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How do dog groomers work on dogs

  • 06-04-2012 1:05pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 445 ✭✭


    Do they anaesthetise them or is there 3 people to hold the dog down and one to shave them


Comments

  • Closed Accounts Posts: 135 ✭✭LorraineMcFly


    they have harnesses if needed. so dog is harnessed into a bath and washed. He cannot escape. They dont put them asleep to groom them as far as i know.


  • Registered Users Posts: 766 ✭✭✭ger vallely


    I worked for a very short time in a groomers. The dogs are washed. Most who go regularly are well used to it and have no problems. Some might be nervous but they get through it. Then they are harnessed for drying and grooming,clipping and that type of thing. It should just take one person per dog. Well,when I was working at it I didn't see any very large breeds so it was quite easy.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,553 ✭✭✭mymo


    Both groomers I have used have had no problems, just use a lead attached to an arm that they can move around to turn the dog etc.
    I have spoken to one lady who uses a gel sedative that she spots on the nose of two dogs she grooms as they don't like the clippers (both dogs had this stuff prescribed by a vet after the owners requested it). Both groomers are women (small ones at that) and groom all sizes. Both have told me they rarely have problem dogs, they talk to them and give them treats.
    However, I have heard of groomers sedating dogs, have even seen it with a friends dog (who never needed it at any other groomer), and I wouldn't use a groomer that needed to sedate my dogs.
    Happily my two love both the groomers I have used, I have brushed and washed both my dogs from a young age so they are used to it, but one is a big baby and isn't fond of strangers, but wags his tail at the sight of the groomer.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 238 ✭✭WolfgangWeisen


    I sincerely hope that there aren't unqualified people going around using anesthetics on people's pets.


  • Registered Users Posts: 237 ✭✭Traditional


    i brought my dog a few years back to a place and they tried washing it , well it jumped snarled , growled, shook splased all over the place , and had to leave abruptly ! it was a Rodesian Rigeback not one to lie down an take it like some of the pooches out there .


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 238 ✭✭WolfgangWeisen


    i brought my dog a few years back to a place and they tried washing it , well it jumped snarled , growled, shook splased all over the place , and had to leave abruptly ! it was a Rodesian Rigeback not one to lie down an take it like some of the pooches out there .
    Sounds like a badly trained dog, as opposed to something to do with its breed.


  • Registered Users Posts: 237 ✭✭Traditional


    bark bark its a handy hundred euro if it dont bite the hand off ya !


  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Regional North West Moderators Posts: 6,924 Mod ✭✭✭✭Cherry Blossom


    yammycat wrote: »
    Do they anaesthetise them or is there 3 people to hold the dog down and one to shave them

    3 people holding a dog down while a fourth clips it will ensure that the owner of that dog will not be able to take it back to a groomer for the rest of it's days.

    An increasing number of vets are offering grooming at their practice on certain days of the week, purely due to demand from their clients for sedation for grooming. IMO sedating a dog for the purposes of grooming is completely unacceptable and unnecessary. Sedation always carries a risk. Very often the sedative used for grooming is ACP which renders the dog paralysed but completely conscious and aware of everything that is being done to it but it is unable to communicate that it is completely terrified due to the paralysis. For a dog that is already fearful doing this could have some horrific consequences to the dogs behaviour/temperament in general.

    It is completely the owners responsibility to get the dog used to being handled for grooming, it also requires a lot digging to find a sympathetic groomer for a dog that has issues.

