petco mistakenly SHAVED my chow chow!

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debrawithoutanh
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petco mistakenly SHAVED my chow chow!

Post by debrawithoutanh »

i took my dog to a petco groomer near my house. I specifically said "trim" & when i went to pick him up, the lady SHAVED HIM!!!! i was so mortified that i cried! they couldnt do anything about it! not even refund me my $85!!!! please tell me that he's going to be fine! im so angry, its like he's not even the same dog! he seems sadder but i think its just in my head.. do any of you have any tricks to make his hair grow faster???? PLEASE HELP ME! i miss the way he use to look! :(


thanks a million!
Grab
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Re: petco mistakenly SHAVED my chow chow!

Post by Grab »

Nothing will make the hair grow faster, although a good diet leads to good skin and coat. It will, most likely, grow back fine. My late Legend did have to be shaved once in his life due to a severe skin issue we had to treat, but which was made difficult with his heavy coat. He did regrow his coat fully and normally. But, double coated breeds do grow back oddly..usually the undercoat comes in first and the guard coat later (at least in my experience)..so they may look odd for quite some time. It will be a bit before the coat is completely normal, though. When my Aesop was neutered, he ended up with both front legs having shaved squares from catheters and it took a good 5 months for just the coat on his front legs to look completely normal again.
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weloveSimba
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Re: petco mistakenly SHAVED my chow chow!

Post by weloveSimba »

Petco did the same thing with my Chow chow!! I asked for the same thing - a trim and they shaved him and unevenly to boot! Worst haircut ever! I'm trying to find a really good CHow Chow groomer - any suggestions? I live on Long Island - thanks
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Shane
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Re: petco mistakenly SHAVED my chow chow!

Post by Shane »

Sorry to here that the two of you got your Chows shaved before. With the hair growing back that is going to take some time. I had to trim an area on my Chow because he got in a fight and had 2 bite wounds on his back. It took atleast 4 months before it started blending in, however still noticeable. However your oart on grooming is going to be more difficult now because the wooly undercoat is coming in first and it is going to take some time brfore his outter coat starts to grow. That undercot is easily matted and requires more attention than if he was fully coated.

As for you saying "trim", you should have been a little bit more specific because that is a broad word, especially to a groomer. Before any of my clients especially the new ones leave, I ALWAYS asks for specifics.
smj4740
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Re: petco mistakenly SHAVED my chow chow!

Post by smj4740 »

I'm sure by this time your dog has a decent looking coat.. we took our black chow chow to his regular groomer and he made them mad... and they deliberately shaved him claiming he was too matted to do anything but that.. and they left a pop knop little ball on his tail like a poodle .. For my dog i think it took away some of his dignity and he was sadder for a few days.. lots and lots of itching he was very uncomfortable for about 2 weeks.. he doing much better his main on his head is growing thicker but his body hair is coming back in patches.. but i think he has his character back now but he will never have to worry about returning to that groomer again..
Katjusa
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Re: petco mistakenly SHAVED my chow chow!

Post by Katjusa »

But I thought chow weren't supposed to be shaved. Never ever.
?
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Shane
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Re: petco mistakenly SHAVED my chow chow!

Post by Shane »

No chows are suppose to be shaved. Its due to the coat type for some reason unlike a Shih Tzu or Maltese when their coat grows back it is aye okay. However, for a chow if you cut it kinda low it takes time to grow back it come in patchy in most cases. It can become even worst if the dog gets sun burned. I tell people if you think you can't keep up with the coat I recommend on you to get a smooth chow instead.

I have shaved chows before however, prefer to only carry them down with a 3. However, many of the owners allow their dogs to become so matted that I have to use a 7 (really low fade). When they come in I check the dog over and stress to them that the dog can't be over exposed to the sun yaddy yaddy yadda, so they don't come back to me saying look what you did to my dog.

Chows are suppose to be a bath and brush out with minor trimming by using shears and thinning shears for neatness.
jacks920
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Re: petco mistakenly SHAVED my chow chow!

Post by jacks920 »

Can you recomend a good shaver to use for a trim?
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Shane
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Re: petco mistakenly SHAVED my chow chow!

Post by Shane »

@jacks920

It is generally a matter of preference. I find that Andis is pretty good. I have bought the Oster Power Max (which I only got because of its looks, but it was very good aswell). If you check out PetEdge.com, you would find that they have a wide variety of models for Andis. One thing to keep in mind is that the faster speed you can find in a clipper the better your work will come out. Try not use those round barrelled clippers because i found that they over heat quickly and can hinder your work as they can burn your hands. I am not to particulary sure about he newer models if they over heat, but i find that shape causes the clipper to just roll out of my hands.

