My dog was badly assaulted at the groomers yesterday- not sure what to do next.

[Padstow58]

Yesterday I got to the groomers to collect my dog to be told she got stressed and bit her tongue. Blood was pouring from her mouth! When examining her I also saw her eye was red and swollen.

I took her straight to the vet who told me she had received a substantial blow to the side of the head and there was bleeding within the eye and she had reduced vision.

They think she bit her own tongue from the blow.

I phoned the groomer later that afternoon who insisted nothing happened and she just got stressed and bit her own tongue.

Vet said this would not happen just from stress.

As groomer is denying it and I have no proof (apart from an injured dog) I'm not sure what to do next. But I can't do nothing and risk another dog being injured.

Any advice?

@GoodChat I'm pleased you and your dog have a groomer you like an trust.

This thread is still making me doubt my judgement though!

Just reading news articles about dog groomers on line and am shocked by the numbers of articles about dogs who have died. I haven't posted links as it's too upsetting.

I switched to a mobile groomer. She was lovely with the dogs, came to our house with all the gear and made a fuss of them. In the nice weather she set her table up in the garden and we didn't even have to put the hoover round afterwards. 😂

I have heard of dogs who have died due to negligence with overheating in hot boxes/ dryers.
Far better that everyone learns to groom their own dog wherever possible.
Ideally dogs should find being groomed a pleasant experience if done by a competent and careful person.

I have heard of dogs who have died due to negligence with overheating in hot boxes/ dryers.

Yes, so many terrible news articles about this. One groomer had been on the phone and the dog was left too long in the drying cage.

Had a quick Google
It’s horrendous.

Dogs dying from improper restraint / being basically overheated so they die.

Criminally negligent.

As @WiddlinDiddlin suggests, check out any potential groomers , asking the questions suggested-and most importantly get your dog used to being handled while on a secure non slip table at home.
Teeth and nails can be routinely attended to by yourself without any restraints at all with consistent gentle training, from the ground.
( Unless your dog has dense black nails where it’s hard to see the Quick) .

As far as the police are concerned this is roughly equal to someone scratching your car, the dog might be equal to a human in your eyes but to the police the dog is an item of property.

If assaulting animals was a crime then I dont think we'd be allowed to have them factory farmed & then killed for our gustatory pleasure

So sorry, poor baby. I would want a second by second account and be there in the room it happened, with the people who were there, record it, send to vet for opinion then possibly police.

Believe me I’ve tried clipping my dog, she’s a bichon frise cross so has a coat like a poodle. She isn’t keen on being groomed and I can’t keep her still and clip her. I even bought a proper grooming table so she could be tied to the rail. Im pretty sure going to a professional is less stressful for her.

A friend who is a groomer used to groom my dog, she’s stopped for health reasons and I now send my dog to the local grooming college. The idea being the students are well supervised rather than going to a solo person.

We have 2 electric dog trimmers , one which is noisy and my dog did not like the noise. But my fella gets a budget hair cut at home. I use a pair of scissors to trim the matts on our Lurcher. Our Yorkshire Terriers got their coats trimmed using scissors. Their nails got trimmed at the vets.

You can buy lick mats to stick to the wall or bath, to keep them busy while you trim the coat.

More to the point, has the groomer got insurance for when dog clients get injured? I'd charge the vet bill to her.

Your poor dog!
Like others have said, email a vet's statement to them with a time limit to respond and get some legal advice.
I never take my dogs to groomers anymore after I took my elderly Border Collie who had arthritis and they knew about it and I popped back unexpectedly and there was a glass screen so I could see into the room and the "groomer" had hold of her front paw and was yanking her around to change her position and my poor dog was in agony and it's the first time she'd ever bared her teeth at anyone - I insisted she was given back to me there and then and she was limping badly (and that was at a groomers within a vet's surgery and petstore).
I hope your poor dog gets well soon x

Gradual Training is needed wether a dog is standing at home on a table or on a table at a groomers.

If a dog won’t stand still for you, Chances are he or she won’t stand still for a groomer-
It’s just that you won’t be witnessing her struggles/ potential muzzling so she can’t bite the groomer.
Training a dog to stand still is possible - it takes repetition, praise and reward.

Makes it far easier for dog and handler/ groomer.

I'm so sorry to hear about your dog OP, I stopped sending mine to the groomers, we used to take them to the groom room (part of pets at home) because it's setup in a way where you can see them grooming them and I would often come back early(and sometimes just mooch around the shop periodically watching from a distance) to check how they were being treated. All seemed okay from what I saw but both dogs always seemed a bit off when they came out.

