# Drugged at the Groomer?



## izzysmom (Nov 6, 2005)

Here's what happened. Two weeks ago I took Izzy to the groomer (an independent, fancy one where the owner does the grooming herself) around 9:00 AM and picked him up at 1:00 PM. She has 2 poodles (the intermediate sized ones) that are, as she calls them, the "welcoming committee." The poodles supposedly play with the dogs while they are waiting to get groomed. Now, when I went to pick up Izzy I was amazed by two things. 

First, my normally rambunctious puppy who HATES having ANYTHING near his face or paws, had a perfectly groomed face and perfectly trimmed nails and paw hair. I mean PERFECT - she really got down in between the paw pads and trimmed the hair in ways i can only dream of (okay well that's a bit of an exaggeration but you get the point.) 

Second, my normally rambunctious "i'll sleep when I'm dead" puppy literally crashed in my lap, plopped in his bed without merely a glance at his toys, and slept soundly for 5 hours. The grooming lady told me before I left that he and the "welcoming committee" had played for hours and that Izzy would be "totally exhausted" when I got home. Well, was she ever right.

Now, fast forward to today, Izzy's first day at doggy daycare







This is the kind of daycare where the big dogs and little dogs are separated, and then play with each other for hours, then take a nap, then more play, then a scavenger hunt. So I make some einstein-esque calculations and figure that if Izzy got THAT tired after 2 hours of playing with poodles (recall the groomer scenario above), SURELY he will be COMATOSE after an entire day playing with the pack.

However...he's definitely calm and relaxed, and heading off to sleep a little early, but he's not even CLOSE to as tired as he was post-grooming.

Again, I make some einstein-esque calculations and figure that I am being duped by either the daycare lady (i.e. maybe he was actually in a crate all day and thus was not as tired out as he should be) or by the groomer (i.e. she drugged him and that explained his coma-like reaction). WHICH IS IT??? I am inclined to think that the daycare lady is responsible. She is highly recommended, allows observers, and has all the infrastructure (i.e., tunnels and slides and water pools and toys, etc.) to suggest the dogs actually do play. Which leaves...

THE GROOMER!!!!

What do you all think?


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## sassy's mommy (Aug 29, 2005)

Hummmmm..........it is hard to say. Sometimes going to the groomers can be very stressful and thus would explain the excess tiredness. Have you spoken with the groomer? I would ask her point blank and see where it goes. It is against the law in FL for groomers to drug animals.


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## k/c mom (Oct 9, 2004)

Well, there is one thing about the grooming experience that he didn't have in day care and that is the grooming itself. With the playing and grooming there was probably zero time for a nap. Whereas at day care I would imagine that after playing, he would flop down for a little nap. Just my "take" on it based on all the good things you have to say about the groomer's salon, etc.

Kallie freaks out every time I come near her with a comb, brush, etc. yet my groomer says she is perfect with her. It was the same with my first Malt. I think there are things they won't let us do that they will let a stranger do . . .


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## Gemma (Jan 19, 2006)

I have always wondered that myself. I never have the guts to ask my groomer what she does. I always take him in the morning and she says 3 or 4 hours so I get a call around 1 or 2 (last time was at 4pm ) so I go and pick him up and he looks perfect. She says he was so sweet and cooperative and as soon as she says this I know something is not the same. There is no way Sparkey would let anybody hold him and pet him or anything. I can never even think about clipping his nails he can read my mind and goes nuts. Even strangers try to do it and it wasn't possible. So this bugged me for a long time and I convinced myself that since this has to be done and he didn't really get sick or anything I will force myself to trust her. The only difference is that Sparkey isn't tired after the grooming so what ever it is it wears off quickly. I wish he could talk and tell me what is going on behind the walls.


