# Aaahhh, my groomer messed my Papillon's fur up! :(



## lucidity (Nov 10, 2009)

So I brought Cadence in to get a sanitary trim... because I suck at sanis myself. I don't have a shaver, so I can't shave his bum/potty areas.... I just went to pick him up and to my horror.... the groomer trimmed his belly fur (not near his birdy, but up front) and his culottes!! Ahhhh!! He looks like he's back in his uglies!   I didn't think to mention to her because I told her before that I don't want any of his non potty areas trimmed.... and because, well.. he's a Papillon!! They need their culottes and belly fur!

How long will it take for the fur to grow back?? 

So next time do I have to do sanis myself? Do I really need to invest in a shaver?


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## luv2byte (Oct 21, 2009)

Our groomer calls it a 'poop chute' - I make it clear each time though, fur on pads, poop chute & clean up feathers only, no other trimmings. The one time I forgot both my dogs came home with a brazilian - no joke, my boy had even less hair than my girl and neither had much hair. It wasn't bad though since it was wet & muddy out, it did end up easy to clean and wasn't noticeable unless you were actually looking at their nether regions. But yup, they got a brazilian and it wasn't Chloe's first one either.


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## railNtrailcowgrl (Jul 24, 2008)

If you want to do sanitary trims yourself you don't need to invest in a $200 pair of clippers. I help my mom trim up her Mini Aussie and our Golden with my cordless horse clippers. I have the Wahl Pro Rechargeable. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH! The battery last a very long time and you can buy either #10 or #30 blades. Right now at Schneider's (sstack.com) you can the the clippers for $48 and you get a free pocket pro. We use them for everything from clipping bridal paths and faces to white socks to the dogs. They are the best IMO for the price.

Clippers


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## lucidity (Nov 10, 2009)

luv2byte said:


> Our groomer calls it a 'poop chute' - I make it clear each time though, fur on pads, poop chute & clean up feathers only, no other trimmings. The one time I forgot both my dogs came home with a brazilian - no joke, my boy had even less hair than my girl and neither had much hair. It wasn't bad though since it was wet & muddy out, it did end up easy to clean and wasn't noticeable unless you were actually looking at their nether regions. But yup, they got a brazilian and it wasn't Chloe's first one either.


LOL @ the Brazilian. Cadence got a poop chute too.... I don't know how I feel about it yet. He looks weird with so little "pants", but oh well, at least he won't get poop stuck there anymore..



railNtrailcowgrl said:


> If you want to do sanitary trims yourself you don't need to invest in a $200 pair of clippers. I help my mom trim up her Mini Aussie and our Golden with my cordless horse clippers. I have the Wahl Pro Rechargeable. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH! The battery last a very long time and you can buy either #10 or #30 blades. Right now at Schneider's (sstack.com) you can the the clippers for $48 and you get a free pocket pro. We use them for everything from clipping bridal paths and faces to white socks to the dogs. They are the best IMO for the price.
> 
> Clippers


Wow, those clippers look pretty awesome.. and it looks small, too. I'll definitely look into it.... What do you use them on? Just the potty areas?


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

I have heard quite a few bad stories about papillons and groomers (more than one owner has said that the groomer took off their papillon's fringe!). Scary. I know none of the great groomers who post here would do that, but I'd bet a lot of the big chain groomers just don't know much about papillons.

I trim Crystal's pants myself with shears, so that just thins them out but doesn't make a "chute." I find she doesn't get any poop on her fur when I do that, and it looks natural.


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## luv2byte (Oct 21, 2009)

They do the poop chute so you can barely even tell its there - as soon as they squat it just appears as if their fur parts the way and creates a clean and open field without trapping a dingleberry. And yup, brazilian, little to no fur left on the nether regions between the legs. No other way to describe it


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## lucidity (Nov 10, 2009)

Crantastic said:


> I have heard quite a few bad stories about papillons and groomers (more than one owner has said that the groomer took off their papillon's fringe!). Scary. I know none of the great groomers who post here would do that, but I'd bet a lot of the big chain groomers just don't know much about papillons.
> 
> I trim Crystal's pants myself with shears, so that just thins them out but doesn't make a "chute." I find she doesn't get any poop on her fur when I do that, and it looks natural.


I know  good thing Cadence doesn't have any fringe to speak of yet.. I mean, the groomer is a really nice lady. I love her! She even did his sani for free today... but I've got a feeling that there aren't many groomers around who've groomed papillons before... in fact, I've only ever met two in the entire city.

