Groomer woes!!!!!/UPDATE

I don't think I'm expecting too much from a groomer that I trust my dogs with, but anymore, I just can't seem to find one that I consider thorough and/or competent.

Years ago when I had my Lhasas, I went to a guy that was absolutely wonderful. He loved and pampered all his clients, and would point out any potential problems to their owners. Thanks to him, he uncovered a serious ear problem with one of mine, and I was able to have it surgically corrected. Unfortunately, he left the business to become a vet tech. And I'll bet he's a great one.

The next groomer was good, and I took my dogs there for years. Then she sold her farm where she had her shop, and opened up a shop in a small mall, with new groomers who were terrible and careless. I know that they sedated Myndi and Sparky one time (they were like zombies for a couple of days after I picked them up), and one was so rough with Sparky, that she injured his leg and I ended up having to take him to the vet. Doc said it appears that his leg was twisted, or maybe grabbed in a rough manner. So on to another groomer for a while. They did a decent job on my pups, but I learned of an incident when the groomer left a dog alone on the table and it jumped off, and ended up hanging by it's neck. Fortunately, the dog was rescued and was none the worse for wear, but there was no way I was taking my guys back there.

So I found yet another groomer. I've only taken them there twice, and even tho I wasn't all that thrilled with the cuts she did, it was acceptable. So they went this last Tuesday to get rid of their winter coats - an okay cut - but nothing great. Anyway, Sparky has dew claws on his hind legs, and I always remind a groomer of this, and it's noted on his chart too. Last night, I noticed what I thought was something stuck on one of his back legs. Well it was the dew claw (it's a black nail), and was curled around in a circle. I can't find the end and it appears it might have grown back into the "toe", so I called my vet and I have to take him in tomorrow. The groomer definitely saw this because the hair is cut all around it, and the claw on the other leg was cut back. Am I wrong in thinking that she should have mentioned this to me??? As long as it is, I doubt that it was cut when he were there last November either. I realize that is somewhat my fault, but I shouldn't have to check every nail to make sure that they all have been cut - IMO anyway, and when his hair grows even a little, it's hard to even find the dew claws!

So right now I'm pretty darned ticked off. Groomers are at a premium around here, but I don't think I want to take them back there again either. There is a girl that has a mobile grooming service with a fully equipped van that comes to the house, and she gets rave reviews. Of course, I would be paying over double of what I pay now, but it might be worth my peace of mind. Myndi is getting up in years, and it stresses her to go to the groomer anyway, but with the mobile service, she would be right in her own yard and wouldn't have to be in a cage at all.

So am I being a picky b*tch, or am I justified for the way I feel??? :confused: I just don't know what I'll do when they need to go again. Anyone have any ideas???

I'm sorry to hear that you've had so many bad experiences.:( I don't use a groomers very often since I have cats but the one I do use is very good. No, I don't think you're being too picky about this. You should receive great service and they should let you know if they find something on your animals like skin conditions, ear problems, nail problems etc. I think that using a moblile groomer will be a great solution for you and hopefully this groomer will be a good one.:)

Do you have any grooming schools near you? This is what I use and if a student does the grooming then their instuctor has to make sure that everything's been done correctly. Since I have cats, the owner usually is the one that gives them their annual lion cuts. Good luck.:)

I agree it is difficult to find a good groomer. This is one side benefit of attending the small dog play dates; we all share info on stuff like this!

I'm not sure about the dew claw; since you reminded her of them, perhaps she already thought you know about that one being in grown. I you are otherwise satisfied with the service, I'd say stick with her until you find someone else to try and like better.

BTW, the in grown nail, it happens often, esp. if the nail is clipped too short. Watch how your vet repairs it, as you can do this at home! Well, um, with my crew of 14 I do a lot at home, ha haa.

Best wishes!

I agree with Freedom, she may have thought you knew about it... but if not, then I would be a little upset. I never really thought about how difficult it must be to find a good groomer.

I'd be ticked if I was you also.

I used to take my kitties to a groomer that did a fabulous job and had a reasonable price. However a number of years ago they closed the grooming services for cats, something about not having a manager on staff anymore or some such crap. Then eventually the place closed.

I called several other area groomers and they didn't want to do cats. I tried one of the places our clients seem to rave about that did take cats. Well maybe they do fine with dogs but I was less than impressed with the job they did on my kitties. All the kitties were very damp when I picked them up (only 1 can't be blow dried). They hadn't even used cage dryers on them! Jack wasn't any whiter than when I had dropped him off. None of them were brushed out very good either.

After that I bought the stuff to do my own grooming. My only problem now is no matter which shampoo I use I'm having asthma attacks bathing them, so I have to have a friend come over to do that for me.

Good news. The toenail wasn't ingrown - just about as close as it could be tho, without actually being a problem. Doc snipped it back, and all is well. She agreed too - how could the groomer have missed that, since the hair was cut all around it, and cut even where the hair had grown thru the middle where it was curled around.

The vet tech said I should call the groomer and make her aware of it. There's no way she couldn't have been aware of it! :rolleyes: She said she's a good groomer, but as far as I'm concerned, the jury is still out on that! :eek: She still only does a mediocre job as far as I'm concerned. I probably will call her next week and say something to her about it. I was too p.o.'ed last week to do it, since it could have ended in a shouting match, and I didn't want that!

Well, the pups are good for a couple of months anyway till they need their next trim, so I'll figure out something before then.

Glad all is well, Pom...well, except for deciding about the next groom....I have a question. We didn't have to groom our dalmatian, but we do have to get Boomer groomed every 3-4 months. Just wondering about prices in your area. I like our groomer....she does a good job, and Boomer doesn't ever seem stressed or anything, but I kinda think her price is a little high, but it may not be....I took Boomer for a bath, nail trim, and groom, and Sooner (the pup) got a bath and a nail trim. It was $76 for both of them. They are Springer spaniels....just wondering if this was par with groomer fees around the country or not.

