# Happi's first hair cut!



## Renee xO (Mar 29, 2006)

Well, i THINK i have made the decision to get happi his first hair cut ( well, not really, i mean, hes had haircuts, but it will be his first haircut since hes been home, with me). I am so nervous, i have heard awful things about the groomers around here ( Boston ). I know someone, whos dog came home with scratches and red spots EVERYWHERE, and a totally horrible haircut that was close to skin bald. I asked a groomer around here if i could wait in the lobby for happi and they aid NO! =( I have to LEAVE and come back in 3 hours. This doesnt sound rite to me. I mean, at least let me wait outside, and they still said NO. I cant be anywhere near the property when i drop him off. He will be so scared. Now, my question is, do your groomer's let you wait there with your chi's? When i asked why i cant wait there and she said "because i dont work that way, so you can take it or leave it" and so i said i will come there. I dont know if i want to, she had a bad attitude and rushed me off the phone. She seemed shady. I dont know if this is how ALL groomers work or not but id like to know from you guys. Are all groomers rude like that? She seemed like she didnt care specifically about Happi and his needs, cause i was telling her i dont want him to be bathed there, that I would do it before i brought him in ( its 3 houses down the street from me ). I tryed calling some other places ( there are 4 places total, local to me ). The other 3 said they are booked for a while, to call and check back next week, another place said i have to call another time, and the last place was a vietnamese lady who didnt understand me. I am just so confused rite now, he needs a haircut, and as im writting this, i am convincing myself more and more NOT to take him to her. I dont know what to do. Should i risk it with this lady who says i cant be near her property and i can get him after 3 hours, or should i wait and see what the other places can do for me? Plus, her price was cheap, only 25.00. Other places said 38 dollars. Do you think theres something up with this place, considering she was rude and had cheap prices? =(
What would you guys do?


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## Sidech (Apr 3, 2006)

I would not take my dog to this person. It seems obvious to me she's only in it for the money. It's a job to her, she doesn't care about the owner or the dog. Follow your instinct, find someone else. I agree it's difficult for a groomer to work on a dog when the owner is around, but she should allow you to wait in a different area, where the dog can't see you. Just my opinion.


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## Krista (Dec 29, 2005)

No, no ... don't take your dog to her. She sounds rude. I wouldn't want to give any person my business if they have such disregard for people they're *hoping* will become customers. If they're rude before you've even bought anything from them, well ... that's just bad. It's also a bad sign that they won't let you wait for him. I mean, what possible reason could there be? Maybe they don't want you to hear him yelping =/ Don't take him there. Trust your instincts, if something feels wrong, something probably is wrong.


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## rach (Jan 12, 2006)

I agree dont take him. look in yellow pages or something i bet there are more, and nicer places. 
I wouldnt let anyone speak to me like that and i certainly wouldnt give them my buisness.


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## holly&peanut (Feb 18, 2006)

if someone can be so rude how do they expect to get customers!! 
i def would'nt go there! :evil:


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## tasel (Dec 2, 2005)

Ehm... are all people in Boston THAT unfriendly?

I mean... first your vet, now your groomer...

I am in London (England) and no one here has ever been that unfriendly!!! I took Toby to the groomer a couple of months back, who is supposed to be the best in London. He was really nice. There was a tiny pet shop outside and I left Toby there as the groomer seemed to really know what he was doing.

He gave Toby (a smoothcoat) a bit of a haircut - like a couple of millimeters - cut his nails, and cleaned up his teeth from all the tartar (he had them bad). I went shopping in the area (very good for shopping), even went to the cinema, and came back to a nice smelling Toby with sparkling teeth (!!!)... and the best thing was: he apparently behaved when the groomers cut his nails. He NEVER normally does, he squeaks and panics at the vets...

Truth behold... we'll be back

Oh, it cost about £35 - around $60...


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## Chica (Nov 21, 2005)

tasel...where in london did you take him? if you dont mind me askin? do you know the name of the place?


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## appleblossom (Mar 10, 2005)

I definatly wouldnt take him there. Are you just having him trimmed? My sister & I used to do her dogs haircuts at home the first one wasnt that great but we got better everytime & we always new that we would never hurt him or do anything to scare him.


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## Gypsy (Feb 13, 2006)

Hmm that doesn't sound right to me. It's pretty bad that you don't seem to have any good groomers around there.. Boston's a pretty big city, have you called all the groomers in the yellow pages? 

:?


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## Gypsy (Feb 13, 2006)

http://www.dewberrys2.com/

This place seems really nice, they're in Boston.


