Professional groomers????????

I found this in another forum--thoutht it worthy of passing on.

Judy


"A new look at having your dog professionally groomed.

Here’s a common sinerio to think about:
While sitting and petting your dog, you realize she has gotten some “love mats” on all those places she likes you to pet, and her coat could really use a good wash. You get on the phone and call your local large pet retailer and make an appointment to have you’re your dog fully groomed. You get to the grooming office where she has been groomed once or twice before. Before you get out of the car, she starts acting “excited” which makes you think she’s “happy.” Unfortunately for her, it was a signal to you that she was feeling scared of going back into that grooming shop. You get to the front counter to check her in, and hand her off to the bather who offered to take her back for you. The leash gets handed off, and your jobs done. You leave, with only one thought, what time do I pick her up?

Your dog is put into a small kennel where she can hear other dogs, and the noise of all the water and blow-dryers hissing hot air on her cell-mates. She waits there for 10 minutes, not knowing what to anticipate from this trip. Alas, her groomer appears in front of her. Without hesitation, the door is flung open, and in no time there are hands, and fingers taking the extra space of the little cell, to pick her up to be brought to an open table. She’s plopped down, and has her head put into a noose, to control her body movements. The groomer wastes no time in getting the mats ands snarles out of her hair before the bath, and starts immedietly on brushing her out. Without even looking at your dog, she starts brushing while talking to another groomer standing near-by. Still feeling nervous, your dog tries to hold herself together, and find guidence from this new person, but it wasn’t 15 seconds into the brushing that the groomer snagged a large mat, sending a shooting pain through your dog. The first time she tried to warn her groomer by raising a lip, but she was still paying attention to her co-worker. Your dog went unheard. She then tried to twist her body around in protest to the pain, in which the groomer reacted by pushing your dog back, thinking she was just trying to be “alpha.” By the third time, your dog had enough and attempted to bite her groomer. This time the groomer becomes outraged that your dog could even try and question her authority, and results to using a muzzle.

Now its time for the bath. The groomer is already convinced that your dog is just a spoiled brat trying to get her own way, and this is the attitute the groomer will continue having the rest of the grooming experience.
Your dog is now scared, and stressed to no avail. She is soaked, suds up and rinsed off with little care taken to ensure no water gets in her eyes, ears or mouth. If she is lucky, she will put her head down to avoid that drowning feeling she got from the last bath.

From the tub she is plopped back onto the grooming table to be dried with an air forcer. The sound and the velocity of the dryer scares her and she starts to panic, only to find herself held down by another groomer, while the hot air is forced onto her. She continues to panic and claw at both groomers until she manages to scratch hard enough to get one of the groomers attention. **THWAP** “NO, BAD DOG!!” is the only reaction she gets from the groomer. It is decided now that your dog is being too aggressive, and she must be caged dried.
She spends the next 30 minutes sitting in a small cage, with a hot air dryer blowing directly on her. She does have access to water, however it is not enough to cool her body inside. All of the stress has paid its toll on her body, causing it to dump excess water into her bladder, and she now has to urinate. She tries to hold it, but her body is already worn from the visit, and she releases herself. Having just washed her, the groomer is upset that your dog has spoiled herself, causing her to stay later, and rewash. She calls you to let you know that she will need a little more time, but not to worry, she will call when your precious baby is done.
The second bath and blow dry seems easier to the groomer now that your dog is so besides herself that she is afraid to even move.
She is now ready to go home
Lucky for her, its not time to get a full clip, otherwise this trip could have taken twice as long.
When you arrive to pick her up, the second she sees you she perks up at the feeling of having her trustworthy, loving owner back. You only see her as her perky, happy self, not the cowering puppy dog she was just seconds earlier.