Try and stay away from the cheaper ones because you will only waste your money as many of times they konk out easily and generally are only for trim ups and maintenance grooming. Most
DaniDoodlez
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Re: petco mistakenly SHAVED my chow chow!

Post by DaniDoodlez »

I took my chow to a local groomer for a bath and brushing, and they did this to him without even calling me to ask if it was okay. :[ They said the matting was unbrushable, which is a lie because Im always able to brush it out, I paid for a groomer because I didnt want to do it this time. Lesson learned.

I've never seen a chow shaved that high on the neck, its always a lion cut. Im worried if the mane will even grow back as a mane. -_-

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https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hp ... 7338_n.jpg

They also shaved a random stripe down his right side. (they said due to matting, which is also a lie, my guess is my dog was moving too much) They cut a bunch of fur out of his tail too.

I'm devastated.
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Shane
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Re: petco mistakenly SHAVED my chow chow!

Post by Shane »

@ DaniDoodlez

It is going to grow back, its just hair. However the mane is the longest set of hair so it is going to take a good while.
bobby30
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Re: petco mistakenly SHAVED my chow chow!

Post by bobby30 »

petco messed my chow up too i took her in for a trim and they shaved her like a poodle ..i was very clear when i said cut her hair to leave about an 1 1/2 . and they shaved her. now she still dont have hair on her shoulders .. vet said that it might grow back but not sure . she almost has a mohawk on the back ..they totaly messed up my dog I WILL NEVER go there again ..the vet said it was post clipping alapetra.. and gave me a shampoo that should help it, but he dont know ... we should all get together and sue petco for messing up are dogs . DONT GO TO PETCO they are bad groomers .
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Zhuyos mom
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Re: petco mistakenly SHAVED my chow chow!

Post by Zhuyos mom »

The PetCo near my home is EXCELLENT. I take all my fosters to them because they are very good and very patient with them. My current 13 year old foster was groomed at my local PetCo last Sunday. Her picture is in the Chows That Need a Home section - Senior Chow Northern CA. So, please do not malign ALL PetCo's.

I adopted a chow gal a few years ago and the shelter gave her a medical shave. Here is her picture when I adopted her:
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Less than a year later, this is how she looked:
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I didn't have to put any special lotions or potions on her skin to make her fur grow faster. I just fed her good quality kibble. Your chow's fur will grow back. Rather than spending money on medicinal shampoos, put your chow on a supplement like "The Missing Link" to help with her coat. LIke Shane and Grab mentioned earlier, the fur will grow back.
DeWitch
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Re: petco mistakenly SHAVED my chow chow!

Post by DeWitch »

you are wrong - not all Chows can recover from a shave
Shane wrote:@ DaniDoodlez

It is going to grow back, its just hair. However the mane is the longest set of hair so it is going to take a good while.
DeWitch
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Re: petco mistakenly SHAVED my chow chow!

Post by DeWitch »

Zhuyos mom: you are really lucky that her coat came back so beautifully.
We adopted a sweet senior Chow Chow (10 years) Boy, who was thrown away, in March of 2013. We are in NH he came from Texas so his coat was not thick like my little Boo Girl who was also a rescue but a puppy when we got her. Last September we were going on a trip in an RV so we took them to be groomed for the trip. The wonderful groomer who used to do a beautiful job on Boo & Bear Doggy (now at the bridge) retired so I had to try a new one. I brought a photo of how Boo & Bear had been groomed. They had like a longish puppy clip on the body but the manes and tails were left long. I emphasized that I did NOT want them shaved. When we picked them up Boo had a shorter puppy clip with most of her mane and her tail and Boy's whole back end was shaved. There was NO need to shave him - his hair was not thick or matted at all. When the vet saw him a few months later she recommended that he have a thyroid test as he had a big nearly bald spot on his back behind his tail and two more on each side near his hips. Luckily his thyroid is fine. BUT, unluckily, it is now almost 8 months later and all three of those spots are still the same with only very flat short hairs on his back and a bit of fuzz on his sides. Our vet said that it will most likely never grow back:( I feel so bad for him - he was already disfigured from his former owners not caring for ear infections he had. Now people think he is diseased because of how his hair is. He is the sweetest Boy with a sweet and beautiful face and he is loving and friendly. I really hate that I ever took him to those idiot groomers.
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