Cjm88 Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 (edited) I desperately need some advice here. Yesterday I took my husky "cooper" to a groomer (Name of business removed by moderator in Ruston, LA ) Normally my wife and I groom him ourselves but we are expecting our first child and I've been busy with work so we gave this place a shot since we haven't been able to do the job ourselves. Now cooper is in full blown shed mode so we asked them to do the "furmanator" treatment that basically involves a good brushing and small trim in certain areas. We also asked for them to give him a bath. Now my wife and I do brush him regularly. He's got very long soft hair and we know of the risk for matting so we do maintenance regularly to avoid this. The night before I dropped him off I could run my fingers through his fur from head to toe no problem. When we got our husky back from this groomer after 10 hours he was still wet and he was completely matted from head to toe. I've had dogs of all breeds my entire life and I've never seen anything this bad. Ontop of that they hadn't done any of the trimming he needed. It appears what happened was he was bathed without being brushed prior and then left in a cage all day to dry. Any husky owner knows you can't do this. We've groomed cooper countless times and we've never once had this happen. When I picked him up the owner basically said it was our fault and he came in matted and the only solution was to bring him in the next day to pay for her to shave him.... Nevermind the fact that I wouldn't let these people within a mile of my pups ever again but I know you aren't supposed to shave a husky. Now I'm lost as to how im going to fix this. He's extremely uncomfortable and even yelps in pain when he moves from time to time. I counted over one hundred severe knots before I quit counting and they are everywhere. Some are as thick as my thumbs put together. At this point I think I may just have to remove each individual one with scissors. Please if you have any other advice let me know. Also feel free to drop by this "groomers" Facebook and educate them on proper care for a husky and leave a review. The owner did yell at my wife and claimed she's done this for over 15 years so there's no way it's her fault. I believe if she's that wise and experienced with the husky breed then she would know you can't simply shave them. Edited April 21, 2015 by Mazz Removed name of business mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robke Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 I am sorry to hear that..and sorry Cooper..but everybody knows that Huskies should NOT be shaven or trimmed the way some other dogs are being groomed... Using a furminator is also not the best tool to be used...me personally would get an undercoat rake and softly with lots of treats try and get as much of the knots out...best of luck cutting the knots out would be the last thing I would do...maybe even check if there is some anti tangle spray at you local pet shop have used that in the past on my GSD... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 First, I would contact the owner and give them a piece of your mind, and also go on all social media (facebook, yelp, google, etc.) and voice your concerns. Nothing makes a business correct a mistake faster than negative attention. Then I would contact other groomers to see if they can help with his coat, and then request to be reiumbursed for what you paid them plus the cost to fix their mistakes. That sucks, and sorry to hear he is in pain too. I hope that you can find a groomer to get all the knots out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazz Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Problem is, some groomers, like those in almost any profession, think they are the expert. Our first Husky was a long hair, so we took her to be groomed at our vet's clinic. They knew all about Huskies, and did a beautiful job on her. Our current lot of three, only one has extremely thick fur, and we simply use a blower designed for cattle and horses to strip the blowing coat. I agree with Rob on the Furminator. They can actually do more damage than good. An undercoat rake is the best approach. Am going to remove the name of the business from your post. That business is unable to defend themselves, and rather than have a potential issue arise, it's best to keep their name off the forum. Saves us some headaches and saves you from some as well. I know you are upset, and I appreciate your concern, which I think all of us do. Just have to keep a level decorum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmscott Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 · Hidden Hidden Being a woolly he is fairly prone to matting compared to a normally coated Sibe. I would bet that he was washed then they brushed. The furminator could have stripped the coat causing even more mats. Try using baby powder in the mats to work them out. He will need another bath but they should help. Link to comment
jmscott Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 · Hidden Hidden Mineral oil will also do the trick. http://www.earthclinic.com/pets/matted_fur.html Link to comment
