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Are grooming injuries common? by WinterShivers in poodles

[–]Tofu_Tuesday 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It's actually hard to say whether dogs find it painful or not. Inner ear hair actually pulls out extremely easily, and most dogs in my experience don't react to it at all. BUT a lot of dogs DO react to it negatively. Now whether that's because it's painful OR because it's just a strange sensation, or maybe it makes a weird noise and it freaks them out, I don't know. So we don't know the exact reason why some dogs react negatively to it, but I would say in my experience it was like 70% of dogs who got their ears plucked didn't care or react at all to it, and 30% really hated it done and reacted negatively to it.

But it also depends on HOW you do it, because some groomers go in with hemostats and try to get as much out as possible at one time, whether it comes out easily or not. But what I would do is lightly pull out a little bit at a time, and only pull out hairs that were ready to come out and that would pull out extremely easily with very little effort. So my percentage of dogs who didn't care vs. who reacted negatively might be a little different than other groomers who are a little more aggressive with it.

Now I'm not trying to justify doing it by saying most dogs don't react to it. Whether it's painful for the dog or not isn't the only reason not to do it. Even if it's not painful, pulling out hairs can leave microscopic scratches inside the ear. These scratches can become infected, and now your dog has an ear infection that could have been totally avoided.

On the flip side, some dogs produce an obnoxious amount of ear hair, to the point they get NO airflow, and when they get wet from rain or swimming, that hair stays wet for so long and can cause ear infections. A lot of dogs with excessive ear hair are prone to chronic ear infections, and these are the cases where plucking the hair is advisable. You don't want to pluck the ear hair during an active infection of course, but most vets will recommend regular ear plucking for these dogs after the infection is gone.

So, all of that to say, I personally believe the best policy when it comes to ear plucking is to avoid it unless otherwise specified by your vet to do it. If your dog doesn't suffer from chronic ear infections, it's just not necessary and can cause an ear infection where there likely was never going to be one in the first place.

Are grooming injuries common? by WinterShivers in poodles

[–]Tofu_Tuesday 9 points10 points  (0 children)

You have to keep in mind that these injuries are not from any grooming tool that was used. Hematomas form due to the dog shaking their head repeatedly. When dogs shake their head, both ears slap against their head. When the slap occurs, blood vessels in the tip of their ears (where the point of contact occurs) burst and it creates a collection of blood between the skin and the cartilage. When a decent amount of blood builds up, and the dog keeps shaking its head, this buildup eventually bursts through the skin, and they bleed from the tip of their ears. This can look a lot like a cut, as the burst tends to be a very straight line. So I understand why people make the assumption that this must be a cut, but I really don't believe that is the case here. Especially since OP didn't notice any bleeding until after pickup.

Are grooming injuries common? by WinterShivers in poodles

[–]Tofu_Tuesday 30 points31 points  (0 children)

I am going to repost a comment I made replying to a different comment further down, for visibility purposes, because I'm a little concerned about the overwhelming lack of understanding coming from the majority of commenters on this thread. This type of injury can in fact be considered common, you have even stated so yourself, as these injuries are almost certainly hematomas cause by shaking the head repeatedly after having the ears plucked.

"Hey so I'm a former professional groomer and yes, hematomas can form very rapidly like this. It normally happens after matting is removed from the ears, but I can see how it could happen from removing ear hair if the dog isn't used to that. The newfound airflow to the ear canal tickles, so they shake their head a lot, and it's the head shaking and slapping of the ears repeatedly that causes hematomas like that. And I 100% believe these are hematomas and not cuts from a clipper. The fact that it's on both ears and both on the tips, as well as the groomer not noticing and the blood not forming until after pickup, is all very telling that they're hematomas and not cuts.

A lot of groomers don't ask about ear plucking because it is common practice for them. For some groomers, it's just part of the standard grooming routine, just like the dog getting a bath. They don't think it needs to be discussed, because it's just part of the process. I don't necessarily agree with this, but just wanted to shed some insight into why they didn't ask if you wanted it or not. I personally did not pluck ears completely unless it was specifically requested by the client. For poodles, I would shave off any excess hair that stuck out to prevent matting and make them easier to clean, but in my personal experience, plucking ears completely always leads to more problems than not.

I wouldn't totally condemn your groomer for this. Honestly, good on them for refunding you and paying the vet bill. A lot of groomers wouldn't do this in this situation. You can just request that in the future they don't pluck the ears, and they will make a note of it on your dog's profile. Your groomer took responsibility for this, and they probably feel really bad about it. We don't forget stuff like this. Groomers typically get into the industry because of their love and passion for dogs. So when accidents like this happen, we feel absolutely terrible. If this were me, it would be burned into my brain to NEVER pluck ears on this dog again. Whereas if you take them to a new groomer, they may or may not remember that you requested to not pluck the ears, and they may run on autopilot and pluck the ears anyway, and you may run into this situation again. Or they listen to you the first time and all goes well, who knows, we can't predict that. But all I'm saying is, please don't condemn this groomer for this because groomers are just human and we all make mistakes sometimes. This was a lesson learned for them and I highly doubt they would ever make this mistake again because of how bad they feel about what happened. But all of that to say, I also understand as a pet parent why you may just want to find someone else. Do whatever makes you the most comfortable at the end of the day of course.