This sinerio and many others are far too common in grooming shops everywhere. I do not agree that these types of grooming experiences are caused solely by careless groomers, however carelessness and lack of propper handling education are key roles. A groomer with good intentions can be just as likely to traumatize a dog unknowingly, than a careless groomer. The problem stems in owner education, and proper dog behavior education for groomers and bathers.

I would like to make one thing clear that is widely overlooked in the dog grooming realm. To groom a dog, means to enter into an animals personal space, which means every dog must decide if this person is posing a threat to their personal safety or if they may be trusted. Dogs use many factors to determine this, and a groomer must be aware of these factors in order to prevent any threatning behavior on their part to ease a dog into a trusting relationship. Every dog starts their “evaluation” of the groomer the same second they first interact. If a dog feels threatened, their basic “fight or flight” instincts kick in, at which point a groomer should have enough training to know what they may do to reduce whatever stress is causing the fight or flight behavior.
To me, this type of training comes above and beyond the knowledge of hair styling and show clips, but to many grooming shops, this type of training is non existent.

The type of training a groomer receives varies widely from person to person, and also depends on what the particular shop believes is sufficient. I know from first hand experience that pet owners must particularly be weary of the corporate grooming shops located inside pet store chains. The training I received through this particular corporation only had one rule of thumb when it came to handling the dogs, “Do not stop grooming a dog unless they deficate and/or vomit.” It is also a fact that if a dog does this from stress, their bodies are going into shock, which is bthe first stage of death. This is a horrific way to educate groomers that may be working with YOUR pet.

There are some things you as an owner can do to ensure your dog be provided with a low stress environment and a groomer that will be sensitive and communicable with your dog.

-Find out the groomers limits; just how far they are willing to push a scared dog.
-Find out what kind of handling background your groomer has.
-Find out if your groomer provides potty breaks
-Watch the groomer work with a dog that is not yours
-Be weary of groomers that insist your dog be there for more than 4 hours.
-Always go with your gut instinct!

You must also watch your dog for any signs that they do not like going to the groomers for return visits. I hear all too often “I always wondered why my dog would shake walking into the groomers” or “I have to drag him through the doors, he just hates his bathes!”

If you and your dog have already experienced a bad, or even traumatic experience, it is possible to find a trainer with grooming experience to help your pooch learn to trust the grooming process once again, or maybe even for the first time! There is a type of husbandry training you can even do with your dog at home to teach them an alternative reaction to grooming.

The aftermath:
There is one more thing worth noting. Many people do not understand how different stresses effect dogs, therefore do not think of how grooming “incidents” can effect a dog long after a visit. When a dog is exposed to unusual stress for a prolonged period of time (anywhere from 30 minutes, to days) that stress tends to harbour itself in the dog for up to a few weeks. All dogs have different ways of blowing stress, some dogs blow stress externally, and some release that stress internally.
Some examples of externally ridding stress are:
- destroying furniture
- chewing on other off limit items
- fear biting
- leash pulling
- “submissive” urination
- “lashing out” or “temper tantrums”
Some examples of internally ridding stress are:
-hot spots
-excessive chewing or licking on the body
-withdrawn/ depressed behavior
-over-excitability
-lack of concentration or focus
(all symptoms are due to stressful situations, these are not exclusive to grooming)

Next time fido chews up your new pair of shoes, or has an “accident” in the house after being house broken for 5 years, remember that it could be related to some stressful situation from days ago."

I would like to add what the dog OWNER should do to reduce this stress.

1) Do NOT allow your dogs to get matted then insist we must brush the coat out. Not matter how you look at it, brushing out mats HURTS!

2) Make sure your dog actually GOES to the bathroom before coming in to the shop. I understand the nervous pee-pee or a scared poopy, but when your dog comes in and after less then 1 minute's time has to pee an ocean or leave a cow flop, I KNOW the dog was not walked. And YES, re washing and drying take time.

3) TRAIN your dog! Train them on a leash, make sure they know that a cage is not a bad thing, USE the brush at home. These things help them deal with the stress of being groomed.