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## Clek1430 (Mar 7, 2006)

What exactly do you mean by grooming? What do you want done to Happi. I own a grooming shop and where we groom there is a big glass window that you can see what is going on in our grooming area. The only thing I ask is to not stand in front of the window the whole time only because when your dog is on the table they will see you and try to hop off the table the whole time to get back to thier owners. I would not take your dog to this groomer. I will be honest I like it much better when the owners drop off the dog and come back later to pick up. In my experience this is easier on the dog, when they know thier owner is right there they act up more. Although we NEVER tell people they can not stay and wait for thier dog after all it's YOUR dog!


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## tasel (Dec 2, 2005)

Chica,

Toby basically got washed, haircut, blowdry, nailcutting, earcleaning and tartar removal...

This was at Pet Pavillion...

PET PAVILLION 
125 CHELSEA FARMERS MARKET 
SYDNEY STREET LONDON 
SW3 6NR

You can just go there, drop your chi off - and go shopping on Kings Road... :lol:

Here's the website:
http://www.petpavilion.co.uk/


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## Bo (Nov 17, 2005)

Do shortcoats need grooming too by a professional? I mean there isn´t much to trim.


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## tasel (Dec 2, 2005)

Not much to trim - just a bit... I think it's for when you want to show your chi, it's good to trim the hair for the limbs to be more visible for a smoothcoat...


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## Renee xO (Mar 29, 2006)

*ugh*

hi guys...
Well, my mother convinced me to GO to the place and check it out and we let them do it. Not the girl "S" who answered the phone, it was another girl with all peircings in her face and baggie pants with zippers and string hanging out of them and tattoos, she wasnt too friendly but maybe its just me cause i talk alot, to everyone. I am everyones friend haha. Anyways.. I just got home with him and they did an AWFUL job, i wanted his hair left alone, just TRIMMED on his bottom part ( the part they call the pants ) and his ears, i wanted left LONG, his tail i wanted LONG..well, as soon as i went to get him, i walked into the back to see what the big secret was over there and it was like a factory, cement floors, uncleanly looking. Happi was SO happi to see me!! They kept calling him, HER and i kept correcting them and i think they purposely put a bright PINK bandana on his neck to aggravate me. When i saw it i go, oh, is this a joak? and she goes, no. and walked away. So i was like umm ok?? Anyways, i just got him with him and layed him on his back to INSPECT haha.. well, i found that she did NOT do it right AT ALL, its CROOKED!!! hes BALDLY SHAVEN and in the middle THERSE A HUGE PATCH OF HAIR JUST HANGING THERE, THATS ABOUT 3 INCHES LONG ( the length it was before he got a trim ). I called and they told me theres nothing they can do now, that i left the shop. I mean, they didnt give me much of an option, they pushed me out after i paid! I dont know, i just dont get it. I paid 30 dollars for somethin I could of done, BETTER! He does smell good, they gave him a bath ( which he just got one a few days ago by me ) i try to bath him once a month, cause hes a long haired chi and they need baths more frequently. They left the GUNK in his eyes, didnt even clean it. i mean seriously. On the phone when i was outside, i verified that it would be 25 dollars.. i get there and she goes oh, by the way its gonna be 30. YA 30 FOR WHAT?? u did HORRIBLE. i wish i saw him, so i could of said that to her. so my dilemma is this, should i go there 2morra ( reguardless of her telling me theres nothing she or i can do now ) and let her KNOW that she lost a customer OR should i just not even go back, and shell know she lost a customer by not even hearing from me again??? I AM NOT going back there reguardless. I wish i listend to my instincts and read these posts BEFORE hand...but, i let her listened to her and said sure, let me give them the benefit of the doubt, maybe she was just having a bad day, ill have someone ELSE do it.. well, i had someone else do it, and that girl ( she had to be about 20 ) was not friendly, i was trying to make conversation with her but she wasnt tryna have it. so i dont know.. guys, i wish i read this before hand. I am just glad he is home, it was a long 30 minutes ( yep, it only took 30 minutes and there were dogs wall to wall ).. They did a rush job on happi and i dont appreciate that. what do u guys suggest i do??? I want to SHOW them how UNSATISFIED i am, yet i dont want to start trouble...


