To all you groomers! - whats the worst thing youve seen on the job?

Oxyrep · 01-22-2008, 11:08 PM

OMG - call me overly sensitive but maggots living on these dogs? That is the sadest thing I have ever heard! That just kills me. I couldn't even read through all these posts. I think I am a pretty tough guy but hearing of this just kills me.

birdmommy · 01-24-2008, 03:33 PM

My mother and I own a dog grooming shop and we had a groomer that was grooming a matted up maltese. (You all know hoe that goes) well she was a really great groomer. Fast, did wonderful haircut and had only ever cut a dog one time in the who 6 years she had been working for us. (You know it happens to everyone at one time or another). well to make a long story short... this dogs legs were matted soo badly that the was scissoring down by her fee to get the mats loosened up enough to use her 10 blade down by her feet. She was scissoring and she cut what she thought was a mat out and it turned out that she cut the little dogs doo claw off. (I think i spelled that wrong) it was one of those little floppy ones that was held on my nothing but a TINY little flap of skin. but still it was kinda nasty. The owners still come to her to get thier dog groomed and still tell her thank you for not charging them for the doo claw removeal. hehehe

matthelimech · 01-27-2008, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lorina

I don't see very many of them. Maybe a couple a year during the summer? From what I've read, they're more common on (in?) livestock and wildlife than on pets.

We call them warbles, and normally see them on cattle. I had a cocker once that love to hang with the cattle and he got one. I noticed the hole in his back, then saw movement... I got tweezers and pulled it out, wife almost fainted.

Darkmoon · 01-27-2008, 08:57 PM

Excuse me while I go throw up... My goodness!! How could people do that to their pets? Bah... and people wonder how I hate human kind... blah...

The worst thing I've seen was with a ferret. Our neighbor found her in their garage eating a dead possum. She was covered in fleas and 75 ticks. 75 ticks on a 2 lb body! Poor thing was so anemic that the vet didn't think she would make it. She lived about 4 years after that. My parents get ferrets in all the time in bad shape. One ferret came in and you could swear that its skin was black. It was covered in fleas. Poor thing died later that night.

tnmg2008 · 01-29-2008, 08:51 PM

Wow, some of the responses is just WOW. Poor doggies......But, I would have to say, I live in Maryland and the worst I have seen is a groomer beaten the life out of the dogs while grooming!!!!!

That is the worst for me.

Here, we have these helpless animals come into a shop to get cleaned up and already nervous about where they are and what they are there for, grant you some of the dogs are out of control or afraid so they may loung at you but why, why why if you can't handle such a situation why would you be in this field........We are in hospital, if you can't handle the dog then get it sedated. But this has happened too many of the dogs just because it won't sit still.

I have seen it first hand. I work in a kennel where this happens and it continues....and continues this person must have some kind leverage, we have all complained about this groomer and I don't know where else to take it....I need advice, I don't want to lose my job, but the hospital even knows this has been taking place. FOR A LONG TIME. GET RID OF THESE MEAN ASS GROOMERS.

Please give input......

Shanette Peters · 01-31-2008, 02:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tnmg2008

Wow, some of the responses is just WOW. Poor doggies......But, I would have to say, I live in Maryland and the worst I have seen is a groomer beaten the life out of the dogs while grooming!!!!!

That is the worst for me.

Here, we have these helpless animals come into a shop to get cleaned up and already nervous about where they are and what they are there for, grant you some of the dogs are out of control or afraid so they may loung at you but why, why why if you can't handle such a situation why would you be in this field........We are in hospital, if you can't handle the dog then get it sedated. But this has happened too many of the dogs just because it won't sit still.

I have seen it first hand. I work in a kennel where this happens and it continues....and continues this person must have some kind leverage, we have all complained about this groomer and I don't know where else to take it....I need advice, I don't want to lose my job, but the hospital even knows this has been taking place. FOR A LONG TIME. GET RID OF THESE MEAN ASS GROOMERS.

Please give input......

