When Grooming Goes Bad

Having a pretty dog is a joy for a lot of pet owners, and it’s easy to see where they would become upset if their little ones were hurt. After all, for a lot of people, their pets are a great deal like their children, and some people are willing to spend a huge amount on making sure their pets are comfortable, look adorable and feel spoiled.

Pet Grooming

If you have a little dog, you probably have considered taking it to the groomers at least once. This is especially true if you have dog that tends to grow long hair that can become untidy.

There are hundreds of groomers to choose from in the big city, but fewer when you actually head out away from town. In many cases it just makes sense to take your pet to the groomer located right in the popular pet store in your area.

Unfortunately this doesn’t always turn out to be the right decision.

Communication Errors

When you drop your dog off for grooming, you might have a particular look in mind for the finished product. After all, asking for a bit of a trim is very different from asking for a shorn dog. It can be frustrating, however, to try and communicate this to the worker in the groomer, especially if she is not interested in listening to what you’re asking for.

When an employee has the wrong attitude, it can be hard to walk away and leave a treasured pet in her care. You might explain your preferences to her only to be told that your dog was going to need more than what you requested. Hesitantly you agree to what the groomer says, and then the groomer turns on you.

She refuses to trim your dog’s fur or nails.

It turns out that she feels “uncomfortable” about the arrangements you’ve been trying to make and is opting out of serving your dog. When you approach the manager he is no help at all. Frustrated, you now have to leave with an ungroomed dog and a bad attitude of your own.

Dog Injuries

Of course, the biggest risk when you leave your pet for grooming anywhere is the risk that your dog might wind up hurt. Naturally you sign waivers and such for this sort of potential problem, but the risk is real.

For example, you might have the experience of one woman who dropped off her dog and carefully removed her own collar from the dog’s neck. The groomer slipped a store leash over the dog’s neck. When the owner put the dog back down, the employee unceremoniously dragged the dog across the floor and back into the back using just the choke collar.

The woman freaked out just as much as you would have, grabbed her dog and got out of there. Sadly after numerous calls nothing was ever done or resolved about the treatment of the animal.

Other times you might feel that an appointment went already only to realize that it didn’t You bring your dog home after an especially traumatic grooming session. You can’t figure out why your dog was so upset at the groomers until you look into her little face – she has red sores on her eyelids from careless groomers.

The groomer actually scratched the dog’s skin with the clippers to the point that it bled and scabbed over. Injuries close to the eyes are scary in their own right. But to think that you might have tipped the groomer who caused the injuries to compensate for what you thought was your dog’s bad behavior is infuriating.

Unfortunately, outside of calling to complain there’s not much you can do besides taking your business elsewhere.