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| - Well, we took our two schnauzers to Smelly Dog based on some great reviews on Yelp and from a guy with his own schnauzer in our apartment complex. We were moving, and our regular groomer is out in Mesa... we chose convenience over excellence. Big mistake.
We were able to get in for an appointment in a reasonable amount of time, the staff seemed fairly friendly, and I was in and out in just a few minutes.
So, what was the problem? I am pretty specific about how I like my dogs groomed, and I was clear with the groomer EXACTLY how I wanted them done (I could go into specifics, but I wouldn't want to be boring... suffice it to say that my list of requests was only about 3 items long). Basically, NONE of the directions I gave were followed. Not one.
Not only was my finickiness not satiated, but the basic schnauzer (and every other hairy dog) grooming items that should always be done without a specific request to do so were not done (ear plucking, anal glands expressed (yuck), shaved belly and between the foot pads). I ended up doing these things myself over the course of the past few weeks. This does not please me, and it certainly doesn't please my dogs.
In my almost 15 years of having a schnauzer groomed, I have never had a groomer blatantly ignore my requests AND give my dogs such a horrible basic groom. I have never thought that my dogs were ugly before - but Smelly Dog managed to make them as ugly as two extremely cute dogs could possibly be. I spent days literally crying about how awful they looked (these dogs are my babies).
To add insult to injury, the groom cost $15 more per dog than my regular groomer.
I will NEVER, EVER be going back to Smelly Dog. Ever. Ever. Ever.
Instead, I will be tucking my tail between my legs and sheepishly returning to my regular groomer - Jennifer at Trim Time in Mesa. She is the best groomer the pups have ever had. Worth the drive, worth the time, worth every penny.
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