We've had a couple of good grooming experiences here, but during check-in at our most recent visit,…read moreTina (the salon manager) hurt our senior dog in front of us, condescended to us with inaccurate information, and was generally antagonistic.
She hurt our dog by repeatedly trying to rip a comb, root-to-tip, through his matted coat -- my pup was in obvious pain as she did this. Her point was to show us how matted he was, to justify a de-matting fee. We already told her our dog was matted and agreed to the de-matting fee, so there was no need to belabor it. Also, of course you can't pull a comb root-to-tip through a matted poodle coat -- you're supposed to de-mat tip-to-root using a brush. In my book, hurting an animal to prove a point is sick, and it probably means Tina shouldn't be trusted to handle animals for a living.
In the midst of lecturing us, Tina asked what we were using to brush him at home -- her tone made it seem like she doubted we were brushing him at all. We told her, as we've told every groomer before her, we use a slicker brush for the most part. She loudly condescended, "That's garbage! You're not gonna get any mats out with that" and told us we should be using a comb instead. Based on six years of caring for a poodle mix, I was certain this was not correct. My mother is a dog groomer who owned and operated a grooming salon, and she, along with every salon we've taken our poodle to, has confirmed we're using the best brush for him. Every search result on the topic concurs that a slicker brush is the most fundamental tool to care for a poodle's coat; a comb is a finishing tool, not for de-matting.
Not wanting to argue publicly with a professional over her presumed subject matter expertise, we smiled and nodded until she finally took our pup back for grooming. His haircut came out fine, but I have to wonder -- when we left, did Tina de-mat his coat correctly using a brush or incorrectly using a comb? If the former, Tina knowingly gave us incorrect information. If the latter, she caused our dog unnecessary pain due to her ignorance. Neither possibility is acceptable.
My partner and I are working professionals, experienced dog parents, and new homeowners. Our poodle is not typically matted; he was matted because we've been overwhelmingly busy buying, renovating, and moving into a home and have simply not had the time we normally do to brush him. Now that our lives have calmed again, we will resume our at-home grooming routine. There was no need to lecture or condescend to us, and certainly not to promote disinformation about how to take care of our dog.
This is the main issue that concerns me about Tina and why we aren't comfortable with her grooming our dogs. However, a couple of other things happened that are worth noting, since they help paint a picture of how Tina seems to be.
One of the first things she asked was why our schnauzer mix had a muzzle on. Her tone was combative right out of the gate, but the question was more than fair, so we readily told her we keep our pup muzzled in public because she has bitten a couple of times. Tina didn't ask for further details and barked at me to take the muzzle off. I was shocked she had barked an order at me and confused as to why I needed to take the muzzle off right now when I could just remove it along with her other gear in a few minutes. Turns out, there was no reason to bark at me to take the muzzle off - no reason other than to antagonize and condescend.
Tina also insisted obsessively during check-in "This is NOT a miniature poodle!" I thought, "I know, that's why I filled out the form stating he's a 27-lb mini-poodle MIX." Ignoring her unpleasantness, we simply told her that the rescue said he's a poodle-Bedlington mix. She continued, "He's way too big for a mini-poodle, he's definitely a Bichon." At this point, we were confused as to why this lady was so bent on us being wrong. Why did she think it was impossible for a mini-poodle mix to be slightly larger than a purebred mini-poodle? He certainly isn't a standard poodle or a toy poodle. Ultimately, he's a mixed-breed rescue dog, so no one knows what breeds he is. Tina abruptly ended the seemingly pointless disagreement by stating aggressively, "Well in my system he's a cockapoo, so the price for his bath and brush is going to be higher." Once I understood the point of her insistence - to charge a higher price - her aggression made it seem like she thought we were trying to get a lower price by misrepreseting his breed. Not in the slightest; he's been to six different grooming salons since we've had him, and he's probably seen 12-15 individual groomers. We've told all of them that he's a 27-lb mini-poodle mix, and it's never been an issue until we met Tina.
I hope that going out of her way to proactively undermine and dismantle her clients' good grooming practices in order to instead promote disinformation about caring for animals would disqualify Tina from managing a PetSmart salon.