4) Do NOT press us for time. It you want us to get the job done safely then you can't be asking "What time?" every hour. This is probably the biggest gripe of groomers. VERY, VERY few people allow us the time it takes to get the job done without stress.

I try to do my job to the best of my ability, with the understanding that this is someone's beloved pet. But how many hundreds of times have I not been able to get Fifi's face perfect because she fought me tooth and nail and then have Fifi's owner have the gaul to tell me she is uneven. Have some REAL expectaions!

Enough said.......

Thanks for posting that, Judy. I never did like taking Reecie to the groomer so I've been trying to learn to do him myself. I always try to find out as much as I can about the groomer, but I still hate the fact that I'm leaving him in the hands of a stranger (a lot of times behind closed doors). The point that they don't know about behavior and training all the time is a great one (I am not making a blanket statement about ALL groomers so no one jump on me. I know some do know things about behavior - wolf_q for example). There are some really bad groomers out there and its scary. I'm not even sure why some of them pick that profession really. I'm glad Reece is a good boy at the groomer and gives them no reason to get rough. It is still too scary for me though, so I think my boy is doomed to get horrible haircuts by me unless I can find someone exceptional who I know personally. Also, the whole process takes me a little over an hour. That beats staying the 4+ hours at the grooming salon.

I personally would rather rot in hell before I ever take my dog back to another groomer.

Frankie needed his nails trimmed and for the first time I decided to stay and watch since it would only take 5 minutes, which actually took 10 minutes because *SOMEONE* lost control and it wasnt my dog...

She started off DRAGGING him to the table, which I let her get by with because Frankie doesnt like strangers and I wasnt in the mood for a fight.

Ties his head to a table. He got upset... D'uh?

The first one she cuts too short and he yelped, growled, snapped at her when she tried to go for another one. Might I point out that before that HE WAS STANDING PERFECTLY STILL. She had *no* excuse to cut too short and *NO* excuse for how she acted after that.

After he growled and snapped she turned to me and said "Does he need a muzzle?" I said "well if it makes you more comfortable."

She ROLLED HER EYES at ME, said "oh. thanks." in the most sarcastic tone. Goes into the back. Brings back a muzzle 3 times too small and forces it on my dog. ((I hate myself for not causing a fight and a huge d@mn scene in that PetSmart that day.)) The entire time Frankies fighting her to get the Chihuahua Muzzle ((off my Dalmatian)) shes *yelling* at him "FRANKIE NO. OH DONT YOU DARE. NO! I SAID NO!". I basicly just turned away, I'd been sick for a full week and didn't want a fight because I probably would of started crying.

After she'd gotten her jimmys off torturing my animal she was completely calm, cool, collected. Sick b_tch.

Everytime I see a groomer I'm completely disgusted. I'm sorry but theres just way too many groomer horror stories for this kind of thing to be "rare". Its always better for pet owners to learn to care for and groom their own animals. Its less stressfull and could be a bonding experience. I've always groomed Jillie and she loves it :)

My groomer was recommended from someone I really trust. The doors are always opened and it shares an office with a vet. I can tell the groomer really loves the dogs its really obvious and when you go you can see them working on other dogs.

Personally, I own a grooming business and attended college to be a groomer. I agree with some of those points, but not all groomers are bad. Most groomers that have home businesses are alot better than the grooming you'd get a PetCo.

when MAXIMUS was about twelve weeks old, i took him to get his nails trimmed....so there i stand holding my baby on the table, when a guy came in with some plier looking things and a big bottle of something... so he grabs a tiny paw and.........squealing, crying and blood.....he then gets the bottle and a cotton ball and says it's to stop the bleeding...:confused: was he kidding? ...that's one nail.....did he seriously think i was gonna let him do any more?.....his little nails are clear...so there is no reason to accidentally get too close....:mad: :mad: :mad: ...i asked him if that's how he does his kids nails or his own......so i grabbed my puppy and left before i got really ugly with him....ugh!!!!!! :mad: :mad: :mad:...i know not all groomers are so careless...let's just say, i am sooo glad MAXIMUS doesn't have to be groomed....i only have to trim his thummies every once in a while.......my sister in law has a lady that comes to her house to groom her two....she said there is a difference between the mass production shops and the home personal groomers......

