# What terminology cut should I tell to Groomer?



## Tahnee GR

You want a show groom done on your dog. Most groomers are not going to know what that means, so your best bet is to go online and find pictures of Goldens groomed the way you want yours groomed. If you start saying trim or cut, you might just end up with a Golden with all of its hair cut off


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## GoldenLove88

That is what I was afraid of! I guess showing a picture of groomed retriever is the better way.


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## Megora

Minimally, show them the morningsage website and show them pictures of exactly what you want. But truly, don't have just anyone groom your dog. If you want a show groom done, you have to go to somebody who knows what that is. A lot of the time that's going to golden people who show their own dogs.


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## Bentman2

GoldenLove88 said:


> That is what I was afraid of! I guess showing a picture of groomed retriever is the better way.


Yep, you better listen to Tahnee and Megora. It is also important that you dog be old enough to have his/her full coat on. I went to a groomer that I thought had enough experience and asked her how many Goldens she grooms on a regular basis. If they do not groom that many, then you better look elsewhere. I was very specific at first at what to trim and what not to trim. I then was more comfortable with bringing Bentley back knowing that she had a certain level of expertise. Tahnee and Megora are correct, show the groomer what you want your dog to look like and ask them if they feel comfortable with that.:wave:


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## MaureenM

Yep, I would suggest being specific. As in, no trim or shave on the "body". A "trim" on the body can easily turn into a shave or close to it . Familiarize yourself with the tutorial so you know what to tell the groomer.


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## mdoats

I'd also suggest you make sure that you speak personally to the person who is going to be grooming your dog. I dropped Rookie off at his latest grooming appointment with very specific written instructions, but I didn't speak to the actual groomer. And this happened.


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## Prism Goldens

I have noticed that groomers who are not in the show world tend to do the same thing to all the generally same shaped dogs. It just kills me to see a Golden at Petsmart or somewhere else groomed improperly- so my suggestion would be to find someone who shows and also takes grooming jobs at their home maybe- or even if nothing else, go to the dog show near you and ask a handler to do the groom after group is over- they'll probably charge you $60-or so, but to get it done right would be ever nicer.

I have some offspring in a service dog organization, and I know that the group needs all the promo they can get and love to brag on the 'salon' they use for the boys, but I've shown the groomer several times how to do them right and she still does the world's worst job (ok it's not the world's worst but I hate to see them after a groom!) and their ears, tail, etc all look so wrong to me. Even with the wonderful Morningsage tutorials, she still screws them up- so I wouldn't count on a pet groomer to want to learn to do your dog right.


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## Bentman2

Prism Goldens said:


> I have noticed that groomers who are not in the show world tend to do the same thing to all the generally same shaped dogs. It just kills me to see a Golden at Petsmart or somewhere else groomed improperly- so my suggestion would be to find someone who shows and also takes grooming jobs at their home maybe- or even if nothing else, go to the dog show near you and ask a handler to do the groom after group is over- they'll probably charge you $60-or so, but to get it done right would be ever nicer.
> 
> I have some offspring in a service dog organization, and I know that the group needs all the promo they can get and love to brag on the 'salon' they use for the boys, but I've shown the groomer several times how to do them right and she still does the world's worst job (ok it's not the world's worst but I hate to see them after a groom!) and their ears, tail, etc all look so wrong to me. Even with the wonderful Morningsage tutorials, she still screws them up- so I wouldn't count on a pet groomer to want to learn to do your dog right.


Yes, you are so right. Just like you don't go to Hardee's to get a great meal, you don't go to places to have your Golden groomed that pay their help by the hour. I have found that even groomers that do have a certain expertise in grooming my dog, they still have slightly different taste in how they do things. It is a matter of going to the place that you have the most satisfaction in seeing you boy or girl groomed the way you want to see them.:wave:


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## Megora

Even with show people vs people really currently showing goldens.... there's a difference. I was talking with someone yesterday who had gone to a more commercial groomer who supposedly was or had been a handler. The feet didn't look right and the ears were left hairy. And when asked by the owner who knows how to groom other breeds and saw a problem, the groomer said that was how goldens are groomed for show. Everyone else - me included - actually have gone to breed people to learn and get it done.


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## Ljilly28

Commercial groomers take too much off the paw tops, so there is too much "toe cleavage". I do mine really carefully to not have toe cracks show through when you look down on the paw.


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## Megora

With the lady whose pup was done by that "handler".... the feet were squared instead of rounded and flat on top instead of arched. 

I can totally understand the feet looking like that if you've done it yourself and are very new to show grooming....


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## Goldens&Friesians

I am a groomer and I would say you should tell the groomer you want a bath and brush out and also good pictures of quality grooms that you like (such as win pictures from a conformation show) would definitely help give the groomer a good idea of what you want. When I hear terms like "show cut" I don't know what you want and explain to the client that goldens do not get their hair cut for shows so is that what they mean, no haircut? If they say they want the haircut I give them my spiel about how cutting a golden's hair damages the coat, increases shedding, makes them hotter, etc. ( I HATE cutting golden's beautiful hair!) If you really want them to look EXACTLY like a show golden I agree with previous posts about having a breeder or show person do it. Because what I do is pet grooming, not show grooming. Most people with pets, even if they think they want them to look show groomed, don't actually want that. They like the feet tight without too much hair left on top so they don't drag mud into the house, or they like the ears scruffy and don't want them trimmed at all. So generally speaking, as a pet groomer, if you bring me your golden for a bath and brush, I'll be doing a sanitary trim, tightly trimmed pads and feet and hocks, and nothing else unless you specify otherwise. I can think of specific clients who request no sanitary trim, or who want the ears trimmed like a show golden, or who don't want me to touch the ears, etc. Just be very specific with what you want done. And do not take them to chain stores like Petsmart because they groom for quantity, not quality. Even different groomers within one shop can have different levels of quality. There are 3 groomers in my shop-me and another one are very dedicated to making sure our grooms looks great and that we are making people happy. The other one, well, she's in it to see how many she can get done in one day so she can make more money (we get paid on commission where I work) and it definitely shows in her work.


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## Mr. Bojangles

Your standard, everyday groomer (think Petsmart or any stripmall type place) will likely have no idea what a golden retriever grooming should look like. They deal with any dog that walks in the door and generally treat them all the same, which for a golden will mean cutting areas that shouldn't be cut and overdoing areas that should be cut. Their goal is not to create a breed-specific show-ready look, but to give you back a dog that looks clean and neat. 

When I was in Chicago iwth Mr. Bojangles, we were lucky to find a great groomer. He didn't know what a golden show cut was supposed to be, but he did a great deal of research and talked with us about what we wanted. We ended up very pleased. 

With Bentley now, I just do it myself because unless you go to someone who shows goldens themselves, there is a good chance you won't be happy with the result.


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## Loisiana

Go into Petsmart and tell them to do the exact opposite of what they think they should do - leave what they want to cut and cut what they want to leave.


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## Selli-Belle

One thing that is VERY important is to train your pup to the grooming table. This is especially important for the paws. I was grooming a one year old Golden today and boy was it a struggle. There is no way I could have trimmed up his feet. Earlier in the day I worked on another Golden who let me pick up he feet without any issue and she got pretty feet!


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