don't cut shih tzu puppy hair?

[furrybestjob]

I went to a customers house the other day to do her dalmation. She has a new shih tzu puppy that she brought to a shop because I'm too expensive for her (oh well, you can't win em all). The puppy if 4 months old and she told me that the groomer she brought the puppy to told her that the puppy should not get a hair cut until its undercoat was all in, or the coat could be ruined. I can't imagine someone actually telling her that. Any ideas of what the groomer might have actually told her?

[wet noze]

I went to a customers house the other day to do her dalmation. She has a new shih tzu puppy that she brought to a shop because I'm too expensive for her (oh well, you can't win em all). The puppy if 4 months old and she told me that the groomer she brought the puppy to told her that the puppy should not get a hair cut until its undercoat was all in, or the coat could be ruined. I can't imagine someone actually telling her that. Any ideas of what the groomer might have actually told her?

Hi Furry! (Furry and I met at Intergroom)

I have no idea what this means. Maybe others more experienced then myself might know the answer to this.

I do have one suggestion though....why don't they let you groom the shih.
They can take the dalmation to the "other" groomer. I'm sure you would do a much better job!

[tis]

I went to a customers house the other day to do her dalmation. She has a new shih tzu puppy that she brought to a shop because I'm too expensive for her (oh well, you can't win em all). The puppy if 4 months old and she told me that the groomer she brought the puppy to told her that the puppy should not get a hair cut until its undercoat was all in, or the coat could be ruined. I can't imagine someone actually telling her that. Any ideas of what the groomer might have actually told her?

I have a feeling it was an uneducated groomer. This reminds me of a gal I currently work with. She has a difficult time understanding anything logical but loves to spew recommendations to customers that constantly get her (and the shop) into a lot of trouble.

For example, we have a client who owns a very tiny cute-as-a-button pom who was accidentally shaved at another salon. Poor thing's hair never ever grew back. The uneducated groomer then assumed that this was the case because the previous groomer shaved mats out. From this moment on, uneducated groomer warned every customer of every breed that came in that the hair would not grow back if she shaved out mats. She talked our clients out of services based on one incident that was pretty much breed specific. It was difficult to try to explain to her that different breeds have different kinds of hair... that there is a possibility for a 4 month old pom's coat to be ruined by shaving, but not so much for a shih tzu. I wish I could explain to the customers that she lacks the brain power to be giving out credible advice... unfortunately, that would cost me my job.

[diemonster]

You got me...

Just some hypothesis..

1. Maybe the groomer meant that the coat would look "choppy" like those dropcoats tend to do..

2. Maybe the groomer doesn't like clipping the softer puppy coat

3. Maybe someone thought the coat would grow in like a wire coat, and if you clip a wire coat, it turns soft..

I know these are probably far off the mark, but I'm trying

[furrybestjob]

Oh, some of those I didn't even think of.

As far as grooming the shih tzu, this woman is definitely a "mobile grooming isn't for everyone" person. I charge her $5 less than I do other dogs of the same size and she always has a complaint about how expensive it is. She took the puppy because she was able to pay less than $25.00 (I didn't have the heart to tell her its probably going to be higher than that if the groomer starts doing full haircuts.). The funny thing is, when I heard she was going to get a new puppy I mentioned how high maintenance they were and told her I'd be happy to show her how to do the dogs ears, nails, and how to keep it brushed out correctly....somehow she changed that in her mind, to I'd teach her to groom the dog herself. First of all, I don't feel comfortable "teaching" a non-groomer anything involving shears and clippers, and second of all I kind of don't like the way she always price complains. I told her that my rate was 60 per hour and that it would probably take about 2 1/2 hours to work with her to begin with....$150 was a little steep for her (lol).

[diamienono]

I had a lady call me yesterday to get an appt for her golden. Her last groomer told her that if she shaved her golden it woould get horrible dandruf. What a line of bull.

[milhasavilla]

I'm thinking either a miscommunication or like others mentioned - an uneducated groomer. I give puppy clip discounts too, but a puppy groom only includes a trim/sanitary/bath/nails. I don't give puppies any kind of specific clips - its way too stressful for them and me. Maybe this groomer just didn't want to clip the pup? I'm all for owners grooming their own dogs, but so many only have good intentions and the work rarely gets done. I have a feeling she'll be calling you for grooming in the near future.