If you have all complained about this groomer and nothing has been done to prevent/stop it, only four things come to mind 1) everyone who knows about this groomer and has complained - get together and confront the owner/manager and state you will all walk off the job if nothing is done~but you've stated you don't want to loose your job so that could backfire...2)can you allert authorities/police of animal abuse to see if they can do anything? 3) pull the owners of the dogs aside and tell them yourself ~ yes they might take their business elsewhere but at least you allerted them to the problem and prevented it from happening again or they could very well cause that groomer to loose their job.4)Next time you see this person take it 'too far' step up and remove the animal from the person or out right say LOUDLY 'What the heck do you think you are doing?!' Has anything happened as a result of the complaints?

lenagroomer · 03-28-2008, 10:53 PM

matted is when the dog has knots in its hair to the point that they can not be brushed out. when a dog is severely matted it gets matted down to the skin and all over. agian, these can not be brushed out but have to be shaved out. never use scissors to get rid of matts it is very dangerous.

the best way to avoid matts is to brush your dog everyday and get it used to be brushed out so that it is an enjoyable experience for your dog. that makes it easier to keep the coat clean, healthy, and matt free, but will also make it easier when it comes time to have the dog groomed.

hope that helps

(the worst thing i have ever saw was a shit tzu's eye pop out. i have been paranoid ever since.)

Shanette Peters · 03-28-2008, 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lenagroomer

(the worst thing i have ever saw was a shit tzu's eye pop out. )

I've heard of this happening

, thank goodness haven't seen it yet.

FriendsOfZoe · 03-29-2008, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lenagroomer

(the worst thing i have ever saw was a shit tzu's eye pop out. i have been paranoid ever since.)

Oh my GOD! Ahhh! I have to stop reading this thread!
I definitely know now that I will NEVER be a groomer and I will never own a dog with a coat that requires intense upkeep!

Shanette Peters · 03-29-2008, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FriendsOfZoe

Oh my GOD! Ahhh! I have to stop reading this thread!
I definitely know now that I will NEVER be a groomer and I will never own a dog with a coat that requires intense upkeep!

No worries, even with all the possible bad things that can come with being a groomer, the benefits and the personal 'good feeling' for doing a good job over powers the bad things. Perhaps if you don't want to become a groomer you can still work with them as a helper/bather and still have the pleasure of being with wonderful dogs. That is why I have stayed working in this wonderful feild, no matter how many bad things I might come across whether it is the owners or the dogs, the feeling I get after I finish a dog is more than worth it.

lenagroomer · 03-29-2008, 03:23 PM

yes, thats very true. i have definitely seen horrible things, dogs that were neglected, that had been fought, etc, but the thing to remember is that at least you are showing them kindness and helping them out for that moment. you know that they are going to feel better for a little while if anything.

i remember once, a lady brought her yorkie to me and it was matted all over, it had burns all over it where her ex husband was burning it with cigarettes, and it had cuts and scrapes from where he was beating it. she said he was trying to get back at her for the divorce or something. she was in tears and the poor dog was the most pitiful thing i think i have ever seen. the worst part was, the little dog naturally stuck its tongue out all the time, so that made it look even more pitiful. it was scared and obviously in pain.

i took the dog and cleaned it up, shaved it down, treated its wounds, and just gave it some love and attention for a while. by the time she picked the dog up it was happy, wagging its tail, and showing signs of affection and life again. she was so happy she couldn't quit thanking me. but for me, just to see how much better the little dog felt and how much happier it was, that reminded me why i am in this profession.

amynrichie · 10-26-2008, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lorina

The most shocking thing I saw was the first time I saw the vet extract a cuterebra. It was from a pet rabbit, and the poor thing had about seven of them. I was aware of gross things like sores & maggots under matted fur, but never knew such a thing like a cuterebra existed.

