Q: why was my fluffy dog given a buzz cut?

[redruthie7889]

Q to the professional groomers: took my fluffy bernedoodle to a new groomer, and asked for 4 on the body & 5 on the legs. I brush him at least every other day & always VERY thoroughly before the appt, so knots are minimal. (Previous groomers have commented on how well he's brushed!). I picked him up and he had an ugly buzz cut! Any ideas on reasons why the groomer ignored my specific instructions and gone as short as possible??

UPDATE: Thank you everyone for your comments!! Based on everyone's feedback, I realized it turns out that I actually got exactly what I asked for: the numbers I had written down from a previous groomer (who had done a great job!), were numbers that they "translated" to human clipper lengths so that I would "understand" (even though I don't even know what human clipper lengths are either). I don't think they expected me to turn around and repeat those exact numbers to another groomer (I am out of town and needed another groomer). So this was a classic case of "lost in translation." Fortunately, my dog's hair will grow back, so it's not the end of the world. And lesson learned!
Thanks again everyone!

 

[anton_james]

@redruthie7889 A 4 on the body and 5 on the legs is a weird request. Normally I would never take the legs shorter than the body because it just doesn’t look good. Obviously if a customer explicitly asked for it I would do it but it’s possible the groomer just took the 5 all over everything to make it even?

 

[jembang]

@redruthie7889 a 4 and 5 are about 1/4 inch which i consider a shave/buzzcut. did you get your numbers mixed up?

 

[labanswe]

@redruthie7889 Were you possibly referring to the lengths that are used on human hair trimmers?

 

[mirele]

@redruthie7889 you asked for human hair clipper sizes which are NOT the same as dog grooming clipper sizes. next time ask for a 1cc on the body and occ on legs. not anyones fault, if i had a customer ask me to do a 4 and 5 id also do a buzz cut lol

 

[weepingwillow422]

@redruthie7889 4 on the body and 5 on the legs IS a buzz cut!!!!

 

[jmcd]

@redruthie7889 4 on the body and 5 on the legs is pretty short, especially on a fluffy dog. Do you have a photo of the buzz cut?

 

[kate22]

@jmcd A photo would be awesome ! I’m thinking op maybe got the numbers confused ? Or considers a 4 a buzzcut

 

[baotoan]

@redruthie7889 Ask the groomer. Either he was matted, which the groomer should have said something and received permission, or they just decided to ignore you. Can we see photos? A 4 on the body is about a 1/4in, I’ve had owners decide that’s a buzz cut. Did they do a 4g instead of a 4 blade? Also why a 4 on body and 5 on legs, that makes the dog look fatter in the body with scrawny legs since a 4 is longer than a 5. I’d recommend to reverse those, looks better.

 

[godissovereign]

@redruthie7889 4 is 3/8ths of an inch (well, I use a comb). It’s quite short- 5 is even shorter, 1/4 of an inch. It sounds like you got what you asked for, but didn’t quite know what you were telling them to do.

 

[josh0302]

@redruthie7889 "Brushing" has always been a misnomer. You have to comb, down to the skin, all over the entire dog, legs, tail, ears, head, armpits, and especially any areas covered by a collar or harness. Certainly brush first, then check your work with a comb. Brushes slide right over tangles and mats. Ask your groomer why the short clip, they are more than happy to show owners any matted, 'pelted' hair that they were forced to clip.

 

[dawsonwilson]

@redruthie7889 I would always ask for the inch length that was done. I never go by the comb nickname. It’s too confusing all around. Probably 1/2” body and a 3/4” legs or a 1” legs

Hair grows back which is good. Good luck for future grooms

 

[maebee_so]

@redruthie7889 I think you didn’t know what you were asking for honestly. A 4x5 is pretty darn short, but it should have been the other way around (5body,4legs). Hey it’s just hair, it will grow back, and you will be more informed next time!

 

[forwardslider]

@redruthie7889 Are you UK based ? I know that in the UK our comb attachments are labeled 1-8 as well as in mm and inches.

But not every groomer uses the numbers and will use the mm/inches or even the colours because of situations like this because we also have short blades that are labeled 3,4,5,7 etc

The groomer should have double checked and sounds like a misunderstanding when you said 4 body 5 legs. For me I would have thought oh you want 13mm (4 comb) on the body and 16mm(5comb) legs because 4f body ,5f legs is short and I don't often get requests for shorter legs.

The good news is it's hair and it will grow so don't panic .

 

[redruthie7889]

Hmm... the numbers I asked for is what a previous groomer told me they did? I wrote it down in my notes because I loved how he looked. I wonder if they were "translating" to human clipper lengths so that I would "understand," but I don't even know what human clipper lengths are either and I just wrote down the numbers they said. (I am out of town for a number of weeks so that's why I didn't go to that groomer this time, even though I love how they normally cut him).

 

[redruthie7889]

@jkohlmeier Yes, the slightly fluffier legs is what I thought I was asking for! Based on everyone's comments (and the fact that there was no matting, because I am VERY thorough, and past groomers have told me how well-brushed he is and how they're used to getting matted and knotted fluffy dogs), it sounds like I, unknowingly, got exactly what I asked for.