# Anthology of a groomer...



## plumcrazy (Sep 11, 2009)

I thought I'd share our grooming journey with my Poodle Forum family... As some journeys go - the way isn't always smooth and easy (as I found out following Lucybug's latest groom.) The first time Lucy went to see this groomer it was the middle of February 2010. I specifically explained to the groomer what I wanted in detail. I especially requested that she not do too much to Lucy's head as my hubby and I both LOVE the lion's mane look. Here's how Lucy looked after her first "big girl" hair cut:










Not too bad!!! We were satisfied with the clip and the price ($100 plus tip) and we were on our way to learning what we liked and didn't like in a poodle clip.

Fast forward a few months... I had been doing Lucy's face, feet and fanny, but her clip needed to be fine-tuned as I was careful not to cut too much off of the rosettes and her legs so it really needed to be cleaned up by someone who actually knew what they were doing. This time, the groomer charged $110 because she said it was basically re-setting the whole pattern (no problem to us, but I wondered why it took longer or was more work to clean up a pattern that was already THERE than it did to set a brand new pattern from an extremely full puppy coat three months earlier... but I did not balk for a second at the price... I KNOW this clip is a lot of work no matter what!)

We again discussed the fact that I did not want anything much taken off of her head or ears because I really like banding up her topknot and it was just starting to grow out nicely. She argued with me a little bit about why I wanted to do the banding and she could scissor the topknot into a nice rounded shape that wouldn't need to be banded because she felt banding was so much work for me, but I INSISTED that she not touch the head except to clean up any obvious flyaways or whatever - I did NOT want a pet topknot yet, and I made this clear to the groomer! Here's Lucy's second groom at the end of May 2010:










Loooookin' GOOD!!! The day after this groom, we hopped in the car and traveled 24 hours (not all at once, thank God!!) to visit Lucy's breeder, Arreau, in Ontario Canada. We visited Niagara Falls and Lucy was a show-stopper!! We ended up spending twice the amount of time we planned because of all the people asking us questions about her or asking if they could take her picture!! LOL! I was feeling really good about this groomer because it was obvious that she had some experience and talent (and that's not easy to come by in my neck of the woods!)

Our last visit to this groomer was on June 22nd of this year. Our local kennel club was having a Meet the Breed event on June 24th at a local park and they wanted Lucy to be the Standard Poodle ambassador! I wasn't able to take Lucy to the groomer this time because of work responsibilities, so I had my daughter, Katy, deliver her to the shop.

I had emailed and spoken with the groomer by phone before this particular groom and she knew that Lucy was in the midst of her coat change. I assured her that I was keeping well on top of the mats and she should have no problem getting through her coat (I'd been emailing and phone conversing with Barbara Bird from Chris Christensen to get awesome coat change tips and it was going very well!!) The groomer did state that she felt that she was going to need to take some of Lucy's length off this time because it was getting harder to dry her with the HV dryer as her coat would tangle during that process. I told the groomer that I was OK with her taking off SOME length on her body if she needed to but I did NOT want her long parts clippered - just scissored.

We again discussed her head and I told her I wanted to continue banding it and did not want it short. She said she understood and that she'd be sure I'd still be able to band it when she was finished. My daughter picked Lucy up after the groom and she called me immediately. I thought she was going to say how BEAUTIFUL Lucy was, but she just said, "I'm bringing her to your office!" Ooooh boy... I started regretting that I had given Katy the $110 cash to give to the groomer and that I'd also included a pretty nice tip!!

O.M.G. The groomer put the back part of her head in a pet clip, but left a hank of longer hair in the front to satisfy my desire to band (I think... )Actually, I have NO idea what she was thinking - only that we had told her multiple times to NOT TOUCH THE HEAD!! *I'd also told her on more than one occasion that I was not fond of the scissored definition between the head and the ears *- Both hubby and I are much happier with the way her head looked after groom #1 and groom #2...

So, below is what she looks like now (I was a little embarrassed at the Meet the Breed, but what'd'ya do??) Can any of the groomers here explain what this groomer was shooting for with Lucy's headpiece??? Just wondering...


















Katy said that when she picked Lucy up, the groomer told her, "Your mom doesn't want to deal with all that hair!!!" Uuuuhhh.... YES I DO!!! And I've TOLD HER SO!! Geeeez! The good thing is that Lucy grows coat like crazy! We should be back in business within a few months... I'm just rather disappointed in this particular job...

... to be continued...


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## ArreauStandardPoodle (Sep 1, 2009)

Well, on the bright side, she is gorgeous. And it looks as if she is following in her older siblings footsteps and continuing to darken as she ages, which is awesome.

