I'm probably asking for trouble.....

Bela looks beautiful with long sheltie coat or stylin shorter sheltie/puppy cut. Ribbons on the ears are cute too. I lean toward the natural look myself and suspect you do but I think she just did what most groomers think most people want and tried to give you your money's worth so she actuallly gave her a "cut" when all you really wanted was a trim .Before you know it you will be back to photo#1 !!
 
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For sure those feet needed done.....! LOL!

I think your groomer may have been a little aggressive on the ruff, though. It looks a little chopped. I did't find the butt all that bad though.

All to say, nothing like a good bath!
 
Love the bow! She looks adorable.
Now, that being said, I don't care for the amount of scissoring, but like Barb said,it will grow back.
Okay, now the harsh words....I could beat you with a wet noodle for letting the nails get that long. You can cripple a dog by letting the nails get so long they flex the toes and break down the foot. If you are not comfortable doing the nails yourself, that's okay, just take them to the groomer or vet at least once a month for trimming. Ideally, learn (and get comfortable) with doing it yourself, so you can work them back where they should be, trimming them once a week, and keeping them at an ideal length.
 
I hang my head in shame over the toenails. I do know the consequences of letting them get so long - breakdown of the ankle joints, etc. What can I say? I need someone to hold her for me, and I only have one operational arm for the past six weeks. I really should have done them before the shoulder surgery. I promise not to let them get so bad again.

Life has been bad enough lately - hubby in ICU, hospital, and not doing too well at home. I guess it just slipped my mind for a while, then this shoulder thing came up.

Yes, I like the more natural look, and Bela has been too heavily trimmed for my taste. But it's only hair and will soon grow back. Meanwhile, we have an exceedingly neat, prissy little girl (I think she actually likes it).
 
She looks very clean and neat! I'm sure she must feel great too of having been all pampered up. I agree that the ruff getting a trim is so-so but it barely shows and will grow back. From other member's past experience with groomers on here, we all know that it could have been worse. Overall Bela is looking very good!

Jaynie said:
What can I say? I need someone to hold her for me, and I only have one operational arm for the past six weeks. I really should have done them before the shoulder surgery. I promise not to let them get so bad again.
Click to expand...

Oh I often see some ads of people willing to go to your house and trim the dog's nails for a very cheap price in the Pet Services section on kijiji.com (I think kijiji is only in Canada so ebay classified.com or craigslist may have similar posts). This could save you the trouble of driving out to the vet or groomer and the prices here are often much cheaper than what the vet would charge.
 
Petsmart and Petco do nail trimming for around $10. I used to take my dog there before I built up the courage to buy a dremmel and do it myself.

I think Bela looks adorable!
 
Especially for Pets, at lease some of them, do if for a suggested donation of $7 to a pet charity. I believe they keep rotating what charity they are collecting for.
 
Bela looks very pretty! Sure, she's a bit more trimmed than is strictly necessary, but at least they didn't shave her butt (poor Bacca)!

I am still struggling with our groomer (and every groomer we've had before this) with the scissoring issue. I agree with Barb that most groomers (unless you're lucky enough to find a breed-specific one) have to work with all breeds and don't often get the chance to specialize in one breed/type (especially one they may not see as often, like our Shelties), so you have to be very specific about exactly what you do (and don't) want done.

Unfortunately, that only takes you so far.

I am always very specific in what I want done, I explain it very clearly (and really, there are only so many ways "BATH AND BRUSH ONLY, NO SCISSORING OR TRIMMING" can be interpreted), but Lerwick always comes back to us trimmed up somewhere we didn't want (the last time it was the fur around his face... really????).

It's frustrating when groomers don't do what we ask, for whatever reason. At least Bela looks neat and tidy, and as others have said, it's hair, and it'll grow back... eventually! I agree with you, Jaynie... the scissoring went a bit overboard, but all in all it was a pretty good groom.

But, I hope you get to feeling better soon so that you can take over Bela's grooming duties again!

Oh yes, and I wanted to chime in to vouch for Petsmart/Petco for nails. We've taken Lerwick to Petco in between full grooms just to get his nails done, and it ends up being about $20 (with tax) to have them trimmed and ground (grinding the nails is an extra fee at Petco, not sure about Petsmart). Definitely worth doing if you can't get to them yourself. We didn't even have to make an appointment... just walked in and he was done in about 10 minutes.
 
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I don't like the scissoring she did at all. :P Shelties aren't little white foo foo purse dogs. I think this groomer is too used to such dogs coming in for all over body trims.
I'm likely to become my areas go to sheltie groomer. My friend has offered to bring me in to work in her shop if I want to :) Of course I'd be learning to work on other breeds as well, but certainly would be most skilled when it comes to a more natural trim for breeds such as Shelties, Collies, Border Collies, and Aussies.
 
I think the ruff will grow back eventually, but I'm a little concerned about the shaving of the pants.

As I said in my earlier post, Bacca's was shaved a couple of years ago but a groomer that knew nothing about grooming double-coated breeds. She hauled out her clipper and went at it! Never, never, never, clip a Sheltie (except maybe the feet).

As hope said, most groomers are used to "designer dogs" and the clippers come out....:gaah When interviewing a groomer, if they mention the "C" word, run!!!!!

Also many Sheltie breeders will also groom on the side, if you have one nearby!
 
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