or doggie sweaters til he has some hair again!

Ohhh poor Charlie :cry*ing:

I can't still believe it was a family member who have shaved him. Or it maybe an ex. family member now ?

As he got older, come summer I used to get my old dog Toby (the barking dog my avatar) a close cut and it worked wonders brightening him up, it brought a spring into his step, you could really see the difference and I had no reservations about his comfort verses his appearance.
I could see where in bright sunshine longer hair may protect but in the UK how often do we get that.
May I add Toby was neutered and had a very thick woolly coat, Ben who I have now is intact and has a thinner silky coat, I decided last year to only trim his feathering but still have to make the decision this year.

Any ideas how long the coat will take to grow back?

Oh poor wee thing.

A word of warning after Murphy was shaved by a so called "professional", his coat changed forever. It's now very fluffy and wavy, it knots with the wind blowing through it, or at least that's what it feels like, it tangles so easily now.

I can't remember how long it took to grow back I'm afraid, he had no tail or leg feathers god love him, luckily it was summer at the time

We now get him groomed very regularly, because if his coat gets too long he needs the tangles brushed out after every walk, which he hates. He's actually in at the groomers now with his sis, they are getting a haircut in time for their holidays next month

The owners of Charlie have agreed for me to take some pics in an hour or so.

Hi Robbie

Its horrible when this happens and unfortunately a lot of us have suffered .Agree what Karlin said keep him warm and be careful next time ,it took me ages to find my groomers and she is not cheap but she is good .Charlie should be back to normal in 3/4 months and at least its happened now and not in Dec when we had minus 10 .

robbieswan said:

Charlie, Tess's friend who lives a few doors down from us has been totally shaved ! An uncle of the family claimed to be a dog groomer, but has mutilated this dog beyond belief. He has shaved even the scraggy hair underneath his legs !. The owners ar distraught. Poor Charlie is shivering all the time and seems to has sprained his back right leg. I am guessing where he put up a fight..I am totally appauled at this. Mum to Charlie keeps crying all the time. Charlie is not allowed out during the day, as the owners are so ashamed...awful...just awful..I will try and get a pic for you today. This lovely Black & Tan Cavalier looks like one of those Mexican fashion dogs !

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Oh no! Luka and Altas get haircuts, but they aren't "shaved". The hair will grow back! I cut their hair myself though because I don't trust other people.

None of my dogs has ever been shaved, but when Riley had her decompression surgery for SM, they shaved her head and part of her ears. She looked like a half-shorn lamb. Her surgery was in the beginning of June and by August you couldnt see her bare scalp or her stitches anymore, so it does grow back pretty quickly - not to a full coat, but at least he'll look better by the end of the summer - and who knows, if it's a hot summer, maybe he'll feel cooler!

This is Luka with a haircut



I think he looks handsome. We don't keep our dogs hair long because we hike all the time and mud clumps are not fun for any of us. In the winter they have sweaters. They have never been distressed during hair cuts.

goda said:

This is Luka with a haircut

I think he looks handsome. We don't keep our dogs hair long because we hike all the time and mud clumps are not fun for any of us. In the winter they have sweaters. They have never been distressed during hair cuts.

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We do the same with Clancy. He's getting his summer shave on Wednesday.

I suppose really, it's boils down to what you and the dog is used to
Personally I prefer a longer coat, but the boys can get a bit smelly, especially in the tummy area, if you know what I mean!

Charlifarley said:

I suppose really, it's boils down to what you and the dog is used to
Personally I prefer a longer coat, but the boys can get a bit smelly, especially in the tummy area, if you know what I mean!

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True and to be fair I cut their hair myself.

The owners of Charlie were too embarrased to bring him round to have his picture taken..They are distraught !

robbieswan said:

The owners of Charlie were too embarrased to bring him round to have his picture taken..They are distraught !

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Oh for the love of I don't know what, it's hair it grows back! It's not the end of the world. I understand some shock but not leaving the house is just insanity.

Personally, I think a really shaved Cavalier looks more like some sort of terrier - not like a Cavalier at all. But each to their own taste!

Kate, Oliver and Aled (who also hike in the countryside, but perhaps Seattle is muddier than England!)

When Bubbles came into rescue she had to be completely shaved and I think someone on the forum described her as looking like a little "potbelly pig"! She wore a coat to keep her warm and her fur grew back after a few weeks. I do hope Charlie's leg is ok and I realise they are in shock but surely keeping him inside is a little bit OTT? Surely we all love our dogs no matter what they look like.

Luca is very striking! Thank you for sharing your photo. I've been so curious about the results of a shaved grooming. My husband would be hard to convince, but deer ticks are impossible to spot on a tri.