Ok- I have a progress report, but first and foremost I'd like to reply to "Dill" (and also "Lady Dazzle" I suppose) who have somehow managed to make me the worst, most uncaring, and lazy pet owner around.
I take great care of my dog and have all his 7 years. In those 7 years he has had many allergy treatments. Because of these allergies, his skin is often irratated and he does scratch. While I keep him on medication, use the recommended shampoo and conditioner (weekly), brush him 1-2 times a week) and have shots done, he still scratches periodically. After numerous Vet visits and test (and lots of $$$ out if pocket for all this) it has been determined that we are doing all we can. He is usually not matted, just a small mat on on his legs and sometimes ears. He has recently caught fleas for the first time and has done more scratching than usual. I do not and have never had him "show " groomed, as he is not a show dog. When he goes to the groomer, his coat IS TAKEN DOWN to 1" (as this is better for the allergies). He has never had the long hair as many Lhasa's do. I bathe and pamper him greatly between visits. I have tried to groom him myself, (saving the $200 and year would be nice) but he is a little stubborn and this is just easier.
My original question was regarding "expressing" and would he have been possibly hurt during this process? Perhaps you both should have paid more attention to the original post instead of, what seems like, digging into the situation and making assumptions on things you really have no idea. I came to this website in TEARS over what could be wrong with my baby, and had no idea I would be critized for it. So, for future refernece, DO NOT critize and assume and write things to me like it's "my fault" and "shame on me". How sad is it that the horns come out so quickly, with so little information.
For those others who have posted with concern and/or questions, I truly appreciate it. We had a good weekend and he seems to be better (95% back to normal I'd say).  From now on, I may stay with him while he's groomed and/or expressed. Again, thanks so much for the advice.

Hi Shan0605,

Glad to hear your little guy is returning to his normal self - thank for letting us know ;)

Re. your being upset by someof the responses to your original post, please don't let this put you off posting a query or participating in forum discussions :(  Sometimes things can get a bit heated on here and posts either misinterpreted or poorly worded to begin with - one things for sure, by far and away the main folks who post on here are dog lovers so they have all the time in the world for helping the dogs (just sometimes the owners of same get a bit of a hard time in the process - not that I'm not excusing it - merely by way of explanation.

Anyway, good thing is your dog is on the mend and hopefully if you supervise his future grooming sessions you will not have further problems.

Good luck,
Regards, Teri :)
  

He is pet clipped-he is usually mated up and probably is a little harder to groom.

hope someone here can help me. I have a Lhasa that is 6 1/2 years old. I have him groomed 3-4 times each year.

Both of the above were your comments!!!

I can only comment on what you yourself said, and I will repeat what I said, every 12-14 weeks is not often enough for a Lhasa, even a clipped one.  You said he was matted up, not had the odd matt on his ears and legs!!!

I am in the grooming business and see a lot of lhasa's on a regular basis and any of them that go over 6-8 weeks are a nightmare to clip, as it is painful for them, what you may not realise as somone else said, is that before a dog is shampooed it has to be thorough groomed out and cleared of matts, or those matts will become solid with the wetting of them.

You may not like what I say, but thats your perogative, all I am saying is that with a dog who suffers allergies you should be taking him to be groomed at least 6-8 weeks at the most, and not letting his coat get matted at all.  You say he is difficult for you to groom, then bite the bullet as regards cost and get him to the groomers more regularly.

Gee- thanks for the suggestion about biting the bullet- and will you be paying the bill for this?? I do take care of him the best I can. As my original post stated, I had a question about him being "expressed" not groomed, and, no, I did not appreciate your abrasiveness by saying "shame on you" when you were jumping to conclusions. Yes, I have had him 6 1/2 years and YES I take him 3-4 times a year, and YES, I bath weekly and brush 2-3 times a week. Again, I didnt feel the need to go into detail about grooming simply because that was not my question. If you're in the "grooming business" then why don't you answer the question about sensitivity to expressing and leave the grooming part out of it-

Nowhere in your original post did you state that your question was about expressing solely, it mentioned that he had been groomed and expressed!!!!!

As to expressing, as I stated before the only time we express is if it is necessary, or we are asked to and have never had a dog react like yours has.

This will be my last reply, hope you find the answers to your questions, and you take note on how to help your dog feel more comfortable.

