My beautiful longcoat was shaved :-( - Page 2

To all of the groomers out there, isn't this really bad for the dog anyway?  Seems to me their coats would protect them from the elements (sun rays, burrs, etc.) and actually aid in keeping them cooler on the hottest of summer days.  At least this is how I always understood it.  Just seems wrong to me to be messing with a dog’s natural cooling system.  I would be curious to know what the general consensus is on this. 

Back when I worked in rescues, the one rescue I spent the most time with was for collies, primarily Rough collies (and a few smooths.)  So I saw quite a few dogs who had damaged shave coats.  The founder of the rescue also showed collies in conformation, so they hated shaving coats and 95% of the rescue dogs we actually brushed and did a proper collie groom on versus shaving them down (sometimes this meant a dog would get 12 hours worth of brushing and proper de-matting.)  Only in VERY extreme cases did we ever shave a rescue collie. 
Dragonfry, I suppose you're right and I may be wrong in painting with such a broad brush.  I've never personally dealt with shaved GSDs, mostly just with shaved collies and goldens.  I imagine that a GSD who doesn't have much undercoat to begin with would probably recover just fine from a shave down.  But the thicker and longer the fur is, the worse the recovery is. 

Triodegirl, your vet sounds like she is very ignorant when it comes to grooming dogs.  The only reason why they shaved your dog was just so they could bill you for it.  Money grubbers.   
It's extremely irresponsible and unprofessional to for a veterinary office to do anything with an animal without the animals owner's specific permission.  Permission from a pet's chauffer simply doesn't cut it. 
(only exception is if the pet is having an urgent medical problem and needs immediate help to save a limb or life and the owner is unreachable.)

The coat is very beneficial to helping a dog regulate their body temperature, as well as help keeping their skin dry and helping avoid scratches and scrapes. 

I can understand shaving the hair breeds, but I'm horrified every time I see or hear of a shaved fur coated dog. 

I will say that collie coat is much different then shepherd coat. I've had to shave a few collies and they took forever to regrow their coats. While the shepherds were back to their normal furry selves in a few months. Collie coat is more like chow coat. In that the under coat is sort of sparse and wolly. Poms have the same coat sparse wolly undercoat. Where as GSD and Rotties have a really thick dense undecoat. It's only the poorly coated dog that show skin even when shaved really really short. I will also commment on this people that usually get their dogs shaved do not have yard dogs. Because who cares if there is dog hair all over the yard? House dogs that live in A/C and lay around on carpet and couches are the ones who get shaves.
And as for Dematting a large dog. i use to charge so much to dematt that i intentionally forced peopel to either pay out the nose or just shave the poor matted dog. Because dematting is PAINFUL!
To the dog to the groomer, and if you think differently try brushing out the dredlocks on any rastfarian you happen to know. Then tell me they don't bitch and complain about you hurting them. Removing loose undercoat is vastly different from trying to salvage a matted coat on any breed. I've charges some people $200 to dematt the dog and the proper haircat of whatever the normal price was. And they tipped me $100. for not shaving the dog. But as far as i'm concerned it was not worth it, for me or the dog because she had to suffer a lot and it took two days to get her dematted. The only reason i did was because i know she would not bite me.

On the upside you should ask if your groomer uses "Best Shot" pet shampoo. Because if they had washed your dog in best shot shampoo, used the conditioner and did a proper blowout with a force dryer i bet my last $100 tip i could have slavaged the dog's coat and maybe even chopped out a few bad matts and he's of gone home looking better then ever. I really stand by that product! And I'm retired from grooming! But the stuff does get out dirt and undercoat like nothing else i've ever used. Check with you regular groomer and not the hacks at the vet. ( i know a lot of vets don't have good groomers, because i use to be a vet groomer and people were astounded that i worked for a vet)

  THAT is horrible..  

   IT will recover but I would  on my way to finding me a new vets office. I do not care who she is or what you have had in past...TIME TO GO>

   NOT acceptible behaviour from a vets office knowing you owned the dog ..no matter what..I am sure they know he is your X if not  make sure all in any business you conduct know to never take his permission for anything.

  X factor would be his new name..the bf not the Dog...MIGHT be a new nickname for the boy...HE probably needs some corn starch in places too..I bet she razor burned him to do that close on a #7 blade.. I never use anything but a # 10 as I have groomed cocker spaniels for 40 years.

showling heavy coats and it takes me three Oster clippers to get it done.

