Ember got cut at the groomers...

[Jen & Ember]

So it has been a little over a week since Ember got her haircut and I have yet to post pictures because I feel a little traumatized about it! 

Ember was in desperate need of a haircut as she is going through the coat change and has been having lots of matts. I was spending about an hour each night brushing & combing her.

This was the first time using this particular groomer . . . 

When the groomer looked her over she found some matting with the blower that I missed along the neck (not down the skin). She pointed it out to me and said she'd be able to get it out. 

When Ember was done she looked great. A little bit of poodle-y head, but I could tell she felt good and was busy running around enjoying the freedom of being off the grooming table. The groomer let me know that Ember was pretty scared of the blower but that was the only concern she mentioned. She suggested a specific kind of comb and told me that brushing is not helpful in keeping the matts under control. 

It was not until later that evening when I was petting Ember that I found a big scrape/cut on her neck that was scabbed over as well as a small spot in the arm pit of one her front legs. She also had some razor burn on her lower belly. I was so upset! The fact that it happened, the fact that the groomer didn't tell me, the thought of Ember being hurt and scared as she was being groomed.... and I think the biggest part of my upset is the thought that maybe the matting that I missed made it impossible for the groomer to get that matt out without injuring her? I don't know enough about grooming to know if that might be true or not. 

Today the neck scrape/cut is still scabbed over but does not look infected. I keep watching it. Her dog  trainer noticed the cut and was shocked. 

I'm not really sure what to do and have not followed up with the groomer at all because I would either get too angry or too upset to talk to her. I will not use her again. 

Thankfully Ember has been happy, lovely, and appears unaffected by the experience. As always she is a complete delight. I'm just so sad and sorry this happened. 

Before

After:

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

First, this is not your fault in any way. Over the years, there were times when I did not keep up with one of my poodles' coats, and they had some matts. When I took them in to be groomed, my groomers would either tell me that they would not be able to get through the matts without hurting the dog and would have to shave her down, or they did cut through the matts and the dogs were fine. A groomer who is skilled in working with non-shedding dogs and dogs with poodle-y coats should be able to groom a dog without hurting her, or tell you in advance that it isn't possible.

Anyone can make a mistake, but then they need to tell you about it. Jack's groomer cut the quick on one of his nails recently, and it bled. The bleeding had stopped by the time i picked him up, but she told me about it anyway. I appreciated that. What would be the reason for trying to cover it up...are they afraid we are going to scream at them or hit them?

(The razor burn on her belly though could have been unavoidable, or it's possible the groomer didn't know about it. Some dogs have sensitive skin and the razor burn doesn't show up until later. That's why I stopped allowing clippers to be used on my dogs. Hand-scissoring only would take care of all of this. No razor burns, and no cuts because nothing is being run along the skin,  and either the groomer can do it or she can't. Some won't.)

But aside from the razor burn, this is unacceptable. It's not so much that it haoppened as that she didn't tell you. I agree, I would find someone else. 

Ember looks adorable and I'm glad she is unfazed by her grooming ordeal!

[Ginny Nightingale]

That is a great haircut! She is adorable! I happen to have groomed a dog today that has a similar coat and his owners admitted that they has let him get totally matted and had been too busy to keep up with it. I had a rough time getting all the mats out and had to shave in places, but I go very lightly with the clippers and just barely hit the skin so that there is rarely any razor burn--I just clip off the hair without pressing the blade into the skin.  I can't imagine how your poor pup got a big scrape--I guess that could happen with the clipper too but you would have to be pretty rough. I go slowly and just do one dog in my home at a time so I took about 4 hours today to do one 36 pound dog! But the people who are professional groomers have to work quickly, so accidents can happen. I am sure your lovely Ember will be fine, but if you go back to that groomer, you should tell her your concerns and tell her to be more careful in the future. That way, she will know that you are paying attention and that she should take her time!

[Camilla and Darwin]

I think she looks great, it's unfortunate that she was injured. I think your groomer was wrong to not tell you about the scrape, I would be upset. Perhaps she just didn't notice? Either way I'm sure Ember is going to like her new short haircut. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

All these stories discourage me from bringing Calla to the groomer. She is  nervous about being groomed to begin with. My son's poodle once had nicks and razor burn from being groomed. It's a pity people cannot be more careful but they should definitely tell you about any problems.

[Camilla and Darwin]

I worked at a grooming shop as a bather, and a woman came in once telling us this terrible story. She said the last groomer she had been to, the groomer snipped the corner of her schnauzer's ear almost all the way off. Then the groom had someone go to the hardware store and I kid you not, SUPERGLUED the ear back together. Then handed the dog off to her and said nothing. The woman found the injury when she got home, called the grooming shop and forced the story out of them. UNBELIEVABLE. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I truly think that if someone did that to my dog and didn't tell me, I would go to any and every length to put them out of business. I would find a lawyer to take the case on contingency and sue their a$$e$ off. I would post the story on every dog forum and every review site I could find. Whatever it took. How despicable, to be such a coward that you would cover up something like that and possibly damage the dog's ear permanently to keep from having to answer to a customer for your mistake.

[Camilla and Darwin]

I agree, and the person operated a business about 1 block away from the grooming shop I worked at. Everyone was so outraged, and none of us knew exactly what to do or say. UNBELIEVABLE. I think the woman did make the grooming shop pay for the vet bill. Like that was punishment enough.

I wish she had written a letter to the paper or made the public aware. 

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

Ember looks beautiful.... but the groomer should have told you if she nicked Ember.  I have accidently nicked my doodles and past dogs when shaving their tummies and did not even know I nicked them until later or the next day when giving tummy rubs that there was a nick or something.  So it can happen that she did not even know that she did it.  But if you do know you knicked or cut a nail too short I always agree with "honesty is the best policy", be up front and your customers will have more respect for you and you will not loose customers.

[Roy Henderson]

she is a fine looking dog, everyone with doods has probably fought matting problems. We brush our dogs pretty regular and as they age their fur seems a little more managable. We have had to have our doodles shaved a couple of times before we got more involved in their grooming and I always tell the groomer if they have mats rather than torture my pet raking them out just shave them it's so much easier on the animal and it grows back pretty fast. They are the same lovable mutt under all that fur. We haven't had to have one shaved down in a couple of years now but it's always an option.

     Your dog has a beautiful coat and it appears the groomer did a nice job trimming her, but if she injured your dog and didn't tell you about it I would at least have a very serious talk with her if not find a different groomer all together. Accidents happen, but injuring an animal and not mentioning it is unaccepetable.

[Traci -Bexter & Maggie]

Ember looks adorable (as usual)!  I am sorry to hear that she was hurt in the process.  I would be upset too.  You probably should let her know about it - but I HATE conflict, so I'm advising you to tell her, but knowing me - I would just never go back.  Hearing these stories really freaks me out!