My dog has major seperation anxiety and when I asked if I could stay while she was getting groomed they said no. They told me they work on a bunch of dogs at a time and to just leave her. They said to come back in 3 hours. I didn't leave her. That was WAY too long in my opinion to leave her. I found the best groomer and she travels to my house and grooms her in my driveway. Its a petmobile! I love the groomer too. And she only takes 45 minutes. I think that you just have to find someone you like and trust to groom your dog.

We had a dog come home from the with a tail that sprayed blood every time he wagged it. The groomer called in advance saying that she had inadvertently cut his tail during a vigorous brushing session. I'm not sure I believed her, but I do know that accidents can happen. We had experience with this groomer and she usually did a great job. We sure had a mess at home, though. The more excited he was to be home, the more he wagged his tail and the more blood sprayed all over everything from floor to ceiling. We finally put him in the back yard for a while and everything stopped flowing.

I took my dog to Petsmart once for grooming. When I came to get her she had nicks similar to your friend's pup all over her. She had been groomed other places many times before and nerve had a problem but they claimed she was terrified of the electric razor. They even had the audacity to imply it was my fault for not training my dog to properly behave and suggested I try their obedience school. Needless to say I did not take them up on the offer and never took her back there. She has never once had a problem with any other groomer.

I think your friend should notify management and see what they have to say for themselves.

It is sad that your pup got hurt, but this happens sometimes. Dogs tend to jump when you dont want them to and sometimes it results in them getting cut. I have never seen anything to bad and the groomers are usually really good about it. Its best to leave them alone with the groomer, they seem to calm down when they are not with their parents.

Our dog got a bad infection on his ear after coming home from the groomer. They had trimmed the fur on his ear too short, cutting his ear. Then, apparently they didn't clean it properly because it became infected. It was crusty and the vet told us it was probably painful for him. Luckily, our groomer at the time was associated with our vet, so we didn't have to pay for his medical treatment. But, we no longer take him (or our other dog, for that matter) to that groomer.

wow, i'm SO GLAD you posted this, pet! recently, i took my 2 lb yorkie puppy (9 months) to a (s)nob hill groomer that she's gone to for MONTHS but this was her FIRST big girl, big trim haircut (short for summer)! a day later, me and my hubby noticed she kept licking her paw...upon a closer inspection her entire pad was cut not happy...i'm still contemplating calling or just not taking her back there! she actually LOVES the place and never gets upset and really is confident once she realized we're there...i'd hate to take her back somewhere where she'd be cut, breaks my heart! the pad is healing, slowly...but they/he/the owner NEVER said a peep about it! if they just would have been honest and told me...truthfully i think that says the most. but heck, benefit of the doubt, might he have not KNOWN he cut her? suggestions?

This has happened to my dogs before. We take them to a grooming facility that is highly recommended and takes great care of our dogs, but our squirmy guys have been nicked. One time the nicks were so bad that my dog wouldn't do his agility work at class the next day. Our trainer strongly recommended that we call and let them know, so I did. The groomer was very thankful to hear about what happened, and made a note of it in the dog's file so now they cut that area a little longer to avoid the potential for nicks. The first few times they were groomed after the incident she also called to make sure they were both ok a day or two later. IMO I really think that it can happen sometimes, esp. with young, energetic dogs, but you MUST speak up about it. If the groomer handles it well then I see no reason to stop going there, but if they do not handle it appropriately or simply brush off your concerns, go find another groomer!!

I just wish the groomers would tell you when they make a mistake or accidentaly hurt your pup. B-Bop went in for a bath once and while he's short haired so doesnt get haircuts they actually clipped his nail REALLY short. I think they tried to stop the bleeding but once he got in the car I realized he was hurt b/c he got blood all over, quite a bit for just a nail! poor guy was limping, no one said anything but it's obvious they knew. I know mistakes happen so I wouldn't have been angry if they just would've told me!

I am a groomer and it's quite rare for us to cut a dog (thankfully). When we do we tell the owner and usually give a discount.
Those pictures look absolutely brutal and honestly if that were my dog I would be livid, the first looks like a back scratch from a brush and the second looks either like brushburn or razorburn which are both totally avoidable, if your careful. That groomer was either brushing waaay to hard or was using clippers that had gotten hot.
Nobodies perfect but those scrapes look pretty bad, I'd head back to that groomshop for a word.

that is disgusting and terrible!

i agree with the groomer above--i just watcher groomer has it last week and these look really preventable--so i would call, complain, do what you have to, and NOT go back. yes accidents have to, but not to that degree and on two parts of the dog?!?

Ok, I've worked at an animal clinic before and yes we have had to sometimes ask owners to leave the room because their "freaking-out" or nervous energy transfered to their pet and made things waay to hard. One lady would pant and almost cry when we had to give her dog a blood test because he didn't like being handled by strangers and had to be muzzled. But once we made the lady leave, he would calm down considerably (still muzzled though).
I can see why some groomers ask people to not be present, but this type of wounds should not be taken lightly either (esp. not two separate ones!).

Yes!!! Pippi was nicked and was bleeding when I picked her up. The groomer lied right to my face and said he found a sore that she has been licking to irritation. The girl didn't even lick stitches!! I was fuming.

poor pup! yes, my sheltie had a horrible experience at the groomer - i actually arrived to find three grooming staff trying to restrain him on a steel table to cut his nails. my poor pup was going crazy - scared out of his mind as the people were forcing him down in unatural positions and harshly. needless to say - we never went back. as a result, my dog is petrified of nail trimmings....

