unethical groomer, pls boycott/blacklist "puppy box" at kuchai lama

hi all,
just wanna inform you to stay away from this shop if you are staying in kuchai lama area. i have a shocking experience last week.
i know my post is long, but read on if you are first time puppy keeper and staying in the vicinity.

i'm a first time puppy keeper, my shih tzu is a 3 months old female pup when i brought her in for simple grooming and bath. the case is, she has not been taking bath for about 2 weeks. on the first week i thought i can bathe her after her final injection but the vet said better wait another week, so we did not bathe her for 2 weeks but just brush her occasionnally. (i admit i didn't brush everyday)

so, when we brought her to the groomer for the first time in my pup's life, the groomer did not give us any option apart from shaving and i am not aware and she did not make me aware and did not explain as to what she meant by shave and to what extent, did not give options to us what else can be done. the only thing she told us is that her hair got bad tangle in the skin, either shave or the puppy will get hurt if they try to de-tangle. shave or not shave? that's what she said.
we didn't want the puppy to get hurt, so we said ok. however, i felt really bad myself and also felt bad for my puppy. the groomer shaved until botak and totally no hair was left apart from tail and ear.

i have asked many opinions regarding this and many said that how bad can the tangle be, it's only 2 weeks, and my pup stay indoor and we only have 1 pup. normally professional groomers will try to detangle and give more information to the customers before they shave, they will discourage shaving a 3 mths old pup unless the condition is really bad or unless the shave is requested by customers then we cant blame the groomer but this is not the case.

shaving can cause skin infection, rashes and they might even catch cold. her puppy coat is gone forever and the new hair will be different from the puppy coat. some may say that shaving is ok but to me, this is not the right thing to do for a 3mth old puppy.
after the shave, i noticed her behaviours change, the way she sit, she seems like always sitting on a carpet and not everywhere like she used to, she hids her little hands/legs under her belly, she scrathces her body almost every second, etc.
some said that the head shld not be shaved down, unless there is serious skin infection.

the best solution is to try to de-tangle as much as possible, i know this is not easy, second best is to trim her on the body only with some hair left on the body.

is this because the groomer wanna leave in a hurry and do an easy job by shaving? i noticed her boyfriend is waiting for her.
is this because they wanna make more money in the fastest way? a simple bath cost rm15-20 and a shave, considered full groom is double that amount. is this ethical? she is a groomer and we thought they knew what's best for the puppies, do they think best for the puppy or for themself? this is very unfair to my puppy and i felt so pity for her after the shave.

secondly, we made a complaint to the petshop staff there (whom also told us that shaving is very normal with healthy puppy because the owner want the puppy to grow a new fur), reason with them and they apologize for their mistake, they knew they are wrong. then we made another complaint to the shop-owner, which he apologize again but saying he did not know the actual situation and will ask his groomer about it. he suppose to call me back with an explanation but i did not hear from him for few days. during the conversation, we ask him will he shave his own 3mths old puppy? and he said no...what a joke, and his groomer is simply shaving other's puppy, without heart.

therefore, i'm posting my story up here so that other member will stay away from this shop. i do not want other puppies to be treated this way. i'm really furious that this happens, a simple bath turns out to be a disaster, my pup looks like a chihuahua rather than shih tzu.
if you do go there, thinking it was simple grooming, they may come up with methods to make fast money or take the easy way out, pls beware.

groomer : lady groomer name tina, fulltime i suppose (pls pls don't put your pup in her hands)
shop name : puppy box
location : kuchai lama
petshop staff : franki
shop owner : steven/joey lai

I feel sorry to dian dian...as i did shave my shih tzu totally botak before...and tat time im not given a second option bye the groomer as well...coz my dog is long fur and he got whole body tangles when i send him for boarding...

first of all, us as an owner hav to take the responsibility as well...as i am regret i never go to other pet shop to take second advise.... but actually really depends on the tangles condition...if all the tangles very near to the skin, then the only option is shave...coz it will cause too much pain to the dog if de-tangle...

secondly, the groomer who didn't tell ou the consequences of after shave, thn is their problem also....

hi there, i did the same as u and regretted didnt bring her to more pet shop to check out her condition..only after shaving did i found out that dian dian is not that badly tangled..only the groomer wanna save the hassle of detangle..even though she said that the tangle is near to the skin..

My opinion is that you're putting the blame too heavily on the groomer instead of yourself. 1st of all you should do more research on your own to find out what’s best for your puppy. You should refer to the vets instead of the groomer to understand better on skin condition and behaviour change. Just like human, the hair stylist won’t know if the shaving will cause infection or itchiness to your head. You should refer to skin specialists. They are there to do grooming job only.

Secondly, you said the groomer did not explain to you what she meant by shaving. What to explain? When they said “shave” it’s obviously botak, unless they mentioned “trimming” but later shave your puppy instead.

Thirdly, you said “only after shaving did I found out that dian dian is not that badly tangled”. How can you tell? Can’t you see it before the shaving procedure? If you think it’s not badly tangle you should not agree to shaving in the 1st place.

Different groomers may have a different kind of approach and not necessarily they did it because they want the easy way out. For example, 1 mechanic told me that my alternator needs replacement but another told me it can be repair. Who is wrong? No one actually, 1 wants to help me save money by repairing, the other don’t want to take the risk that may lead to more complication. Both have their own opinion and approach. The final decision is still in your hand.

And when you said you have no option, how can that be? Your option is not only limited to "shave or not shave". You have the 3rd option that is bring your puppy and leave.

When you’re not sure, contact your regular vets and ask their opinion. They are happy to help, mine did a great job and was very helpful to answer my queries.