I am feeling so guilt. I took my younger tibetan terrier, male 16 months, to my local groomer, for a puppy cut as his hair was getting matted, despite daily brushing. Been there before and never had a problem. He has been completely shaved. I am absolutely livid. Never seen a cut so short. Now I'm worried that he has now protection when he's playing with my other male TT. Am also concerned about it growing back. Is there anything I can do to amek my dog more comfortable with it as he seems quite obessively licking his skin.  Thanks.

as his hair was getting matted
This may be the reason for the short cut but this should have been explained to you before you left the dog, although a good groomer should have been able to save the coat that shows and just clipped off underneath and in sensitive areas.  :(
I would also have expected the groomer to give you a demonstration with the right tools to avoid this happening again. :(

You say that you've been before - do you take him every 8 weeks?  Is his skin sore anywhere?

His coat was matted in places which I should have taken more but she has clipped his hair everywhere even legs and stomach where there were no matts.  His last wash I did  but he was at groomers 3 months ago. His skin is not sore anywhere but I'm worried as my dogs play rough and do nibble each other. Will the shortness of the cut affect regrowth do you think? I'm worried that he won't get his coat back for autumn.
Thanks.

When you left him with the gromer did you make it clear how you wanted him cut? If so, and they didn't do what you wanted, you should complain and certainly not pay the full amount, unless they've explained to you exactly why they were forced to shave him all over rather than do him as you asked.

had a similar problem with my TT but the groomers did explain what they would do to sort it out. on a brighter note my TT now has a lovely coat again but i do have to groom her twice a day and if i find any small problems i try my best to get them out and if all else fails just snip out the bit of hair and you can't notice.
i don't take my TT to the groomers now but trim it myself into what i call a teddy bear cut, she looks really cute and because her hair is quite wavy it doesn't have to be perfect but still looks good.
i also find the more you groom then they get used to it and mine enjoys it most the time now, which helps keep the coat mat free. another  good thing is it helps bond with the dog and build up trust, especially when your trying to get to the more sensitive areas.   

His last wash I did
A Tibby has a double coat and at 16 month would be particulaly difficult with his puppy coat changing to adult.  When you bathed him last time, if you didn't groom out the matts completely, it would have felted and been very difficult (but not impossible) to get out.  If your groomer doesn't have the skill to do that then he would have looked silly with patches back to the skin and the rest longer so they tend to shave the whole lot off, which is a quicker and unskilled job and very common.

If you want him kept in a 4" puppy trim, then maybe find a more skilled groomer who can show you how you can easily keep a Tibby coat well groomed and in good condition and take him regularly, at least every 8 weeks.

All you can do now is wait for it to grow out but still give a thorough groom every other day because the undercoat and top coat will now grow through together and be difficult again.  That how the groomers' vicious circle of clip off, matt and clipp off again happens! :(

I think this is a tricky situation to comment on without having actually seen your dog before clipping but if as you say his legs and tummy weren't matted then I would have thought it was possible to take his back short and leave his legs a bit fluffy(I always think TT's look awful shaved as underneath that coat their legs are quite spindly).I do think the groomer should have carefully explained the reason for shaving if they felt he wasn't groomable-sometimes its not always possible to tell if a dog needs shaving when you first see it especially if its wet but if I felt a dog's coat wasn't groomable I would phone the owner,explain why it was necessary and make sure they were happy with that before proceeding.I've turned away a few matted dogs as their owners weren't happy with the idea of them being shaved off even though it was the only option.
We do have one TT who comes in every 4 months or so matted solid and is shaved off every time,his owners have no intention of grooming him regularly even though I've explained how to do it.No,he doesn't look like a TT when he leaves the shop but they don't seem bothered.
Don't worry about his coat not growing back properly,it will come back just fine as long as he's groomed regularly.It tends to be the double coated breeds which are ruined by shaving.
And don't feel guilty,TT coats are extremely high maintenance and do mat up very quickly,I've looked after a few in quarantine and they were very hard work.