  I only shave her down to a puppy cut in summer..SHE IS not done yet...

  DO not let your boy out in sun now  TRIODE G>>>>he will sunburn bad

   Never shave a gsd or a chow unless they have surgery or a terrible skin disease or are matted so bad it cannot be fixed..

then only do a short cut and try to leave some hair and not shave dog..just remove the vast majority of the matted coat. I know it is hard but after all his skin will become dry and probably razor burnt and sunburned really easy...

SORRY  I would be doing some letter writing to state your concern and unhappiness to her by certified mail and then ask for a complete refund...do not care if X gave permission...your dog is in sad shape and you are not happy about it and it is gonna cost you to keep him safe and treated for the next 6 months till hair grows..

A very unethical vet and groomer in my opinion..

WHERE there is reason to criticize in this case I do criticize.

BUT not calling any names, you need to make sure you send her a letter stating your demand for your refund and let her know your stand on being her customer from now on.


YR

  YR

Permission or not. The proper thing to do of the Vet would have been to recognize that a GSD is not a breed to be shaved, and given advise on how to manage the longer coat with detangler/ dematter and brushing technique. So sorry, I would be furious about it too. I most likely would write a complaint letter to the medical board with some pictures included and question proper business practice.

Yes it would have been a shock to get your dog back shaved.  More than likely they thought shaving was a better option than dematting.  It's hair it will grow back.  Now I am not a fan of shaving off double coated breeds, he will be ok.  More than likely your anger, frustration is more pointed toward yourself at letting him get this matted.  Take a step back and really look at the situation.  It is easy to blame the vet in this situation BUT they had permission to shave the dog.  I find it hard to believe that a vets office would just shave a dog off, they know what shaving a double coat would do.  I groom for a living and over time I have learned that the frustration and anger at having a dog shaved down to the skin is often pointed outward to the person who shaved the dog off.  The blame lies on the owner who allowed the dog to get this matted in the first place.  Start over brush your dog at least weekly and you will be fine. Stop blaming your vet.

  The issue is whether your ex gave the vet permission to shave....if so the vet is not at fault. Your ex brought the dog in to the vet and could have said no we will take him to the groomer. I find it hard to believe the vet would want to shave a dog that was marginally matted....instead of vet visit, he should have had another of his grooming visits.....silver lining....hair will grow back and you know to take the dog yourself next time.

This would definitely make me furious! How could this vet not know better? I feel so bad for you and your beautiful boy. Hopefully his coat will grow back quickly and will look like it did prior to this vet getting her hands on him. Definitely would never take my dog to this vet again for anything.

We took one of our dogs to the groomer a few years ago to be bathed and groomed. She called and said his coat was matted and he needed to be shaved. We said no and picked him up. I bathed him, put conditioner on his coat, rinsed well of course, and blew it dry. I used some Show Sheen (equine detangler) and brushed him out. I went over every inch of his coat and skin and I did find a couple small matts, but that was all. Yet, this groomer wanted to shave his beautiful long coat. I never went back to her, needless to say. So, I can personally attest to the fact that some groomers would rather shave than deal with a few matts.

I do take the blame for Trigger being shaved. I gave the ex specific instructions that Trigger was to have NO BAth unless the Vet was willing to de-matt him. I also told the ex I wanted to have Trigger groomed before bringing him in for his shots. For some reason the ex was bored and felt like going for a ride (the Vet is a 2 hour drive) so I said okay. My mistake was trusting the ex and not giving those instuctions directly to the Vet.

That being said, the vet should have known better. I have known her for years and the ex has been her auto mechanic for years. I have always thought very highly of her. Now I just don't know what to think. She knew Trigger was my dog and knew how happy I was to find him. She also knew how much I loved his coat. We talked about it. Why she would think I would ever agree to shaving Trigger baffles the crap out of me. And she couldn't have seen Trigger walk out of her clinic as she knew nothing about the lion's tail when I asked her about it.

In the meantime. Trigger will be showered with love as his coat grows.back. He has been busy fluffing up every last blanket, rug, pillow and cushion in the house which I have never seen him do before. But he seems happy. I think they did put some kind of powder on him as I can feel it on his coat. I am concerned about sunburn etc so will have to be careful. One of my neighbors asked this morning if I got another rescue dog and what moron shaved him. They didn't even recognize Trigger.