I’ve never had this happen before so I’m hoping to understand. I took my St Berdoodle in for grooming and his paw pads were dry and so they soaked his paws and then peeled the cracked skin off. When I loaded him in the car I noticed the bloody paw prints and it’s been 3 days now and he can barely walk. I’ve been taking care of the raw pads under the direction of my vet but she seemed surprised that they did this too. My other dog who was being groomed at the same time didn’t have that. We live in Texas so the pads do get dry but we try to moisturize. I just feel terrible for my baby.
@satanworshiper666 I have never heard of this. If the paw pads looked so bad that I thought they needed some sort of intervention, I would 100% tell the owner to take the dog to the vet! Groomer treatment for dry paws is just to moisturize them. Anything else is vet territory.
Our job is to identify things that appear irregular, and to tell you when you should consult a vet. We do not treat the issues (except with specific instructions from a vet)!
@jmcd That’s what I figured. And his pads weren’t deep cracked or anything, just a little rough but he’s super active and we live in Texas but I am on top of everything and if I had any concern our vet would have seen him already. This has been traumatic for him and honestly me as well.
@satanworshiper666 I feel so bad for your pup. One of my boys ran his paws raw around a swimming pool once and he could barely stand to pee for a few days, so I know how rough sore paws can be for them. I’m cringing thinking about what they must have done. A reputable owner should take responsibility and pay for your vet bills.
@satanworshiper666 I live in austin texas with a 46 pound very active doodle (we do hiking and dog park daily) and ive never heard of this either. I thought you specifically arent supposed to moisturize them. I thought they are supposed to toughen up so he develops the ability to walk around in this environment naturally. The soaking thing, and removing parts of the pad, seems excessive as minimum. I would definitely talk to the groomer about this, so they dont injure anyone else's dog. I personally wouldnt go back either.
edit: forgot to say that im really sorry, poor fellow. best wishes for a speedy recovery!
@satanworshiper666 No, this isn’t normal. Tidying an excess of keratin is something I’ve done, but never peeling pawpads. Anything that’s caused bleeding is cause for concern, and you should address this. Honestly this is one of those times I’d collect vet records and show the groomer what they’ve cost you and request reimbursement.
@baotoan That’s what I’m planning on doing. This whole thing has been crazy traumatic for him and I feel awful. Definitely not ever letting them touch my dogs again.
@satanworshiper666 Ask what they soaked his paws in. I can’t think of anything that would peel off cracked or dead skin on a dog that’s not a chemical peel. Be sure the vet provides detailed documentation as to the diagnosis and treatments, with prices, and speak directly to the groomer who told you what they did and their manager. Stay calm, you can always go feral later.
@baotoan I truly cannot figure out what the heck they used! Was it like a chemical peel? A rasp? A razor? And why? This is the most baffling grooming thing I've seen and I've been at this since 2006. Like you said, it seems like some sort of chemical peel, and I've certainly never seen one marketed so what on earth did they use?
@satanworshiper666 ew no! There is no reason they should have done that or made your dog bleed. That could very easily lead to infection. I agree with the other commenter that said take the vet bills and have them reimburse you. Remember grooming is unregulated in the US and frankly some groomers need to remember they are not vets and shouldn't be doing things like this. I hope your dog heals quickly, poor friend.
@satanworshiper666 This is definitely not normal- and most good groomers would never do this. I do wanna say though I’ve known of two groomers that are “pickers” one would pick scabs and the other I remember popping zits/blackheads on the dogs and that is not something groomers should do. It’s definitely wrong and an injury waiting to happen. If the groomer you went to wasnt self employed I’d reach out to the manager or ownership. Sometimes groomers like this go rogue against the shops safety policies for some messed up “picking” compulsion.
@satanworshiper666 I'm so sorry this happened to both of you. My new foster dog came to me with pad problems. Worst pads I've ever seen. Then part of her pad ripped off. It was not a pretty scene. The vet gave me stuff to treat or keep an infection away but nothing to hydrate her pads. Someone in another sub suggested mushers secret and this stuff made miracles happen. her pads were hard yellow dry cracked, 60 grit sandpaper felt better to touch than her pads but now her pads are black smooth and look as they should. Hope maybe this could help you.
@nikolaj I will definitely try that! His weren’t that bad just a few areas of roughness but every single pad was raw when he came home. Today he’s walking a little and we don’t have to carry him out to potty-this is nice because he’s 110lbs but he’s still in pain
@satanworshiper666 Not normal. And what did they soak his paws in? I've had dogs spend hours playing in water and their paws have never peeled. I've seen rescue dogs with rough skin built up from living on center 24/7 and still no peeling paws.
@satanworshiper666 In my opinion ( I am not a vet of course) it seems like this groomer misdiagnosed (because they are NOT a vet) your dog with hyperkeratosis and decided to shave it off. This is exactly the reason we delete all posts in this sub suggesting that groomers do this. I've already commented but this type of thing really pisses me off. I hope you are able to get some compensation for vet bills.
@thankfullness I’ve reached out this morning already and they said the owner will call me. That would make sense when it comes to the shaving. His paw pads look the same as my other dogs so I don’t know why they would have done that but I really appreciate your insight as I never would have thought is this. I’m glad that it’s not something commonly done because my poor boy is absolutely miserable. He had shoulder surgery and that didn’t even affect his as much as this. I’ve never see Blackberry (my dog) this sad or in pain. He literally just couldn’t move for days because it hurt so bad and it broke my heart.
@satanworshiper666 Not normal at all! If I notice the pads are dry/cracked I usually recommend them picking up a paw balm from Amazon /pet store. I personally like Espree paw balm, but I have read great things about musher's secret.
@jesussaves7763 We have mushers secret and use it. I will admit I’m terrible at doing it every day. His paws weren’t cracked or anything. Just a few little dry spots.
her pads were hard yellow dry cracked, 60 grit sandpaper felt better to touch than her pads but now her pads are black smooth and look as they should. Hope maybe this could help you.
but he’s still in pain