Personally, I have no idea whatsoever what your groomer was thinking. I have never seen a continental with a head like this. I have seen modifieds and HCC's where the head is all scissored, but not with this definition at the ears, or the distinct line and rounding off at the back of the head. I mean seriously, this is the canine version of a mullet...in reverse. What do they say a mullet is? Office in the front, party in the back. Lucy is show dog in the center front, pet groom on the rest of the head. The least she could have done was blend the back of the head into her neck so there is not the separation between head and body.

I thought with the lousy groomer experiences Trillium and my sister have had here in Ontario that you had struck gold with this woman. I am so sorry this happened. Hopefully when you are able to speak to her and tell her how incredibly disappointed you are, she can do better next time- if you are willing to risk it. I do not understand why, when you made yourself perfectly clear, why she had to monkey with her groom like this. Thankfully, it will grow. And likely within three or four months she will be looking like the Lucy you know she can be.

Hugs to both of you. xoxo


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## Cameo (Feb 5, 2010)

who knows!! the only person that would know that ? is the groomer herself. Did you call and ask her??? 

As a groomer myself, I'd really prefer that an unhappy client call me. It's very disappointing to think that some one is unhappy and won't tell me. Give me a chance to do better or explain my reasoning for doing what I do.

Perhaps this groomer had to much of a challenge with all the hair, but if you ask me, it would have been so much easier just to do what you asked. Maybe she was trying to make some big statement of her skills to build her ego. She DID take too much liberty in doing what SHE wanted to do and for that she was wrong, especially knowing what you wanted. But, I still think you should call her and ask WHY????


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## plumcrazy (Sep 11, 2009)

Don't worry, Cameo - I will be talking with her... this is too small of a town not to! :lol: I really, truly wanted a little bit of time to pass first so that I wasn't "hot" anymore - nothing can be accomplished if I call her when I'm borderline angry... I really don't want to burn any bridges and this woman is notoriously hard to communicate with so I want to choose my words carefully. She will be made aware of what I was happy with and what wasn't so great!


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## *heather* (Jul 30, 2009)

Oh my :jaw: seriously... that's bad! Yes she's gorgeous, but the cut is ... I have no words... the one good thing, like you've said, it's hair, it grows, thank God! 
Have you talked to the groomer since this cut?


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## flyingduster (Sep 6, 2009)

I imagine she was trying to do similar to what i did to Paris in April...?



























it's still banded up infront too, but scissored in a big pet style! lol


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## ArreauStandardPoodle (Sep 1, 2009)

But why on earth would she have such a distinct line around the back of the head, separating the head piece from the neck? If she had blended it nicely like you have I don't think Plum would be quite as ticked. But it is so obviously a separate head from the body. What do you think FD?


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## plumcrazy (Sep 11, 2009)

Yes, Amy, to what Cherie said... Paris' clip is very balanced and flowing, while Lucy's is... well... not... 

A friend said it looked like the hood on an Eskimo parka - smooth and flat in the back, with a tuft of longer hair up in front! :lol: I wonder if she just forgot to finish... the other thing is that the inside of Lucy's ears hadn't been TOUCHED! Katy found a small fragment of cotton ball that had clung inside after her bath and the rest of her ears were still dirty! I never put the two together, but maybe she just "forgot to finish"... ??


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## flyingduster (Sep 6, 2009)

lol well I don't know what went on, but you asked "Can any of the groomers here explain what this groomer was shooting for with Lucy's headpiece???" so thats what my thoughts are! LOL! 

I'd say something went on that she perhaps got flustered when it wasn't working out and didn't get her finished to a good standard? I wouldn't write her off, we do have bad days and yes it shouldn't show in our work but sometimes it does!!!


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## frostfirestandards (Jun 18, 2009)

bad day, flustered or not, I would have killed her. Im not even being funny, She would have had shears in her jugular. 

It will grow, as to what she was thinking I have no idea. I could understand if Lucy was matted, or if it was the groomer's first time doing a CC but, um...She did pretty darn good the first two times. 

you are a bigger person than me, If I had done that to a client dog, I would expect to be given a lecture and a half 

*breathes deeply* 
at least Lucy isnt traumatized, but I would expect at least your next groom to be free, if not a full refund


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## Spencer (Oct 7, 2009)

Oh my gosh, she gave Lucy a Poodle Mullet!

What in the world... at least... it will grow back and Lucy will have her beautiful hair again!


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## ArreauStandardPoodle (Sep 1, 2009)

Personally, I would've thought that if any of the grooms would have been difficult or a disaster waiting to happen, it would have been the first one, where she had all of that puppy coat to deal with, a pattern to set...the whole nine yards. But those first two haircuts were lovely. (The second one looks a bit odd on Lucy's underside, but she had been spayed and tacked, so had a good sized incision and had been shaved for the surgery and the groomer had to try and blend that in). So, it is beyond me how she could do such a fabulous job the first go round, and then do such a dreadful job this time. I know how hard Barb works on keeping her mat free and the products she has spent gobs of money on to help with the coat change, so there were no mats involved. It is beyond me what this gal was thinking.