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## k/c mom (Oct 9, 2004)

> I have always wondered that myself. I never have the guts to ask my groomer what she does. I always take him in the morning and she says 3 or 4 hours so I get a call around 1 or 2 (last time was at 4pm ) so I go and pick him up and he looks perfect. She says he was so sweet and cooperative and as soon as she says this I know something is not the same. There is no way Sparkey would let anybody hold him and pet him or anything. I can never even think about clipping his nails he can read my mind and goes nuts. Even strangers try to do it and it wasn't possible. So this bugged me for a long time and I convinced myself that since this has to be done and he didn't really get sick or anything I will force myself to trust her. The only difference is that Sparkey isn't tired after the grooming so what ever it is it wears off quickly. I wish he could talk and tell me what is going on behind the walls.[/B]


Maybe I am totally naive but from what I have seen, groomers (at least the ones I've seen) have a way with dogs and they present a no-nonsense attitude, which the dog respects. My first Malt, Rosebud, wouldn't let me do a thing with her but the vet didn't even have to put her under for various procedures because she was so good and just needed a little pain killer. I cannot imagine a reputable groomer sedating a dog unless there were extenuating circumstances.


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## Scoobydoo (May 26, 2005)

Gee that is a very good question, though I know Scooby's groomer doesn't drug the dogs as I have been there while she has been grooming and the dogs look very alert on the table. She is just so good with them and she talks to them in a very soft voice and I know Scooby loves her to bits. He is always ready in 2 hours to be picked up and he is full of energy on the way home jumping all over his Look Out seat yelling out the window etc as always, so he certainly isn't coming out of any medication induced trance that's for sure.
If that were me I would come right out and ask because you have every right to know what they do to your puppy, I mean what if they gave him something that he had an allergy to and it make him very sick, you would want to know what it was, I know I would


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## MalteseJane (Nov 21, 2004)

They act differently at the groomers. That's why the groomers don't want us being there when they do the grooming. If we are present, they are less cooperative. My husband does not come in the laundry room when I am grooming Alex because he will not be still when he sees him.


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## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

I'd have to say after spending 4 hours at the groomers most dogs would be taxed, especially for the first time. Playing is one thing. Stress from grooming is quite another.


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## MissMelanie (Feb 13, 2006)

> I have always wondered that myself. I never have the guts to ask my groomer what she does. I always take him in the morning and she says 3 or 4 hours so I get a call around 1 or 2 (last time was at 4pm ) so I go and pick him up and he looks perfect. She says he was so sweet and cooperative and as soon as she says this I know something is not the same. There is no way Sparkey would let anybody hold him and pet him or anything. I can never even think about clipping his nails he can read my mind and goes nuts. Even strangers try to do it and it wasn't possible. So this bugged me for a long time and I convinced myself that since this has to be done and he didn't really get sick or anything I will force myself to trust her. The only difference is that Sparkey isn't tired after the grooming so what ever it is it wears off quickly. I wish he could talk and tell me what is going on behind the walls.[/B]


Can't you sit at your groomers and watch what is going on? 

Our groomer has a very nice "waiting" area, with a table and chairs and TV and lots and lots of "animal" interest magazines. Sitting in this area you can watch everything she does. I have a VERY funny photo of Sir Micro being blown dry two appointments ago. Poor doggie looked as if he would blow away! 

She will allow morning drop off and late afternoon pick up or, you can do as we do and arrive at 3, stay and read and leave by 5:15 or so, with two VERY beautifully clean doggies. Fresh bows and cool bandanna. 

Next time we go I will take photos for you if you wish. I would recommend her to everyone!







Anyone in south Florida interested let me know, she is SOOOOOOOOO worth even an hour drive. hehehehee

enJOY!
Melanie


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## MissMelanie (Feb 13, 2006)

> They act differently at the groomers. That's why the groomers don't want us being there when they do the grooming. If we are present, they are less cooperative. My husband does not come in the laundry room when I am grooming Alex because he will not be still when he sees him.[/B]


