# Feel Terrible!! Grooming Accident



## JulesAK (Jun 6, 2010)

I had given Maggie a nice bath and was tidying up her feet on the grooming table. I always put the noose around her neck but not really tight because she stays really well. I was using thinning shears and she lowered her head right when I was in the act of closing the scissors. I didn't realize anything had happened until blood started dripping onto the table. I had clipped the lower portion of her nostril. I felt terrible! My husband grabbed a few rags and we applied pressure to try and stop the bleeding. I called my vet but it was 6:02 and they closed at 6! I called the emergency vet and she walked us through a few things on the phone. About 15 minutes into it the bleeding had almost stopped. She felt we could wait until the next day but to call her back if the bleeding started again. I took Maggie to the vet yesterday and he stitched her up really nice and she probably won't even have a scar.
I feel like the worst person ever to have hurt her like that. I learned two very valuable lessons though. 1. Tighten the noose up so she cannot get her nose where I am using scissors! 2. Those scissors are incredibly sharp!
Jules


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Poor baby-
Try not to beat yourself up, accidents happen no matter how careful we are.


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## JulesAK (Jun 6, 2010)

CAROLINA MOM said:


> Poor baby-
> Try not to beat yourself up, accidents happen no matter how careful we are.


Thank you. I think what makes me feel the worst is she is so trusting of me!!

Jules


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## JulesAK (Jun 6, 2010)

CAROLINA MOM said:


> Poor baby-
> Try not to beat yourself up, accidents happen no matter how careful we are.


Thank you. I think what makes me feel the worst is she is so trusting of me!!

Jules


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

My Danny had a "forked tongue" because I accidentally snipped the end of his tongue when trimming his toe fur. Happened on a Saturday night. <= My dad (!) rushed us to the ER because all the blood coming out made it look worse than it actually was. 

Stuff happens. No long term harm done!


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## JulesAK (Jun 6, 2010)

Megora said:


> My Danny had a "forked tongue" because I accidentally snipped the end of his tongue when trimming his toe fur. Happened on a Saturday night. <= My dad (!) rushed us to the ER because all the blood coming out made it look worse than it actually was.
> 
> Stuff happens. No long term harm done!


Thanks Kate. Makes me feel a little better to know that I am not alone. This is the worst that has happened to her and it seemed like such a simple task. I have a new respect for shears!!

Jules


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I accidentally "stabbed" Kaizer in the side with a pair of scissors. It wasn't deep and, to this day, I have no idea how it happened - it was his shoulder area and I don't use scissors anywhere near that area! I didn't even realize until he was walking around and there were spots of blood all over my carpet.

There are a LOT of blood and I have a picture, but it's kinda gory. I cleaned him up with the help of a vet friend (this happened at like 11pm at night) and he was fine. The amount of blood made it look scarier than it actually was!


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## JulesAK (Jun 6, 2010)

aesthetic said:


> I accidentally "stabbed" Kaizer in the side with a pair of scissors. It wasn't deep and, to this day, I have no idea how it happened - it was his shoulder area and I don't use scissors anywhere near that area! I didn't even realize until he was walking around and there were spots of blood all over my carpet.
> 
> There are a LOT of blood and I have a picture, but it's kinda gory. I cleaned him up with the help of a vet friend (this happened at like 11pm at night) and he was fine. The amount of blood made it look scarier than it actually was!


I agree with the amount of blood. Especially vascular areas like the head, it is so scary! 
Jules


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

No way you are alone! I have cut (besides myself of course) ears, lips and tails. Never a nose but same difference. When they move as you are closing the scissor, it sometimes happens. I cut my own finger the other day doing B's ear- it kept opening up for about two weeks. BLOOD EVERYWHERE! And the shears are awfully sharp. I know you feel badly about it but it happens.


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## JulesAK (Jun 6, 2010)

Prism Goldens said:


> No way you are alone! I have cut (besides myself of course) ears, lips and tails. Never a nose but same difference. When they move as you are closing the scissor, it sometimes happens. I cut my own finger the other day doing B's ear- it kept opening up for about two weeks. BLOOD EVERYWHERE! And the shears are awfully sharp. I know you feel badly about it but it happens.


Thanks and I appreciate hearing other's stories. Makes me feel a bit better! Not only did I feel terrible, I felt really stupid for such a preventable accident 
Jules


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

JulesAK said:


> I agree with the amount of blood. Especially vascular areas like the head, it is so scary!
> Jules


It is scary for sure! I was worried about potential infection, and then of course if Kaizer would be nervous every time I had to use the scissors. Neither of those things happened. His wound healed in about a week.


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## JulesAK (Jun 6, 2010)

aesthetic said:


> It is scary for sure! I was worried about potential infection, and then of course if Kaizer would be nervous every time I had to use the scissors. Neither of those things happened. His wound healed in about a week.


I know what you mean. Maggie is on an antibiotic. I took her down to the grooming table and put her on it, brushed her and gave her lots of treats. She was great!
Jules


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## diane0905 (Aug 20, 2010)

I nicked my Abby's ear once -- thankfully just a tad -- and cut myself twice recently trying to learn how to use thinning shears. Abby's ear bled and I felt terrible. Amazingly, she acted like it never happened the next time I pulled the scissors out. I'm glad Maggie won't have a scar. It does make you feel bad!