I also got a pair of shears to thin out Cadence's pants... but he still gets poop on them sometimes (think soft stool, sigh).



luv2byte said:


> They do the poop chute so you can barely even tell its there - as soon as they squat it just appears as if their fur parts the way and creates a clean and open field without trapping a dingleberry. And yup, brazilian, little to no fur left on the nether regions between the legs. No other way to describe it


Hmm.. my groomer might have done a different sort of chute.. there's a clear upside down V on Cadence's "pants" now.. lol. and yeah! He got a Brazilian as well. No problems with that, though, because he always gets his fur wet when he pees..


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## railNtrailcowgrl (Jul 24, 2008)

lucidity said:


> LOL @ the Brazilian. Cadence got a poop chute too.... I don't know how I feel about it yet. He looks weird with so little "pants", but oh well, at least he won't get poop stuck there anymore..
> 
> 
> 
> Wow, those clippers look pretty awesome.. and it looks small, too. I'll definitely look into it.... What do you use them on? Just the potty areas?


They are pretty small, maybe the size of a small flash light? On the dogs we use them on the potty areas, to trim up the paw pads, and in the case of Maebel the GR, we shaved off her fringe below the hocks and some on her front legs too. She's an outside dog and they got pretty beat up over the winter so we just cut 'em off so they can grow back nice. I also use them on my horses to trim bridal paths, the long hair and whiskers on their faces and heads, inside their ears, and below the knee on their legs. I've had mine for over 5 years now and they've gone though some pretty bad abuse out in the barn. Dropped, stepped on, dirt, mud, you name it and they still run beautifully! I am on my second pair though, don't leave 'em out in the rain. They WON'T survive that, I learned the hard way. 

I also think that 'snap on' combs would probably fit as well but I've never tried to use them.


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

If I am picturing what everyone is calling a "brazilian" between the back legs, that is standard for a professional groomers "sanitary trim"..generally with a 10 or 15 blade. If you want that left longer and scissored, just specify. When a client comes in for a sanitary to my salon, they get the entire groin area shaved with a 10 blade in reverse...basically bald.  And yes, the "poop chute" lol Unfortunately, sometimes us groomers just take for granted and trim other areas..especially if they are long and untrimmed/neat..Its just in us to tidy that up, and 99% of people coming in with pets that have "pants" want those trimmed pretty well, because of poo issues, so its rare that someone doesn't want that, regardless of the breed. Just be specific every time, and don't assume that they remember the last time. Some groomers don't keep very detailed records,  and we can see hundreds of pets a month, so going off memory can be difficult.


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## lucidity (Nov 10, 2009)

Lol, yeah that's what Brazilian meant (in my head anyway). I'm fine with his Brazillian.. I just don't know why the groomer also trimmed the fur that's closer to his chest as well. 

I'm probably going to have to remind her next time. I try not to give her too many specifications because I feel it might seem like I'm undermining her job as a groomer (you know, sounding like a know-it-all).


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## Noodles (Apr 6, 2010)

lucidity said:


> Lol, yeah that's what Brazilian meant (in my head anyway). I'm fine with his Brazillian.. I just don't know why the groomer also trimmed the fur that's closer to his chest as well.
> 
> I'm probably going to have to remind her next time. I try not to give her too many specifications because I feel it might seem like I'm undermining her job as a groomer (you know, sounding like a know-it-all).


Nah, specifications make it much easier and less stressful, at least for me. I like it when clients let me know exactly what it is they want and in lots of detail, means I get closer to getting it right the first time.


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

lucidity said:


> Lol, yeah that's what Brazilian meant (in my head anyway). I'm fine with his Brazillian.. I just don't know why the groomer also trimmed the fur that's closer to his chest as well.
> 
> I'm probably going to have to remind her next time. I try not to give her too many specifications because I feel it might seem like I'm undermining her job as a groomer (you know, sounding like a know-it-all).