Well this is a GREAT point touched on. I am a teacher and I demand a certain amount of good manners in my class. Every year I hear from parents, my child came home and said, "Miss Melanie says..." and the parents want to faint, because they can't imagine their child "sharing" or being polite or anything "nice". The parent will then start to tell me almost horror stories of how their child is at home. All I can "THINK" is that, "NO WAY, that wouldn't be happening in MY classroom". hehee At the beginning of this school year, I had one little boy that needed to fine tune his cutting skills, I asked the Mother if she would sit with him and let him cut lines down a sheet of newspaper. She looked at me in shock and said, "we don't have sissors in our house, Sammy has a brother." All I could think was how sad this is, that Sammy has to suffer because that parent is afraid of her other son. So I am trying to say, yes pets, like children will give respect as earned.

enJOY!
Melanie


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## miko's mommy (Feb 8, 2005)

I don't know... Miko has been going to groomers for 2.5 years and he is never quite tired enough to sleep for 5 hrs afterwards. He also behaves like an angel for the dozens of different groomers we have been to probably because they handle him with more authority than I do (all of his groomers love him which I do find questionable). I can't imagine she would drug him....wouldn't he be laying and sleeping while she would need him to stand up? But who knows, maybe she used a smaller dose.


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## TheButtercup (Mar 3, 2005)

i agree with the others who are saying how stressful grooming can be. the buttercup is usually pretty excitable after her groomings, but there have been a couple of circumstances a few years ago that she came home and zonked right out. for hours! one was a fill-in groomer while michelle was out, and he was very demanding of his doggie clientele. he didnt take any foolishness from them, even if they WERE puppies! i think buttercup's need to be a clown and give kisses wore her out from his refusals LOL. the second time was also a new groomer who was very slow and methodical, which buttercups just dont have patience for. after an hour, she was ready to GO! lol, she wore herself out from being so antsy on the table. 
i would question groomers that DO drug pets, unless of course the owner said "btw, my pet is pretty out of control...you might want to use some tranqs on him/her...here they are..."

just my two cents, on sale for free today!
ann marie and the "i'm very good now for groomer brenda, because she lets me sit on the chair next to her table when she's done!" buttercup


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## izzysmom (Nov 6, 2005)

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oh thank you for mentioning that. Actually, one of the reasons I selected this groomer in the first place (I'm a nutcase and conducted phone interviews of potential breeders) is that she happily agreed to let me observe the process through this big bay window she has of the grooming area. She then went on to say, and with some merit apparently, that if Izzy sees me through the window it would make it difficult, so could I please stay "out of sight." So, figuring he would be enough of a headache for her, I took a leap of faith and decided that if she was honest enough to have this bay window in the first place then I could trust her, and also I quite frankly did not feel like sitting on a plastic beach chair for 4 hours. Sigh. Maybe I'm just being neurotic. I guess we'll never know. I don't think I will ask the groomer outright because a) I am a big baby,







she is one of these "dog people" that freaks out over stuff like this as I learned the hard way when I asked my breeder if I could pick up Izzy 5 days ahead of 12 weeks, c) Izzy looks just peachy when she's had her way with him, and d) he survived so whatever she does can't be sooo bad


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## msmagnolia (Sep 8, 2004)

While I understand your concern, I think it is highly unlikely that this groomer would use drugs. For one thing Benadryl could have the opposite effect. Jolie becomes hyper and pants excessively on Benedry. My dogs have always been well behaved at the groomers, or at least that's what I'm told. Maybe the noose that they use on the table lets them know that they can't really go anywhere, or maybe the anxiety of the strange place and strange people makes them behave differently. Early in Sassy's illness she was obviously having neck pain and would even yelp when I picked her up. My vet and the vets at LSU were never able to make her yelp for them, even though the problem persisted. Maybe the adrelaline gives them some sort of decreased reaction to pain or fear.


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## abbey (Apr 4, 2005)

Abbey is always exhausted & sleeps for long periods of time after going to the groomer. Abbey is always easily stressed out. Even at home after her bath & blow dry, she will sleep for a few hours so I'm sure getting the works at the groomers really does her in!


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## momtoboo (Jan 30, 2006)

Boo is hard to groom at home but very well-behaved for the groomer.He is very spunky when I pick him up after grooming,usually about 3 hrs later.He does take a nap when we get home,usually about an hr.or more,depending on how quite it is.


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