Grooming

Bruce has been groomed a few times but Jett just had his 2nd grooming. I really try to keep them mat free at home but it is hard. Jett chews on Bruces ears, so they get matted really bad. They run & play outside a lot, so the mats had gotten out of control. I took them to the groomers & they don't even look like the same dogs.
Jett had never been shaved, his first pro grooming, they just brushed it out since it wasn't so bad. This time, he was shaved. He's still adorable but doesn't really look like a Shih tzu anymore to me. Just a cute dog. I can't even put my finger on what he does look like.
We thought that Bruce had gotten fat because his fur was soooo thick. It didn't seem to be growing down like the show Shih tzus, but just everywhere. He looked like a ball of fat fluff. Unfortunately, there were many mats to the skin underneath the fluff. Now he looks tiny- tinier than ever. I think part of it has to do with the fact that when he has been shaved in the past, there was still fur on the ears.
Jett seems fine with his new look but Bruce is still hiding, 3 days afterwards. Bruce was hiding after his last grooming as well but never before that.
I wonder if he thinks he's ugly, because he isn't & i'm giving him extra attention. My friend said that she thinks that since he is such a good dog, that maybe he feels like he did something wrong & the grooming was a punishment. She said that they have to strap them down, muzzle them, etc. in order to groom. I can see why that would be needed but it does make me feel bad for Bruce because he is the type of dog that always wants to please. When I groom him at home, he stands very still for me. Maybe she has a point. I'm not sure. I am going to try better to keep up with brushing them enough that maybe we can avoid the groomers. That has always been my plan in the past, but maybe this time I can do a better job of it.