I feel so bad.. grooming accident

[linz06]

Layla has needed a grooming quite badly, and on Saturday I went out and got an Andis 13 piece grooming kit. I was pretty excited to use it, so I fired up the clippers and gave it a go on Saturday night. It was all going really well, and I got my boyfriend to hold Layla on her back so I could get her tummy (she can't stand, so that's the easiest way to do it). Unfortunately, her hair was too matted for the clippers to get through. I thought I'd just use the scissors that came with the kit to cut it down short and then I could use the clippers. I started under her front legs and got a lot of mats out! Then I started pulling up the hair on her chest area and snipping, and she flinched. I dropped the scissors and looked but couldn't see anything... it took about 5 seconds and I saw some blood come to the surface I nicked my baby. It was a little round spot about half the size of my pinky nail. I feel so guilty! We pushed a tissue on it and it stopped bleeding in about 30 seconds, but I couldn't clip anymore from her chest after that. I just felt too bad. Now I'm worried she'll be scared of getting her chest clipped again!

I'm sure these accidents happen to a lot of people, but I can't stop feeling bad for hurting her

[richards6402]

This weekend must have been the time for grooming accidents. I nicked
Macy on the skin flap under arm. She yelped, I stopped and saw the little drop of blood on her skin. I know what you mean, I felt terrible and couldn't go on so I stopped. I hope she doesn't remember this next time I get the clippers out. We try to be so careful but things happen. I started grooming her because the last time she came back from the groomers she had a large clipper burn under her arm. I hope someone reads this post that groomers their Yorkie at home and can guide us on how to clip the sanitary area and under the arm. I was using a 7F blade because I keep her short.

[linz06]

I'm sorry it happened to you and Macy too! It is just an awful feeling to know I hurt her I feel just as bad if I cut the quick when I'm clipping her nails, so I'm scared to go too short, and she is terrified of having her nails clipped too!

[richards6402]

I can't do her nails. I take her to the vet to have them done. If I nick her doing a haircut I can't imagine the damage I would do with a nail clipper. I just watched a You Tube demonstration on clipping. To do the stomach area it suggested standing the Yorkie on it's back legs and clipping that way. The video said to be careful under the front and back legs because of the flap of skin. I should have watched this before I clipped her.

[Patti]

Sorry about Layla getting nicked. Accidents happen ad I bet she will forgive you.

[yorkieusa]

I nicked one of Muffin's ears once and I remember how terrible I felt. It bled so much. I was really careful after that. It didn't happen again!

[linz06]

I will definitely be more careful now! I didn't realize how sharp those scissors were either. I have done some tidy-ups on her before and this is the first time I actually hurt her It is scabbed over now, and it doesn't seem to bother her if I touch it with my fingers. We carry her a lot and it is right where I hold my hand, on her chest between her legs, so I hope that's not too uncomfortable!

[laci32]

I cut Andy's hair myself as well, I don't trust the groomers. It's a long story why. Anyway I brush him everyday to keep the knots and tangles away. It makes cutting and clipping day easier to do.

[LisaD]

Originally Posted by richards6402

This weekend must have been the time for grooming accidents. I nicked
Macy on the skin flap under arm. She yelped, I stopped and saw the little drop of blood on her skin. I know what you mean, I felt terrible and couldn't go on so I stopped. I hope she doesn't remember this next time I get the clippers out. We try to be so careful but things happen. I started grooming her because the last time she came back from the groomers she had a large clipper burn under her arm. I hope someone reads this post that groomers their Yorkie at home and can guide us on how to clip the sanitary area and under the arm. I was using a 7F blade because I keep her short.

I use a 10 or 15 blade for the sanitary part. I Also a 10 or 15 on ears and pads of feet. I don't keep my yorkies short. I like that long pretty hair!!!
You just have to be careful, keep your blades cool, and go slow. When removing matss, try and brush some of it out. Don't pull up on the hair, that is when you are most likely to cut, it also pulls the skin too...believe me, been there and done that.
Trying to brush will, at least move the mats down the hair shaft and you can then get the clippers under them. Oh and hole the clippers flat when going under matts and don't roll the skin with the clippers. You can cut them that way too.
As for under arms They sale a foot blade, it is small and will let you get in the tiny areas. When you get more practice you can use the regular sized blades. Took me a long time to learn.

[linz06]

Thanks for the tip! I used to brush Layla a lot more before she was paralyzed. She's gone through so many crate rest periods, and rehab, and it's tough to keep up with all the knots and mats! She gets quite off-balance if we touch or move her front legs while she's sitting, so I do have to work on getting her more comfortable with that all over again. I cut her whole body down to 1/4 inch I think (No. 4 guard on the clippers!) and I think I will keep her this way. It will be much easier to manage!

[taxlady]

Don't worry!!! Our babies are hair growing factories, better you should make the "mistake" than a stranger at the groomers! Your baby will forgive you, probably won't even remember. Just use lots of love and praise and BTW don't forget the treats LOL . I groom Sprocket all the time, I'm too cheap to take him in to the groomer, I can make the same mistakes and it costs less. I never use the razor, the noise drives Sprocket crazy. I have 2 pairs of doggy scissors, one short pair, one big pair, they have round tips and just do a little bit of trimming every week. Make it a game or a new trick to learn, ours was called "show me your belly" and he got an extra treat for laying still. We make it a bonding time, have FUN, one more excuse to spend more time with the baby, as if you really needed one.

[kalina82]

Originally Posted by richards6402

This weekend must have been the time for grooming accidents. I nicked
Macy on the skin flap under arm. She yelped, I stopped and saw the little drop of blood on her skin. I know what you mean, I felt terrible and couldn't go on so I stopped. I hope she doesn't remember this next time I get the clippers out. We try to be so careful but things happen. I started grooming her because the last time she came back from the groomers she had a large clipper burn under her arm. I hope someone reads this post that groomers their Yorkie at home and can guide us on how to clip the sanitary area and under the arm. I was using a 7F blade because I keep her short.

Never use anything other then a 10 blade to scoop out the arm pit area or groin. The teeth on the longer blades (7f, 5f, 4f, etc...) are too far apart and easily grab the skin flaps under the front arms and right in front of the hind legs (tuck up).