This happened to my dog when he was groomed at the vet. They just held the trimmers too close, because he was a very calm dog, and never jumped. We put antibiotic ointment on it every day until it healed. You don't have to go back to the groomer, but next time reiterate to any groomer that you want to know if your pup gets *any* injury, minor or not.

Just the way I would do for food in a restaurant, I would refuse to pay for sub-par service. That's just inexcusable!
Speaking from a legal angle, that groomer damaged your property (as a dog is considered). They could be sued for damage, technically.
Poor Pup!

My maltese had the same experience at Petco's groomers. When I came to pick him up the groomer told me that he was no problem and so much fun to work with. On the car ride home, I discovered several nicks all over his body. I was furious and returned to the store immediately to complain. The groomer lied straight to my face saying that she did not nick my puppy and told me that I did it in the 3 minutes I had him in my possession. I spoke to the manager for about an hour before I got a refund and a $100 gift card. I refuse to return to Petco again due to their irresponsible groomer and the incompetent manager.

i dony supposed you will tell is where this was?

OMG this is exactly why I REFUSE to take my dog to any groomers. I bought a clippers set and do it myself! my dogs actually got their spring/summer haircuts yesterday without ONE cut/scratch at all! I just set up a lil table with a towel on it. It's not hard at all and your dogs will be more comfortable b/c you're their owner. It's the best =)

I recently took my golden to the vet for a summer 'puppy cut'. Before she took him back she asked if he had ever been shaved before. When I told her that he had not, she said he might be too anxious being around the tools when they were turned on, but she would try. As I was about to leave I heard a HUGE crash from the groomer's room. Two minutes later the groomer sticks her head out of the room to say she 'doesn't think this is going to work'. I go back to find my dog freaking out. He is crying and trying to hide behind me. She is still trying to hold the noose leash that he had been attached to the table with. Apparently, once on the table and attached to the table leash, my dog had jumped down and the entire HEAVY METAL table had over turned. By the time I got him home, he could hardly walk. I had to carry my 70 pound dog up and down the stairs to my house. I got him to the emergency vet where the identified a right front broken foot and severe cut on the same foot. He was having trouble with his hind legs as well, but the xrays showed no additional hip damage. He has been back to the vet 3 times since and has needed a round of antibiotics. The bills keep getting higher and higher. After initally stating I should "Keep them udpated on all costs", she switched to saying that b/c he jumped off the table injuring himself, they are not liable. Well, he has jumped off of many things in the past and not been injured! It is b/c THE TABLE fell on him that he is injured. Knowing he was possibly going to be anxious, why would she put him up on a large metal table that was not secure and then turn her back on him? I feel they should be responsible for covering the vet costs. Isn't that what they have insurance for? I feel bad b/c I have shopped at this neighborhood pet store and have had a good relationship with the owner. I'm angry that she wouldn't accept any responsibility toward helping pay the vet bills.
Has anyone gone to small claims court for a grooming injury? I'm considering doing that.

This is in response to k8vb... have you ever had a dog groomed before? The only way you can recover for negligence is to show that the groomer deviated from the normal standard of care followed by groomers in the same or similar situation. If your dog was the cause of a table that you said was very heavy to fall... where is the negligence??? If the table was that heavy, it would have taken an extreme amount of force to pull it on top of your pooch and according to what you wrote, it was your dog that did it. Unfortunately, when things go wrong, people want to blame someone other than themselves or their pets. I'm sorry that your dog was injured but that doesn't mean that there is a liability claim against the groomer. Taking this to small claims court will only cost you more in court costs and time. My advice is if you are dissatisfied with the groomers, take your dog elsewhere. In the meantime, ask your vet how you can reduce the costs of your pet's care ie... less visits or refills on the antibiotices, etc.

I had a mobile grooming service come to groom my poodle mix. I didn't notice anything wrong until the next day when I noticed he would not stop licking his testicles. They were somewhat red, but he wouldn't let me look to closely. He always is a little agitated after a groom. The next day when he continued to lick, I put an cone on so he couldn't lick and contacted the groomer. She said it is a sensitive area and he will feel better in a day or so. I asked why she had shaved him so close there and she said they always do. Well the next day I took him to the vet because they were definitely infected and he was in alot of pain. The vet said they had razor burn and it had become infected. The groomer will take no responsibility for it at all. In fact, they said all they could do was send a groomer out again fix it! How in the world were they going to fix an infection that came because of there negligence?!! I'm am still contemplating what action to take. My poor boy is in serious pain but under vet care now.

My shih-tzu used to be groomed at Petsmart all the time and they never listened to my mom's directions (the dog is allergic to the scented stuff they use to bath them) and then one day she came back and had a huge cut on her neck. We took her to the vet and ended up not paying and not taking her back to that groomer. She now gets groomed at home by my dad or sister.

I just brought my dog(6yr old Lhasa) to different groomer because mine was giving me the run around so i call a few places one lady sounded real nice but said i couldn't stay with him. I told the lady he could be difficult but she said she was a professional. Well I dropped him off after talking to the lady and when i returned i couldn't even recognize my dog. She shave everything his whiskers, eyebrows, even his pee pee. I was so upset he was in a cage outside and the worst part she had a daycare going at the same time and all the dogs were jumping at his cage. I couldn't say anything i just wanted to cry i left with him, got home to major razor burn and nicks. He is a changed dog he just lays there and won't move or go on walks or play. I called the vet and got medication for his skin, but don't know what to about this dog place and how to get my little guy back to normal. It drives me crazy to think what she did to him while i was gone. If anyone has advice thank you