Groomer shaved my dogs

[mstyle00]

Okay so I hope this is the right subreddit

some backstory and context, I have three long haired dogs who are brushed daily by me, my mom and my brother. I know sometimes dogs are shaved because they had matts but none of my dogs did. I went in for a trim, showed them pictures and everything. They took my dogs and said they would call when they would be ready by 5:30-6:00 pm the latest so I waited til 5:44 pm and never received a call.. I figured I’d just give them a call and check up on them as I’m at work and have to ask to leave so I can go pick them up. They told me they were busy and would call when they were ready, I apologized for bothering them and waited a few more hours. It was then 10:00 pm with no call and I was getting worried because the groomers is attached to a vet clinic that closes at 10:00 pm so I drove up there to find out the groomers closed at 6:00pm and left my dogs in kennels with no water or anything. I managed to catch two vets as they were leaving and they let me in to get my dogs and they completely shaved them except for a little bit on their tails. when I went back the next day the manager offered me 3 free baths for the stress..

TLDR: groomers shaved my double coated dogs who are brushed daily and never called for pickup

should find a new groomer? And how can I make sure my dogs coats grow back right? Will it ruin their coats forever? I would greatly appreciate any grooming tips!

EDIT: I posted these in the comments but I think they got lost—
Before groom:

https://imgur.com/a/E8sCgNr

After groom:

https://imgur.com/a/XTImmtf

Snow’s breed report:

https://imgur.com/a/k90vjgf

 

[lily_pilgrim]

@mstyle00 Um… Yes, PLEASE find a new groomer and leave a review. This was actually horrifying to read… I could never imagine leaving someone’s dog behind. I sure as shit would offer more than 3 baths if by some terrible miracle that happened!

Make sure you brush them a lot as it grows back in to make sure no matting occurs

 

[mstyle00]

@lily_pilgrim Got you! I just hope their coats will be okay. They still made me pay for the groom even though my friend was telling me to not pay them.. I didn’t feel comfortable not paying and causing confrontation. Which maybe I should’ve fought on them with that I was just panicking so much and I just wanted to get out of there with my dogs! I’m not sure if I should get the 3 free baths from them or not though

 

[lily_pilgrim]

@mstyle00 Honestly, I don't know enough to give you a definitive answer. Some dogs I've seen that had their coat shaved have managed to bounce back after a few years, some are damaged. Just keep up on the brushing to make sure the undercoat doesn't matt up when it grows back. I'm sure some groomers on here with more experience in the subject will have other ideas for you to help their hair.

I'm really sorry this happened to you... I don't know how they had the gall to even THINK about charging you after all that BS. I would honestly be tempted to do a chargeback but that's just me. They'd ban you but I wouldn't really give a crap about being banned from a shop like that.

 

[mstyle00]

@lily_pilgrim will certain brushes harm their skin? I have a few brushes but I don’t want to use anything too harsh on them or does that not matter?
I’m glad everyone here is so helpful and kind! I was worried this would be the wrong place to post this but I’ve gotten a lot of good advice thank you so much !!

 

[jp175]

@mstyle00 As far as brush type, I’d start with a rubber curry brush to stimulate oil production while they’re shaved short, then as it grows you can start using things like a metal comb with wide and fine teeth, a slicker brush, and an undercoat rake. I wouldn’t use any furminator brush or deshedding tool as these have blades to pull out the undercoat. You can also add fish oil to your dogs’ diet to help healthy hair growth! Watch for patchiness as it grows out — shaving a double coated dog one time shouldn’t cause any lasting issues as long as you maintain the coat after shaving, but if you notice spots that don’t grow back it could be a sign of a thyroid issue. And absolutely find a new groomer — I am so sorry this happened to you and your sweet pups! What a horror story

 

[mstyle00]

@jp175 I don’t think I have one of those but I’ll def see if I can find one in stores and if I can’t I’ll order it online! thank you so much!

 

[lily_pilgrim]

@mstyle00 I would say a slicker brush & a comb would be good for now. Don't go crazy with a slicker brush of course because you can scratch their skin if you brush too hard. The ones without the bubbles on the tips of the pins are more effective. There should be plenty of videos on youtube about technique, look up line brushing.

Don't use a furminator or similar on them. And by comb I mean a plain metal comb, any is fine the brand doesn't really matter.

Their undercoat will be weird and fuzzy for a while & the slicker will do good at pulling that out. Use the comb after you use the slicker to find any knots you might have missed. Slicker & comb is great to use on any long parts they left as well

 

[gd3001]

@mstyle00 If they are healthy their coats will grow back but it may take awhile. The undercoat will come back before the topcoat so just make sure it’s kept brushed out

 

[mstyle00]

@gd3001 Thank you sm!!

 

[mocast83]

@mstyle00 If you paid with a credit card I’d do a charge back.

 

[asainboi247]

@mstyle00 You might have been too nice in paying for a service that was completely wrong. This is probably not the first time they have unacceptable behaviors. Hopefully the vets noticed and will change groomers. In the meantime I would not use their services anymore. Why chance having more bad things happen to your dogs?

If you feel the strength, you could go back during the day, within the witnessing presence of the vets, and ask for a refund. That you don't want these groomers to touch your dogs anymore. That you don't want to submit your dogs to the risk of anything as unprofessional as what happened, you getting no call back and your dogs being left in cages for the night, probably not having been taken outside to eliminate and being left without food or water. That is absolutely unacceptable, unprofessional and unethical.

About the coat growing back. Hair has no nerves, no blood vessels. It comes out of the skin already inert. The only thing that can affect its growth is what happens inside the hair follicles. Just like with human hair. Do you worry that your hair is not going to grow the same after a haircut? It's going to look different but not be different in its nature.

Yes your dogs' hair is going to look different for a long time because all the hairs now have the same length. Until every hair has fallen on its own and is replaced with new hairs at different moments so they will all have different lengths just like before the shave.

Edit: the only thing that could change the texture and growth of hair is if your dogs are young and in the period when they transition from puppy hair to adult hair. Then you'll see a difference in the coat but it would have happened anyway because of the stage of life they're at. It would just seem more sudden or surprising because they would go from no hair to adult hair which often has a larger diameter so it seems coarser. Also food. Nutrition can have a big impact on hair.

 

[jcc19240]

@asainboi247 One of the reasons that double coated dogs don’t grow back properly a lot of the time is because their coats often grow at different rates. The undercoat could grow in faster than the overcoat, making the coat have a completely different appearance.

 

[asainboi247]

@jcc19240 That's a very good explanation! Thank you for explaining it so clearly. I understand correctly, would it mean that the coat would need a lot of time before it got back to its previous condition, until both coats have more or les been replaced with new hair? How long could that take?

I had an English Sheepdog. They have a double coat but they don't shed. So that's a special case I guess. One thing is shure, he needed to have his hair cut short in the summer. Otherwise he couldn't even walk outside.

 

[jcc19240]

@asainboi247 Im a new groomer so I don’t have a whole ton of experience with this yet, but I’ve heard anything from a couple months to a year. It really depends on the dog