Fluffy Butt Dog BathHouse and Cafe

I was very pleased to take my baby girl Bella to Fluffy Butt DogHouse and Cafe. Thank you to the owners, Michelle & Peter, who treated Bella like a princess and very tenderly gave her a wonderful groom. I am sure she will settle down once she becomes more acquainted with you - and I look forward to forming an association with you. My first impressions - people who are genuine, take a real interest and are educators. We are familiar with the horse whisperer - Michelle is a dog whisperer. Thank you. Robyn Harris Pukerua Bay
Oct 17th, 2012

This was such an awful experience. I've just adopted a gorgeous 7-year-old Pomeranian, and took him in to Fluffy Butt last week for a general groom. Michelle insisted that his gorgeous fur would need to be "taken down to a 3" (about 2-3cm) "for summer". I asked whether there was any way he could keep a bit of his fluff (his fur was amazing, about 20cm long). She said no, definitely not, that he would get hypothermia, and that it would grow back quickly. I trusted that as a professional she must know what she was talking about - I'll be regretting that forever. Turns out that a Pomeranian's double coat actually insulates them against the heat as well as the cold. Also, their undercoat should never EVER be clipped short, as there's a huge risk of post-clipping Alopecia, and their top coat should only be cut if the owner doesn't like the long fur and doesn't mind the possibility of it never growing back (and I'd made it very very clear that I loved his fluffiness). ALSO, and most scarily, as a non-puppy, his fur is very unlikely to grow back, and if it ever does, it'll be patchy, sparse, and differently-textured. This is all stuff that (professional, experienced) groomers know, as I found out on Friday morning as I was calling around desperately looking for advice after I'd been presently with my poor, shivering boy. Everyone I spoke to was horrified that my Pom had been clipped short. It will take years to get back to anywhere close to where he was -- and that's only if I'm very lucky. When I tried to speak to Michelle about this - to ask for advice, her reasoning, ANYTHING - she refused to answer any questions, then was incredibly rude and then threatening to me -- quite a turnaround from the friendly face she'd put on the day before! Her lovely workmate Paola was left to apologise for her -- I get the feeling this wasn't the first time -- and I feel very sorry that she has to work with such a woman. I spoke to so many awesome, knowledgeable groomers after this disaster, and just WISH I'd gone to one of them instead. Do NOT get your pet groomed here!
Jul 1st, 2013