Top Dog Groomers/ Groomming Horror Shaved my dog bald and traumatized her abused & mistreated Northridge California

I'm a groomer of 6 years and an animal lover of my whole life (24 years). For the people that put on here their horror stories, Yes, be very careful of who you choose for your pets groomer. There are some really nasty people out there and it makes you wonder why they even chose grooming as their profession.

Now, to comment if I may on Dawns "2 Cents". It is the groomers responsibility to contact the owner and get permission to do a flea and tick bath, or a different hair cut then what was discussed, ESPECIALLY a shave down.

Yes, a lot of us groomers do get fed up with trying to make a pet beautiful for an owner that is careless or without time, BUT that is our job and that is what we get paid to do, make the pet beautiful for the owner. Cops don't just give up on crime and animal shelter employees don't just give up on the homeless pets. One quality that is most important for a groomer or potential groomer to have is PATIENCE.

Shih Tzu's, Pug's, Boston Terriers, etc. don't need to get hit hard in the back of the head for their eyes to pop out. Think of it as Grave's Disease (in humans). If they pull to hard on the noose and get stressed out the eyes can and will pop out. I had a regular customer that I couldn't even put the noose on the dog because of the left bulging eye.

When the noose is around the dogs neck and you put the dogs legs one at a time to show them where the edge of the table is, that's one thing but she was talking about the noose being around the dogs back end and the dog would try to jump off the table and swing back. People don't just make up these stories because they are bored.

I agree with you when you talk about how owners complain about the price or their late. Again, owners don't know and you need PATIENCE.

Oh, Tetnus shots last 10 years so no one ever needs to get a Tetnus shot every 6 months. I know because I just got one August 18th 2005 from a cat bite and I hate needles so I asked how often I would need one and they said they are every 10 years.

Grooming is a world of it's own. What I mean by that is, Customers, outside people, non-groomers, etc... don't know about what really goes on in some grooming shops, not all, but some.

A guy I use to work for in Bucks County, PA (I won't mention any names for legal reasons but I would love to put his name out everywhere) He was beyond abusive to the pets that came in his shop. He would punch dogs in their backs to get them to sit, if cats jumped off his table he would grab them by their tails swing them around and throw them into a cage. I'm not the only witness to any of this. He was grooming a Lhasa one time and had to small of a muzzle on and the noose to tight around the neck and the dog pretty much died on his table. While I'm trying to revive the dog all he says is "I'm not being held responsible for this dog dying." The dog did survive and I gave him back to the owners. The owner of this grooming company thought it was ok that his bathers were not properly washing the dogs. His excuse was that the pets had a skin condition. Absolutely rediculous!

The most mind boggling part is that his shop was voted Best 2006 groom shop by Readers Choice. That's what I mean by grooming is a world all it's own. If customers knew, he would have been shut down so fast his head would spin.

There are some truly genuine groomers out there that will take the time to talk to your pet and play with your pet and think of them as a customer and not just another animal or dollar sign. Mobile grooming is another good way to go. I work for a mobile grooming company stationed in Chester County, PA. Customers feel much more safe when they know their dog is only a few steps away getting special individual attention.

I hope I have shed some light on these issues.

Melissa
Newark, Delaware

If the groomer won't call you back this means she is uninterested in your repeat business, probably had a difficult time with your dog, and didn't handle it very well. I would be worried about what the dog had to experience during the grooming session.

Don't go back, warn others and try grooming your pup at home. I own two poms and each of them were so upset at the groomers, that I learned easily how to groom them at home. Economical, pleasant for the dogs, and at 2-3 hours every six weeks, it's not too time consuming.

Just wanted to let pet owners know that if you have ANY concerns at all regarding the way your pet is treated by a groomer you should STOP, take your pet away and find someone else.

I had a Soft Coated Wheaton terrier which is a long haired, non-shedding dog in the "high" grooming catagory.

I kept his coat clean and brushed and went to a groomers for trims before shows (basic maintenance, nails, and quick trims i did myself)

This groomer was a show judge and reccommended to me by the kennel club in the area.

I first became concerned when she was the judge in our show and my dog growled during her examination of him. This was the FIRST time I have ever heard this dog growl at another person other than in a playful "tug-of-war" game.