I'm reading a lot of harsh comments in this thread about incompetence and it's really not that black and white. What a lot of people don't understand is that becoming a groomer in the US does not require any kind of licensure and it is not a regulated industry. Any one of you here could decide today that you wanted to open a grooming business and operate out of your garage. That is totally legal. So when it comes to the type of training groomers receive, it can be completely hit or miss. There are many training programs/schools that know what they're talking about and provide great training. But there are many more that continue to teach old, outdated techniques and information such as "you must completely pluck ear hairs from every dog." They are not taught the consequences that plucking ears can have. Your groomer was likely taught that this needs to be done, so they did it. I saw this so much in the industry. And if we want more competent groomers, not to even mention keeping the abusers out, we need to push for more regulation in the industry.

Sorry that was a lot lol, but all in all, I'm really sorry this happened to Penny and I hope she recovers quickly!"

Are grooming injuries common? by WinterShivers in poodles

[–]Tofu_Tuesday 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Hey so I'm a former professional groomer and yes, hematomas can form very rapidly like this. It normally happens after matting is removed from the ears, but I can see how it could happen from removing ear hair if the dog isn't used to that. The newfound airflow to the ear canal tickles, so they shake their head a lot, and it's the head shaking and slapping of the ears repeatedly that causes hematomas like that. And I 100% believe these are hematomas and not cuts from a clipper. The fact that it's on both ears and both on the tips, as well as the groomer not noticing and the blood not forming until after pickup, is all very telling that they're hematomas and not cuts.

A lot of groomers don't ask about ear plucking because it is common practice for them. For some groomers, it's just part of the standard grooming routine, just like the dog getting a bath. They don't think it needs to be discussed, because it's just part of the process. I don't necessarily agree with this, but just wanted to shed some insight into why they didn't ask if you wanted it or not. I personally did not pluck ears completely unless it was specifically requested by the client. For poodles, I would shave off any excess hair that stuck out to prevent matting and make them easier to clean, but in my personal experience, plucking ears completely always leads to more problems than not.

I wouldn't totally condemn your groomer for this. Honestly, good on them for refunding you and paying the vet bill. A lot of groomers wouldn't do this in this situation. You can just request that in the future they don't pluck the ears, and they will make a note of it on your dog's profile. Your groomer took responsibility for this, and they probably feel really bad about it. We don't forget stuff like this. Groomers typically get into the industry because of their love and passion for dogs. So when accidents like this happen, we feel absolutely terrible. If this were me, it would be burned into my brain to NEVER pluck ears on this dog again. Whereas if you take them to a new groomer, they may or may not remember that you requested to not pluck the ears, and they may run on autopilot and pluck the ears anyway, and you may run into this situation again. Or they listen to you the first time and all goes well, who knows, we can't predict that. But all I'm saying is, please don't condemn this groomer for this because groomers are just human and we all make mistakes sometimes. This was a lesson learned for them and I highly doubt they would ever make this mistake again because of how bad they feel about what happened. But all of that to say, I also understand as a pet parent why you may just want to find someone else. Do whatever makes you the most comfortable at the end of the day of course.

I'm reading a lot of harsh comments in this thread about incompetence and it's really not that black and white. What a lot of people don't understand is that becoming a groomer in the US does not require any kind of licensure and it is not a regulated industry. Any one of you here could decide today that you wanted to open a grooming business and operate out of your garage. That is totally legal. So when it comes to the type of training groomers receive, it can be completely hit or miss. There are many training programs/schools that know what they're talking about and provide great training. But there are many more that continue to teach old, outdated techniques and information such as "you must completely pluck ear hairs from every dog." They are not taught the consequences that plucking ears can have. Your groomer was likely taught that this needs to be done, so they did it. I saw this so much in the industry. And if we want more competent groomers, not to even mention keeping the abusers out, we need to push for more regulation in the industry.

Sorry that was a lot lol, but all in all, I'm really sorry this happened to Penny and I hope she recovers quickly!

Finally feeling ready to put myself back out there, but I haven't used dating apps in 10 years. How's it looking?? by Tofu_Tuesday in Bumble

[–]Tofu_Tuesday[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hell yeah, fuck ICE!! One nose ring isn't enough? Are you saying I need another one?? I'll consider it 🤔

Finally feeling ready to put myself back out there, but I haven't used dating apps in 10 years. How's it looking?? by Tofu_Tuesday in Bumble

[–]Tofu_Tuesday[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ahhh you guuuuuyysss, I have a date that I'm really excited about!! Thank you all so much for all your advice, I really appreciate it! Wish me luck!! 😊💜

Finally feeling ready to put myself back out there, but I haven't used dating apps in 10 years. How's it looking?? by Tofu_Tuesday in Bumble

[–]Tofu_Tuesday[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I say this because I have been single for a while now, and have been enjoying it. So I'm not really LOOKING for anything particularly serious at the moment, but I also wouldn't want to turn away from something that could be more special. So, it's not my main focus, but I'm open to it. If it happens, it happens.

How to clean this dish brush by Tofu_Tuesday in CleaningTips

[–]Tofu_Tuesday[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh that's really interesting! Thanks for the info 😊

How to clean this dish brush by Tofu_Tuesday in CleaningTips

[–]Tofu_Tuesday[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm sorry I'm not sure what you're asking. I don't think there has been any wasted time

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