A few weeks ago, a loving dog owner took her Papillon to a local branch of a chain owned pet store that offers dog grooming. She had been there many times before, and had good experiences with the groomer who cared for her dog. This time, however, it was not her usual groomer, but a different woman. Trustingly, she handed over her little dog.
A couple hours later, she received a phone call from the groomer, saying her dog was matted and she wanted permission to shave her down. Furthermore, she said, the dog was crying, struggling and peeing. The woman was surprised, since her other groomer had always said the Papillon was easy to groom, never fearful or hard to work with. Nevertheless, she gave permission. Half an hour later another phone call from the groomer said her dog was ready to go.
Arriving, the dog was handed to her over the counter, with the comment that she was “quite a little drama queen”, and had cried and struggled constantly. When they arrived home, the dog was whimpering, moving oddly, and obviously in pain. She peed in her bed, and did not want to walk. The next day, her worried owner took her to the vet, who discovered a large area of dark bruising on her flank and side. The dog went home with pain medication, but was no better.
A day later the woman noticed blood beginning to seep from the little dog’s side, and went back to the vet. This time the vet shaved her down to the skin, and what was uncovered was horrifying. A massive injury, bruised and seeping blood, skin beginning to slough away. The vet was not certain what could have caused such an injury – it had qualities of both a terrible burn and blunt trauma. To try to heal her, the little dog endured two massive surgeries to attempt to debride the wound – that is, remove the dead tissue and try to close the wound. Even after the second surgery, the wound would not heal, and her condition continued to be critical. The vet decided to send her to the specialists at Ocean State Veterinary Hospital.
At OSVS, her tiny body went through two more, similar surgeries, and even after the fourth one the sutures continued to tear free from the weakened flesh and skin. Finally returned home after a week in intensive care, with a bandage stitched onto her body to protect her, she continues to be in terrible pain, and still has a long road to recovery. She returns twice a week to OSVS to have her wound checked and a new bandage stitched on. Because she has lost so much skin and muscle, she will probably always move with difficulty and pain, stiff and sore. She will always have terrible physical scars, and her fur will never regrow properly. As for her emotional scars, and those of her loving owners, only time will tell.
And now you might be wondering, what could possibly have caused such extraordinary injuries as the result of a simple grooming appointment? If it was some sort of bizarre accident, and not deliberate abuse on the part of the groomer, why did she not tell the owner about it immediately, and ensure that the dog got treatment as soon as possible? Why did neither of the other two groomers present that day have a word to say? And what is the management of the store doing about this appalling situation?
They were informed immediately by the dog’s owner, and did not respond until she contacted them again a couple weeks later. As of this writing, the groomer is still working at that same store. The management claims they are conducting an investigation of the incident, but so far the dog’s owner is still waiting for answers to her questions. And all of us are left wondering- what really happened that day to almost kill a trusting little dog?
Separation Anxiety is a term used to describe the behavior of a dog who becomes extremely distressed when left alone. Dogs who suffer from this condition show their distress in a variety of ways – howling, whining, barking, drooling, panting, chewing objects, chewing or scatching at doors and windows, and urinating, defecating or vomiting. Some dogs show all of these behaviors when left alone, some only a couple. Some dogs show several of these behaviors when left alone, and yet do not suffer from separation anxiety – they just aren’t housetrained and enjoy chewing!
One of the most common problems faced by dog owners is being dragged down the street by an enthusiastic dog. This is not only unpleasant and potentially dangerous for the person, it is also unpleasant and potentially dangerous for the dog! Because many dogs decide that pulling makes you go faster in the direction they want, dogs will put up with a great deal of pain to try to accomplish this. Trachea and cervical injuries are common in dogs who pull hard.
Until a few years ago, most dog trainers believed that dogs lived in a rigid social structure, in which each animal was either dominant or subordinate to the other dogs – and to the humans – in the family. Many of the training methods used were based partly or entirely on this idea. This “dominance theory” evolved from some studies that had been done of wolves, who seemed to show just such a rigid social structure. Since dogs are wolf descendants, trainers thought it was logical to interperate all dog behavior along these “wolfy” lines, and to imitate the wolves’ behavior in our own interactions with pet dogs. This certainly seemed to make sense, especially since we also have extensive research showing the importance of dominance and submission in several other species of animals…including humans! Dog trainers taught that humans had to “be the boss”, the alpha, the pack leader, or else successful training could not occur, and peaceful dog-and-human family life would unravel into chaos and aggression.