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## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

I would call the groomer. She did the opposite of what you specifically told her. That looks bad in the front. It "seems" it could still be blended at the neck to head but I would just have the front trimmed to blend with the rest of the head. There is not much else you can do.? 

I like the look the groomer was going for better. Once you grow a top knot too long the head starts to look like a long Charlie's Angels wig.


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## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

ArreauStandardPoodle said:


> Personally, I would've thought that if any of the grooms would have been difficult or a disaster waiting to happen, it would have been the first one, where she had all of that puppy coat to deal with, a pattern to set...the whole nine yards. But those first two haircuts were lovely. (The second one looks a bit odd on Lucy's underside, but she had been spayed and tacked, so had a good sized incision and had been shaved for the surgery and the groomer had to try and blend that in). So, it is beyond me how she could do such a fabulous job the first go round, and then do such a dreadful job this time. .


Exactly


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## Oodlejpoodle's mom (Sep 11, 2009)

Barb, she is still the beautiful Lucy....it will grow back, I know how you must feel though .


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## SnorPuddel (Jul 8, 2010)

Spencer said:


> Oh my gosh, she gave Lucy a Poodle Mullet!
> 
> What in the world... at least... it will grow back and Lucy will have her beautiful hair again!


Poodle :mullet: - too funny


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## spoospirit (Mar 10, 2009)

_She is still a gorgeous red head. But, man:scared: I've never seen a top like that before. Thank goodness the hair grows back! It sort of reminds of the wind shear our guys get when they stick their heads out of the car widow at 60 mph. Deep Breath!_


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

At least you still have the hair in the front and don't have to go through the awkward inbetween phase =/ but I would be pissed. And continue to be pissed.


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## plumcrazy (Sep 11, 2009)

Thanks for the commisseration, guys!  I have not yet spoken to the groomer, but I shall... 

LMAO Olie!! I grew up in the 80's so the "Hair Bands" were big (and I LOVED Charlie's Angels, too!) I know I still like the big shaggy head look the best! Maybe someday if we put her into a Miami or something like that, we could go for a more sculpted head, but I don't like it with this clip and I didn't want it yet! 

We'll get through this - it's only hair! :lol:


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## Keithsomething (Oct 31, 2009)

She still gorgeous, but I think the problem I'd have had the most trouble getting over if I were you is the fact that she told your daughter that you didn't need to deal with all that hair... so even if she were having a bad day, or just miffed something up she should have said that instead of saying it was best

AND...I knew what I was thinking >.> I got one for Christmas this year and I love it! Maybe Lucy felt like she needed to embrace her inner indie kid circa Catcher in the Rye?


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## ArreauStandardPoodle (Sep 1, 2009)

Keithsomething said:


> She still gorgeous, but I think the problem I'd have had the most trouble getting over if I were you is the fact that she told your daughter that you didn't need to deal with all that hair... so even if she were having a bad day, or just miffed something up she should have said that instead of saying it was best
> 
> AND...I knew what I was thinking >.> I got one for Christmas this year and I love it! Maybe Lucy felt like she needed to embrace her inner indie kid circa Catcher in the Rye?


That is a riot Keith!! Trillium said the same thing on the phone!LOL!!!!


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## bura4 (Jul 25, 2010)

OMG, what a topknot  I once took Igor to a groomer, explained he just needed to have the ends of hair cut on his legs and when he came back... he looked like a Black Russian Terrier.... Almost all neck hair gone!!! After that I bought my own scissors... hwell:


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## Trillium (Sep 1, 2009)

Keithsomething said:


> She still gorgeous, but I think the problem I'd have had the most trouble getting over if I were you is the fact that she told your daughter that you didn't need to deal with all that hair... so even if she were having a bad day, or just miffed something up she should have said that instead of saying it was best
> 
> AND...I knew what I was thinking >.> I got one for Christmas this year and I love it! Maybe Lucy felt like she needed to embrace her inner indie kid circa Catcher in the Rye?


Yep I think that is what her top knot looks like too. 

I can't blame you for being upset. Been there done that trust me the last time we took Betty Jo and Jenny to a groomer around here they looked much worse. 

Thank heavens hair grows quickly.


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## amerique2 (Jun 21, 2009)

I feel your pain, PC! The embarrassment of having your beautiful Lucy be out in public with that head profile! And especially when you were getting ready for a Meet the Breed event. Don't wait too long to talk to your groomer about it. I'd show her your photos and let her know exactly what you didn't like about it (even though you had given her specific instructions about what you wanted). Reminds me of some of the times I have had my hair cut--whoa, what was she thinking??!

But Lucy is still gorgeous Lucy and this too shall pass.


