We lost our first Yorkie, Maggie, at a groomers. Our regular groomer was unavailable so we used a new one. She called and said Maggie was having trouble breathing and I should come take her to the vet. I sped there but was met at the door with long faces. Maggie was already gone. It broke all of our hearts. We never knew for sure what had happened. But she had been happy and playful just before we dropped her off. Such a shock and a loss we still feel.

I will never leave one of our dogs at a groomer again. I am sure there are fantastic ones that would treat them as well as we do, but I will never take a chance like that again. So, my babies always look a little scraggly as I am still trying to get the hang of this grooming thing.

I just wanted to comment on cage dryers. Not all cage dryers are a bad thing - it is the cage dryers that get hot that are bad. Where I work the cage dryers do not blow hot air - the air they blow is right about at room temperature. It's always important to ask what type of cage dryers a place uses if they do use dryers because you do not want heated ones on your dogs - those are the ones that overheat and can kill your dogs. The ones we use never get hot like that. Customers can also request that their dog be hand blow dried completely - I think it's just about a $5.00 extra charge. Some breeds have to be hand dried such as poodles and bichons or their hair will curl up.

Also where I work, there is a big window to where you can see the grooming room and anyone is welcome to watch, as long as it doesn't cause their dog to be too hyper or excited to groom. The bathing room does not have a window because it can appear messy back there at times. We keep it very clean back there, dissinfect everything regularly, and constantly vacuum the hair but when you have dogs being bathed and blow dried - hair can be flying and it just doesn't always look clean to the outside eye. We will allow customers to look in the bathing room to see what our facilities are like but we don't allow them to stay and watch in the bathing room because it is a small area - just enough room for the dogs and the two bathers - not a lot of extra room for people to sit and watch. Plus, like I said, it can get a little messy at times before it gets cleaned up.

Adding to your comments on dryers, some dogs, like Pekengese have to be hand dried also, they have 'special needs' so to speak because of their facial structure and can die even in the room temp dryers.

I know that you can watch them thru a window at Petsmart.

Our groomer is so good to us (small town business). I always bath Shelby & Seymour (I enjoy doing it AND the dogs like it when I bath them). I will call the groomer within a day or two of their bath and she will call me back when she is finished with her appointments for the day. I then take the dogs to her shop where she trims their long hair, does their nails and puts in a fresh bow, WHILE I WAIT. They are fresh and clean and all combed out when we get there, so her job is pretty easy! :)
Of course she gets great tips..... where else could you get such great service??
We have been going there with our pets for almost 19 years now.

I'm so sorry. I wish they would have brought her to the vet right away. Was there an autopsy done? I hope that never happens again.

That is a GREAT idea! Thanks!

Mine have only been to a groomer for nail cuts and having the ear hair pulled out. I even do those too now. I will not take any chances with my dogs. I wouldn't leave them with any strangers in the first place, and sure wouldn't leave them at any groomers.

My girls don't go to the groomers period. I don't trust them, and I never will. I let Autumn go ONCE and they shaved her...I was sooooooooo mad!!

I had recently become unhappy with my groomers and was looking for a new one. A friend took her dogs somewhere where she stays the whole time...I called, but there was a 2 month waiting list.

So...I stopped in at my vet and asked for recommendations. Then I called each person on the list and discussed things with them including asking if I could stay.

The one who said yes is where we went the last time. I'm glad I got to stay and see the whole process and will probably do that most of the time.

It's hard to fake good habits;)

Yes I saw some of it. It's so sad, I think I saw that they were interviewing one of the people working there, a girl and she said all you need is like two days training and you get the license or something like that. Or there are some places that don't require a grooming license, that is why those accidents happen, they don't know what they are doing. I would only take my dogs grooming if I can stay and watch or I would just groom them myself, which i plan on learning.

no we dont have normal US TV here... I might see it a few months from now (Got to LOVE military TV)...

but the groomer I use here dose not use the loops. If your furbaby cant stand still with out it then its a extra 20.00 for them to have some one hold them while he cuts. Luckily my Bella is tiny and He can hold her with one hand while he cuts her. My Bunny just stands there, like hurry up...You dont yet ? lol

He will even let you stay and watch him too ( I did this the 1st few times). My girls LOVE going to him! He always play with them while he is waiting on his next apt to get there and he NEVER over books so he can have all the time he needs to cut and play with them. Which is a BIG plus bc they come right home, eat there dinner and go right to sleep.

I am really going to miss him when we leave here... Its going to take for EVER to find a good groomer like him... If I can even find another like him...

This is just terrible. I'm getting so nervous because Lily is 4 months and I know soon enough it's going to be time to get groomed. I would do it myself but I'm so horrible at it (I tried to trim a little and believe me, I was kicking myself afterwards...I'm definitely no groomer)
I've asked around for somewhere I could stay and watch but so far, no luck.

These stories just break my heart..I can't even imagine what the owners feel.:(

this is why i groom my own dogs
it takes a while to get a haircut right but there alive !!

I didn't see it, but how scary! People laugh at me because I worry about taking Jake to the groomer....stories like that are the reason why! I hear so many bad things about various groomers.

I think the best thing to do, if you can, is to go in person and make the appt. That way, you can take a look around and ask questions. My son-in-law recommended a groomer to me that he has used, and he knows a friend of the owner. I was in the area and had Jake with me and decided to stop in and check it out and make an appt. I was really happy with what I saw, so I made an appt. Unfortunately, they had a death in the family and called me to reschedule, and then some other things came up in the meantime with Lily, and I injured my neck/back/shoulder so I haven't been able to make a new appt. yet. But, I do plan to as soon as things calm down a bit around here.

Going in person also allows you to see other dogs during or after grooming. I saw two yorkie brothers there whose names were "Fast" and "Furious" lol. Their owners were just picking them up, and they looked gorgeous and seemed happy!:)

I found a great video on ebay. It's called How to Groom Your Pet Yorkie at Home.
This video is exactly what you need.

Just go to ebay seach and type in yorkie grooming video. It will come up.