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Originally posted by SunKissedGoldens
Most groomers that have home businesses are alot better than the grooming you'd get a PetCo.

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I was going to mention that. I met an amazing groomer who did it from her home. I'd trust her with any of my animals. The problem is I lost her number, booo.

I'm taking Oz tomorrow for his first time at a groomers. It's part of our vet's office and he's only getting a bath and blow dry, so hopefully it'll be okay. When he had to stay at the vet's last week, they actually let him spend the afternoon hanging out in the back offices with them. They're all very kind to him, so my thought was that the groomer would be too, since she's part of their team. *fingers crossed*

The only part I worry about is the high velocity blow dryer. He's socialized to everything else, but who knows how he'll react to that. If it stresses him out, then we'll just have to live with shedding in the future, I guess.

Idgie's mom use to be a groomer and some of the stories she's told me, do make me wary. Seems like a job that takes a whole lot of patience and a whole lot of dog knowledge. She usually got all the difficult dogs, because the others couldn't handle'em without blowing their stack. She seemed to have a knack of calming them down and making them feel comfortable. Got on their wavelength, so to speak.

If she was grooming say a Shih tzu or Lhasa, then she'd always ask them permission before doing anything. If it was say a Sheltie or Collie, then she always formally introduced herself before starting and always apologized for anything undignified she had to do, like expressing anal glands. If it was a Terrier, then she'd simulate crowd noise cheering for'em, whenever they'd let her finish something, like trim their beard.

I wish I could have her do the grooming, unfortunately she lives too far away.

Par...

I worked in a grooming parlour for a day last summer, and I'm going in for a jobshadow this week. I remember that it wasn't like I expected..I didn't want to admit it, really, because I want to be a groomer myself, but I didn't feel that the dogs were well taken care of...For one thing, they didn't brush out the dogs before they bathed them. It's so much harder and more painful to get out wet mats and wet underhair. The dogs were being pushed this way and that on the grooming tables. I felt that everyone was trying to rush instead of do their job properly. When I handle a dog, I'm gentle with that dog. I felt like they were picking the dog up and just throwing it wherever is convenient, very harshly.

When I have my own grooming business, I'm sure it will be alot better...No one will have to hear horror stories.

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Originally posted by SunKissedGoldens
Most groomers that have home businesses are alot better than the grooming you'd get a PetCo.

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AMEN!!! I was fortunate enough to have a wonderful groomer teach me how to groom my goldens! She is a professional all breed groomer with her own business in her home and she just happens to show and breed Goldens too! She taught me in exchange for doing computer work for her.

Now, I groom a lot of my friends Goldens. Never without them being present though! That way if their dog needs held or comforted, they are right there to do it. It frees me up to actually work on the dog instead of handling other issues.

Oh, and one other note.... I never cut a dogs nails anymore. I use a dremmel (sand paper attachment) and grind their nails. It is much safer than cutting. Plus it gives a more polished and smooth finished appearance.

yup, I want to be a groomer, but it will be my own buisness, I do not want to be in that kind of enviroment, I want to get to know the dogs, I am a very gental person my nature. now Blair is another story....lol you have to be rough to cut his nails, we actually have to give him tranqilizers, and have him pinned under a blenket being held down by at least 2 people just to clip 1 nail, he is absolutly insane, oh he will hand you his paw, but if you dare TOUCH his paw he completly flips out, screaming and biting and yanking. its not that he was not socilized to that as a pup, because her was, his paws were handled and he got lots of treats for it etc.. every single day, and it does not help that he has double dew claws lol I think we have clipped all his nails a total of once and he is 1 1/2 years old. we did come up with a new plan though lol we found these plans for a doggie ail file, it is basicly a sandpapered board that you teach the dog to scratch, it files their nails down lol although I am not sure at a grooming salon I would have the time to teach dogs to dig at a board lol

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When I have my own grooming business, I'm sure it will be alot better...No one will have to hear horror stories.