The next time she was to groom him I dropped him off and as usual she asked ne to come back 6 hours later to pick him up. I returned in one hour and as I walked to the back door (where she grooms) I looked in the window and saw her flipping my lifeless dogs body over on its side and TEARING at his coat roughly while smoking a cigarette!

I took my dog away immediately and went straight to the vet to find that she had tranquilized my dog into unconsciousness. This was never discussed and she blatenetly LIED in the other grooming sessions because every time I picked up my dog I would ask how he behaved and if she had an problems and she always said he was a good dog and easy to get a long with and she would talk about playing with him outside.

My vet indicated that the dog had relieved himself in his coat and should be cleaned up. The vet generously allowed me to stay in the room until the dog was alert and awake (3 hours later) and helped me bathe him for the drive home.

Remember...this is YOUR pet and YOUR resonsibility and if you want to stay with your dog the entire time he's being groomed you have that right.

PS...I now have a grooming table in my house and my new groomer comes to my house and I sit next to my dog while he's being groomed. She can't imagine why anyone would tranquilize this dog since he LOVES to be groomed...even lifts each paw himself to get underneath.

Thanks for listening

In response to the "bad" grooming, You never mentioned how often you had your dog groomed ? is it every 8 weeks as a Pomeraninan should be groomed or more like 2 times a year ? was it matted beyond reasonable means of brushing ? you know not causing the pet pain when you brush out all those matts ? a Pomeraninan DOES get matted and if not BRUSHED CORRECTLY or groomed on a regular basis (every 8 wks) they WILL become matted "FAST". most groomers are fed up with trying to keep the animal beautiful for the owner who don't have the time for daily brushing,AND finally take the pets comfort into consideration.
and the other post about popping the eyes out of shih tzus etc.. I have been grooming for over 17 years,show ALL the toy breeds and the only way for an eye to "pop out" is if the dog recieves a severe BLOW to the back of the head- which in turn would kill the animal ! If a dogs eyes were able to "pop out" as you say, then maybe those owners would need to find a new vet who knows how to diagnose the problem and suggest surgery. and as for hanging the dog by the back legs off the table, maybe it is more like SLIDING the back legs off the table and also at the same time holding the dog so it don't fall- we do this to teach NEW dogs especially for dog shows- to stand still on the table- thus would keep them from hanging themselves when they decide they can jump off in mid air !

Everyone had a complaint about how groomers handle dogs in grooming, or complain about the cost, but you also need to look at it from a groomers perspective also:

1) when complaining about the price and also stating you don't pay that much for your own haircut, GREAT but you also don't try to bite,jump,claw,pee or poop on your barber do you ?

2) Your beautician won't put up with you showing up an hour late, and you expect to get a color & cut done in less than hour-even though you were late for your appointment.

3) does your beautician have go and recieve a tenus shot every 6 months?

4) does your beautician need to clean up diareah or vomit because it's your first time getting "groomed"

5)does your beautician have to deal with you taking as long as 20 minutes to leave ,causing the pet to get upset and having 8 other dogs go crazy because you "just can't say goodbye"

When you complain like you do about a cut, alot needs to be factored in- not that they did a bad job,what condition was the dog in ? was it infested with fleas, have a skin problem ?
JUST MY 2 CENTS !!

You are completely right! A very good Friend of mine works at a very well known Pet Supply/Groomer, he has told me stories of things that go one while the owners are away...going as far as hitting the animals with grooming tools. I was shocked when he told me this, he also told me of stories about hanging the dogs by their hind quarters and watching them try to jump off the grooming table, they think this is funny!

He told me one story that will make you sick! I guess a certain breed has a problem with their eyes popping out of the socket, well apparently they had a pair of these dogs in and had a little contest to see who could make an eye pop first, I have no idea how this is done but what ever they did was successful, fortunatly the person who popped the eye also did some bad haircuts too(cutting the skin of over 10 other dogs) and was finally fired. I would think after popping out an eye would be enough reason for dismissal! I suggest thinking long and hard before you let someone you dont know take care of your beloved pet! Even if its a very popular well known company be very cautious!