[TwoSweetBabies]

Hey guys! I don't post here anymore that often! But I am reading ya'lls posts all the time!
I just wanted to share my story with everyone here!
I have 2 babies, a 1 1/2 year old red shih tzu, Bella. And a 9 month old wheaton colored Scottish Terrier.
Bellas hair was getting a bit long and living in the south, she was just getting too hot! I couldnt get in to my normal mobile groomers soon enough, so I reluctantly decided to take her to the local Petco groomers.

I have never had a dog groomed at either Petco or Petsmart, as i have rarely heard good stories. So I decided to play it as safe as I could, and paid extra to have her done in an hour, and decided to stay and watch her be groomed.
Well, to say the least, Bella seeing me through the glass was not a good thing. When she couldnt see me, she was very well behaved; but when she saw me, she would just get so excited, her whole body would wag along with her tail! It was cute but I decided it was probably best if I walked around the store so the groomer could work better.

When I left to walk around, she told me she was almost done, just evening everything out. I returned about 15 minutes later, to no Bella. Couldnt see her anywhere. I stood around, waiting, waiting for someone to come out with her, but growing more and more irritated with why they had her in the back!
About 15 minutes of more waiting, the manager walks by me and into the grooming salon, I follow her a few minutes later. She sits at the desk and makes small talk with me for about 5 minutes before FINALLY deciding to tell me that while grooming my precious baby, they accidentally CUT HER TONGUE! You heard me right, cut her little tongue!
They told me she licks a lot (what shih-tzu doesn't), but I am not aware of a good groomer that doesnt hold the dogs mouth closed with cutting around the face!
THe groomer finally brought my Bella out, with blood on her little chin. I can only assume she had taken her back there to try and get it to quit bleeding, so I wouldnt see.
I am very irritated at myself for allowing her to be groomed there, but thankful that it was only a small cut. Petco asked me to wait and see if it kept bleeding, and if it got infected, bring her to their VET - yeah right! - I took her to my vet and had Petco pay the bill.
I realize this is a large chain and there is a possibility there are good groomers working at a Petco, but if you happen to google Petco problems, you will be surprised how many people have had problems!
I used to volunteer at Petsmart when I was 16, and they even asked me to start grooming there!

Sorry for rambling on and on and thanks to everyone who reads!
I highly suggest sticking to a well referenced groomer that you feed comfortable with! Stick to your instincts!

[alphadoginthehouse]

I had the same experience at PetsMart. Butch went in fine, and came out with a cut on the inside of his knee, had bruising for about 24 hrs and had a bad limp. Initial diagnosis was torn CCL (same as the ACL in a human). It was not that serious but I have to be careful with his knee and jumping (but since he is a JRT/Chi mix that's like asking him not to breathe!). $350 later, he is fine and PetsMart paid the bill (asked me to accept half). I will never take my dogs for grooming at a large retail chain ever again. I will pay the extra money to take my dogs to an independent groomer. I'm sorry if this insults any of the groomers on this forum who may work for a retail chain but I don't think they have the proper credentials to be grooming dogs...JMHO.

[RonE]

I've had my ear knicked by more than one barber, so I cut my own hair, now. What's left of it.

[rosemaryninja]

TSB, accidents happen. The groomer obviously didn't mean to cut Bella's tongue, and everybody makes mistakes.

[TwoSweetBabies]

I fully understand that accidents happen. But think about it logically, if you are holding the dogs mouth closed while clipping around the face (which most groomers know to do), it would be impossible to clip the dogs tongue.
I might be more understanding if Bella misbehaved while being groomed, but you could not find an easier dog to groom than Bella.
Ive been having her groomed since she was a baby and have never had such an issue.

[rosemaryninja]

I'm sure Bella is a dream to groom, and I'm not saying it wasn't the groomer's fault. It probably was. But at least she was apologetic about it, and Bella will almost certainly be fine... so maybe let bygones be bygones?

[TwoSweetBabies]

Actually the groomer wasn't apologetic at all. The only one to apolgize was the manager and we all know why.
Oh I have no hard feelings except that I will never have another dog groomed at a chain store and will tell all my friends to do the same.

[Criosphynx]

I think accidents can happen anywhere, not just a chain.

People have bad days. Easy dogs can squirm.

I worked at a Kennel that did grooming too. The lady that owned this place was very professional, she nicked a dog one day.

I consider myself a pro at clipping nails, but occasionally i nick a quick, its rare tho. Grooming is not easy, and it happens.

