Unreasonable grooming anxiety

[Cath2907]

Not the dog - he is fine - he knows nothing about it yet! It is me. I booked my Bichon pup in to a well recommended local groomers as despite my best efforts at bathing and brushing he definitely needs a trim and some more specialist attention (he mats just looking at him). He is not a bath fan, he is not a fan of being left without me and he has never been to the groomers before. I have to take him in at 9:30 and drop him off for a few hours... He isn't going to enjoy this is he? Someone tell me to woman up and stop worrying he'll feel scared and abandoned!

[thegirlsallgrowedupnow]

Given that he will need regular trips to the groomers it is worth getting it right from the start. I discounted the first groomer I contacted because they wanted to have Cocodog for a few hours, why?
Found a groomer who suggested I bring her in for an hour for a puppy bath and a few bits trimmed with scissors, lots of treats. Next time the same but more of a trim. Now she goes every seven or eight weeks for a bath and a clip and nail trim if needed. We have an appointment, we arrive and I pick her up one and a half hours later. It isn’t her favourite destination but she is ok. I don’t think she would be happy being there for a few hours, she is always very tired when she gets home anyway.

[pigsDOfly]

When I first got my dog as a puppy a long time ago one of the things I read was a suggestion about taking the puppy to the vet a couple of times. Just to go in and have a look, meet the reception staff, have a sniff, maybe a treat or two so the puppy thinks this place is okay.

Sounds very much the same idea as thegirls's groomer does.

Perhaps if your little dog has found it all a bit much maybe you could do a couple of non treatment visits to the groomer to just let him have a look round before he has to go again.

Don't know if it would work as he's been already and had a full treatment, but just a suggestion.

[missbattenburg]

Battendog is a large and hairy springer so typically takes about 3 hours to groom. We built up to this in stages, just an hour at first which was mostly play and a little bath. Then a little bit of clipping next time, and so on.

I made it clear to his groomer that for those first few sessions I did not expect a fully groomed dog back and that him being relaxed was more important - so if he was only half done, that was fine.

I really think this was worth doing as he's always been fine going there, despite being a dog that resisted grooming and hated baths etc.

I also think good groomers (both technically skilled but also great with dogs) are worth their weight in gold so if you find a good one, then really hold onto them and don't be afraid to switch if you are not 100% comfortable.