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:D YAY!!! some of the good guys :D

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Originally posted by jenluckenbach
I would like to add what the dog OWNER should do to reduce this stress.

1) Do NOT allow your dogs to get matted then insist we must brush the coat out. Not matter how you look at it, brushing out mats HURTS!

2) Make sure your dog actually GOES to the bathroom before coming in to the shop. I understand the nervous pee-pee or a scared poopy, but when your dog comes in and after less then 1 minute's time has to pee an ocean or leave a cow flop, I KNOW the dog was not walked. And YES, re washing and drying take time.

3) TRAIN your dog! Train them on a leash, make sure they know that a cage is not a bad thing, USE the brush at home. These things help them deal with the stress of being groomed.

4) Do NOT press us for time. It you want us to get the job done safely then you can't be asking "What time?" every hour. This is probably the biggest gripe of groomers. VERY, VERY few people allow us the time it takes to get the job done without stress.

I try to do my job to the best of my ability, with the understanding that this is someone's beloved pet. But how many hundreds of times have I not been able to get Fifi's face perfect because she fought me tooth and nail and then have Fifi's owner have the gaul to tell me she is uneven. Have some REAL expectaions!

Enough said.......

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thanks for that, i agree 100%. its stressful on everyone there if a dog comes in a total mess! we arent the bad guys! we are trying to make it better for your pet.

Im with Aly on this one. ive thought about taking Kirby to the groomers more then once.. but the fact about leaving my dog with some stranger scares me.

:( I dont know about any other groomers on the site but i try my hardest to make sure the dog im working on is happy at all times! im always talking to the dogs as im bathing them to keep them calm and i have a LOT of patience when it comes to dogs, at least alot more that i do with the stupid owners that let their dogs get is such cruel conditions :( I can understand where everyone is coming from by reading everyones experiences but i have to admit at time some of the dogs do get too much so i give them a break in a quiet kennel for a while and go back to them after they have had a break, seriously some of the dogs that come into the shop are in such a bad state you cant help but cause the dog a bit of discomfort i hate it so much when you see a pretty dog like a poodle coming in with all of its fur matted solid and the owners let their dogs get like that its really heartbreaking seeing a dog like that because its like the problem is handed over to you so most dogs do associate the groomers with pain and fear because of that and thats why i think most dogs become aggressive in the grooming places, i mean of all the dogs that come in its never the bigger dogs like rotties that come in for a bath that turn nasty its always the poor dogs like the shihtzu that come in with matts, i dont understand some people why own a dog if you cannot be bothered with the grooming work? and as for the nails i have to admit to cutting a few too far on the black nails but there is a power that i cant spell that we use and it clots the blood straight away so the dog does feel too much pain, its the same with the ear plucking, i was against doing that when i first started and refused because i thought it was cruel but at the end of the day if you dog comes back with an ear infection that would cause alot more discomfort than about a minute of plucking, sorry if i sounded big headed about everything i just needed to get it off my chest, sorry if ive offended anyone i just get so wound up I agree there is alot of groomers like that that dont have any patience with the dogs and i would refuse to work in a place like that but i can safely say that the groomer i work in is a nice place and we dont agree with punishing a dog we give them breaks if they get too wound up, anyway sorry its so long :(

