Lucy - groomer accident??

[linz06]

Lucy is our senior yorkie cross who we adopted a year ago from a rescue. She has been in for grooming twice - both times to the same grooming salon I really love and have trusted my dogs there for the past 5 years or so.

When we got her groomed last winter, for her first grooming probably EVER (she was very matted and in bad shape when she was abandoned - looks to be a puppy mill dog who was bred over and over) the groomer noticed she was missing one nipple and the tip of one of her ears was cut right off. I was glad they let me know. It was obviously not them, it had been that way for awhile - no scabs or anything, it had been healed for a long time!

We took them in for grooming again last Wednesday. They didn't say much of anything when I picked them up, other than Kash was really matted and they saved as much of the fluff on his tail as they could. No problem, I paid, left a big tip (because they were so adorable!) and we left.

Lucy very very rarely lays on her side or lets us see her stomach and chest. If she gets really tired and I get really good at pushing for a belly rub, she'll roll over a little and let me do it. So this is what I did, and I could feel something hard like her nipple was scabbed. So I forced her to flip over so I could look, and it looks like the nipple is missing and there were a couple of black scabs there!!!!!

Could this have happened at the groomer? I know they only used clippers - I asked them to use the longest clippers they had on her. We groom Layla at home with our own clippers and they would never even irritate her skin, let alone cut a nipple right off!!!! I am so confused and wondering how this would have happened... it doesn't seem to bother her for me to touch it, and I don't want to call and really accuse the groomer if it didn't actually happen there... I am just so confused about how this could have happened to the poor girl! It was almost a week later when I noticed. I will try to take a picture tonight if she'll let me.

Can clippers really cut a large chunk of skin like that off???!

[rubymoon2072]

i wanna say yes...i have a cosmetology license and have accidentally taken a skin tag in my really early days of doing hair. it was probably smaller than a nipple it didnt bleed but did scab over, i did not have a guard on the clipper. but if they used a guard on it the whole haircut then the clipper blade should never had grazed her skin. sorry thats not really much help. im glad shes not in any pain at least.

[kjc]

It's possible... some folks permanently mark their dogs by clipping off the tip of one ear...

[linz06]

Originally Posted by rubymoon2072

i wanna say yes...i have a cosmetology license and have accidentally taken a skin tag in my really early days of doing hair. it was probably smaller than a nipple it didnt bleed but did scab over, i did not have a guard on the clipper. but if they used a guard on it the whole haircut then the clipper blade should never had grazed her skin. sorry thats not really much help. im glad shes not in any pain at least.

Good to know. I'm glad she's not in any pain either - probably doesn't help her fear of grooming though. Her nipples are quite long and sort of dangly I want to say... lol I am not sure, they are much different than Layla's and there is my only experience owning girl dogs! I am guessing it was because she was used for breeding. They are sort of flattened-looking I guess, so I think it would be similar to a skin tag.

Originally Posted by kjc

It's possible... some folks permanently mark their dogs by clipping off the tip of one ear...

That is just awful

[yorkietalkjilly]

I'm pretty sure a large, vigorous clipper, held in place for a second as one looks away to talk or something, could cut a big chunk out of skin. Even if it left the nipple partially hanging, likely the groomer just took scissors and cut through the remaining skin ASAP, perhaps to avoid that dangling nipple being immediately discovered and to help keep bleeding down. I've heard of some ghastly clipper wounds on dogs of friends and family. I would call the groomer, tell her what you found so she can be aware that the possibility exists that this happened on her watch. If she has had other, similar complaints, then she will have a good idea she has a sloppy, dangerous groomer. If no other complaints, she still should discuss it with her staff as it could have happened there.

I will NOT use clippers on the soft belly area, no matter the matting or whatever for just this type of problem. That skin is sooooo soft and vulnerable!

[linz06]

Thank you. I will be giving the groomer a call.

[CouversMom]

I agree with what the others have said... If she wasn't using a guard, it definitely could take off some skin. When I shave my dh's head, I have nicked him before. I have never had it bleed, but it sure does hurt.

I'm glad to hear you are going to call the groomer... She definitely should have noticed if she nicked Lucy's nipple

[yorkietalkjilly]

I'll bet the groomer, if indeed they caused it, did notice and just treated the bleeding, ragged skin and hoped no one would check her over once she was home. I'll bet it hurt like heck for days.

[linz06]

It seems like it must have bled... the scabs looked BLACK from what I could see. It almost looked like a large scab, and then a tiny bit of skin that was white like the rest of her tummy, and then another tiny scab right beside it. I hope I can get a better look tonight. It kind of reminded me of a black stitch.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Bless her heart. I used to go over my dogs from head to toe after they came home from the groomer - and vet's office still. It finally got too worrisome for me once I found a fresh nick and I just stopped taking them in. I even check in the mouth, the teeth, soft tissue and inside ears.

[linz06]

Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly

Bless her heart. I used to go over my dogs from head to toe after they came home from the groomer - and vet's office still. It finally got too worrisome for me once I found a fresh nick and I just stopped taking them in. I even check in the mouth, the teeth, soft tissue and inside ears.

I guess I am too trusting It took me ages to find a groomer I actually liked here. When I just had Layla and we moved here, we went through 3 or 4 groomers who were awful, until this place was recommended by a friend. Layla was always happy there and they did such a good job, I just didn't think to ever look them over anything!

[kjc]

Sometimes dogs can produce a discharge from their nipples...not a result of clipper abuse.... it will dry and look like a black scab.

[yorkietalkjilly]

I've groomed my dogs for years so I know how it can happen. And I've seen dogs at the vet and how they act and know accidents happen, needles scratch, scissors gouge and so forth. I'm just a worrywort.

[linz06]

Originally Posted by kjc

Sometimes dogs can produce a discharge from their nipples...not a result of clipper abuse.... it will dry and look like a black scab.

It almost looks to me like there is no nipple there at all... I hope I can look a little closer tonight. We have made a lot of progress in her being comfortable enough with me to touch her stomach but she still hates being "exposed" and does not want to be on her back or let me look at her closely. I don't want her to lose trust in me after a year of progress! But I will do my best to look closer and maybe take a picture to post here.

[linz06]

My husband just called the groomer.

He said they were very apologetic. The owner said it does happen sometimes but they are normally very good about mentioning things like that. She said it could have been the case that it was never even noticed - if Lucy was scared already she may have been strong and not even flinched. But she did know the groomer who was working on Lucy and was going to mention it to her - she also gave us her name. She said she'd have her call us if she feels like she should, or if she remembers anything strange about that day. The owner noted the incident on Lucy's card.

My husband said the last thing she said to him was "I really hope you will come back. We can't say for sure if it was us or not but we hope Lucy is okay and not infected or anything"