Please take heed...this situation has been happening all to often now and it usually goes unreported to the media. These busy groomers will wash your precious dog and throw them into a metal cage with a dryer turned on full force and walk away to do another dog or even two. These dryers get very hot and the poor dog has no where to go. A beautiuful very little Lasa Apso in New York was left in one of these hellish contraptions unattended to and when someone finally checked on her, she was DEAD. An autopsy stated she died of extreme heat exhaustion and that it must have been a miserable way to die. Don't kid yourself all the groomers with these machines use them and the animals are just left there, they are time savers for the groomers who over book in order to make the big bucks. There are NO qualification to say you are a groomer, no tests they need to take, no licensing to worry about, so anyone can say they're a groomer. If you must use a groomer insist they DO NOT use the drying cage but dry with a hand dryer. Tell them the dog has a heart condition or asthma, what ever you need to say to save your animal this fate. Or take the dogs to Petco or PetSmart where they groom in front of a glass and you can watch them. I have been investigating this for some time now for an article and was shocked to find so many owners that have suffered a loss like this. They might try to say their drying cage is safe and not too hot, well just put yourself in the animals place, in a enclosed small space with hot air blowing into that space....If you love your pet please be careful and don't trust what the groomers say about these, hopefully, soon to be discontinued cages.

[ June 17, 2006, 08:29 PM: Message edited by: chatty lady ]

Chatty,
I will tell my daughter about this she takes her little yorkie to a groomer to have her washed and cut . Thanks for this very inportant tip. What sad new though about that poor dog

[ June 11, 2006, 07:13 PM: Message edited by: Renee ]

Chatty, I lost my beautiful bichon in 2003 after a grooming, but not quite the same way. She was cut with a razor or scissor and developed a staph infection at the site of the wound two weeks later. The groomer never even told us about the cut. The vet tried so very hard to keep from having to put her down but she was 15 and her immune system was compromised simply due to her age. It was awful. She was in pain and truly suffered at the end. We still cry over our loss that we feel was not necessary. My son in law has now learned to groom their new bichon himself. She looks so cute and they refuse to send her to a groomer. I will certainly pass along your story to all I know that use groomers. Thank you.

Oh, Chatty, that's so sad! This is my first time in this forum since I didn't have a dog til today. Well, my daughter has a new dog- a chow/mastiff?? Her boyfriend gave it to her. He said that his chow got away and went into a yard where there was a Mastiff and up came the pups.

Now what? LOL! I had no idea all of those things I've read here thus far can happen. I'll have to read back further and then come at you for questions. DO NOT LAUGH @ Me:)

You know me better than that Sugaree. We have been exchanging emails now for quite awhile. We are all novices at something and very good at something else. I ask questions of those knowing more than I about many topics and am happy to offer advice to anyone asking it of me. One thing about a chow/mastiff mix you need a garden hose and large contained to wash them in, you can trim them with a rake type brush that gets rid of all the narls in the fur and thins it out. No groomers needed....Take the dog to the vet once a month and have its nails clipped.

Chatty.
I just took my 2 cockers for their grooming on Friday and the groomer asked me to sign a petition while I was there...it seems Pennsylvania has a bill on the table to require all dog groomers to be certified by the state and licensed before they can groom animals.the groomer has to take a 5 month course and be recertified every few years...i think it's a spectacular idea...so I refused to sign her petition against it...the news stations and papers in Philadelphia have done quite a few investigative reports about abuse and neglect by these groomers...hopefully this bill will pass and other states will follow suit...the fact that my groomer was so upset makes me not want to take my little guys back to her....it's so scary!!!

Yes that would make me worry. I found out that some of the groomers here were a bus drivers, a hair stylist who burnt a patron with dye and her license was taken away, a couple of bored housewives NOT one single person actually attended school for this. We are intrusting our babies to inexperienced and sometimes dangerous people who are out for a fast buck and nothing more. The mameing and/or death of peoples pets is not a rare occurance, it happens frequently. Like I said take them where you can stay and watch like the pet stores, Petco and PetSmart.If they have nothing to hide they won't mind. Oh and be especially wary of those mobile groomers.

[ June 12, 2006, 07:55 PM: Message edited by: chatty lady ]

Okay, Okay, BoomerGroomer. I will ask. For now, my daughter seems to have it. However, I am getting scared cause she is leaving to go back to college. That means 'me' will be pups' mommie, right.

I have to admit, I do find myself checking on her a lot, making sure he water's clean/filled and even playing with her. I think I'm falling in dog love! Not so bad. She is very cute but from the sounds of it, this is gonna be a huge doggie.

A garden hose? A huge pail? Whoa! That's too much too fast right now. Yikes!

I would hate so take her to some idiot as you all have described above so I shall ask before heading off to one of those groomers.

This pup is 7 wks so is it time for the shots and nueter things? Is it best to nueter? Am I spelling that right? Nueter seems cruel and painful.

Best time to have a dog neutered is as early as the vet will do it, call and ask a VET! You spay a female around 3 months, that I know for sure. You can always put the pooch in the bathtub but make sure you don't use too much shampoo (use baby shampoo) and be sure you rinse him really good over and over until you're sure he's free from soap. Other wise he'll get itchy and scratch himself raw. Its not so hard, really! My son has a huge Mastiff and he takes her to the car wash, "NO" just kidding, he uses the hose on his backyard patio.

[ June 13, 2006, 08:00 PM: Message edited by: chatty lady ]

The neighbor's pups roamed down here to visit. My daughter wanted one of those pups but I was too afraid since they are pitbulls.

Many have told me that it is better to have a male dog. (is that true?) Well, since these pups are only 3mos, I considered having one of the cute little Lousiana Red Clay dirt colored animals. I asked my daughter if they were male or female. She said they are both female. So, I said, well, that other one has a long teet in the back then. That's when my daughter looked and realized that one is a boy. LOL. My girlfriend cracked up!