A question I thought would be interesting

If I am not 100% comfortable with a groomer, I will not use them.  I groom my own dogs since I handstrip but, if I were to use one, I'd be very picky.  I have worked in grooming and still do a few times a week.  We have one groomer who does a good job...sometimes.  Other times, she is too hungover to come to work.  She treats the dogs well, but I don't want to catch her on a bad day where her cuts look choppy.  Personally, I would want a groomer who will not let my dogs get away with being little brats.  I helped with a dog today that was a jerk for nails and kept rearing up and being dumb.  So, when he would do that, I would just said "NO, that is enough!" and let him calm down, the try again.  The last two feet, he was much better.  I am not mean to the dogs at all, but I will hold firmly and say no in a firm voice.  I also made sure to praise when he was being good and when I was done, he was running to get off the table (this was a border collie) I let him calm down a second, and when he calmed down, then he got off the table and gots LOTS of praise!  So, I want someone who is not afraid to say no to the dogs, but at the same time is kind to them and praises when they are being good.  I want them to learn how to behave for a groomer.  

I certainly am going to use a groomer that I'm comfortable with, and pay the price for that service (dollars).  The rest is false economy.  Paying a lesser price but either subjecting the dog to a less than wonderful grooming experience or a shabby job is ridiculous, at least to me.  I was lucky with Grissom's first experience as it was obviously a great positive for him.  Then again, lucky is the wrong word, as I did my research and checked out references and community reputation carefully when I chose.

My dogs went to the same groomer for a couple of years, every 6 weeks. They used to love going there. Then about six months ago they would head right for the door when I walked them in there. They hid behind my legs and just did not want to be there. It was weird. Then I noticed there was a new groomer there.
I started grooming them myself at home. It really could have been nothing, but I wasn't going to take the chance. These dogs have never met a person they didn't love and for some reason didn't want to go back to the groomers. I don't do nearly as good a job as the professionals but they don't care what they look like.

We made a mistake once of bringing her to a place that I personally did not feel quite right with.  An infected serious razor burn later, most of her nails quicked, and a shaking dog (who was still actually damp) later well we did our homework better after that.  And not long after it became moot becuase I learned grooming myself to become a groomer.  This groomer was also pricey.  Needless to say our money was refunded not only for the groom, but also for the medical expenses.  The crappiest thing though was they were entirely hush hush about everything until I inspected Nikki.  THEN they were like oh we had a few problems, sheesh.

Seriously though, do your homework, get references as well.  I have worked with/seen  some phenomenal groomers, and some not so phenomenal. 

It was bad grooming practices that cost one of my dogs his ears -- I went in early one day to pick him up and had to 'wait' and in the process I saw them literally spraying water IN the ears (after shooting shampoo directly IN the ear canal and spraying water from the hose full stream INTO the ear canal to "get them clearn").  Then I knew where Muffin's bacterial ear infections had come from.  *sigh*
 
No -- if I have even one niggling doubt I find a new groomer.  And like Duhbilpie says above -- WATCH your dog ... if they become uncomfortable and reluctant, that's a good enough reason to change.  Good question Lori

You guys almost make me want to stand and watch the whole time Grissom is in!  The injuries you describe are horrid.  Grissom is so good natured that it might take quite a bit to have him indicate an unwillingness to go to someone, which worries me now.

So.  What recourse do you have when a groomer actually injures your dog?

i just wanted to point out one thing about watching your dog being groomed. most dogs are worse when they can see the owner. imagine if you were a kid and forced to go to school while your parents sat there and watched. you wouldnt pay attention because you would want to go backl to your parents. it is sort of the same thing. this is why a lot of grooming shops keep the tub and dryers and kennels away from where customers can see, because dogs get very excited when they see their parents, making grooming them almost impossible. when people have insisted on watching, i have told them they can as long as the dog does not see them, but if the dog sees them and starts freaking out, then they have to leave. it is just too hard to do while they are jumping around (not to mention unsafe) and honestly looks really bad to an owner, even though we are just trying to keepthem from hanging themselves. so just because a groomer wont let you watch, doesnt mean they are abusing the dog. they are just trying to make the grooming process less stressful.
 
 
and also, a lot of dogs seems scared of going to the groomers, but a lot of them just dont want to leave their parents. they cry and dont want to come to us, but are fine after the owner leaves. usually i will tell an owner to leave first before i bring a dog back to put in a kennel or bath.
 

I have to agree with puplex15.  As a former groomer, I had no problems letting people watch if they so desired, but I found grooming their pet to be much harder.  Some owners would be so nervous and uptight that their emotions were picked up by their beloved pooch, who in turn would get antsy, squirmy and scared.  Most dogs would be so much better without having their owner in site.  Back when I was considering going into grooming as my profession, I always toyed with the idea of one way mirrors, so the dogs couldn't see their "mom and dad"!