It tends to be the double coated breeds which are ruined by shaving.
A Tibetan DOES have a double coat! :(

> It tends to be the double coated breeds which are ruined by shaving.
> A Tibetan DOES have a double coat! :-(

Ok,I didn't word my first post well,I should have said double coated breeds like shelties,rough collies and huskies(and pekes!.)Yes,TT's do have double coats but not like these breeds,they don't tend to be ruined by shaving,at least not the ones I have seen.I did once see a rough collie that had been shaved and OMG it looked awful,in some places the coat hadn't grown back at all.

> I did once see a rough collie that had been shaved and OMG it looked awful,in some places the coat hadn't grown back at all.

That is what happened to my friends Golden retriever that she had asked a groomer to strip out (meaning remove some undercoat).

Her coat didn't grow back for two years on her back and the texture wasn't right for about three.

TT do have double coats :)  you may find it grows back thicker and of a different texture. Also use this time to get your TT used to grooming go over her coat everyday as you would if it was long.

Long coated breeds really do need checking over each day in certain areas ie: behind the ears, under the legs, belly  and the front legs , inside the back legs, just a quick hands over and you can feel the knots forming if you rub in some cowboy magic (detangle and shine) gel leave it for a few minutes then go back to it you will be able to separate the tangle with a comb and take out the undercoat which is what is causing the matt. I use the theory for undercoat if its coming out take it out)
If its the main coat tangling again use the same product .
I also have found that if you spray the whole coat with 'The Stuff' and also use it as a grooming spray you will find it much easier to deal with the coat. (I have Beardies)

Roni

Thanks. I will definitely try it out. Have spoken to the breeder this morning, she also advised it could take up to 6 months but after a month his hair ill start a growth spurt so fingers crossed. Having to keep an eye on the older boy though as they do play rough. His lost all his lovely red coat too. It has certainly shocked me into taking grooming more seriously.

It has certainly shocked me into taking grooming more seriously.
I'm really sorry that it's taken this. :(  If I had a pound for every groomer who says that they can't get owners to groom their dogs ......  I had very few in 20 years and those I sent to the sheep shearers down the road who were happy to clip off regularly. :(  Most actually want their dog to look like the breed they bought once they have been shown how easy it can be.

I'm sure that you'd be fine keeping him about 4" long - you're obviously trying but have just not been shown how to groom properly.  It really isn't difficult to keep a TT a reasonable length.  But it will be hard now as the top coat and undercoat grow through together .....  Can you arrange a visit to your breeder and they could show you how to use a pin brush and a medium comb properly?  That really is all you need, every other day once you're under control. :)

I really wonder how much information breeders of medium/high maintenance coated breeds give to prospective owners? Maybe they should offer to give a 'masterclass' to the prospective owners or include the first years grooms in the price of a puppy. Or, are they more interested in having the cash handed over? For those of us who find grooming our dogs in front of the tv every night a pleasure it doesnt seem possible that some owners NEVER brush their dogs in between visits to the groomers - they swear that the dog became matted in the car that very day.

Although I'd definitely agree that many owners don't groom properly, even the ones who think they do (I have shown so many people how to brush through properly and the dog comes back just the same next time!), some dogs do matt really quickly. My American cocker went off to the Lakes with hubby on Friday, freshly bathed, trimmed, totally knot free, and I am a groomer so I know he was knot free! When I got up there on Sunday night, he'd had 2 nice long walks on the fells and was horribly matted from the bracken and the wind up there, you would have sworn he hadn't been brushed in weeks!

I really wonder how much information breeders of medium/high maintenance coated breeds give to prospective owners? Maybe they should offer to give a 'masterclass' to the prospective owners
I do exactly that AND give the right brush and comb for the breed to each owner who hasn't had the breed before.

I have shown so many people how to brush through properly and the dog comes back just the same next time!

When I demonstrated to owners in the parlour, I would show them how to brush their own dog right back to the skin and then check with a comb until they knew they'd done it properly! :)  Sometimes that would take 15 minutes but I considered that was time well spent both for the dog's sake and mine! :)  If the dog was matted next time, I'd do it again (and again) and charge extra until the owner fully understood that they weren't taking care of their dog properly.