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## Renee xO (Mar 29, 2006)

oh yeah, i almost forgot to answer... yes, there are plenty of other groomers, that are listed as in "boston" but there not truly boston. Dewberry is actually in Roxbury ( i believe ) or maybe dorchetser, and those are about 30 minutes out of BOSTON where i am, i am in ded smack in the center of boston. i never understood why they called mattapan, roslindale, roxbury, dorchester, etc BOSTON..they are NOT boston, they are dorchester, roxbury etc. UGH..anyways, those neighborhoods are not the best parts to be in, lots of murders and crimes, i dont step foot over there. I will stay in BOSTON... real BOSTON..haha, and in BOSTON, theres only 4 or so groomers... so i gut 4 to choose from, well 3 now...


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## ~Jessie~ (Oct 30, 2005)

I would let them know that you are unhappy, especially since you paid $30 for it.


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## Renee xO (Mar 29, 2006)

well i let them know on the phone, and they said theres nothing they can do abot it. should i go IN there and show them? What should i hope to accomplsh by going in there? I dont want them to even TOUCH him, and i dont want my money back.. i do want them to SEE what they did wrong though... do u think its worth it to go there to show them?


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## ~Jessie~ (Oct 30, 2005)

If they are located close to where you live, I would go in and show them how bad of a job they did. If they won't do anything about it, I would tell everyone you know to not go there. A big way that groomers get business is through word of mouth.


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## Krista (Dec 29, 2005)

I would ask to speak to the owner, and tell them how badly you were treated, and poor job that was done. If the owner doesn't care (although most would, especially if a bad name was being put to their business), there's not much you can do, except tell them how disgusted you are with the way they run business, and that you'll be telling people to stay away from them.


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## kitty (Dec 29, 2005)

I dont know if there is a petsmart near you but when I was back in Texas they had a grooming center in the store near us an you could stand there an watch them grooming your dog, the was a big glass window that they worked in front of an any1 in the store could watch! I thought it was great!


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## Clek1430 (Mar 7, 2006)

Could you please show us pictures of what they did to Happi?

Sounds to me like they know they did a crappy job and could careless. I would call and ask to talk to the owner and talk to him/her about it.


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## Alisha (Mar 11, 2005)

I'm a little confuzzled if you know the groomers are horrible in your area & your dog doesn't really need a haircut why do it :? If it aint broke don't fix it sortof thing :wink:


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## tiny- dog- luverr (Oct 28, 2005)

all i can say is that i am sooo glad i dont live on boston. :shock: witha long haired chi if that lady did that to me i would have popped off at her and demand to talk to the owner right there and then and i wouldnt leave until i did. :shock:


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## Bubblymintyaero (Jan 18, 2006)

I guess there are two morals to the story...
1) If you're not sure about a groomer, don't use them, and wait til a reputable groomer has a space in their diary (a dog can cope with having its hair a bit too long for a couple of weeks - he'll just need an extra bath or two, if that - it's not like canids in the wild have a barbers' salon :lol.
2) Always check the dog whilst still inside the groomer's salon, no matter how much they try to push you out; don't hand over money unless you're entirely satisfied. 

A lesson for all of us, I think...

(Although I'm now paranoid Astrid should be trimmed and groomed all the time, but I see no reason why to be honest... Ain't broken, nothing to fix )


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## Renee xO (Mar 29, 2006)

Alisha- he DID need a haircut. 

Ok, here it goes... im taking photos right now and ill post them on here through a link on my photobucket account. ALSO: i didnt KNOW they were horrible around here, as ive said time and time again, ive had happi for ONE month this was his FIRST haircut as hes been home with me. I only knew the lady i spoke to on the phone before i went in, was horrible and wen i went in, i had SOMEONE ELSE do his hair, figuring it would be ok. gave them the benefit of the doubt. and i would tell everyone i know not to go there, except i only know a few people with dogs lol so they wouldnt be loosing much business. I am going to send u all before and after photos of him. Let me know what u think. He was sapose to be SHAVED on his stomach and they took scisccors to him and cut UNEVENLY AND LEFT A BIG PATCH OF HAIR IN THE MIDDLE THATS CROOKED! they will NOT touch him wen i go there today at 9 to show them, i dont want them near him again.

and finally... When i went to go get happi, he was SO excited to see me that he wouldnt stay still, hes a very energetic dog and its hard to keep him still, especially when he first sees u after a lil time away. So, i looked at the top of him and it looked OK, from glancing. i noticed his tail was SHORTER and i didnt want that or his earsr OR his pants ( the back legs ) TOUCHED and she DENYED TOUCHING THEM and i have photos of before his hair cut so im bringin my digital with me ( i dont hav them printed unfortunately ) but my camera has a screen on the back to see the photos. So, i just took happi and left, figuring he was ok. well i should of known it wouldnt been good. when i walked in she was counting her TIPS!!!! thats RUDE!!!
I dont know.. moral of MY story, theres mistakes for a reason, TO LEARN from them. i cant say everyone in boston is horrible until I PERSONALLY myself, go there and experience it first hand, so thats what ill have to do. ansd eventually ill find the rite place. 
On the other hand, happi does smell pretti!!! =) if that counts for anything. im retrning the BRITE PINK bandana she put on him , AFTER i told her TWICE HES a BOY!!! i think she did it to annoy me. i dont know, im getting aggravated talkin about it, let me go take these photos, check back in 15 minutes or so for pictures...


