Petsmart shaved my chow chow bald! ripoff Rockford Illinois

I also have a chow chow pup that I get groomed fairly regularly.

First off, THE FUR WILL GROW BACK!!! She's not completely ruined forever!! So take a deep breath and chill out.

Second, clippers (shavers) are always used when grooming animals. No groomer in their right mind is going to sit there with a pair of scissors and snip away all day. This is why they show you the swatches that you described. Each swatch corresponds with a certain number clipper attachment. Apparently the groomer used the wrong attachment by mistake. Again, it's not the end of the world - the fur will grow back!!

Third, it is standard to give chows and other long-haired dogs and cats a "lion's cut" as the previous person stated. This is where they cut the body very short but leave the head and tail long. This is most comfortable for the dog as well as easy for the owner to maintain. I personally get my chow chow cut very short(just like you're describing) during the summer months, as it keeps her cooler and spaces out the time between grooming appointments. Wait til your chow chow gets to be full-size and grooming starts to cost around $85 -- you'll be wanting her cut as short as possible every time!

Don't let this one experience ruin your life. So your dog's fur was shorter than you were expecting. Big whoop! It'll grow back and life will go on.

Hi, First off I would like to say that although I am a groomer for Petsmart, I was not trained by Petsmart. I have many years experience before Petsmart. Secondly I would like to say that "short but not shaved" is a term that most groomers hate. How would you like it short without shaving it? The swatch that you saw, is how long the hair is left when using a certain blade. But a blade must be used for that length,therefore we must shave it with our clipper. If you wanted a scissor cut all over, it is your responsibility to turn down the lengths on the swatch. Also, you are given a check in sheet to sign before the groom has started. That check in sheet lists the cut that we are going to do, the add on thats we are going to do, and the price.

It is a common misconception that shaving a chow down can cause any kind of skin problems/hair problems.The coat will not look the same after it grows in, and a lot of inexperienced groomers will relate that to the shave. Thats untrue. The reason that the hair will look funny for a while after is that with dogs that have an undercoat, the hair grows at different speeds. It can take up to 3 yrs for your dogs hair to look the same.
Lion cuts are very popular in certain breeds. I think they look cute, and they leave the dog much more comfortable.

The longest length on the swatch is a number 4. I assume that what happened was that the groomer used the number four, and it looked shorter than it did on the swatch. I am sorry that you had a bad experience, but not all Petsmart Grooming Salons are bad. Not all groomers at Petsmarts are bad. It is important with petsmart groomers, just as it is with private groomers to ask what their experience is and what their training is. There are private groomers in private salons that are self taught. There are some that took courses on the internet.

Hi Sonya. First, the cut that the person was trying to do is called a "lion cut". Personally, I think it looks ridiculas on any animal except a lion. To protect you pup until the hair grows back in, use a good sun screen on her with an spf of 30 or higher to protect her skin anytime she goes out. This will both sooth her skin and protect her from sunburn. The good news is that within 90 days her coat should be grown back in suffiently to again afford her natural protection. As a suggestion, the next time you want to have her groomed, take her to a professional grooming service rather than a retail establishment that has grooming as a sideline. They will do a much better job. Give your pup a hug for me. Chows are wonderful dogs when brought up properly.