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## JulesAK (Jun 6, 2010)

diane0905 said:


> I nicked my Abby's ear once -- thankfully just a tad -- and cut myself twice recently trying to learn how to use thinning shears. Abby's ear bled and I felt terrible. Amazingly, she acted like it never happened the next time I pulled the scissors out. I'm glad Maggie won't have a scar. It does make you feel bad!


Thanks Diane. I clearly need more careful practice with thinning shears!
Jules


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## tikiandme (May 16, 2010)

Please don't feel bad. I've sliced a dog's lip once (just slightly) and a paw once (again, only slightly,) but it took awhile for the dog to forgive me. I've tangled a Dremel up into my hair more than a few times. I'm a regular Lucille Ball when it comes to grooming


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## Goldens&Friesians (May 31, 2014)

Don't beat yourself up over it. I am a professional groomer and we have a saying: any groomer who hasn't ever cut a dog is either lying or hasn't been grooming very long! I remember my first one though-was grooming a miniature Schnauzer, trimming around the edges of his ears. He suddenly decided to shake his head right as I was snipping. It wasn't a bad cut-didn't even require stitches-but man oh man did it bleed! I was bawling and the vet (I groomed at a vet clinic-comes in handy for things like this!) kept reassuring me that it really isn't that bad and ears bleed like crazy. I've cut a few other dogs since then-I still struggle not to cry when it happens-but when you are working with a live animal who can move unpredictably its just bound to happen now and again no matter how careful you are.


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## JulesAK (Jun 6, 2010)

Thanks Tikiandme and Goldens & Friesians. I think I had better not even try the dremel! Ears are scary to me also. I think Maggie may have to be a bit shaggy while I build up my courage again!

Jules


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## jeffscott947 (Jun 9, 2019)

@JulesAK 

It hasn't happened here YET, but styptic powder/gel is always good to keep on hand. The nose/mouth are tough, but for other areas (like a nail), you could try flour to get a faster clot.


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## Otter (Feb 23, 2011)

Sorry that happened.
Like jeffscott947 mentions above, it hasn't happened to me yet. Other than clipping nails too close to the quick (I use a Dremel now) a couple times and causing them to bleed I haven't had any major accidents. I felt horrible about doing something that minor. 

As careful as we try to be, it's bound to happen I suppose. Some of my friends who breed and show, and even the person I take classes from time to time have told me about some scary grooming accidents... it happens to the pro's.


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## JulesAK (Jun 6, 2010)

Thanks Otter. Jeff Scott, That was the first thing we tried on the phone with the vet. The location of the cut made it worse because she licked at it even harder then. 
Jules


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## OscarsDad (Dec 20, 2017)

Adding to the true confessions, Oskie was lying by the dining room table and he slid his paw under a chair leg. I rocked back in the chair and came down on his paw. The sound he made was heart wrenching. He was fine... Learned a valuable lesson and always look where is has plunked himself. Stuff happens but I just think it makes us more aware and careful.


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## JulesAK (Jun 6, 2010)

OscarsDad said:


> Adding to the true confessions, Oskie was lying by the dining room table and he slid his paw under a chair leg. I rocked back in the chair and came down on his paw. The sound he made was heart wrenching. He was fine... Learned a valuable lesson and always look where is has plunked himself. Stuff happens but I just think it makes us more aware and careful.


So true. Maggie likes to lay very close to me so I need to remember this also!

Jules


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## Ginams (Jan 20, 2015)

I sliced Storm’s tongue when trying to cut nails. She loves to lick metal (she’s odd, ha!) and went to lick right as I snipped the nail. Our kitchen looked like a murder scene. We put her in the car and headed off to the e vet because it was the weekend. By the time we got about 5 minutes from the house the bleeding had stopped. She has a cut in her tongue to this day and we have learned to have two people on her when trimming nails. One to cut and one to keep her head out of the way.


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## joro32000 (Feb 25, 2017)

Not a grooming accident, but I closed my car trunk on Gatsby's tail. His screaming was horrible. I bought a new, nice car for him in hopes he will forget the accident. But he didn’t forget, he no longer jumps in the car, and when the lid is closing he is watching carefully.


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## JulesAK (Jun 6, 2010)

Our poor babies! And yet, they still love us 
Jules


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## allkapsgold (Jan 13, 2020)

Oh, I know how you feel! My first Golden I clipped a nail too short, she yelped and it bled forever. Oh, the guilt! I also clipped a tongue by accident while grooming one of my first show girls to remove her whiskers - and yes, I have evolved on that issue - and most recently, my skittish Ridley moved while I was trying to remove a large mat under her arm very close to the skin, and I cut a hole in her. Luckily, I was cleaning her up for her spay surgery the next day, so they just stitched her back up at the same time. That's only over the last 35 years. I now use clippers to cut the matts out (Ridley has very dry, "sticky", very profuse hair and is constantly wet, you can practically see her producing felted masses constantly. Good thing SHE isn't show dog!!) which is actually better for me. I have bad arthritis and it is getting harder to stick my fingers in the holes in the scissors. I still cringe when I think of hurting my babies; luckily, they are Goldens and they forgave and loved me anyway.


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## JulesAK (Jun 6, 2010)

Do some dogs just mat more than others? I keep reading about mats but Maggie has never had one. She gets wet, swims, runs through brush, etc. I do use a finisher on her fur before I dry her so I am sure that makes a difference. I just wonder if her coat will change as she matures and then the mats will come!

Jules


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## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

The only place I ever saw mats on my girls was behind the ears. I think spay coat may cause more mats. Rukie doesn't get mats.


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