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Originally Posted by boomersooner

Glad all is well, Pom...well, except for deciding about the next groom....I have a question. We didn't have to groom our dalmatian, but we do have to get Boomer groomed every 3-4 months. Just wondering about prices in your area. I like our groomer....she does a good job, and Boomer doesn't ever seem stressed or anything, but I kinda think her price is a little high, but it may not be....I took Boomer for a bath, nail trim, and groom, and Sooner (the pup) got a bath and a nail trim. It was $76 for both of them. They are Springer spaniels....just wondering if this was par with groomer fees around the country or not.

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I imagine rates for grooming are pretty much like what you pay for everything else - it all depends where you live and how fancy a place you want to take them. Some of the exclusive spas in the bigger cities - yikes - talk about pricey.

When I had my guys in last week, I paid $42 for Sparky and $28 for Myndi. Of course Sparky gets the real close cut (as you can see in my siggy pic), whereas Myndi just gets evened up all over, and the hair on her legs and toes and butt cut. Of course that includes the bath and comb out and nails for both of them. I actually paid more at previous groomers - up to $80 at Petsmart for both of them. Unfortunately, if I decide to use the mobile groomer, it would be about $75 each!!! That's not really in my budget, but I could compensate some by stretching the time between grooming visits, and just trim them up a little on my own if they get looking too bad! :p

Thanks, Pom...yes, Boomer is not the spa type!! Neither is my budget!! LOL....Well, if you pay 42 and 28 for little pups, then 50 something for Boom isn't too bad, I guess.....I like the lady a lot, and that is worth it. Good luck in finding a good groomer!!!

The place that used to groom my kitties before they closed only charged me $15 per cat if I brought more than 1 at a time.

The place that did a crappy job was one of the cheaper in the area and they charged me $35 for each short haired cat, and $40 for each long haired cat, no discount on multiples. That was about 4-5 years ago when I quit using a groomer though, so I'd imagine the prices had went up some since then. Don't know what they charged for a dog though.

Most groomers in my area won't even work with cats. Luckily the groomer that I take them to once a year is a good one. They charge me $65 per cat which includes a nail trim, bath, and a lion cut. I think they also clean their ears too. I used to go to them for only nail trims and it was $10 per cat or so. Now I've learned to do it myself. Good luck finding a groomer that you and your dogs like.:)

I once took both Pearl and Sky to Petsmart and I had a horrible experience there. A young girl trimmed their nails and when I got home I noticed that one of Pearl's nails was bleeding.:( The girl should've at least let me know about this because I'm sure that she realized that she cut it too short. I called the grooming dept. but the girl had already left for the day and even though I left my name and number she never returned my call. Pearl was still a kitten at the time and I had to try to keep still for about 5 minutes while I put some flour on it. I learned this from the ER vet that I called.

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Originally Posted by krazyaboutkatz

Most groomers in my area won't even work with cats.

I once took both Pearl and Sky to Petsmart and I had a horrible experience there.

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Groomers around here are just starting to take cats. This last groomer the pups went to, just started doing them, but I have no idea what she charges. My son's 2 cats in residence are shorthairs, so they never have to go. They just get the occasional brushing here at home.

Well - Petsmart must be good at "horrible experiences". :mad: That's where the groomer left the dog alone on the table and walked away and he jumped off and was hanging by his neck. I wouldn't have even believed it happened, but my ex-DIL saw the whole thing transpire. They always did a good cut on my pups, but no way I would ever go back after that!!! :mad:

I kinda like having the same person groom each time, too....I don't imagine that happens at Petsmart.

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Originally Posted by boomersooner

I kinda like having the same person groom each time, too....I don't imagine that happens at Petsmart.

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Petsmart has so many different groomers, that you never know who you'll get, unless you ask for a specific one. Unfortunately they have a pretty big turnover of people, and it seems the good ones don't stay long. Based on what happened, and not knowing anything about these people, is why I chose not to go back. It could have been an isolated incident, but I'm not willing to chance it and put my pups safety in their hands. :(

I so know how you feel. that is largely part of why i groom my dog myself. that way there there is no question about how hes treated an such. but its a lot of work even though hes a dream to groom. so i totally understand why people take them to the groomers. LOL an dont think you were at all wrong to think she should of told you about his dew claw. it is after all part of a groomers job to clip the nails. also dont think youre being picky or a bitch for being concerned about how your dogs are treated.

maybe you could ask at the vets if they have any recommendations? if they dont have any im liking the private groomer. she sounds promising.

Let me give you my grooming opinion on this -

I've been grooming dogs at Petco in my area for almost 4 years now. We are told that if any claw is curled and growing INTO the pad, we are NOT allowed to cut because it could cause infection, blah blah blah liability. But if the dogs nail wasn't even grown ino the pad, he could have cut it... or at least MENTIONED it to you. Bad business, in my opinion. :( My apologies.

As far as prices... short cuts on dogs like Sparky are $36 and for Myndi it would have been like $28 as you mentioned (and they include a nails, ears and brushout). Springers (for a short field cut with the same, nails, ears, etc.) run at $40. For cats, just a bath (with nail trim, ear cleaning and a brush out) is roughly $31, and a lion cut (with the same, nails, ears and brush out) is $43.

Guess it really varies on area, huh?

And another thing - it never hurts to request a specific groomer. I love when people request me. It makes me feel good that they were pleased with my work. I have a lot of request St. Bernards... lots of poms, shih tzus... I love all of my customers, but my request customers hold a special place in my heart. I get them Christmas cards every year, and usually cut them pretty good deals :)