Dog Dies at Groomers of Heat Stroke

Fox News posted this story today about a young childs Poodle who was put in a drying cage and left to die of heat prostration. http://ow.ly/k0iF.

I get so mad when I hear of such stories. The woman reponsible should be convicted as there is no excuse for what she did to that dog...in fact there is no excuse for ANY grooming establishment to EVER put a dog in danger under hot dryers because if the groomer was doing your dog correctly, the dog would be hand dryed on a grooming table.

When choosing a groomer, look for one who advertises that all dogs are hand dryed. Oh, and groomers don't give me that we hand dry long-coated dogs and only cage dry the short coats, because I can tell you that even the short coats look better when PROPERLY hand dryed.

There is a trick to making a short coat lay properly to give it the most sheen and if you have a short- coated dog that you take to a salon for bathing then grill your groomer about it. I never, ever, ever cage dryed a dog as a groomer and the ones who do are just being lazy.

I have walked into the back of too many groom shops and seen cages stacked with dogs under fryers, I mean dryers, and the groomers so often lay towels over the door and cage vents to speed the drying process. People, this is so dangerous it should be illegal!

Some of the larger pet store chains with in- store grooming salons now have dryers with timers on them that shut down after ten minutes. These stores do this in an effort to prevent heat prostration deaths. I have no doubt that some deaths have been prevented by these timers but a dog with anxiety issues or a bracycephalic breed like a Peke, Jap Chin, Pug or Boxer can easily die within that ten minutes.

The only real way to prevent these unnecessary deaths is to groom properly and dry by hand. Groomers think they are saving time cage drying but they aren't....I hand dryed and got out plenty of dogs in one day. Yes, sometimes my assistants/friends Monte and Stacy hand dryed for me when I had a lot of dogs to groom but the dogs were dryed by hand nonetheless. If you want them to be safe, you dry them by hand, if you want them to look their best, you dry them by hand,anything else is a disservice to the dog and the customer.

If you take your dog to a groomer you should demand hand-drying. Don't put your dog at risk, they have enough unpleasantries to deal with at the average groom shop ( like clipper burn because groomers won't buy enough blades).

And if for whatever reason your dog shows signs of heat stroke, rapid cooling down is imperative, but remember this important point...do not use ice water to cool down the dog as it makes the blood flow away from important organs, like the brain. Use cool, not cold water.

When Microchips Don't Help Your Dog

I have such a weak spot for Poodles.
Today I met a married couple with a beautiful apricot- colored toy wearing a full blown Continental show clip. I had to introduce myself so I could ooh and ahh over the dog. As we talked I noticed that the dog sat quietly at his owners side, in that way so often seen in obedience competition dogs,staring intently at his mistress, waiting for her next command...
''So, I said, you have shown Majesty in Obedience Competition”...''Oh no'',she replied,'' but he is very well behaved,he came like this.''
I asked if I could see his lead for a moment and I took the dog for a quick spin...he was fully competition trained and even heeled perfectly off lead. Something seemed amiss.
“I would love a dog like this,” I said, ''Where did you get him?''
''We found him 2 years ago on the way to my sister in laws''....(who lived in the next county).
''You found him?'' I exclaimed,''his coat must have been a mess...''
'' No, actually it was just like this, I drive across town to a groomer who can do this haircut he came with.''
I ran my fingers through his immaculate long apricot mane,'' I can't believe a dog like this wasn't microchipped.''
They looked blankly at me and asked,'' WHAT IS A MICROCHIP?''
That told me everything....
I explained about microchipping and how many dog owners have it done, especially dog show people.
Majestys' mistress looked pale and I knew she was thinking the same thing I was, that this dog was probably carrying a microchip....
Tears welled up in her eyes as she said,'' I couldn't give Majesty up, we have had him 2 years and we don't have children, he is our whole life...''
I told her I understood, but who ever lost him is hurting too, not knowing what has become of a beloved pet is an almost unbearable pain and his original owner put a lot of time into his care and training. It was very likely that Majesty was a bench show champion and an obedience competitor as well....

It turns out that Majesty was wearing a rolled leather collar with a rabies tag but they didn't know that the county health department would have tracked his owner for them. The tag and collar were discarded.
So may I suggest that if your dog is not wearing an identification tag to go along with the microchip that you get one asap. On the tag, engrave REWARD and your phone number. Don't put the dogs name on the tag, that just makes the dog more responsive to the persons who found him and you don't want them to be tempted to keep your dog. If you have space on your tag, put NEEDS MEDICATION,
even if your dog doesn't. That will also help deter them from keeping the dog and it may inspire them to work harder to locate you. Lastly, if you have room for two phone numbers put a second number that would be your dogs caregiver in case of emergency....
I seriously doubt that Majestys' present owners will have him scanned for a microchip. But, if they do,
I hope at the very least they will send his original owner a note saying he is healthy and well- loved. For the original owner, knowing that, would be the next best thing to being re-united.