I agree, everyone should get to know their groomers before bringing their dogs in. . . if the groomers cant be bothered with meeting you and showing you around, walk away! I think this is mostly the owners fault, most people just drop their dogs off at whatever place is the cheapest or the most convenient, and when theyre dog comes back a mess its no one's fault but the owners. I've met so many awesome groomers, including ours! They've known Gonzo since we first got him. . and we had used them for our Bichon and Cocker Spaniels a long time ago. The owners are married and the main groomers, all of the other groomers and washers have gone through schooling and they're all really good people. Their grooming tables are out in the open in the entrance. . . and, for people who feel that the leashes on grooming tables are cruel - the leashes prevent the dogs from jumping around, nipping, and ultimately hurting themselves. Its a safety precaution more than anything, and its used by everyone who grooms properly, including dog show handlers. Our groomers have a play/potty yard, large kennels, and they're very gentle with all of the dogs. I love them, Gonzo really does too :) he gets tons of treats when he goes there, and since he started going there he's absolutely fine with blowdryers. They also do an awesome job on de-shedding treatments :p

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and its used by everyone who grooms properly,

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not true lol I am reading a grooming book, it is written by a groomer and she does not use the grooming noose, rather she takes the time to tran the dogs to stand still on the the table, and if she does not finish the grooming because of the trainer, well, oh well. she wants the dogs to trust her on there own, she she works with the dogs to have them either stand or lay on the table while she grooms, she grooms properly, she just takes the time to work with the dogs so that they dont squirm around lol

I've been grooming my own dogs for 9 years and I still need to use the grooming noose occasionally. They know after what's expected of them but still need a little "encouragement" sometimes.

Scruffy needs the support on his back end because he only has one back leg. He actually relaxes into the noose while I work on him.

I've groomed dogs from the shelter that had never seen a brush. With a little patience they usually do quite well. Unfortunately, some professional groomers don't take the extra time to make the dog comfortable.

Mary

I'm trying to learn to groom my yorkie and bichon. My reasoning is to save them the stress of being left at a grromer and to save a little money.

I've been working mostly with Kirby the bichon. We went down last night and he let me trim about 70% of him (top of his back and head/down both sides). He looks a little raggedy, but as I get better he'll look better) We're just doing it for short periods since he gets stressed and so do I. But I do have to say, if you have to learn he's the perfect dog to do it on. He is so patient and sweet. He doesn't fight or squirm. And I don't use the noose on him.

Molly the yorkie on the other hand is a wild child. I was only able to trim her face last week. She has to be done in short spurts. I do use the noose on her to keep her from jumping down and hurting herself. I think as she gets more used to me doing it, we'll dispense with using the noose.

Welp left Oz with groomer this morning. I had a chance to talk to her briefly and really liked her. She asked all the right questions and had all the right answers. Plus Oz really loved her (well he does love everybody :)), but he walked away happily with her.

I know we'd had a discussion here about tipping. So I plan to tip her, when I pick him up. I wanted to know what's considered appropriate? Is it like at a restaurant, 15%?

Par...

I've always done 15-20%.

I say 15% to 20% is standard, too, from what I've heard! But, if it's substandard service, tip accordingly. ;) And, definitely, if it's above average service, tip more! I hope Ozzy has a fun day at the groomers! I am lucky with Finn, he doesn't really need a groomer.

Wow, I'm the ultlimate bad groomer I guess.......I work at PETCO. :eek: I feel like I have to defend myself as an animal lover just for working there!

Yes there are bad groomers, I will not deny that at all. I've worked with some of them. And they have been fired for the problems they have caused. There are plenty of good animal loving people that are groomers too.

Grooming nooses on the table are NOT to choke the dogs :rolleyes: they are to prevent them from jumping off the tables and hurting themselves. We have ones that go under the belly and the head.