I'd only been working as a tech for a few months, maybe less, and I was restraining the rabbit for the doc. I remember telling a more-squeamish coworker, "Don't look. Just don't look," while I couldn't look away. It wasn't until after it was extracted, that the vet explained that he stopped removing cuterebras in front of owners because too many of the passed out or threw up. Might have been nice if he'd warned me beforehand, but I guess I passed the test.

For those lucky enough to not know, it's a grub-like larva of a botfly that burrows under the skin when it's tiny, then grows to be about the size of a large bumblebee. Reminds me of that worm they put in the guy's ear in the Star Trek movie Wrath of Kahn.

Those are so gross, our siamese mix cat had one once! We were told she picked it up while out hunting! It was the nastiest thing I have ever seen!

Tankstar · 10-27-2008, 12:09 AM

I have only been working in the grooming field now for about 6 months. Im currently just learning. so I deal with all bathing, ear cleaning, brushing, all the basics basicly lol.

I have seen quite a bit of horrible lookin dogs just in a few months.

The other day thought was the worst for me.
This 10 year old golde retriever came in. First one of the worst parts of it was what the owners said

"Our lab died a while ago, and we have just been so grief stricken over it, that we totaly neglected this dog." I couldnt belive they neglected this dog just becuase another died. I have never neglected one of my dogs when I have been so upset when I put one down. If anything the living dog made me get up every day.

So any way.
this GR had mats so bad that it took me 30 mins to cut them all out and briush them all out, and that was just his back end. His nails were a good 2 inchs long, poor boy could harldy walk. He was so obeese that it hurt my arms to help hold him up (as he could hardly walk due to nails, and I assume very bad hips) He was so filthy, I bathed him 3 times and he still stunk. Im surprised he didnt have any fleas or ticks. And his ears...omg....They were just SOOOO bad. Full of blood and puss. (The owners DID take him to the vet a day or 2 prior to have them fixed up and he was on medication for it. But still there was no excuse) it was so bad that there was littlery HUGE mats just full of blood below his ears. and his teeth...looked like some one gave im caramel to chew or painted them brown/Black. I just couldnt belive that they let this VERYYYYYYYY sweet old man live like this for so long. He never once stopped wagging his tail, even when getting his nails down, or being forced to stand for so long. When I brought the dog out, I just wanted ot ask them HOW they could NOT look after this very sweet old man.

They did say they have started walking him again and properly looking after him. hopefully they have. They really did have a lovely wonderfuly tempered dog who just wanted to be loved.

TFTpwnsYou · 11-03-2008, 10:15 AM

Wow. Some of these are just aweful!!! I'm just a bather brusher, but I'm there to see what comes in. There are 2 that stick out in my head. A bigger mix came in one day and was totally matted. So of course the dog had to be shaved. Well, the groomer began the shaving, and once she started getting underneath it was horrific. The skin was aweful, covered in fleas underneath, and the dog was sooooo dreadfully skinny. I almost broke down into tears. I had never seen anything like that. The 2nd was a little Toy Poodle. He was matted all over, had poo I don't even know how thick crusted all over his bum, and his poor little wee was matted over as well. I have no idea how this poor little thing peed or pooped!

I haven't seen maggots yet, but a few groomers have. The ones that get me the most are these little toy dogs that are a full mat, poo all over their bum, and just in horrific condition. It makes me wonder what these peoples houses look like, because the dog obviously has to live indoors because it's so small. I mean if the dog is in that kind of shape, what does the house look like!

ioreks_mom · 11-03-2008, 12:35 PM

i am not a groomer and i do not even work in the field but i did work at a humane society and i heard a story of a cat that was so badly matted that when the vet tech started to shave it the first layer of skin came off! that poor cat. i am not sure what they had to do to help the cat. i just remember that story every time i think of a poor animal getting mats.

iorek got mats behind his ears and i had to cut them out. they are so hard to see/feel because when i brush there the fur on top fluffs out over them and it seemed like there was nothing there. since i had to cut out the mats there are now short areas of fur back there. i am combing out behind his ears every day now with a rake. i don't want that to happen ever again!