The dog was a Shih tzu? Don't they have very little face to hold onto anyway?

Sometimes the lack of an apology means the situation was new to them and they didn't know how to handle it or react. Wierder things have happened.

Just my .02

[Peaches]

Originally Posted by Criosphynx

Sometimes the lack of an apology means the situation was new to them and they didn't know how to handle it or react. Wierder things have happened.

Just my .02

I can agree to that. The first time I cut a dog when I was out on my own I freaked out so bad that I had to call my grooming teacher to calm me down and tell me how to handle the situation. I was shaking. It was a very small nick, wasn't bleeding more then a paper cut, but I was terrified of how the owner would react when they found it. I'm just thankful that they were very kind and understanding about it.

And you're right the way their faces are it can be rather difficult to get a good hold. The groomer might just have slipped and the dogs tongue zipped out and got cut before they could correct the situation or pull the scissors/clippers away.

[TwoSweetBabies]

Ok I understand that mistakes happen. I suppose if they were just kind and understanding, I would have been more understanding. But they were not, they did not like my being there from the beginning, I never saw a smile on any of the groomers faces, and no one seemed interested in being kind to me until something bad happened.
I do not believe there is any excuse for causing injury to an animal if you have been well trained in grooming, and if it does happen, you best apologize. I do not need anyone to tell me to be more understanding, I just wanted to get the word out to people interested in knowing.
If you don't think that Petco and Petsmart and all other large cooperations main concern is just a profit, then I personally believe you are being naive.
My personal groomer is one of the biggest animal lovers out there and has never minded me being around while she grooms my dog. Needless to say, I have never had an issue and if she thought the dog was being too hard to handle and in danger of being injured, she stopped. I would rather my dog not be groomed all the way, than hurt.

[4dogs3cats]

When Chance had parvo we had to wait 3 hours a night just to visit with him because they had to make sure the vet wasnt doing any surgeries and it being an e-vet.. well he always was....

OH anywho...

While I was sitting there, about 2 hours apart, two DIFFERENT dogs were brought in by two DIFFERENT petsmarts. I just thought it was ironic. But I know accidents do happen, and part of it is the groomers at petsmart and petco have very cramped areas to work with, stresses the dogs out a bit more, thats what the petsmart I worked at said.

But still- accidents do happen, I am sure if she is taking the time do be a groomer, she isnt hruting dogs on purpose

[TwoSweetBabies]

Well, ok, in no way was I saying that she did it on purpose.
That is just silly.
What I AM saying is that they are under trained, severely undertrained I believe. And honestly I don't believe that MOST (not all) are working there because they love dogs, I believe that many work there just because its a job they could get (trust me, its NOT hard, I was offered a job there when I was a kid!). No one there seemed passionate about what they were doing, they all seemed genuinely in a bad mood, and i'm sorry but thats no way to run any business.
I'm paying them money, to groom and be kind to my dog.
I'm NOT paying them so that I can take their feelings into consideration when they hurt my dog. I'm sorry, but no.
Oh, I forgot to mention, they werent busy/and or cramped at all. In fact, Bella was the only dog being groomed at the time.
But thats not really the point.

[Graco22]

I do believe that accidents do happen when you are working with animals, and sharp tools. If a groomer tells you they never cut a dog, they are lying. Unfortunately, it does happen. It should not be an often occurence, but it does happen. I will agree, in my experience, "many" of the box stores have little training before a person is allowed to groom pets. They also have a high turnover of groomers. Pet grooming is a trade where one is always learning, and there is always more to learn. There are many GOOD boxstores out there, but there are also many with inexperienced groomers, and until licensing and certification is required, this will be the case. (By the way, the box store's "certification" is ONLY thru *their* training program)

I will say that it sure would be difficult to groom a pet safely, with those windows to the store, and people walking by, especially owners. The dog turns quickly to see a movement, etc. And it is very hard to calm a dog down after it gets excited after seeing its owner. Some dogs are best to be put back in the crate to relax, and then resume grooming. I think the box stores set themselves up for trouble with the windows, making dogs more apt to wiggle and turn to see things, and this makes unexpected movements even more apt to happen.

I will say that if you have a groomer you like, does a good job on your dog, etc...STAY WITH THEM! If it means you have to prebook your appt., or wait for the next available, then do it. Good groomers are worth their weight in gold, and they are busy for a reason.