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## katsdogworld (Jan 24, 2009)

OK, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that I don't think the second trim is that great either. It doesn't look like the groomer really understands the Continental. Im not claiming to be the best at this myself, but I have been studying, and she's made some key errors in proportions. Perhaps you can find a better groomer? Be prepared to pay, perhaps even as much as $150, but there are great groomers out there!


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## plumcrazy (Sep 11, 2009)

katsdogworld said:


> Perhaps you can find a better groomer?


I wish... and I'm trying... but there are not a lot of great groomers in our largely agricultural state - and even fewer groomers who understand poodles... I'm not looking for a perfect continental. Lucy is a pet after all and will not be going before a conformation judge, but I KNOW that her head looked wacky after her last groom. I don't care if I have to pay $200 if I can find a groomer who is communicative and who will listen to my instructions. If a groomer feels my instructions aren't for the best of the groom, then I'd hope she'd communicate that to me and not just surprise me with something I'd specifically requested NOT happen...

We're on a journey; Lucy, her dad and I... and we'll keep moving forward until we get to where we're headed. We have a lead on a supposedly good groomer in West Fargo (about 2.5 hours from Bismarck) and we may check out that option if we can't find anyone better than we've used so far...

I'm so glad hair grows!


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## KalaMama (Nov 20, 2009)

plumcrazy said:


> I wish... and I'm trying... but there are not a lot of great groomers in our largely agricultural state - and even fewer groomers who understand poodles... I'm not looking for a perfect continental. Lucy is a pet after all and will not be going before a conformation judge, but I KNOW that her head looked wacky after her last groom. I don't care if I have to pay $200 if I can find a groomer who is communicative and who will listen to my instructions. If a groomer feels my instructions aren't for the best of the groom, then I'd hope she'd communicate that to me and not just surprise me with something I'd specifically requested NOT happen...
> 
> We're on a journey; Lucy, her dad and I... and we'll keep moving forward until we get to where we're headed. We have a lead on a supposedly good groomer in West Fargo (about 2.5 hours from Bismarck) and we may check out that option if we can't find anyone better than we've used so far...
> 
> I'm so glad hair grows!


I think you should try it   For what you pay a month in grooming, you could have all the supplies in a few months. It is pretty fun too. I take my laptop with a photo of whatever dog or trim I am attempting and put it on a stool next to the grooming table and hack away.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I agree with KalaMama. My grooming is far from perfect, but with the tips I have picked up on PF, and the book reccommended, it has improved 100% over the last couple of attempts. You save not only the cost of the grooming, but also the time and money spent on travelling, if you get it wrong you don't need to get angry with anyone (not even yourself, as it has been a "useful learning experience!) - which a huge saving in mental energy and stress, and hair grows, so even if it is an imperfect cut, it is not permanent. If you are uncomfortable with trimming nails and expressing anal glands you can ask your vet or a local groomer to do these, or manage them with plenty of roadwork and a few bones!


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## *heather* (Jul 30, 2009)

is there an update here yet? have you talked to this groomer? did you find out what happened?


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## plumcrazy (Sep 11, 2009)

*heather* said:


> is there an update here yet? have you talked to this groomer? did you find out what happened?


I haven't spoken with her yet, but I promise that I will... I've been so busy at work lately and this woman lives west of the town that is west of my town, so it's not like I can just pop Lucy in for a quick re-do - it takes some schedule juggling to get her there and pick her up. I know the groomer would blend Lucy's head if I asked her to, my problem is that I don't want to just turn her over to the groomer without some pretty specific discussion, or I might end up with a poodle mohawk!

I've considered tackling all of Lucy's grooming, but I've not scissored very much (and when I HAVE scissored, I practiced on MEAU, and just on her topknot!! :lol and I know I need a lot more practice before I'd be able to do a whole body and make it look good. I have good quality equipment (Chris Christensen shears - curved and straight) I just don't know how to use all of it yet! 

Until I am able to speak to the groomer and/or find someone else, we're just letting her grow for now. We don't have any upcoming events planned where she'd need to be freshly clipped, so we have time to make a strategy! I'll let you know how it goes!


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## neVar (Dec 25, 2009)

call the groomer. Letting it go more then a day or two is not good... the groomer needs to know your not happy- so she can continue to improve as a groomer = in her communication skills at the least.


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## *heather* (Jul 30, 2009)

neVar said:


> call the groomer. Letting it go more then a day or two is not good... the groomer needs to know your not happy- so she can continue to improve as a groomer = in her communication skills at the least.


I agree 100%.


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## Winnow (Jan 2, 2010)

plumcrazy said:


> The groomer did state that she felt that she was going to need to take some of Lucy's length off this time because it was getting harder to dry her with the HV dryer as her coat would tangle during that process.


Sorry but this is not true !
She is just making up excuses because she does not want to do the long coat


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