    I've given up looking for one and do it myself, I'm not doing a fantastic job but it gets easier/better with practice and the dog still comes out looking a lot better than she did with the clipper-happy groomers!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 13,687 ✭✭✭✭jack presley


    You can look in the window at the grooming parlours in Equipet stores so if anyone's curious, they should go out andd have a look. I'm sure other large pet stores that offer this service do the same


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,553 ✭✭✭mymo


    Just to add to my above post, I have seen one of the dogs that requires sedation at my groomers, they were slightly groggy but well able to stand and move around, just head down and quiet if you get me. This was a dog that had bitten several groomers and owners asked vet for something to calm it, as nothing else worked. Although I believe it may have been partly due to the state the dog was in, matted lump of a dog, owners left it until the dog could hardly move every time, and the groomer had spoken to them several times about this neglect.
    As AJ said, if you get a dog especially a long haired breed, you have to get it used to grooming, its irresponsible not too.
    One thing I would always say is look for the groomers credentials, don't take their word for it, look for the certs (mine have them on the wall in frames, qualifications, insurance and membership details).


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 8,411 ✭✭✭ABajaninCork


    I've trained as a groomer, but don't work as one.

    I've NEVER seen a groomer use a sedative on a dog! If you know what you're doing, it shouldn't be necessary. And I've only been bitten once by a dog. But in that instance the poor dog had an abcess and had to be put down :(. I don't think it's a good idea to give drugs (whether for humans or animals) unless it's absolutely vital.

    Whilst training, a lot of the long-haired dogs I saw were so matted, it would've been cruel to try to de-mat. It would have been painful and distressing to the animal to do so. The only option would be to strip out - i.e. shave the coat right down. That's the reason why groomers appear to be clipper-happy. All it takes is 5 minutes with a brush to keep the mats down, but it seems some owners can't spare the time to do it.

    I would ask around to find a groomer. Visit the premises and watch how the groomer interacts with the animals and owners.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,981 ✭✭✭ElleEm


    My mother's cat has to be sedated for grooming.
    He is very very longhaired and was born in the wild.
    He is an angry little fella!


  • Registered Users Posts: 616 ✭✭✭LucyBliss


    I didn't know sedating a dog for grooming was a thing that happened. Live and learn.

    My late grandmother's border collie was a bit of an oddball. She wasn't too keen on strangers in the house but she was used to being handled. However, the first time I took her to the groomers, I told them that she might take a few minutes to get used to being somewhere different so to be careful.
    The entire time she was there, I expected to get a call saying 'your dog is bonkers! Take her home right now!' But none came. When I went to collect her, the groomer said she'd been a dream and they were all in love with her.

    Turns out she loved being pampered more than she hated strange people. She used to sit in the car with a "You wish you looked this good" attitude. My current three have been picked up, hugged and kissed since day one. They see being groomed as their god given right.

    The groomer they go to now is very good. She's very friendly and the dogs are as chipper coming out as they are going in.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 8,411 ✭✭✭ABajaninCork


    Oh mine used to gallop in to see the groomer! He loved her...

    I do him myself now. Doesn't gallop in to see me when I've got my apron on. Wonder why??:cool:


  • Registered Users Posts: 39 biancab


    I wash my rottie in the bath and she loves it !:D


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,575 ✭✭✭monkeysnapper


    Its funny, my westies seem not to like the bath but love the drying and clipping , but then during walks both love jumping in the local lake ,


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,524 ✭✭✭Zapperzy


    Very often the sedative used for grooming is ACP which renders the dog paralysed but completely conscious and aware of everything that is being done to it but it is unable to communicate that it is completely terrified due to the paralysis. For a dog that is already fearful doing this could have some horrific consequences to the dogs behaviour/temperament in general.

    ACP is actually no longer available anymore so therefore not used. Think it's been off the market about 6 months now.


  • Registered Users Posts: 40,401 ✭✭✭✭x Purple Pawprints x


    Yeah ACP has been taken off the market, Zapperzy is right. Not sure of the reason for this tbh. Brachycephalic breeds (boxers, pugs, boston terriers) are more likely to develop complications with this drug but I'm not sure if that's the reason for it going off the market.


  • Registered Users Posts: 943 ✭✭✭SNAKEDOC


    there are a few places that have the pet wash. its a table with a perspex frame that lowers around the dog and like a thing from the movie virus you put your arms in to wash the dog with the shower head, handy.


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