Groomer Woes
I have only taken Finn to the groomer twice in his life and I love everyone at the groomer's and the atmosphere is great. It's privately run, not some big company like Petsmart. A week or so after the first visit (about 7 months ago) I noticed a couple little scabs on Finn while petting him but unable to be sure what caused them, I let it go.
His second trip to the groomer was this last weekend and a couple days ago we again found some small scabs on his body. Now I feel confident that he is getting the scabs from the groomer. I want to know how he got them and how common this is. I don't know if we should stop going to the groomer or just tell them next time about the scabs to ensure that they don't do whatever might be causing it.
The possible causes I came up with were the brushes (the first time was a shedding blade and the second was a Furminator) or the shampoo or conditioner. I know they used a deshedding conditioner the first time to loosen up the hair so I assume they use it the second time as well. Any ideas?
His second trip to the groomer was this last weekend and a couple days ago we again found some small scabs on his body. Now I feel confident that he is getting the scabs from the groomer. I want to know how he got them and how common this is. I don't know if we should stop going to the groomer or just tell them next time about the scabs to ensure that they don't do whatever might be causing it.
The possible causes I came up with were the brushes (the first time was a shedding blade and the second was a Furminator) or the shampoo or conditioner. I know they used a deshedding conditioner the first time to loosen up the hair so I assume they use it the second time as well. Any ideas?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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We had our Standard Poodle professionally groomed every 6 to 8 weeks for the 18 years he was alive. The only time we saw anything like that was the very few times we went to a groomer different than our regular one. I would talk to them about it. It sounds like they may not be as careful as they should. It is possible that since he is not groomed a lot he may be pretty squirmy but they may need to slow down a little while working on him. He really should not have cuts to his skin.
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Permalink Reply by Alice on
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Poodles don't really shed do they? Maybe the process of deshedding is more rough (this is not to say that it should hurt though).
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Permalink Reply by Derek on
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Miranda was irritated (both emotionally and in her skin) after going to the vet. She scratched herself raw and was very unhappy. It could be the shampoo they use is too strong, and they need to dilute it. It could also be that they did not rinse the shampoo out of his fur enough.
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Poor girl. My father in law's corgi cannot tollerate any soaps at all and will have a very bad reaction. They can only bathe him with water.
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Permalink Reply by Susan Stanton on
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If you like them and they seem like reasonable professionals, they might even appreciate hearing from you. I only take mine in for grooming twice or so per year -- once in the spring to really help get the extra coat out (then I keep up with the furminator) and once in fall. The rest of the time I just brush out dry dirt or give them a quick rinse. We've never had any issues like you've described. Bertie once swam in some water and got hives very badly afterwards (!!! -- it was a river in Mass), and since then, the groomer has always used a very light, oatmeal based shampoo for sensitive types. Ethel gets whatever's there, and does fine.
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I do like the groomer and they are very good with Finn. He doesn't seem very stressed when he's there. The groomer has a lot of great reviews so I wouldn't think they would intentionally do something that could hurt the animals which is why I was thinking maybe I should just talk to them, like you said. So, from what all of you have said, the shampoo could be too strong and perhaps they need to be more careful when brushing.
I was a little bothered when I saw that this time they were using a Furminator. I own one but use it with caution since I know that prolonged use or going over the same spot over and over or using too much pressure can irritate the skin and I know that he had been brushing Finn for a long time. I'm sure he was just trying to get all that undercoat under control but if this is what hurt him, there must be a better way. We too only want to take him twice a year just to get the heavy shedding under control. Perhaps they go to extremes to achieve that and it's too much for Finn.
I remember someone who works for a groomer out here saying that some of these deshedding shampoos can be too harsh on the skin and that they used to use Furminators and had to do away with them because some dogs were having problems with it. If it comes down to it I will look for another groomer but I hope I don't have to.
The scabs are odd because it looks like a small area of skin (maybe twice the size of a pen tip) began to bleed and the blood dried on a small cluster of hair. My husband peeled one off since ti didn't seem to bother Finn and we could see where he had bled and the hairs stuck in the scam came off as well. We've found maybe 4 or 5 of these this time and last time I recall finding 2 or 3.
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Thanks for your comment. I'll keep an eye out for hot spots. The scabs seem to be mostly on his hind end. I'll check him over more thoroughly and see if there are more and I will definitely talk to the groomer and give them one more try in a few months.
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Miranda was itchy on her rump and coincidently it is where she can reach. There is a chance he is biting himself if he was irritated or itchy.
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He is scratching a lot not that id does much good with his short little legs. He can't really reach the itch and get's frustrated by it so I'm on itch patrol.
I found quite a few more scabs including a cluster on his rump and a long scab on his back. I think this has to be due to the brushing.
I wish there were something I could do for him. I wonder if a bath would help maybe with some kind of conditioner for the itching.
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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The only experience I have is when my cocker turned about 14 or so and she started to get sores around her neck...we eventually had to quit getting her groomed but I believe what she got was a common thing in older dogs...don't remember what it was called. I would talk to them also!
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Permalink Reply by Susan Temple on
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It could also be that they are using to high a heat to dry Finn. I had that problem once with one of my dogs and his skin got all dried out and flaky, and there were little scabs.
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Permalink Reply by Michelle Anderson on
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I would think they are being too rough! When I was growing up we had a little terrier mix that would get matted really easy and it was a struggle to comb them out. I remember him getting scratches when he was groomed and you could tell it was from being brushed too hard.
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