Grooming a difficult dog

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slimjim

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Or more accurately a terrified one.

New girl is bouncy outgoing and lovely - until grooming starts. I have managed to cut her coat on the top of her body, three legs and tail so far - over three sessions. She gets very stressed and frightened, twists and turns a lot but hasn't tried to bite. Brushing isn't too bad, but as soon as her fur is touched to cut it or she sees scissors she panics. She loves being stroked so it isn't an issue about touch in itself.

I still have a very matted tummy and other bits to do. I'm not even going to attempt to detangle and just want to cut it off. Any ideas other than sedation at the vets?

She gets a reward afterwards and soon forgives and forgets - not that I've hurt her in any way - she just expects that I will.

All ideas welcome.
 
I think Pucci and Poni, and Cayla have experience with grooming dogs with issues so hopefully they will be on later.

Have you tried doing it while she is eating, so that she is associating it with something good, or offered her a treat in exchange for you letting the scissors brush past her or even just treat her while holding the scissors and gradually move them closer?

My boy is a bit anxious being groomed so I hold two brushes, he gets to mouth and play with one in my right hand while I brush him with the left, then I switch sides and brushes, so it is a nice fun game, so you could associate the grooming with a fun game or a toy, too.
 
If it's really bad it might be really uncomfortable for her
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Maybe this time it would be an idea to get the vets to sedate her and clip it all off, then you can work on getting her relaxed and comfortable with the whole process when she is no longer in any discomfort.
 
I'm sure it's uncomfortable, that's why I'm trying to chop it off. Also as with us she's now an indoor dog she doesn't need a full coat.

She's got to be microchipped so we may just get ears checked/coat done at the same time. We've already realised that no dog groomer may ever want to do her so I gather that I'm to be sent on an advanced grooming course!

She's so twitchy that unfortunately I don't think that food would distract her, but longer term it would be nice to at least be able to do basic maintenance. She is extremely friendly so I know it's just fear.
 
Sorry, I meant that grooming would be uncomfortable as the matted fur will be pulling her skin and making it tender - therefore grooming may be painful for her at the moment. Which makes her reaction totally logical and hard to overcome until you can remove the source of that pain, which is why getting the vet to do the first clip might not be a bad idea.
 
Thanks, I should think she is, though I am very careful. Actually the vet must have been missing us since our old dog went. I'm sure they'll welcome us back with this one.
 
Oh poor wee dog. Sounds like it's not a happy bunny with the mattedness. Do you know her history? It sounds like perhaps she's had a bad experience before you?

IMO (you wont like this but) I would either bring her to the vet or groomer (or have a groomer come to you). I think if you can strip the coat off with clippers you can start retraining process once the coat is gone. I would NOT try to scissor it off -- matts have a sneaky way of fooling you that you can scissor under them and what happens is that you can pull on the matt, create a little tent under it of skin and THAT can be accidently cut. If a groomer can't do it, then it might be best on the first occasion to have her sedated by a vet and shaved off.

Now - the next part I have to make a disclaimer - I'm a groomer but not a behaviourist or trainer. This is just what I do to help dogs that are nervous in my salon. I do find it helps but more experienced behaviourists may say I'm way off...

If you're keen to groom her yourself at home, then perhaps get a set of clippers and start her off by just letting her hear them in the same room.

Each day I would put the dog on the lead, and take her somewhere there aren't any distractions of other dogs, people etc. Begin with brushing and combing- even if there's nothing to comb and brush - make it a positive experience. Reward her with a treat and a kind voice when she's sat quietly. If she's jumping about, ignore the behaviour and continue on. Gradually build up the time you spend brushing so it's a bit longer.

Then run the clippers so she can hear them. Once she stops attempting to run in fear from the sound of the clippers then shut them off, let her sniff them. Run the clippers while OFF over her body, let her see what you're doing. If she pulls away, don't let go but ignore the behavior til she stops struggling - and then reward her. Don't engage in a battle over it, don't even speak to her unless she has been good and then TELL HER.

After a few days of success on this pattern, run the clippers over her body (just so she feels the vibration, not to actually clip anything) and again, follow the same order of if she's struggling, just calmly ignore it and when she realises you're not going to stop, she relaxes - make a huge fuss to say she's good.

Eventually build this up so you can actually clip her - but again, I'd avoid scissors unless you're prepared to learn how to use them (I'm not trying to be cheeky or rude, but if she's already afraid of them, if you accidently cut her it could set her back -- clippers usually are a bit safer).

I think if you can get the coat off now with a professional's help, you should with time be able to manage the coat at home - but trying NOW while the coat is matted is really causing you both stress and might end up with an injury.

Good luck
 
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