Coat Blowout At Groomers

[Oceangirl]

Hi Guys,

Wondering if anyone else has had this with their dogs when going for a coat blowout at the groomers. My boy is a spitz so he does drop a lot of coat. I have been taking him once or twice a year to a groomer I have been very pleased with to get this done. Have always been pleased with his coat. This last time, I noticed lots of scabby material sporadically throughout his entire coat. They were not there beforehand. As he has such a thick coat I have to do daily checks through his fur to make sure no prickles or grass seeds embed themselves into his coat.... so I am very aware of the condition of his coat on a daily basis.

Has anyone had this? I was thinking that maybe the blowout was done too roughly this time...ie. pulling out the fur in clumps(?).Or maybe the shampoo is too harsh for his skin? I did notice 2 different people working there I hadn't seen before. Now Im feeling reluctant to take him back. Its been several weeks now....and the skin is getting back to its original condition.

Wanting thoughts of what may have caused this.

Thanks for your help.

Cheers,

Kylie

[Rosetta]

I'm sorry I am not an experienced groomer but I would not be taking him back until I got an explanation from the groomer. Did you get photos? If so I would take the photos and return and speak to the manager. I hate the whole process of taking my dog to be groomed

[mumof4girls]

Yeah I had a friend make me a step by step DVD so I could do it myself I have Airedales so it's clipping for me also saves me money :-) Hope you find out what caused it . Did you ask the groomer ?

[Mystiqview]

I would say they were a bit heavy handed with their brushes etc.

Some dogs have more sensitive skin than others. However if you have been pleased with the service there before by the other groomers then I would say they were heavy handed this time.

Depending on the brushes etc they used to strip the coat, some have blades on them to cut the hair. Even Coat Kings, rakes, furminators and even slicker brushes if you are brushing too much too hard in one area can cut the skin. You keep scraping one area with something, of course you are going to make that area more sensitive and possibly cause irritation and break the surface.

I would take him back and show the manager of the grooming salon. They need to be aware of the situation at minimum. If the groomers have done this to your dog, they will have more than likely done it to another with their rough handling.

[Remarkabull]

Are the scabs on his skin, as in wounds or is the scabby type stuff through his coat?

I've had dogs arrive for grooming who look great (owners obviously brush between grooms etc) but once I start clipping or blow drying I can see that there is a skin issue happening. When blow drying it loosens all the scabs/dead skin and it can get trapped in the coat.

[Christina]

As above.

Rough use of the brushes if there are any red patches or scratches on the skin or sores or scabs.

Or is it like a dandruff type thing ?

[Guest Ams]

Oceangirl do you regularly groom between the salon visits? From what I've read, they benefit from a weekly brush to maintain a tangle free coat. If the groomer only gets to see the dog twice a year during full moult and it hasn't had regular grooming in the meantime then I would expect it to be quite difficult to brush out all the undercoat. If you've been comfortable with the service previously then I'd suggest having a chat with the salon people and letting them know.

From what I read in your post, it has been several weeks since the groom, so if you noticed it a while back and haven't brought it to the attention of the groomer before this, they may not be willing to attibute the scabs to their grooming (and I can understand this as there are a lot of reasons why skin gets scabby). I do agree the manager or owner need to be made aware so if an employee is being heavy handed they have the opportunity to educate the employee.

[Rascalmyshadow]

As others have said possible misuse of the grooming tools could be the problem but having groomed many double/heavy coated dogs often there is skin issues underneath that the owners are not aware of and it's only the force of the dryer that makes it easy to find.

[piper]

Is it flakey stuff through out his coat or actual scabs on the skin?

1 of my border collies used to get a bit of a dandruffy look after a blow dry when losing coat. I assume that the force of the hydrobath and drier lifted up the dead skin cells. His coat and skin were otherwise in good condition and it only happened when he was losing coat, I assumed it to be normal. None of my others have ever done it but then none of them ever had the length or thickness of coat that he did so I probably got to the skin better with them than I did with him.

[Dogsfevr]

We tell our clients with dogs that aren't brushed out thoroughly often enough what limit we will do it too as it can easily affect the skin.

Grooming out a months worth of coat in 2 hrs isn't viable but generally what happens .People want there dogs brushed out thoroughly & often they haven't been bathed for the same amount of time either & we find all sorts of things .

Impossible to give you an answer without seeing the coat & what the groomers had to deal with.

Being a groomer brushouts here mean alot of work that in reality shouldn't be done in one session but as many clients only bring there dogs the bare minimum & expect alot more than what is realistic even after you explain they tend to not care & just want you to brush it out .

It also may have nothing to do with the brushing at all & just a skin thing happening but ideally you should have taken it back when you noticed it if you had concerns .