Cjm88 Posted April 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Problem is, some groomers, like those in almost any profession, think they are the expert. Our first Husky was a long hair, so we took her to be groomed at our vet's clinic. They knew all about Huskies, and did a beautiful job on her. Our current lot of three, only one has extremely thick fur, and we simply use a blower designed for cattle and horses to strip the blowing coat. I agree with Rob on the Furminator. They can actually do more damage than good. An undercoat rake is the best approach. Am going to remove the name of the business from your post. That business is unable to defend themselves, and rather than have a potential issue arise, it's best to keep their name off the forum. Saves us some headaches and saves you from some as well. I know you are upset, and I appreciate your concern, which I think all of us do. Just have to keep a level decorum. Thanks for the advice and I completely understand taking the name out of the conversation. I do have an undercoat rake so I plan on spending much of my free time this week trying to work these out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cjm88 Posted April 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 First, I would contact the owner and give them a piece of your mind, and also go on all social media (facebook, yelp, google, etc.) and voice your concerns. Nothing makes a business correct a mistake faster than negative attention. Then I would contact other groomers to see if they can help with his coat, and then request to be reiumbursed for what you paid them plus the cost to fix their mistakes. That sucks, and sorry to hear he is in pain too. I hope that you can find a groomer to get all the knots out. I completely agree! I've started posting reviews everywhere but unfortunately I don't think we'll be getting reimbursed. The owner got defensive when we called today and immediately started yelling at my wife saying we brought him in matted like that. Ive learned my lesson and will continue doing the grooming myself like I have in the past. We were just looking for a little help given our current schedules. My number one concern now is getting rid of coopers pain and discomfort but I will still take the time to share our story on social media. Being a woolly he is fairly prone to matting compared to a normally coated Sibe. I would bet that he was washed then they brushed. The furminator could have stripped the coat causing even more mats. Try using baby powder in the mats to work them out. He will need another bath but they should help. We will give it a shot thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Oh the poor boy I'm sorry you've had such a bad experience - and Cooper has too! I hope the above helps and his coat comes back full flurrish x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BingBlaze n Skyla Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Poor baby :-( I hope you manage to sort him out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowDogLove Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 Sorry to hear about your experience, makes me think twice about going to a groomer myself. What concerns me is this woman says it's your fault for bringing him in matted already...well interesting since she is a GROOMER I would assume she would be familiar with having to work out mats on dogs, so what the hell is she doing yelling at you for it? If my dog's fur was matted, that's exactly where I would think to take it would be an experienced groomer. She should be ashamed of herself and her sad excuse for a business. [emoji35] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Kay Scroggins Posted April 25, 2015 Report Share Posted April 25, 2015 I would take him to another groomer to have them removed professionally. If it were Duke, I would probably have him sedated since it would cause pain. Brushing each mat out would be very painful for him so it's best if he's asleep. A lot of vets (ours included) have groomers on staff. They should be able to sedate him for you while they work if you ask. I would also insist of supervising the entire grooming session. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanse Posted July 5, 2020 Report Share Posted July 5, 2020 Know this is an old post but want to chime in about our black/white 3 yr old. Yesterday was the fourth bath he has had in his life. We have trusted a Pet Company and they have always done a good job in the past. He blows once a year about this time. He has always been sleek, shiny, and smooth when he is finished, even if he hasn't completely blown. and he stays that way thru out the year with regular brushing and lots of attention. Yesterday, after three hours I stopped by to see if he was finished, and he was a mess. Knots everywhere, and the groomer had taken scissors to him to try and smooth things out. now he has short hair on his back, one fore quarter, and various other places. The groomer was apologetic and offered to let us come back today and straighten things out free of charge, but Lanse hasn't been himself since yesterday so I think we're gonna pass. I guess my part in this is that I trusted that the groomer knew what they were doing.... Our dog would say otherwise. The groomers part is that they either thought they knew what they were doing or used our dog in a failed attempt to learn about Huskies. Either way Lanse is the one suffering and I am not too happy about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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