During lockdown I had to do it myself and the absolute fear they both displayed when I tried to shave them, they both whimpered and tried to hide, I knew then that something must have happened. I don't think anything as bad as what's happened to yours but I think maybe a very impatient groomer perhaps shouting at them or handling them in a rough way. It's taken years but both of them are now happy to let me shave them (1 dog always ends up falling asleep she becomes so relaxed). Still not keen on having their nails clipped but will let me do it for 1 treat per nail (sometimes 2).

I echo what some of the PP's have said and get the vet's opinion in writing and ask the groomer to explain themselves.

Bless you I'm so sorry. Of course they not going to admit it but there is a reason the vet said what they said. Xx

I’m so angry reading this. Your poor dog! I would send her the vet bill and obviously not pay for the groom. If the vet will put it in writing, I’d also report to the rspca.

We’ve only had our dog groomed once and that was 3 weeks ago. She asked me to stay as it was his first time and said he may end up a mess if she has to stop because she won’t continue if a dog is distressed. He was okay but not happy. I watched her and now feel I can do what’s needed… he’s a working cocker so it’s just the occasional tidy up.

You've had really good advice above about specifics, insurance and what equipment etc.

Generally speaking - there are a few industries where having to wait means you're waiting for a decent person (eg driving instructor). My groomer books 6 weeks in advance, I've had to wait 8 weeks for the next groom this time. She's always full and rarely has cancellations - because she's got a great list of lots of clients who use her repeatedly and consistently.

Also, you get a great idea when you're talking to them about specifics - how you like the cut, what the dog is bothered by, anything you want them to take particular care of. Imagine dropping your child off at a nursery and trying to talk about their needs. One person has a sort of "yeah yeah" attitude and starts walking off with the kid before you've really conveyed what you needed to. One says "oh of course, normally we find X, I'll keep an eye on Y" etc.

You get an idea for a caring service.

Thank you for all your suggestions.

I'm not sure I'll get anywhere with police. My friends teenage daughter was assaulted by 2 boys a few weeks ago and police have done F all. They haven't even got back to her yet.

I've also heard RSPCA are useless but will give them a go anyway.

OK to answer a few questions.

I was telephoned to say she "thought" she cut her tongue. I went straight over (2 minutes) and found my dog hysterical. She was hyperventilating and blood pouring from her mouth. It wasn't overly hot in there because they had air conditioning.

I lifted her onto the table to see if I could see the damage to her tongue but it was hard to see because there was so much blood. Then I noticed her eye which was swollen and blood shot and said what's happened to her eye and she said she hadn't noticed anything wrong with the eye.

Later I phoned her and asked again and she insisted nothing had happened.

The vet and vet nurse said this injury could not happen from just getting stressed.

She's basically got a black eye. You don't get a black eye from stress. You get it from a blow to the eye.

She's normally very good to be groomed. A bit anxious but nothing untoward. She never bites or anything. I can't understand what on earth could have happened.

This is a new groomer (3rd time there). My dog went to my previous groomer for 6 years with no issues. He always said how good she was. Old groomer sadly moved away so started going to this lady who was recommended.

She works from home and works alone.
However I noticed her partner was there yesterday but he said he was just helping clear up all the blood. She did however have another dog there (even though she told me she only does one dog at a time). So I'm wondering if the partner was helping and did it. Either way it's her responsibility though.

I think initially I'm going to ask for cctv (which I doubt will be forthcoming). Plus a written report from the vet and a written report from the groomer. Then I'll go from there.

Will also look into legal advice.

Any other suggestions greatly appreciated.

That's horrific. Oh OP your poor doggy 🐕
To echo some other posters, I use a groomer who was recommended to me. My dog loves going. She will drag me to the door. I, in turn, have recommended her to others. She is booked up to 10 weeks in advance easily.

It is something you need to train, it won't just happen by popping your dog up on a table and chances are you're going to need a second person to help you out - one person puts treats in the front end and watches the dogs face to read if they're happy or not. The other person does TINY bits of touching, handling, brushing etc.

You do this for a few minutes several times a day, every day for a few weeks and you get a dog that likes being groomed.

Your dog does not magically love being groomed at the groomers though, nor is your groomer spending time doing all of the above. They are just using more effective restraints and muzzles to force your dog to behave enough for them to groom her.

Definitely report this. Your poor dog - what a sad post.