# Groomers: do you clip pugs???



## Sunshyne (Feb 5, 2008)

Ok so Chloe was boarded last week while we were on vaca. She loved it, I like them, all went great. I signed her up to be groomed the last day because I had so much else to do I didn't want to give her a bath on top of it! I knew she would be playing everyday, getting dirty, etc. Whatever.

So it looks like she had her hair cut! Not shaved, trimmed I guess? I didn't say anything because it was already 5pm, we needed to get home and I really didn't even notice it at first.

I'm not upset about it and she looks fine, but I would never have thought that she would get a haircut! Her hair is so short anyways and pretty even coated. Is this a normal procedure for a pug?? 

Thanks in advance for your replies!


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## dane&cockermom (Oct 16, 2007)

i've never had anyone come in and ask for their pug to be trimmed up. but it'd do it if they asked.

i had to shave a pug a few weekends ago.  it made me sad that someone wanted to do that. but, it's what they wanted. looked really stupid, but the owner loved it.


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## borzoimom (May 21, 2007)

clip a pug??? You have GOT to be kidding...


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## golden&hovawart (Jan 11, 2008)

What do you clip on a pug?.
They are already shorthair!.


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## micki (Jan 11, 2008)

Why would you shave one? It is totally short haired? I own 4 pugs I just can't figure it out?
The only thing I can think of would be lazy people who don't like the shedding some pugs do.


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## Kotone (Apr 20, 2008)

Wow, a shaved pug? That must make them look a lot funnier than usual(no offense, pug owners, lol). 

Poor little guy!


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## Pai (Apr 23, 2008)

dane&cockermom said:


> i've never had anyone come in and ask for their pug to be trimmed up. but it'd do it if they asked.
> 
> i had to shave a pug a few weekends ago.  it made me sad that someone wanted to do that. but, it's what they wanted. looked really stupid, but the owner loved it.


Like... shaved him bare?!


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## dane&cockermom (Oct 16, 2007)

yep, shaved him down the a #10 blade. 

"oh he just get so hot in the summer" she said to me. blah blah blah. um, no, he gets so hot, cause he's so fat. at any rate, there was absolutly no talking her out of it. poor guy.


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## Sunshyne (Feb 5, 2008)

No, she isn't shaved bald!! I would never do that... and I never asked for them to trim her either.

It's noticeable to me, maybe not to others. But I can tell her hair is shorter and esp. in certain areas (behind her ears, chest). Maybe they wanted to just make her hair even??? I don't know. I just never thought they would do that to a pug!! 

She DOES shed like crazy, but I brush her daily and vacuum sometimes twice a day (black rugs, ugh!). I don't mind it, I knew what I was getting into.

Thanks for your replies!!! I still am dumbfounded about it.


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## Durbkat (Jun 26, 2007)

dane&cockermom said:


> yep, shaved him down the a #10 blade.
> 
> "oh he just get so hot in the summer" she said to me. blah blah blah. um, no, *he gets so hot, cause he's so fat*. at any rate, there was absolutly no talking her out of it. poor guy.










You should have said that and then told her if she got it to loose weight it wouldn't get so hot.


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## jesirose (Mar 27, 2008)

Durbkat said:


> You should have said that and then told her if she got it to loose weight it wouldn't get so hot.


There's being right, and there's keeping your job


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## Durbkat (Jun 26, 2007)

Yea, I know. I was only joking. But say if I owned my own grooming shop, well I'd refuse to do it in the first place, but if I did I'd simply make the comment that she could help make him cooler if he lost some weight.


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## dane&cockermom (Oct 16, 2007)

i'm sure she already knows he's overweight. i'm sure she's heard it from her vet several times. it's not like it wasn't noticable. lol.

but once a customer has something set in their head, that's what they want no matter what. 

and when it comes to making the money/keeping the client vs. losing the commission/losing the customer, ya gotta do what ya gotta do. 

afterwards i advised the lady to keep him out of the sun for extended periods of time. luckily she only has it done once a year.


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## animalcraker (Nov 9, 2006)

Do you mean trimed like they cut the hair? or is it that they removed all the dead hair and undercoat so now his hair is shorter.


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## Sunshyne (Feb 5, 2008)

Animalcracker -I don't know. I have never had her groomed and have no clue what an undercoat is... or what she would look like without it. (going to look it up now

Anyways, they may have done that, but again I don't know what that really means. The hair behind her ears and on her chest and hind legs is definitely shorter like they shaved some off. But it's not bald. It's hard to explain. She looks fine, and to other people it's not noticeable. 

Again, everyone, thanks for the replies!!!


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## zerolover (Apr 18, 2008)

I shave a pug (7 reverse and 10) every three weeks, who knows why, I told her she would be committing to constant grooming and possible balding/thinning later on but she loves it! He is soft and cute plus some blue nail polish to top him off doesn't hurt!


