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BPO Grooming Forum => Discussions & Information on Grooming => : Berner_Mom November 03, 2008, 03:20:11 AM
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Hello!
Tucker is 8 months old, we started when he was very young (11 weeks or so) taking him to be groomed at our local PetSmart.
We started off SLOWLY, so as to get him used to the environment, used to the girls who worked there, used to being handeled etc...so that he could build confidence and enjoy going for a bath, brush, clip whatever.
It was going great, he'd had 4 visits there (the first one he just hung out for a couple hours, playing with the employees and not actually having any grooming done) and he seemed excited to walk into the PetSmart to go there, everyone loved him, commented on his progress with getting more comfortable with each thing. (First the bath, then the dryer, then the brushing, clipping nails etc..)
Unfortunately, Tucker's 5th visit was a disaster. He was put with a new groomer, who obviously must've been afraid of dogs, and maybe Tucker could sense her uncertainty/nervousness because he did not behave at all.
Now, of course I wasn't there, so I will never know exactly what happened this time, all i know is that when I arrived to pick Tucker up at the appointed time, the employee who did the grooming came racing out of the back room, screaming profanities at me, shouting that my puppy was the "worst behaved dog on the planet", that he was "ferocious, fierce, poorly trained, with serious issues", that I was an "irresponsible pet owner to allow a vicious animal like that around people" and that there was "no way Tucker had ever been there before, he was terrified of everything".
I was completely taken aback, I told her no one else had had such difficulties, perhaps Tucker had a bad day (he was only 6 months old when this incident occured) but that if he was being difficult to handle, why didn't they call me to come get him, and explain that he wouldn't be groomed today?
She said (I will never forget this) "oh no, I wasn't going to let him win. I have my ways" and then they brought Tucker out, who was perfectly groomed. I asked her "what does that mean?" and she said "I wouldn't let him get away with it."
Of course this had me really upset and worried- if he was being so bad and disobedient, how did she get the grooming done? Did she muzzle him? Tie him up? Hit him until he was submissive???
I collected my dog, immediately went home to call/email the head office to express my concern and disappointment/shock at the way it was all handled- and I vowed that Tucker would never be groomed at any PetSmart location again, nor would I shop there for supplies/toys etc...
(Sorry this is so long, I didn't know the whole story would come out of me again once I started typing)
But, now- its 2 months later, and the after effects of this one PetSmart groomer are obvious with Tucker. He is terrified of baths, hides if he hears running water from the tub (not the sink though), doesn't want to have anything to do with the brush, its near impossible to clip his nails now- we are literally starting at square one with him, which is so discouraging after making so much progress before this happened.
So we are wondering- anyone in the Calgary area (preferably the NW) know of a good, patient, understanding groomer/company that may be willing to take on Tucker and help us get him back to how he was before?
Thanks for listening, and thanks in advance for any tips!
Sarah