If you feel aggrieved at what I had written in my answer to you then as I stated before I apologise - but I was answering your posts as you wrote them -  you wrote that the dog was matted when he visited the groomers every 3-4 months - what was I supposed to understand from that?  If your dog needed flea treatment then it would have been done in the normal course of grooming, there is normally no need to return for the dog to be clipped. 

Where did I state that you were the worst and most uncaring owner???  All I was suggesting was that you ask for help learning how to comb your dog effectively.

As JG has stated Every 3-4 months is in no way sufficient for a Shi Tzu to be groomed.  I have lost count of the times I have had to cut out mats from a Tzu which are almost as big as the dog. And this on a dog who was groomed (clipped) 6 weeks earlier and had "only a few little knots"   The stress these little dogs go through when mats have to be removed (especially on the ears and legs) is unbelievable no matter how gentle the groomer :(

Most people on here know I have no 'Horns' nor do I have any 'AXE to grind' but in future I will be very careful not to answer any of your posts, that way I won't upset you again.

ok- ONCE AGAIN- my original question was in regards to being "expressed" not groomed. These are two different situations. I haven't seen him shake like this and be isolated after a routine groom (for such a long time). My original post clearly stated that this situation had been going on longer and worse than usual. I truly felt that you were missing the point and simply pointing the finger at me and in your own words "I would say that owing to your neglect for grooming his coat". I have not been neglectful in his grooming. I simply didn't go into detail like that b/c it was irrevelent to my "express" question.

Shan, I repeat: 'expressing' should cause no more than a moment's discomfort. Having matts removed from the coat is a serious matter, and often requires a General Anaesthetic. Something out of the ordinary happens to your dog. It's up to you (not your vet or a behaviourist or anyone else) to find out what it is.

The only reason I thought it was a express problem is becuase he would take 3-4 steps, then sit down, 3-4 more steps, then sit down. This led me to believe his hiney was sore. I even had the Dr tell me he may be "embarrassed" after a different appearence??

Shan, I express one of my bitches (on vet's instructions) every month. She doesn't turn a hair. Your dog's reactions are not normal.

Shan, as a groomer, I would only express anal glands if the owner told me that their dog had problems with them.  If a dog has a problem with impacted anal glands, then 3-4 times a year probably wouldn't be often enough to clear them and so it would possibly be a painful proceedure whether carried out by a Vet or a trained groomer.
If you are bathing your dog inbetween and not grooming out ALL the knots, then putting a dog in water will make it felt and the matts will be difficult to remove.  There are only 2 ways to remove matts - to pull them out or to cut them out!
I would expect to see a Lhasa every 6 weeks, so that the experience is pleasant for the dog and me! :(  A 12-14 week appointment for a dog with a matted coat and impacted anal glands is not going to be a pleasant experience!  I would be very upset if one of my grooming dogs took a couple of days to recover from a trim.  I would expect my dogs to go home and 'strut their stuff' at best and roll in something very smelly at worst!!

shan0605
So sorry you have felt so upset, but glad to hear you had a good week-end, and I am sure it will get much better. My friend had to take her GSD very regularly to the vets to have his anal glands expressed, as fast as they were emptied they filled up again. He must have felt so sore, and she wondered why he wouldn't do a sit command at Obedience because he was normally a very obedient dog. He then had his glands cleaned out under sedation and filled with anti-biotics. This still hasn't worked and he is due for an op to remove them this week.  As for the grooming part of this thread, another friend of mine takes in rescue OES, she has 2 at the moment. The last one she had, he had to go straight to the vet as his coat and skin was in a really poor state. The VET had to take off his coat under sedation, and he was horrified to find out that his tail had not only been docked, but hacked off too close to his body. This treatment cost her nearly £200, and the vet advised her to keep his coat short because of skin allergies etc. and the misery he had gone through in earlier life. She grooms him in between going to the groomers to be bathed & trimmed etc. and it costs her £40 every 6 weeks. But I suppose if SOME of the Show people were to meet her and dogs, she too would be classed as an uncaring and lazy pet owner and should never have had an OES in the first place. In fact she has given a very loving home to 2 dogs that someone else has thrown out. The first one she had, has gross hip dysplasia and it has cost her £46 a month in Metacam for the 10 years she's had him. Uncaring she is definately not.  Sue x