We’ve had some serious groomer drama and I’d love your thoughts

[rhoda]

ETA: thank you all for the input. ‘Watching’ Christmas movies for the millionth time with the kids, and here I am pestering all of you, so yes, thank you. Have a wonderful Christmas/holiday everyone!

I have a 6yo, 180 pound purebred Newf with a full beautiful coat. I depend heavily on my groomer - knew I would have to from the beginning. We have been spoiled by a wonderful woman who would sit on the floor with him for hours and did a fabulous job. After panicking thru shut downs during covid, I knew I was in for some stress when Groomer 1 shut down her shop in September due to family circumstances.

It took me two months to find someone else within an hour’s drive to take him on. Was excited when I found Groomer 2. She answered my questions confidently. I explained he has no knees, can’t/won’t stand for more than a minute, and cannot be put on a table. She assured me they had a belly band to help him stand, they would give him breaks, and they have lots of experience with these big guys.

What a disaster. They called me to pick him up three hours later. I had to get someone to help me lift him in the car and he was obviously distressed. By the time I got him home, he was panting so hard his tongue was purple. And he couldn’t stand up.

Now I was home and couldn’t get back in the car to get to a vet. Overnight, he calmed down, but he ended up a week in a harness - 3 days he couldn’t stand at all to eat or toilet, another 4 days before he could lift his back end to stand on his own. I was terrified.

Complaining about this experience in a neighbourhood group, I was dm’d by Groomer 3. She’s young, new, tiny, but offered to bring him in for a meet’n’greet to talk.

She was great. She got him to stop shaking and panting within about 20 minutes. Explained a belly belt isn’t to hold him up but to prevent him from sitting. And he would have been standing on a table for it. Maybe 6” up, but he would have been panicking the whole time. Two hours later, I thought I was going to cry with relief. She’d brushed him out while we sat on the floor with him.

We returned yesterday for a full bath, brush, and trim.

Same day got a text from Groomer 1 who finally has a new shop up and running.

Now, I’m torn between 1 and 3. 1 is wonderful, takes a LOT longer (keeps him for an 8hr day with lots of breaks), and does a perfect Newf cut. Costs me $300/month.

3 is great, closer, not as polished, faster(4 hrs), and babies him just as well. Works out to $220./mo

I’ve ghosted 2. But I’m wondering if I shouldn’t call her and tell her why. $385 for the WORST grooming experience of our lives.

Thoughts?

 

[chaz1268]

@rhoda I think choosing the right groomer is just going to come down to personal preference because it sounds like they both do a great job of taking care of your dog.

As for the stylist you had a bad experience with, I don’t think a phone conversation is out of the question. She should know that what she did was wrong. You made your expectations clear from the beginning and she should have turned you down if she was unable to meet them. I never groom dogs on the floor (it’s extremely hard on our back and knees and has the potential to be dangerous because we have less control over the dog) and I’ve turned down potential clients because of it. She should have done the same.

 

[rhoda]

@chaz1268 Good to know. I’ve been on the floor with him - I know how easy it is to catch a punch to the head, even with a sweet docile guy like mine. Lucky I’ve managed to now find not one, but two who are willing.

 

[keonhanh]

@rhoda My suggestion, as a fellow person who hates confrontation, is to stick with groomer 3 for now. It sounds like there are some solid reasons to stick with her. I would call back your old groomer (#1) and say you have a new groomer you're working with for now, but if you ever need to switch, or need a groom while you're new person is on vacation or something, you'll be sure to give them a call.

I don't think any reasonable person would expect all of their old clients to come running back. They certainly wouldn't want to lose a client if the situation was reversed! I'm sure they just reached out in a "if you're not happy, I'm here, but if you're happy, no worries" sort of way!

As for your newf, I understand the bad knees thing. I had a Chesapeake/golden mix growing up who blew her ACL as well. Luckily swimming is great low-impact exercise, and she adored water! My vet recommended keeping her really trim, too. Like bordering on the edge of underweight trim. It made a HUGE difference for her when we got the extra weight off her knee! If your dog is at all overweight, or even the heavy end of normal, definitely cut back on the calories. It could make him a lot more comfortable day to day, and way better for groom days.

 

[catholics_r_christians]

@rhoda Is there any way you could stick with groomer 3 and maybe split the groom up into 2 day sessions?

1 day for bath nails ears and blow dry
And the next day for haircut

Ive done this for a chow thats about 13 now and she has thickkkkkkk undercoat.

I do my big dogs on the floor cause im little (less than 100 lbs) and im incredibly active and agile so id prefer that to a huge dog stressed on a table that i probably cant get it on anyway. Id be terrified of him falling off and then youd really have a problem.

Experience with groomer 2 never should have happened. Its unforunate when we as groomers cant look at a dog and know what its going to take to groom it comfortably. Especially massive breeds with hip and knee issues that take a lot to groom.

 

[rhoda]

@catholics_r_christians The all day with 1 worked beautifully for doggo- not so great for me. 3 is all in for splitting up sessions. We’ve talked about a full brush and trim alternating with bath and belly shave every two weeks. 4 hours with 3 is still doable - he was happy and perky when I picked him up - but we can split when he needs to.

Im thinking I’ll stick with 3. I’m just not looking forward to calls with 1 or 2, though I know I’m gonna have to pull up those big girl pants and do it.

