Welcome to the 1st Aid Site!
Everything First Aid Related...

Dog groomers!? What is normal?

Okay so I have a now 1 year old maltipoo. I took him first to a shop groomer like a pet store groomer and they did and okay job, but they ALWAYS cut his nails too short. I would check his nails and there would be dry blood always. So I got sick of this and tried a new groomer. The first time at this new groomer I picked him up and she told me that she had accidentally cut his paw pad, she proceeded to tell us it was fine and she is pet first aid certified. However it would not stop bleeding and I ended up at an emergency vet getting a pressure bandage for him. I took him back to the okay groomer until I could find a better one. (These are not bad cheap groomers by the way I've been paying $80.00) When I picked him up this time, she shaved him so short that he won't stop shivering unless he is in my heated bedroom or has a puppy sweater on. She grazed his shoulder which is now red and sore, and she cut the tip of his tail. I am felling very frustrated because I am new to owning small dogs that need to be groomed and I don't understand does this happen often? It seems impossible to me that there isn't a groomer I can pick my dog up from and he won't be hurt. I am sick of my dog getting hurt!
Both of the groomers have said that my puppy is very good and does not fight at all. I have also been to Petsmart grooming. I find it completely unacceptable that the groomer who was cutting his nails in such a way that she cut his paw pad.
Actually it wasn't while she has cutting the hair around his paws I know this because she told me that it was while she was cutting his nails.

Public Comments

1. The best thing to do is contact a breed club for similar dogs (maltese, poodle etc) and find out if they have any recommended groomers in your area. That's what we had to do for our mini schnauzer because none of the groomers I could find had a clue what they were doing, and now he has an amazing groomer (that he's not scared of like he was with the others).

2. The first question i wonder is is your puppy a calm dog on the table or the tasmanian devil? Because I've groomed both in my day. Even with well mannered and calm dog accidents can happen.
I've nicked a paw pad. They bleed forever and it cost me a client.
I've also groomed some of the worse dog in my city. Dogs so bad they had to be totally sedated by a vet to even touch them.
So ask you groomer "is my puppy good? Does he squirm or jump about? Does he fight over his nails, freak on the blow dryer?"
Was my dog matted and that's why he got shaved so short. Also $80.00 is in my opinion high for a mixed breed dog. Unless he's always matted and they have to dematt the dog. Their prices are high. If they are that pricey, try PetSmart, at least they will pay for any injuries to your pet and they have trained groomers and professional managers to make things right. More the is can say for Joe Blow corner groomer.

3. If she was doing a haircut, she didn't cut the pad while doing the nails, it was when she was working on the hair around the foot. You could also go into a couple of salons and get a feel for things. The one I work for, we do have a lot of clients with some odd requests that we abide by. Doesn't matter if it's not caging them or if it's a weird hair cut or watching the nails. Getting a feel for things can help and also telling them about past experiences so they know what went wrong with the others.