[TwoSweetBabies]

OK no one really seems to understand that I am in NO way in need of people telling me how common it is to cut a dog during grooming, groomers are always learning, you should of stuck to your own groomer blahblah.
Isn't fairly obvious that I should of stuck to my own groomer? I don't really need to be told these things, as I have continued to say.

Thats not the point and I did not ask for advice on how to be more understanding of the pressures of being a groomer. I really have no interest of being more understanding towards them. I simply wanted to tell people my experience simply so they could better judge where to get their dog groomed and maybe save a few from being mistreated.
My dog was injured, end of story really. Just trying to get the word out there.

Oh, I forgot to mention.
Ive posted this on a few dog related forums, and its funny, this is the only board that is full of people siding with the groomers basically. All the others are full of people with similar experiences, or apologies that it happened.
My only guess is that there might be quite a few groomers here and they apparently may have been offended by my post.
I did not mean any offence and I really wish it could be taken for what it is.
Just a notice of my experience, and that is it.

[Criosphynx]

Originally Posted by TwoSweetBabies

OK no one really seems to understand that I am in NO way in need of people telling me how common it is to cut a dog during grooming, groomers are always learning, you should of stuck to your own groomer blahblah.
Isn't fairly obvious that I should of stuck to my own groomer? I don't really need to be told these things, as I have continued to say.

Thats not the point and I did not ask for advice on how to be more understanding of the pressures of being a groomer. I really have no interest of being more understanding towards them. I simply wanted to tell people my experience simply so they could better judge where to get their dog groomed and maybe save a few from being mistreated.
My dog was injured, end of story really. Just trying to get the word out there.

No offense but i think people who regularly get their dogs groomed are probably aware of these things already.

Have you thought about perhaps learning how to groom your own dog?

Your saying not to go there because of how it was handled. I think everyone is just trying to tellyou that that can happen anywhere.

[jesirose]

Sorry for your little girl! I think you are more upset about how it was handled by the groomer and the manager, and that is understandable. Something like that can easily make you hate the entire chain. I personally don't like those stores for other reasons, but I did take Sadie there to be groomed twice, and she did okay. Sadly it's the luck of the draw with places like that. Customer service is a big thing and they failed. It can easily make you want to tell everyone how bad that place is so I know how you feel! I complained about my experience with my vet's receptionist once and got more responses saying I was wrong than anything else, when really the whole point is you just want to vent about it.

Hope the doggie is doing okay!

[GroovyGroomer777]

To the OP, if the groomer had come to you herself, been honest and very sorry would you have been as upset? Just curious.

[alphadoginthehouse]

Originally Posted by GroovyGroomer777

To the OP, if the groomer had come to you herself, been honest and very sorry would you have been as upset? Just curious.

Groovy, I for one would not have been as upset if PetsMart had admitted that something happened to Butch while he was there. They never did and even tried to tell me it was nothing (injury to his right knee that got progressively worse in a matter of days). I think the point is (and I would have felt the same way) the manager engaged her in "chit chat" rather than tell her immediately that something had happened. For me, it was the cavalier way they acted when I noticed a bruise, cut and limp on Butch that were not there when I brought him in.

Groomers have a hard job...and most people do not appreciate them. Lucy had the best groomer ever and I recommend her when ever I can.

[sillylilykitty]

I dont think anyone should bring any of their pets to be groomed at Petsmart and probably Petco either (didnt even know they had grooming/vet clinic). I work in a Banfield at Petsmart right now and we see SO MANY "accidents" from grooming. Seriously, I think more people would be better off doing it themselves then paying for a teenager (or newbies usually) who just wants the money to do it. Just the other day we got a dog from grooming that had a nicked ear that wouldnt stop bleeding. We stopped the bleeding and sent the dog back. That same dog came back about 15 minutes later because they cut into the poor dogs eyelid. She had to have surgery right then and there! This dog was being groomed because she was severely matted all over and they let a newbie groomer do it. Sure accidents happen, but is it just coincidence that so many dogs get hurt at the groomers in Petco and Petsmart or is it the groomers that work there? Im gonna say play it safe and say it's the groomers. But from my experience at Petsmart, it's all about the money, even at the vet clinic there. They try to make you do all these tests that you dont need. But the vets dont always push it in the owners faces like Petsmart/Banfield wants them to do.

[RonE]

To the OP: It sounds like you just wanted to vent, which is perfectly okay but, in doing that, you open yourself up to opposing opinions. You don't have to accept any of them, but they go with the territory.