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## Bubblymintyaero (Jan 18, 2006)

Renee xO said:


> im retrning the BRITE PINK bandana she put on him , AFTER i told her TWICE HES a BOY!!! i think she did it to annoy me.


I doubt Happi's bothered by being put in a bright pink bandana  Concentrate on what's important when you talk to the manager - the bad haircut, don't push home the issue of the bandana too much. Personally, I think that yes, the bandana thing was immature, but it's not as though that will have an effect on the way Happi looks for a while. It's only a piece of cloth, afterall, and that's easy to remove, compared to the impossibility of replacing hair.

I _may _be guilty of having put pink clothes on my parents' male puppy, just for the amusement of having him look camp...  :lol:


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## Renee xO (Mar 29, 2006)




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## Renee xO (Mar 29, 2006)

Still long, NOT trimmed or touched









Here you can notice that towards his "AREA" hes got a SQUARE cut out that is HAIRLESS, and up top, its LONG and crooked and up at his neck, where it was sapose to be buzzed, is long, and u can tell they took scissors to it and its uneven









a better view, from where my finger is, under that is a square cut and above it, is a patch of hair thats not even strait









a better view, u can see the patch missing and the patch thats there









an even better view, look at the patch missing and there










his legs









His ears that they CUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 









THE TOP OF HEAD/EARS THEY CUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!









SAME









NOTICVE HIS DIAMOND HEART PENDANT CHAIN =)









HIS TAIL THAT HAS BEEN CUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!









THIS IS A BEFORE OF HIS FACE AND NICE LONG EARS THAT WAS CUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!









HIS TAIL BEFORE IT WAS CUT, LOOK HOW NICE AND LONG IT WAS =( FLUFFY


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## Bubblymintyaero (Jan 18, 2006)

I know it's no consolation, but tail, ear and 'pants' feathering grows back fuller than ever after it's been cut, usually... :?


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## Ory&C (Mar 20, 2005)

What a lovely boy he is!!!  I simply love the way he looks with or without the grooming. I don't understand why he would have to be clipped anyway. A long coat Chihuahua only need a good brushing every now and then and that's it. Oh, of course you have to check if his pants are dirty as well :wink: ..... sometimes you have to wash him lower body as boys tend to pee on themselves :roll: .


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## Alisha (Mar 11, 2005)

I'm completely confused because your other post said you knew that the groomers in your town were awful and I thought that was before you took him :? I wasn't trying to argue with you at all. I have 2 long hairs too see my siggie . Poco has thick long fur & I've never so much as clipped 1 piece of his fur even though my kids have said I should cut off his butt hair they refer to it as a skirt :lol: I just can't & won't do it. I live in Texas it's miserably hot allready and I just can't cut their hair. So maybe that explains why I didn't understand. 1 I've never had my 2 get cuts & 2 I thought you allready had knowledge of the bad groomers in your area.

By the way he's a beautiful boy  :wave:


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## Renee xO (Mar 29, 2006)

well no, if you read my post, i said, that i wished i saw the posts BEFORE i left my house, i had posted a reply and then everyone wrote that i shouldnt take him etc. but i wanted to give the place the benefit of the doubt, and requested a person other than "S" <~ s was the person who answered the phone, and the person i got, was not friendly

Happi needed to get trimmed because when i got him from his breeder, he was fairly skruffy looking and had ALL tangles in his fur on his stomach, so i told them to just buzz it with a # 3, ALL the way from his neck down, because his neck was too long, it was getting in his mouth everytime he looked down and it wasnt too comfortable for him. 

The post that said his ears/ tail grow back faster, isnt that good? i want them to grow back. she made them short, when they shouldnt of even been TOUCHED! his stomach is a disaster area. I was sapose to go there this morning but i decided against it, my mother called there and told them they lost a good customer. 
Happi does need some grooming here and there, some chi's may not need it but happi does, once in a while. its good for him. i like to have his stomach buzzed so it doesnt drag on the ground, it was too long before, it was dragging in the grass when we went to the feild, and on rainy days, he gets soaked, and where summer is comming, i figured it would be cooler for him. So, i dont know, lesson learned. I wont be getting him groomed until the beginning of winter for a nice trim. Im sure by then i will find someone who does good work and is NICE who actually LIKES their job ... 

