poodlewhippet

Picked up my 13 week old puppy from his first professional groom and I HATE the way he smells. The smell makes me sick and gave me a headache. I had to give him a bath to get rid of the smell. I don't know if its a grooming spray or hair spray that they use. Should I find a different groomer or is it ok to tell them I don't like the smell of the product they used? I hate to sound picky, but its bad enough I never want to smell that again!

Sookster

What kind of smell was it? If it was a nasty odor (feces, urine, bad doggy smell, etc) then I would say find another groomer. But you make it sound as though it is more likely some sort of pet cologne. I would maybe call and ask what kind of product they used on him (so you know; they may not remember if you wait until next time) and just let them know could they make a note in his chart not to use that same product again. I don't think something as innocent as using a scent that didn't agree with you would be cause to change groomers if you like everything else about them.

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poodlewhippet

thanks, that's what I needed to hear. I didn't know if the groomer would be mad for me telling her how to do her job or something, lol.

Sookster

I wouldn't think so. It's a groomer's job to groom your pet the way you ask. I would just say you were really sensitive to the scent and could they please either refrain from using it or try a different scent next time. If its that pungent, they will probably get other complaints too.

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mom24doggies

A groomer worth his/her salt isn't going to be upset with you for stating your needs/wants! We NEED to know whether or not you were happy and if there is anything we can change. I'm going to guess they put some cologne on your puppy, so just ask that they not do that next time. I personally hate it that most shops require employees to spray cologne on every dog, as I believe that stuff isn't good for the dog or humans. If you are using a quality shampoo and conditioner, that should take out all "dirty dog" smells and leave a light, pleasant scent.

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"Love is the emotion that a woman feels always for a poodle dog and sometimes for a man." ~George Jean Nathan

liljaker

Tell them you did not like the fragrance. I did that before with Jake and she was fine with it.

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liljaker

Not as long as you are paying for the service. The customer/client is always right!

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fjm

I have been going to the same (excellent) hairdresser for 20 years, and I STILL have to remind him that I hate mousse and other dressings in my hair! Tell them you are allergic, that usually gets it firmly on the record in my experience!

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To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden,
where doing nothing was not boring- it was peace.

~ Milan Kundera

mom24doggies

Heheheh...as long as said client is reasonable. If the client is excessively rude, yells at me without a good reason, etc, (especially if they have a history of being that way.) they just relinquished their "right to be right". I won't be rude to them, but I will nicely show them the door. Sorry, that's OT...I just had to inject my two cents there!

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"Love is the emotion that a woman feels always for a poodle dog and sometimes for a man." ~George Jean Nathan

lavillerose

I hate pet colognes too, and never use them. The shampoo brand we have has a very light scent which seems to agree with most people. If not and they ask for no scent, that's just fine, I make a note on the dog's file to always use unscented hypo. It shouldn't insult the groomer, some people (like me) are just sensitive to heavy scents.

But even my coworkers are liberal with pet cologne, on the other hand. I can be across the room and it's nauseating. There are a lot of groomers who assume most owners just want their pets to smell nice, but there's smelling nice and overdoing it, IMO. If customers like your cologne, that's great. But if your shampoo doesn't do "Clean Dog Smell" by itself, you're doing something wrong, either by skipping a spot or just not using a shampoo that can do the job.

Also, there are a lot of quality shampoos themselves that are really heavily scented, so it may not be cologne at all. I personally don't like Crown Royal (beloved of poodlefolk everywhere) or Bio-Groom because of the scent alone.

Of course, there's always the occasional dog that is just extra stinky and needs an extra boost, but a new puppy is not going to be one of those.