Grooming/legal question

EGAR

If you take a dog to the groomer and say you want to have the dog washed and groomed and then get back a basically naked dog with tufts of hair sticking out - what is your comeback on that?

Said dog was neither matted nor was the groomer asked to shave him.

Dog belongs to a breed that should never ever be shaved as it takes two years to grow it's coat back.

Any groomers on here who can answer that question, please?

Eibhin

Wow that sounds bad.

Did you sign a consent/disclaimer form when you dropped the dog in? Is the groomer properly trained and have the right equipment?

Did the groomer go through what you wanted done with the dog in detail?

I am a newly qualified groomer, just set up in business, and have been trained always get people to sign a consent form. This would be required for insurance purposes also. Apart from consenting, it also goes through the dog's vaccination dates, state of health, special requirements etc.

Also, if I was in doubt about what the customer wanted, I would either phone mid-session to confirm or would err on the side of leaving the length until I was absolutely sure.

I groomed a lhasa apso last week and the owner wanted it way shorter than what I cut it so she brought it back the next day and I re-did it for her, obviously with no charge. (She was very happy with the end result!)

If you signed a form I don't think you have any comeback. It's a shame that it was a dog with a coat that takes so long to regenerate.

EGAR

No form was signed but it was explained by owner in detail what she wanted and the breed had oily skin/coat which required special care and some shampoos could not be used etc.

Groomer came highly recommended by a friend and seems to have an established business .

To make the matter worse, a shorn dog cannot be shown and TWO years will be lost.

Knine

EGAR wrote: »

No form was signed but it was explained by owner in detail what she wanted and the breed had oily skin/coat which required special care and some shampoos could not be used etc.

Groomer came highly recommended by a friend and seems to have an established business .

To make the matter worse, a shorn dog cannot be shown and TWO years will be lost.

Oh no, what breed was it? I have dogs that have to be stripped out for showing and if you were to put a clippers near them it is likely you wouldnt be able to show them again. Its another reason why I always groom my dogs myself. A shorn coat may not grow back right.

EGAR

Otterhound.

Knine

That is shocking that a groomer would shave an otterhound unless of course the dogs coat was in awful conditon. I wonder had the groomer ever seen an otterhound before? Sometimes they have a coat which is really soft or after spaying a bitch, it can change in texture but really the groomer should not have shaved the dog. Sometimes they need tidying up slightly for the show ring but the dogs is going to be out of the show ring for a long time and it is quite possible that the coat will have been ruined by shaving.

If I was the owner I would be fuming.

Edited to add I have a similar coated breed, the Italian Spinone and we would never shave them.

Meteoric

I know of one person who had a Golden retriever and were worried about grooming the dog themselves, went to a groomer who said they knew how to groom a Golden. Came back and the groomer had cut back the longer hair on the sides of the dog,you cannot show a golden like that, took a year to grow back. They were advised there was no legal recourse, there was no real way to show loss to the owner, i.e. no way to prove the dog would have won at show but for the cut, most they were told they could get back was the cost of the grooming, in no way compensating for the fact they could not show their much longed for show dog.

Edit: I should add dog was in no way matted, had been regularly combed, but owners wanted dog to look it's best (sorry for using it, but cannot remember if it was a bitch or a dog was sold as show quality by people I know)

Edit 2: Just what I was told at the time when outraged, not sure this is the actual legal position

Discodog

A dog groomer is a retail business like any other. The recourse could be via the Small Claims Court.