 

[catholics_r_christians]

@rhoda Ugh i understand. The dreaded talks. People make things difficult. I hope everything goes well for your baby! Youre doing everything you can to make sure hes happy and comfortable and thats all that matters. Groomer 3 sounds like a good option and a really caring groomer for sure

 

[thegiant]

@rhoda I don't have an opinion on picking a groomer for you, but I'm going to gently suggest that your dog sounds overweight/obese seeing as the breed standard claims males should not weigh more than 150lbs. If he has that severe of a knee issue, every single pound counts.

It also sounds like you're expecting a perfect, show quality groom on a disabled dog. Both the owner and the groomer should be considering the dog's limitations and asking themselves what is necessary for the dog's health vs what just looks pretty to us.

Edit: also not to be that guy but you have videos of your newfie and he looks obese based on the body jiggling and you're letting him rough house with a cane corso even though he can't stand at all?

 

[rhoda]

@thegiant His weight is actually good. His parents were both big (190 & 140). His litter mates are as well. I’ve been in constant contact with both the breeder and our vet his whole life, and we’re all good with his weight. Hugging him up, or seeing him wet, he’s pretty solid.

I do think it’s good for others to point something like that out, though. Often these things sneak up on us and we don’t notice.

As for show quality, oh heck no. There’s about 30 seconds during hand off from the groomer where he’s picture perfect, and then it’s all drool and, as luck usually has it, mud by the time we get to the car. It was just interesting seeing the difference between a groomer with 30 years experience versus one with 7. Both do a functionally great job - never have wet or hot spots, no bald spots or missed matts, etc. Both trim where they need to trim. One just looks more polished. Although, new groomer has only had one shot at it, so we’ll see.

And yeah. The puppy’s been an issue - he’s actually grand puppy and too much dog for me no matter how bloody lovable he is. 99% of the time they wrestle with Newf sitting on his butt and pivoting to play. This was a rare 30 seconds where I had the phone out and I let him go. It’s hard to resist sometimes when the pup in him comes out. I know I’m not doing him any favours, but he’s still gotta be a dog. Rest assured I feel properly chastised.

 

[karosti]

@rhoda I would trim your dog down in weight. The dog needs to be on the very lower end of normal. I've had some great advice from really good ortho vets and they highly recommend keeping the dogs very lean.

Do you have a force dryer? That might help you to blast a lot of the dirt/mud/dander/hair out. You probably don't need to use it very long daily. It cut down the brush time for our GSD by a significant amount. Our friends have 2 newfies and they look really good because of it as well. The mud goes FLYING off, it's awesome.

 

[tiernon]

@rhoda Why not alternate between the two groomers? Since Groomer 3 is slightly cheaper, you could even consider a shorter cycle between visits. While I'm sure they both appreciate your business, the profit margin for your dog is probably slim and the difficulty level is high.

 

[rhoda]

@tiernon I just did the math on that. I could have him done every three weeks instead of four for an extra $90/month. I think I’ll take a good look at my budget and see if I can swing that. Might not even be that much if he’s not such a mess when he goes in.

Except for April and October. Then he’s in mud heaven…

 

[houston84]

@rhoda Write a short letter to groomer 2 stating just as you did here that your dog suffered badly for many days post their groom.

 

[rhoda]

@houston84 I like the letter idea. Better to manage emotions. I’ve surprised myself how emotional I got over this. I’ve always known that keeping him depends 100% on having a good groomer, so this was quite a scare.

 

[mariamelody]

@rhoda Groomer 2 most likely made your dog stand for the full service, which exhausted your dog and he was likely sore for the following days which is why he couldn’t stand up or walk around. Definitely not ideal for your dog, as it caused him too much stress and would lead to him disliking the grooming process. I’m glad you found groomers willing to work with your dogs physical limitations. I’d go with the third groomer since she is closer and works through your dog a bit quicker. It might be a little easier on your dog if he isn’t there all day long. You can always have groomer 1 as a backup, but I would personally go with 3.

 

[rhoda]

@mariamelody I’m thinking this exactly.

The thought of him having to stand like that has had me apologizing to the big guy constantly ever since.

 

[josh0302]

@rhoda I am ignorant of the congenital problems with Newfoundlands. No knees? Yikes. I think you need to learn to participate actively in your dog's grooming care, because it is only a matter of time when he won't be up to an eight hour day. You doing an hour or so a day of grooming will lessen the wear and tear on this poor guy. Can he stand or not? You work out your best sitting position on the floor, from which you can groom him. Reflect that $300 for a groom like you describe, with this dog's delicate physical condition and size, was a TINY fraction of the worth of that groom.

 

[rhoda]

@josh0302 Yeah, he blew out both his (dog equivalent to ACL’s) by 18 months. It happens and it was a fluke that they went the way they did. We think it was bad footing on the shore of the lake while we were away over his second summer. Try keeping a Newf out of the water and all that… Anyway…

I sit with him and brush what I can - it’s not enough, which is why I budget $300 a month for grooming. I do pretty good the first week, not so great the second, I’m failing on the third, and the fourth is grooming week again. I expected to pay, and appreciate and respect the work my groomer has always put into him. No complaints there - just gratitude. I wouldn’t be able to have him without that support.

He’s back to his old self. But he’s not big on standing for anything but eating. He’s just a big floofy lump of a hugabug.

What I didn’t expect was having a tough time finding a groomer who would take him on. I knew it was going to be a big job, but I didn’t know what I didn’t know then. I get it now.

And then I never expected to go thru pandemic months at a time with no access due to lockdowns. Sadly, he will be my one and only Newf. But if I can only have one, he is my idea of perfection.

 

[angusargyle12]

@rhoda By chance has he been neutered? And if so what age?

 

[rhoda]

@angusargyle12 Yes. Three weeks before his second birthday.