Clipper Burn - Am I overreacting?

[garriston]

@heaven91 That's way more than clipper burn, that is an unskilled groomer and it looks like they may have been using a 30 instead of a 10 or 15 blade. Every once in a while a decent groomer can be off their game and possibly cause 1 of those marks, big so many... If your dog is difficult the groomer should have stopped and asked the supervisor for help. If this person owns their own business/sole proprietor, I would not go back except for compensation.

That many superficial lesions in those areas can lead to an infection. Just like our skin, your dog's skin is the first line of defense against disease. The more holes you have in your first line of defence, the less protected you are.
If that were me, I'd take my dog to the vet and present the groomer with the bill and the pictures.

 

[heaven91]

@garriston Thank you for this validation. I agree this is not a 10 blade, at least doesn’t look like it. I’ve never seen anything like it.

I also agree I’m worried she might get it infected. The groomer is the owner / it’s private business she does I’ve texted her a few times and going to follow up with her after I take my dog to the vet tomorrow.

 

[ess]

@heaven91 Yea that’s pretty bad. That’s from the groomer poking the dog with the clipper blade. Like I’ve given myself similar marks when I’m cleaning my blades.

But also, wtf is that groom lol. That looks just as bad

 

[heaven91]

@ess ALSO THIS. I didn’t even mention how bad the groom was because I just got her short all over but it’s so sloppy

 

[ess]

@heaven91 It’s very choppy and there’s some hairs that were missed. Also, I don’t understand why the armpit area was shaved SO short and wide. Like the matting on a spaniel can’t be that bad. I have a Standard Poodle with 2-3” of hair and she swims everyday. I’m able to brush out her armpit mats.

 

[stevona]

@heaven91 Yeah… the amount of scratches on this dog is over the top. This groomer was very careless with her clipper and brush

 

[sunee1]

@heaven91 oh my god?? this is the worse clipper negligence i’ve ever seen. I can’t even imagine how hard you would have to be pushing on the clipper for this to happen. I work with a lot of matted dogs and have never even come close to anything like this in my entire career, nor have I seen another groomer do this. I hope you get her to the vet and they cover the cost for you, this is totally unacceptable. If there was just ONE mark like that on a dog in the salon I work at an incident report would have been filled out and owner called.

 

[heaven91]

@sunee1 Ugh, thank you for this validation. I’m distraught over this for my dog but I’m glad I’m not overreacting. Our vet appointment is tomorrow and I haven’t heard back from the groomer yet, but I will be expecting a refund + pay for vet bills

 

[sunee1]

@heaven91 I really hope it all works out for you and your pup! I definitely would not be going back to that salon

 

[mskris]

@heaven91 I was all ready to explain that a lot of soreness after shaving mats was under the mats the whole time, or even point out that if the skin is irritated the dog can scratch themselves raw after the fact. This is not that. It is a clear clipper injury. You can tell because the TEETH of the blade have left individual marks! In the second picture you can clearly see that there is still matting present.

I would give that groomer one more chance to refund you in full and give you a good explanation before plastering these pictures on their Google reviews and Yelp page. Send them these pictures you showed us. If they were having an off day, it was a mistake, whatever they will be horrified and refund you immediately.

I try to put myself in other groomers shoes and not talk shit. Dogs are living creatures and sometimes they're gonna zig when we zag. Barring failure of their equipment that they didn't notice, I can't imagine how this could even happen to a competent groomer.

That said, I wouldn't worry too too much about your dog. I doubt it's that sore, being so superficial. Ask your next groomer to keep an eye on how she's feeling about the process and let you know at checkout. Don't go into the whole story, dont say her last groomer did this and that, just let them know she had a minor injury last time and you want to know if it has affected how she behaves for grooming. Your new groomer is going to be your partner in making sure your dog is comfy and happy.

 

[mfinnergab]

@heaven91 Anyone else thinks this looks more like wounds from way over aggressive use of a rake rather than from clippers? Some of the marks are so wide and they look like a bunch of little punctures. I’ve never seen an injury quite like this from a clipper

 

[dinhthaihoang]

@mfinnergab To me it looks like a wide blade was used which I don think should ever be used in the armpits. If she’s a bigger dog it would make sense for her to use wide blades on the body but they should never be used In areas like the armpit or sanitary.

Edit the punctures are from the teeth of the blade that touches the skin digging in instead of the blade that cuts cutting the skin. I hope that makes sense.

 

[heaven91]

@dinhthaihoang Yeah, she only weighs 26 pounds so she definitely isn't a bigger dog. I don't think its from a rake though, I own one and the holes are much closer together - I think its the teeth of the clippers

 

[hunniebee]

@heaven91 The only time I've seen anything like this is when a new groomer tried to pull the mat away from the skin while clipping. The odd scratch when dealing with mats can happen, but this is way beyond that. If it was my dog it would definitely not be going back there.

 

[baothy2201]

@heaven91 Ouchies. It looks like she scooped the blade into the skin instead of having it flat on the skin to prevent teeth marks/scratches. Not so much an actual cut but small puncture wounds from the teeth of the blade, why you don't just see one long cut. Was it a new groomer? Not to excuse it, but looks like a unfortunate careless rookie mistake. Antiseptic/antibacterial will help heal it, but they will probably pay for the vet bill if you go that route. Hoping for a speedy recovery!

 

[heaven91]

@baothy2201 Nope, not a new groomer. I've personally taken my dog there every other month for a year now. I know she's at least been a groomer for 7+ years

 

[rissasallwrite]

@heaven91 Omg that's really bad. As groomers we need to own up to mistakes. They shouldn't have apologized and refunded.

 

[reeniee]

@heaven91 i gasped and said “oh my god.” you’re not overreacting at all. i’ve seen pretty shitty grooms but never this. this is just fuckin awful

 

[heaven91]

@reeniee Ugh, painful to hear but I also appreciate this validation to ask for a refund and push back. I am just shocked

 

[reeniee]

@heaven91 i’m really sorry. now you know and i would explain and show the next groomer you have what happened so he/she knows where you are coming from