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## VP Dogs (Sep 15, 2009)

dane&cockermom said:


> yep, shaved him down the a #10 blade.
> 
> "oh he just get so hot in the summer" she said to me. blah blah blah. um, no, he gets so hot, cause he's so fat. at any rate, there was absolutly no talking her out of it. poor guy.


Although pugs are a short haired breed their hair can be extremely thick, and shaving it can really help with them overheating in the summer. Whether pugs are overweight or not they all have breathing problems in the heat because of their short face and narrow airways. In Australia it is actually recommended that all pug owners get their dogs shaved. I think that the comfort and safety of the dog is more important than how it looks.


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## Purplex15 (May 28, 2007)

VP dogs: While a pug's coat can be thick, that is no reason to have them shaved. Pugs have undercoat, and shaving that undercoat messes with the regrowth of the hair. the damage done is completely dependent on the dog, but there is usually at least a few months of waiting time for that hair to regrow back to what it was. Dogs with undercoat need their coat to insulate them in hot weather. dogs do not sweat like you and me, and rely on their coat to reflect heat out. when you cut off that coat, you leave the animal at a terrible disadvantage when outside for any amount of time. The coat sometimes grows back fine, sometimes it does not. Somietimes it take a few months, sometimes it can take over a year. 

OP: i still dont really get what you are asking. it is clear the dog wasnt shaved, but i am havign a real hard time understanding what you mean by clipped. My thoughts are the same as animal crackers, maybe you thought the dog had long hair, but it was really his undercoat blowing out (which makes the dog look similar to a molting seal). Maybe you can post pictures from before he was boarded, and after. And i would clip anything on any dog without owners permission. i dont even do paws on goldens/aussies/etc anymore b/c of some owners getting really upset (i groom in a boarding kennel and do not always have the best owner directions, and cant always get a hold of them. when iin doubt, do not cut). 

Dane&cocker: i have to respectfully disagree with you. i almost always refuse to shave these dogs. i say always because i have a couple that i know from doing the dogs forever, that the dogs did need to be in full coat(one had thyroid cancer, and one was from a puppy mill, and the owner could never get her skin on track until we shaved). I actually do not lose any business, and owners actually thank me for not just shaving their dog and thinking only of their money (not that you do, but that is how they perceived i guess). i have had maybe 3 people total not get their dogs groomed after i refuse to shave. After i tell them the risks, the upkeep, and that there is no reason for it, since it actually makes the dogs hotter, most decide that they wont be that selfish. the ones who still want to shave their dog after i tell them the risks, are really customers i just dont want to deal with.


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

Where would you even clip on a pug?? Maybe the groomers used a deshedding tool on chloe and took out most of the dead hair and she looks like she has less coat now?


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

To the OP, Its really not possible to just "trim" a pug...only things that can be trimmed are cowlicks around the neck, rear, etc..and that is done on the show pugs..but to just take length off here and there...no blade is going to take any length off except a VERY short blade, which would be a shave..and you would surely notice that! LOL I am guessing that your pug was given a good breed groom, and the undercoat carded out, making certain areas seem thinner/shorter than they were previously. 

I am with Dane on this too, though this is a very controversial topic in the grooming industry. I shave lots of "short" coated dogs. Labs, lab mixes, shepard mixes, goldens, etc. and so on. Some are once a years, and some are regulars. Before I shave any doublecoated breed, I explain the cons and also what regular grooming (without shaving) can do for the shedding, etc. Some will try the B&B method first, most still opt for shaving. The dogs in my area, for the most part, are family pets. They live in heated and air conditioned homes, and shaving them is rarely going to have a negative effect on them. Most of these dogs are happier and spunkier shaved, and the owners are happier, the dogs gets more love and attention..its a win win situation. As a groomer, I am a hairstylist..it is my job to give the owners the haircut they ask for, without harming the pet. IMHO, shaving any breed is not doing it any harm. As long as the owners know what they are getting with a shave, I see nothing wrong with it. I have yet to hear of a dog dying of heatstroke because it was shaved..they die of heatstroke because people leave them in cars, outside with no shade or water in high heat, etc. Hair or no hair, that is going to kill a dog.


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## charlee&dooney (Sep 27, 2009)

I never have had anyone ask, but if they did, I wouldn't unless it was instructed by a vet for medical reasons. Personal choice


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## grab (Sep 26, 2009)

I live in AZ and people here shave every breed of dog you could imagine. Pugs, Labs, Aussies.. When I was taking my Chow (then a pup) to a pet store, someone else heading in stated "oh, having him shaved?" with a knowing nod Ahh...no. He's an indoor dog who lives in air conditioning, and who is kept groomed properly. He's never had an issue with the heat. Yet people ask if we're going to shave him all of the time.


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