As a breeder (thankfully an easy coat care breed) I have found no matter how much verbal and written information you may give a puppy owner many just don't seem to take it in.

When getting one of mien back for re-homing I got given back the puppy pack I had sent her with and it was obvious it had never been looked at.  All still in the wallet as I had given it to them.

I just cant get my head round people who are like this, not researching, not reading the information given to them, not apparently wanting to brush their pup..

I have read and re-read the info packs that came with both my pups and with Errol i have read things allllllllll over the internet as well about grooming Tibetan Terriers (i still havent bought the book i need to do that).

Errol is 9 months and is brushed through quickly once a day, properly two or three times a week and bathed when his white bits look grubby (between 2 weeks and 4 weeks usually - our garden is unfortunately just mud!).

Hes never been to a groomer yet.... because i am TERRIFIED of him coming back baldified!!!

Hes never been to a groomer yet.... because i am TERRIFIED of him coming back baldified!!!

Well done you!!  Reading some groomers comments, you're right to be terrified! :) :)

> because i am TERRIFIED of him coming back baldified!!!

We have a mongrel, terrier type with wild wiry coat.  I don't have enough experience of the different breed coats to make a judgement about who/what it most closely resembles.  When he'd been with us a while I realised he looked a bit like 'Cousin It' so I made arrangements for a recommended groomer to give him a bit of a tidy.  Worse thing I ever did.  I thought I was really careful to explain what I wanted, and what I didn't want but he came back looking like he'd had a radical schoolboy cut.  They'd taken every bit of his hairy character and chopped it off.  I could have cried

I also didn't appreciate that what I was seeing was a transition from puppy to adult coat and I should have waited it out before doing anything.  Nowadays I manage him myself and if he sometimes looks a bit crooked they are my mistakes and at least he still looks like the scruffy bin dog that he is :)

I'm still thinking that I might one day track WestCoast down and persuade her to tell me what I should/could do with the little hairy wonderfulness...

>Hes never been to a groomer yet.... because i am TERRIFIED of him coming back baldified!!!

>Well done you!!  Reading some groomers comments, you're right to be terrified!

I'll second that!   If the local groomers  are anything to go by, the average owner would be better off doing the dog with knife and fork blindfolded :( :(

dogs a babe

where are you??   I'd love to help you sort out your dogs coat AND keep his hairy gorgeousness :-D  To me that's what grooming is all about!

Personally, I'll spend as long as it takes to help my pup's owners to learn to groom their dog - and clip/scissor it.  It's time well spent and they can take pride in being able to do the job themselves :)

Strip hiiiiiiimmmmm!

That way you can leave selected bits hairy.. and blend the shorter parts in nicely (sorry to anyone who blends well with clippers but it just DOESNT look as nice as it does when stripped)... and leave luffly hairy eyebrows and whiskers and Elvis ruffs... :D:D

I had strip my xbreed terriery job... he looks v smart when hes done!

Agree 100% Ronnie I am always picking at my CS after every walk to make sure I have got all the grass seeds and burrs. He just sits patiently and seems to enjoy it, I always find he can matt under his front legs, and in his "skirt". Even though he is now castrated (when he was about 30 months) I keep him hand stripped, shorter under his chest, legs and about 1 to 1.5 inch skirt, so he looks right to me.
But I have a comb inthe back of my car, my house, my office and I comb him every day sometimes twice if he has two walks where there is grass!

Jake the BC is brushed well weekly and again I keep his tail, back trousers, front feathers, ruff clean and combed as and when he is walked. We use the furminator weekly across his coat down to his "bum" to clear his undercoat. He isnt "groomed" by a groomer but Whistler is 8 weekly.

It is diffecult to keep them matt free but not impossible, when I sit and watch tv I usually "pick them over" then to make sure I havent missed any seeds or matts. The last seed cost me £250 in vet's fees to have him knocked out and siaid seed removed from next to his ear drum and antibiotics. On the ledge I have a small set of scissors (nail ones) and underarms get kept short with those! (There's not mine)