Panting excessively after trip to groomer

[Melissa & Porter]

Anyone have any ideas about this? 
I took Porter in for a wash, brush and hygiene clean up yesterday.  This was his second time with a woman who I like and who I thought does a nice job. 
He was in for only 3 hrs (7:30 - 10:30).
His hair was only about 1 inch long and not matted anywhere EXCEPT his tail was one long tube of matts.
I asked her to "do what you can with it, and if he comes out with a funny trimmed tail, I will not complain."
When I picked him up, he acted as he usually does: frantic and ecstatic to see me. 
She tells me she got out the matts, but it was tough and probably hurt him, so try to keep up with brushing it. 

Okay, gonna buy me some edible doggy tail conditioner.  Any recs?

When we get home, he pretty much panted the whole day long, and it was not particularly hot.  It made me nervous, thinking he was under stress or something.  He acted normal though, eating, playing and chewing on a bone.
The only other odd thing was that his butt stank for a few hours.  I guess she expressed his anal glands...onto him?  His butt smells fine today.  He is not panting like crazy today either.
He did kinda flinch away from me today when I went to pet him, and is not keen on anyone touching his back end.
I am asking what this could be because I want to bring him back to her, but not if you all think this was a stress or pain reaction.
Or was it heat? Can a full grooming and fluff out make a dog much hotter? 
Thank you.

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Gee Melissa, it sounds like you have the perfect set up for Porter as far as a calm and quiet environment for him. I think Gracie would far prefer that to the hectic one we went to. She is a funny girl. She just does not like loudness even in the house. Yelling, loud TV, sports on TV and stuff like that. She just calmly removes her self and goes to the back of the house. I am guessing that maybe his reactions are more about pain and roughness and stuff like that. I don't mean that they are abusing him. But, groomers tend to sort of do everything very quickly and pull and yank where we Doodle Moms are very gentle and will hold the tangle in our fingers and then work it from there rather than let it get pulled from where it is attached on the body. I am very careful with Gracie to make her experience as painless and pleasant as possible. But then I have all the time in the world and no one is paying me. It is a good bonding time for us too. You might try suggesting that they offer water to Porter periodically. As far as how sharp the combs and brushes are against his skin, I guess you would have to look at them and test them on your own skin. Boy, that burrito thing was a very mean thing to do to the poor guy. I hope she got lots of hair in her food!!

[Melissa & Porter]

LOL at the hair in the burrito. I think if I emphasize that his feelings are #1 over everything else--his looks, the time, the cost are all a distant second--then maybe all will go well.

I think she is worth another try because she told me she thought she hurt him. Another groomer could have said nothing. I think she must have thought a pretty tail was important to me.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Our Petco has a "Zoom Groom" which means they will only work on your dog, and so it's much faster...two hours instead of four. It is more expensive, but to me it's worth it to cut down the time they have to spend there. I often bring something to read and sit on a bench right outside the grooming window (in the store). This way I get to see everything they are doing. This isn't a big deal for two hours with the zoom groom, but you couldn't do it for a regular service. I'm still too much of "chicken" to groom them myself, so this is the next best thing.

[Melissa & Porter]

Yeah, maybe next time, I will caution about being gentle and sit and watch.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I know someone whose Bernese Mountain dog nearly died of heatstroke after being at the groomers. Apparently it got quite warm, they did not allow the dog access to water as Nancie says and the poor dog was really sick. Calla gets stressed even when I groom her. I can tell because her eyes become very bloodshot, which the vet told me is from her blood pressure going up. So I really have never taken mine in for grooming. The one bath at Petco this summer seemed stressful enough. When I go after matts or just need to do anything with pulling, I try to put my fingers on the hair next to the skin tightly and only pull beyond that point, if that makes any sense, to lessen any pulling on the skin.

[Melissa & Porter]

Makes sense. That is how you'd brush a person's hair.

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Yep, that is exactly how I do any mat or tangle in Gracie. I pinch it in my fingers between the skin and the mat and then work from there so there is never any pulling at the root!! Also, I offer water and play time during my grooming sessions with Gracie. We cut for 10 minutes, then throw the ball, take a drink and back up on the table. Lots of kisses too! And I am always telling her what a good girl she is and how much I love her!! She really responds to people who talk nice to her and kiss her back...ha ha...no she is NOT spoiled...MUCH!

[Michelle]

Melissa, you might consider a mobile groomer. Porter would be the only dog in a quiet controlled environment and you could keep an eye on the process. Also, it wouldn't take so long. They cost a little more, but it's worth the peace of mind.

[Deb, Connor & Simon]

Michelle - that is such a good idea! The only problem with the mobile groomers here (Richmond, VA) is there is a 3 month waiting list!

[Melissa & Porter]

wow! that's a long wait!

[BG and Gavin]

hmmmm sounds like a business opportunity!

[Melissa & Porter]

Michelle, thanks for the tip. I will look into it.
I plan to do one more try with this groomer, after a long convo and look at her brushes. Might ask her to use my yellow les pooches.
Also, the grooming before this last one, to save money, I brought him in pre-washed. Next time I might bring him in pre-washed and pre-brushed...just ask them to clip.

He has been panting like a nut still--last night and a bit today. I do suspect that the fluff-out is trapping more heat than his previously twisted, flattened hair. I'm not going to ignore that it took him 24 hrs to want a body rub rigorous petting though. I think he was brushed too roughly. It is perhaps hotter than I thought though.