I can't speak for the other groomers here, but I actually LIKE when people have specifications, and write down what they want/don't want. I've had people refer to a "puppy cut" and want their dogs left 3 inches long, and others say "puppy cut" and want their dog down smooth with a #7 blade. Always be specific!  
I have a papillon I groom who wants a "sanitary" done, he wants the rear cleaned with clippers and his pants thinned out (not trimmed) to make them "lay" nicer, so they aren't so poofy (and don't attract terds, lol). Nothing about the belly. Another customer of mine has her dogs done 2 times a month, and a sanitary is clipping the butt, belly (down the insides of the back legs and follow the ribcage to avoid the dogs whizzing on themselves), shaving out the armpits, under the eyes, and around the ear canal. Specify what a sanitary is to you next time (and remind her to leave the ear fringe alone!) 
I've trimmed Dudes feathers pretty short before. In the summertime he gets allergies on his back end and his back feathers are so thin they look MUCH better if they're trimmed up. If I trim his rear and leave his chest/front legs/underline full, he looks totally front heavy and like he's going to fall over  Think of how a golden is trimmed (shorter feathers, shorter underline, neat chest). It's SO not "breed specific" but it makes him look much, MUCH more balanced.


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## lucidity (Nov 10, 2009)

Wow, that's a ton of info, thanks LazyGranch. I was thinking, next time should I print off pictures to show the groomer? Just so that I don't have to describe what I want Cadence to look like.. I found this site: http://hollyhuxford.com/PapillonGrooming.htm, and they have some really good photos of the look that I'm kinda going for.. Especially this: http://hollyhuxford.com/images/PapillonGrooming/7590Web.jpg, and this: http://hollyhuxford.com/images/PapillonGrooming/7475Web.jpg


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

lucidity said:


> Wow, that's a ton of info, thanks LazyGranch. I was thinking, next time should I print off pictures to show the groomer? Just so that I don't have to describe what I want Cadence to look like.. I found this site: http://hollyhuxford.com/PapillonGrooming.htm, and they have some really good photos of the look that I'm kinda going for.. Especially this: http://hollyhuxford.com/images/PapillonGrooming/7590Web.jpg, and this: http://hollyhuxford.com/images/PapillonGrooming/7475Web.jpg


I would print the pictures. Your groomer sounds super, and would probably appreciate being able to see EXACTLY what it is you're after. Cool site, btw  I *love* the snood on the papillons head! 








The "potty path" on the dogs' rear is pretty much what we normally do on most breeds. (I hate the full-blown poop chute look, where the dogs' rear and a good 3 inches around the whole thing is balded with a #30 blade. Mom and I call those "baboon butts", lol.)


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## -Radar- (Apr 13, 2010)

luv2byte said:


> They do the poop chute so you can barely even tell its there - as soon as they squat it just appears as if their fur parts the way and creates a clean and open field without trapping a dingleberry. And yup, brazilian, little to no fur left on the nether regions between the legs. No other way to describe it


Ha! Glad this thread caught my eye. Radar, my Pap/Chi mix, has a poop chute! When I noticed it as I was combing him (and he's soooooo easy to comb) I was amazed at natures way of taking care of this guy. I had no idea that it was a groomed feature. 

Radar came from the animal shelter a bit over a week ago. Looks like someone cared about this fellow enough to have him groomed, or at least given a poop chute. That really make me wonder how he ended up in the pound. He's such a good dog!


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

I've never taken Nia to the groomer and I doubt I ever will. she just doesn't need it, it's a simple procedure to trim yourself. Get clippers from costco. It costs something like 20-25 dollars, we bought a set before but we gave it to a friend when they asked us. In it, there's a small clipper and a huge one, I just used the small one to trim feet pads and you can use it to trim potty area. For Nia, I don't do a potty chute because she doesn't get poop stuck unless it's soft. I do trim a few stray hairs here and there near the anus but that's it.

I don't trust the groomers honestly. I've heard of dogs come back with bad coughs from being choked, physical bruises and even when they say they didn't trim, they usually do trim up a little to "neaten" the dog. I don't usually find it necessary anyways and it's expensive!

The fur will grow back since I think I saw he only got a bit trimmed off the bottom. Don't worry about it, it'll come back soon


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## lucidity (Nov 10, 2009)

Lol.. yeah, it just got me so mad because he was the baldest puppy EVER, and then finally when he has some fur coming in, it's spring and he's shedding it all, and to top it off... the groomer trimmed it and now he's almost back to being bald, lol.

I'm gonna have to look for those clippers the next time I go to Costco. The damn place is so huge, I always have trouble finding anything! I couldn't even find the Kirkland dog food everyone's been talking about.

My groomer is pretty nice, lol, but yeah... she probably never grooms paps that's why  She only charges me about $25 though when I bring Cadence in..


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

Yeah they're a super super easy breed to learn to do yourself. I do all five of ours myself.


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