PS: Thank you for saying happi is cute! =)))))


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## Alisha (Mar 11, 2005)

Maybe you could look around for dogs in your area who have good cuts and ask them where they go.Should be easy to spot dogs with nice haircuts.


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## appleblossom (Mar 10, 2005)

I think that is a great suggestion Alisha it should be easy to find dogs with great haircuts & maybe to also make a new friend for happi.


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## ~Jessie~ (Oct 30, 2005)

He is such a cutie, and he doesn't look bad at all  I have always heard that hair does grow back faster when it is cut... it should grow back longer and thicker than before.

That is horrible that the groomers treated you so poorly.


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## Kari (May 13, 2004)

Good idea Alisha. :wink:


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## Bubblymintyaero (Jan 18, 2006)

Renee xO said:


> The post that said his ears/ tail grow back faster, isnt that good? i want them to grow back. she made them short, when they shouldnt of even been TOUCHED!


Was this in response to...



Bubblymintyaero said:


> I know it's no consolation, but tail, ear and 'pants' feathering grows back fuller than ever after it's been cut, usually... :?


If so, I'm confused. I said nothing about it growing back faster and implying that's not a good thing, but _fuller_ - you say you like him having nice full and fluffy ears, tail and 'pants'? Hence, if they grow back nicer than before I thought it would be some consolation. 

Sorry for my reply - I thought it helpful rather than just one you'd misinterpret (especially after your telling _me_ to read posts more carefully  ) :? :roll:


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## Renee xO (Mar 29, 2006)

thanks for that advice Alisha.. only problem is, i havent met a dog that happi has gotten along with, YET. he freaks out and barks at most dogs! Except at the grooming place, there was a dog rite next to us at the front door, and he didnt even bark! maybe it was cause i was holding him, no.. cause i hold him all the time and he still barks at other dogs.. oh well, i dont know, whatever.. either way, i am going to start looking at dogs, and checking out their hair cuts and well see what results i get!! =) 

Oh yeah and thank you for the compliment ^^ ... that he looks cute with or without the haircut! that put a smile on my face!


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## Blue Velvet Elvis (Dec 23, 2005)

When I had my long coated chi as a child, we never took her to the groomers. I didn't think you were supposed to cut thier hair? :?


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## *Tiffany* (Sep 27, 2005)

i thought their hair kept them cooler...heres a post about good things to do in summer to keep long haired chis cool! 

http://www.chihuahua-people.com/viewtopic.php?t=22942&highlight=summer

:wave:


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## Alisha (Mar 11, 2005)

*Tiffany* said:


> i thought their hair kept them cooler...heres a post about good things to do in summer to keep long haired chis cool!
> 
> http://www.chihuahua-people.com/viewtopic.php?t=22942&highlight=summer
> 
> :wave:


I never leave my dogs out unless I'm where I can here them scratch at the door and believe me Poco scratches like a maniac trying to get in sometimes :roll: I'm sure he thinks he'll miss some food :shock: Piggie boy :lol: 

I live in Texas and it's hot hot hot so they're in most of the time. I honestly thinks is cruel to leave a chi out in the heat here :roll: But I don't think a haircut would make it better I don't have fur and I get hot as he** here :shock:


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## lalaNlucky (Jan 10, 2006)

you shouldnt have let your mom talk you into it, and when you see somebody dressed unprofessional who is NOT friendly, when you are PAYING THEM! leave.


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## Krista (Dec 29, 2005)

*Tiffany* said:


> i thought their hair kept them cooler


That's true, long hair does keep them cooler. Short hair chis are in more danger of overheating than long hair ... although they can both overheat, pretty easily since they're so small. By easily, I mean ... easier than bigger dogs, but not 'easily', per se. 

Babble babble ... I'll stop now ^_^

Maybe you can take him to another groomer to get his hair evened out ... it may be shorter, but it will grow back nicer, and won't look so choppy. Although he's still cute either way.


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## janiebabes (Mar 30, 2004)

I havent read the whole thread but you must also take into consideration there are other dogs there waiting also in crates and you being there can make them start barking and acting wildly and may cause aggressions or anxiety in them. Go to someone with references or reccomended or even have your vet groom them


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