What's the secret to a happy Scottie Dad? No smelly dogs and a freshly groomed puppy! And so, while I was enjoying a facial at a local spa (courtesy of Scottie Dad), the pups visited the Petsmart down the road for a spa treatment of sorts themselves so they could be fresh and clean upon Scottie Dad's return home. Something tells me they didn't love their experience as much as I loved mine, though!Though I'm a fan of small and locally owned businesses, Petsmart has become my "go-to" place when I'm in between groomers (which, in actuality, seems to be all the time). As is the case with any groomer, my dogs hardly ever come out of there looking the same as they did after the previous appointment but the major disappointments have been minimal in the two years I've lived in Atlanta. Then again, this also could be because I have lowered expectations since I have yet to find someone who does the job right, time and again. Most of the time, they do a fair job and the price is reasonable - among the cheapest I've found in Atlanta so far.
Anyway, Mr. K came out of this latest grooming session with a little bit of a Westie face and his precious beard chopped short. While he looks a little odd (and yet, cute as ever!), I've come to terms with the fact that hair is just hair and it will eventually grow out in due time so to say I'm upset is certainly an overstatement. The one thing I cannot understand throughout my many Petsmart grooming trials is how all-over-the-place the ears always come out. One time, I swear Mr. K came out of the store with "dumbo ears" while Miss Heather's were perfectly shaven. Not sure how something like that happens but again, I don't really let it effect me because deep down inside, I realize that somewhere down the line, you're going to lose a certain level of quality and attention to details when you work with big retail stores like this.
The one thing I do need to hand over some serious props to Petsmart for, though, is the ability to get the pups clean and keep them smelling like that! I don't know what products they use or what they do differently, but nine times out of ten my dogs stay smelling fresher longer when they're groomed at Petsmart versus any of the smaller grooming facilities I've tried. (Of course, we haven't made the rounds to all the places here yet so give us some time to check the others out before I can officially make that claim!) All grooming judgement temporarily aside, however, I must ask my fellow Scottie Moms and Dads: is it worth learning how to groom a Scottie yourself? Or, would you say paying to get your Scottie professionally groomed is worth every penny?
The Producer chops me. I will not say groom! This is because of the amount of ear infections Zac and I got when we went to the professional groomer. Apparently we have hairy ears!!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I have been mortified after some of my cuts but we have just learnt that the local salon will do a dry trim, nail trim and teeth clean so she is planning to take me in and have me 'tidied' if that's possible after the last hacking!
I myself have had the same problem. I found a super groomer at my local Petco and will only take mine there when she's working. Tater comes out looking like a Westie, and Duncan comes out looking like a Scottie. You would think that since they are trained to groom dogs, they should know the difference between different breeds. I have also been to private groomers and they come out looking like who did it an ran!
ReplyDeleteThe last private place I went to had cats running all over the place, my Westie hates cats and she came out looking like she just finished boot camp, lots of plugs!
I also was so disappointed in how my wheaten Scottie was looking coming out of the groomer. I tried 5 places before I realized I am sick of paying for a funny looking dog, although she is a bit funny looking all by herself! So I bought the clipper set and started cautiously, watched YouTube instructions, and my Josie looks adorable! I have been grooming her myself for over a year now, saved a ton of money, don't have to schedule it, can do it whenever is convenient for me! The nails took a while to conquer, but we eventually got that too! Josie and I say go for it! We love your blog! Nan & Josie
ReplyDeleteThe first groomer we had fired Kenzie (the Westie). He fire hosed her at every opportunity. It was one of those come to your house and do it in the trailer the groomer was towing affairs in our driveway. Kenzie's screeching sounded like someone was gettting murdered. My peep now tells the groomer how He wants it and brings a picture. "Don't even think about touching her brows and beard".
ReplyDeleteHere in Lima, Peru, we have different alternatives to get the pups groomed. From the most expensive ones to the cheapest ones. However i have chosen one that suits perfectly my Plutonio's needs and it is not a expensive one: the groomer comes home each 15-20 days to give give a medicated bath and every 3-4 month (depending on the season) to cut his hair. We are always happy with the results since Freddy, the groomer knows Plutonio since he was a puppy (He helped Plutonio's mom to give birth to her pups) So Plutonio and his sisters feel very used to him. Freddy is a very concious professional. Extremely concerned and dedicated to his job and love the pups. He specializes in Scottish Terriers and knows very well the breed. He takes his time in each of his customers and enjoys his time with each of them. I assume the prices are very cheap in comparison to the ones in the US, ranging from USD 12 to USD 20 depending on the condition of the doggie. We are happy to have found our groomer, who not only love our little scottish angels
ReplyDeleteBut who also makes us learn and better understand the special character of a Scottish Terrier and hence, let us be a better Scottie Mom. :)
Honestly....having learned to groom our own Scotties (since we have 3) has saved a lot of extra money but requires alot of work. ;) The initial investment was a lot but worth it. One of our Scottie's breeders taught us how to groom our little angels so they look professionally done.
ReplyDeleteHowever we did try using Petsmart once upon a time....but the dogs acted traumatized after. So we eventually stopped using them. Now they may still dislike grooming, but they are always happy after the experience. :)