Your Pets' Salon Experience Will Be a Plus

I work in a grooming salon and I have to stand firm on the misconceptions I hear daily. First of all I would like to quote a paragraph I found on PETA's site.

"Grooming Accidents
Animals have been seriously injured or killed at grooming salons. Some suffer from heat exhaustion as a result of being left unattended in front of dryers, where temperatures can reach 135°F.(1) One such "grooming accident" left a Shih Tzu dead in a drying cage at a New York pet store.(2) Two Yorkshire terriers died from overheating when a Connecticut salon's dryers failed to shut off; in an affidavit, a veterinarian who tried to save one of the animals reported that the dog had the worst case of heatstroke that she had ever seen.(3)

Animals are also the victims of other types of neglect. For example, a Pekingese was strangled to death by a collar tied to a grooming table after being left unattended at a Connecticut salon, and an unsupervised, small mixed-breed dog was killed by two larger dogs at a West Virginia groomer."

Now according to most of there accounts considerably a lot of "accidents" happen with heaters. I work at Petsmart and we and Petco as far as I know do not use heated dryers. In the past Petsmart used heated dryers but times have changed. The cage dryers we use are non- heated and the only dogs a dryer is used on would be a non- breathing challenged breed.

The grooming lead accident sound very tragic and uncalled for because any good groomer knows to never leave the animal on their table unattended. The Connecticut incident also found me alarmed. The horrible idea of two dogs killing another at a grooming facility almost seems impossible. There should be no contact between animals. All dogs should be caged when not in grooming process. And any aggressive dogs should be labeled as so and taken complete consideration for all other dogs when that dogs is being groomed.

I always hear so many different stories. Recently someone called and said there dog was burned at our facility. This however is impossible in the circumstances. I mean it's not always impossible. Accidents happen, however this dog only got a full service groom, on a Pomeranian. This means a haircut that only trimmed around the eyes, pads of feet and sanitary area. The burn was said to be on the back of the neck. If anyone knows how much hair is on a Pomeranian they know it's not possible, but I understand her concern.

People don't realize how different the environment is at a grooming salon. The way your pet acts at home and even out in public is not the same as they will act at the salon. So to say Fluffy is a great and wonderful dog doesn't mean fluffy isn't going to bite at the groomers, or try to take a leap off the grooming table.

Dogs that have been rescued and adopted from the SPCA and pound can be the best pets you'll ever get. However going to the groomers reminds them of the times they sat in a kennel and awaited finding a home. So they can be hard to groom till they get used to it. Sometimes the environment can even make a dog aggressive even though they are not normally aggressive.

Older dogs need a more quite and restful time to visit the groomers. Weekends being the busiest time for groomers maybe if you have an elderly pet you should consider a week time appointment. Older dogs can get stressed out in a busy environment and that can cause them health risks such a seizures.

Try to stick to the same groomer. This helps your pet gain trust in your groomer; this helps the experience for your pet, the groomer. Always make sure you discuss anything that might change that experience with your groomer such as sickness, surgeries, allergies, behavioral changes, etc.

Take the time at home to get your pet used to the grooming experience. Brush out your pet regularly with the proper brush daily. If you question the best brush contact a groomer and ask them. They will be willing to help you trust me.

The experience you have at the groomers should be a good one. Don't let what you hear discourage you. We all love animals so much and would never hurt your baby. Because we understand we have animals ourselves that we love like our own children.