I took my cocker to a groomer ONCE.She was so mean and horrible to him i never went back.I bought clippers and a grooming table and learned how to do it myself.I now found its easier to maintain since i can groom him every week if i want instead of having to take him in to the groomer once a month and having him looking poorly when it comes time to make an appointment.

have to agree with gopher. a lot of people do not realize that dogs, like horses, pick up on what you are feeling. the worst dogs i have groomed are dogs who have owners who are so nervous and picky about the grooming. they feel that energy and generally act the same way as the owners.

If I was taking my dogs to a groomer, I would want to know they felt comfortable there, however, some dogs are hypersensitive to their mom or dads emotional state and DO pick up on their peoples moods. As a pet owner, you will not get a true reaction from your dog if you are the least bit nervous or anxious about leaving them there. It's important for the owner to be  comfortable as well as the dog in order to ensure a great experience for all involved. We have a few clients who are very nervous and anxious people in general and they are always coddling their dogs when they come in. I can't tell you how hard it is to hear them say "ah poooooor baby, it's otay. Momma's boy will be alright" "they won't hurt you" "It'll be alright". The whole time they have a death grip on their little fluffenbutt and I have to pry the poor little thing out of their hands(well, not literally). This is NOT conducive to a positive experience AT ALL, but I just bite my tongue. Once they are away from the owner, they are just fine. Now, keep in mind, these dogs have been coming to us for a long time (for the most part) and why these people keep coming back if they are so worried about their pet, I'm not sure, but they do. Maybe it's because the dogs are all kissy faced with us when the owners come back to pick them up []
 
A few of you have stated you did your homework and got references and such. That is GREAT and I commend you for your efforts. I am in the process of building my portfolio and in it, will include testimonials from clients who's dogs I've built a relationship with. I feel this is a good way for new clients to feel more at ease with me and my abilities, in order to facilitate a better experience for their pet.
 
General statements have been made about past encounters with groomers and  I feel it's a bit unfair to sterotype ALL groomers because of one or two negative (or not so great) experiences. I honestly believe the most of us do this job because we really CARE about the pets. Heaven know's, it's not because we are getting rich [] I feel like you really KNOW when someone cares for your dog or not and I wouldn't blame someone for not leaving their dog if they didn't get a good feeling about it. As a pet owner, it's our job to make sure they are safe and well taken care of. If you have had a bad or negative experience with a groomer, I feel you owe it to the groomer and/or the owner of the salon to make your voice heard. Don't just let it go and never go back, because if there is a valid problem with a groomer, it should be addressed. It would be awful if you found out later that a particular groomer endangered someones dog and it didn't turn out well, because you didn't say something? I urge all pet owners, make sure to voice your concerns to groomers when you have a problem, otherwise, you've done a diservice to all the pets that come after yours. Otherwise, the shop owner or groomer doesn't have the opportunity to fix the problem.
 
As far as injuries to your pet from grooming, sometimes accidents do happen , but if you feel your dog has been injured from careless neglect, you should confront the shop owner or groomer. A reputable groomer will inform you of any injuries that may have occured and offer to take care of any expenses that may arise. If it comes down to it, you can recover actual expenses in small claims court, but most groomers wouldn't want it to come to that.

We didn't have a great experience with a groomer. I groom at home. Less noise and stress. Money has nothing to do with it. It is all about safety and less stress.

I have to be REALLY comfortable with anyone that I leave in charge of my dogs. I went through a couple of vets before I found a place I really like and that's where I found my dogs' groomer. I could tell by the vet's philosophy of treating animals that any groomer they had would be someone I could trust. Plus, I figured if anything went wrong they would be at the vet already with all of their records there and the vets familiar with them. So I talked to the groomer and she was really nice, asked a lot of questions about exactly how I wanted Gingerbread groomed. I went back to look at the grooming area and each dog had a fleece blanket, a chewy and a bowl of water. Now THAT is above and beyond! [] Also, she only grooms a few dogs a day so it's much less stressful than having a room full of barking dogs. Usually I drop Gingerbread off at 9:00 in the morning and can pick him up around 1:00, so I really like that he doesn't have to spend the whole day there.

The groomer met Fudge at his last vet visit and she fell in love with him. [] He's a scaredy and has his first appointment to get groomed this Thursday. I know she's going to take good care of him. Gingerbread is going in for a bath too, so they'll have each other for support.

If I wasn't comfortable with a groomer - for whatever reason - I wouldn't use him or her. There is one groomer at the facility where I take my dogs that I'm *not* comfortable with, and I ask that he not do my dogs. There is one that I LOVE LOVE LOVE, and she almost exclusively does my dogs. The reason is two-fold: I'm comfortable with her, and GINGER is comfortable with her. That means a lot. She takes the time to tell me if she notices something amiss, whatever it is. If she notices Ginger seems off (like her arthritis is bothering her) or if one of my dogs' skin seems off she tells me. I can call and ask her questions, and she always seems to just *care* about my dogs.

Edit to clarify - the one groomer where we go that I'm not comfortable with I *like* as a person, but Ginger is afraid of him. Ginger isn't a big fan of men handling her, so that makes him a no-go for us.

A good relationship with the people who care for my animals is worth it's weight in gold, IMO.