Just because a dog shakes when he comes in the door does NOT always mean they had a bad experience. Reggie and Sydney both shake the second I put them in the bathroom. They know what's coming....a B A T H...and they hate it. Am I mean to them? No, they just don't like getting a bath. Just the other day a dog came in that I have groomed every single time, he's an angel of a dog and I have never once been even slightly mean or rough with him. He shakes every time he comes in, putting on a sympathy act for his mom. ;)

It would be nice if people would actually brush their dogs so there would be no matts to remove. It hurts. I try to be as careful as I can, usually I just lift up the hair and use a slicker brush in the spot to get it out...if it's too tight, I'll shave or cut it out though owners usually throw a fit about that. Most people (not saying anyone on here) seem to care a lot more about how their dog looks then how it will hurt the dog to remove the matt. If the dog is trying to bite me, yes I will put a muzzle on them. I'm sorry but I rather value my fingers, I've been bit enough times to know how bad it hurts. Any groomer that doesn't brush a dog before bathing them is just asking for trouble...that is complete stupidity.

Force dryers are loud. Most dogs are not that terrified of them though. Nebo actually seems to like it, I think it feels good to him. If I have a dog that is very nervous and afraid already I don't even attempt the force dryer on them. Our kennel dryers are not heated they are room temperature air.

We don't have a place to take dogs out to potty but if people would actually take their dogs to go out BEFORE bringing them in they'd be just fine. My dogs hold it all day while I'm at work which is much longer than grooming time and they are fine.

Sometimes grooms do take longer than 4 hours, simple as that. Dogs such as samoyeds with lots of undercoat especially. I don't think 4 hours is that unreasonable especially if it's a dog that needs brushing time. I've spent over 2 hours just brushing a dog before a bath before, let alone the bathing, drying, and finishing time. And sometimes it's just too busy. If I have several dogs to do I would MUCH rather have the dogs stay longer and do a good job on all of them then have to rush because their owner is calling every 5 minutes.

I try my best not to quick (cut the nail too close) dogs nails but it does happen. Yes, even when the dog is holding still. I don't have x-ray vision that can see exactly where the quick is on every dog when they have black nails. Some dogs have veins that are nearer to the tip of the nail than other dogs. When people bring dogs in just for nail clipping I just have the dogs owners hold the dogs while I clip the nails. The only time I take them over to the table is if the people tell me they will be better if they don't hold them.

I could go on much longer but I have to go back to that stressful place that I don't get paid nearly enough for...oh yes, my job.

I still plan to take Molly and Kirby to the groomer. They look so much nicer and they really do like Karen and Donna. Being a groomer is a really tough job and I don't think I could do it full time.

I do try keep them both brushed so that the groomers don't have such a hard time. If there is a knot, I'd rather they cut it out as opposed trying to comb it out.

I need to take Wilbur to be groomed, but I've been outting it off because of my experience when I had Star's nails done. I had her at the Petco where I had adopted her, and decided to get her nails trimmed I liked the lady I met, and she seemed very gentle.

So I agreed to it, and she PASSED STAR OFF to a lady who grabbed her by the base of her skull, forced her down to the table, and held her down while she SCREAMED. As soon as I saw that I grabbed her, yanked my money away from the person I had just handed it to, and took her home. WTF was the lady thinking? I saw her do the same thing to a large samoyed as I was leaving. :mad:

So I'm sitting with Wilbur who isn't really matted but is starting to get really shaggy and I can't decide what to do. There is a groomer around the corner from my house who has been recommended to me by some of the people we walk with who have very pampered pups, but I'm still nervous. :(

STANDING OVATION to Wolf_Q !!

From me and all other (reputable) groomers.

I don't think anyone here has said that all groomers are bad. It is just very hard to find a good groomer for our babies. Even sometimes when they seem nice, they turn out to be horrible. It is a scary situation. Surely you can understand that! For as many good groomers out there, there seems to be twice as many bad ones. I could take offense to those of you who said the owners suck, but I don't because I know you're not talking about *all* owners. Of course there are sucky owners and good owners, just as there are sucky groomers and good groomers. This thread is good for people to read though who might be naive to the fact that there are bad groomers.