Calling experienced dog owners - grooming help for intelligent head shy dog with scissors phobia

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I'm slightly embarrassed asking this because I pride myself on being reasonably good at training my dogs! That's the beauty of animals though, there is always one that tests your ingenuity! .

So I thought I would just lay this problem out for the very knowledgeable dog owners on this site to ask where I am going wrong please and sorry in advance for length of post.

I have a dog, a lurcher X'd with ?, who is probably one of the most intelligent dogs I have ever known; very kind and gentle, very agile, quite wilful, strong and whip smart. He's a rescue and had a horrible time as a pup. When he came to us, we couldn't actually touch his body , it was really sad. He cowered and shied away so heaven knows what had happened to him. It has taken nearly two years to get him to the point where he will wear a collar and harness, be stroked all over, and be brushed (nearly) all over his body , be able to pick up his feet, and he is just about ok now with us brushing his head but you have to be very careful indeed not to spook him. We've never needed to clip his nails as we walk for miles every day as part of my work (stable dog) and he's finally ok with the toothbrush. He's evidently had an injury to his hocks in the past which has now healed up totally but the scar is still visible, like he got caught in something (wiring?)

The main problem is that he is maturing fast and his coat is growing fluffier and longer and he's got some knots in it. He's the sort of dog that needs brushing every day but doesn't need regular trimming. I can stop the knots on his body developing with regular brushing. Unfortunately though some small knots are developing behind his ears that need clipping out and I cannot for love nor money get the scissors near him. I can brush his head now (although he still doesn't like it) but as soon as I reach for the scissors - even reach in the dog bag where the scissors are kept - he's off the table and up the stairs or out the door down the field. He doesn't seem distressed - he obviously is though - but he still runs like the wind at the sight of scissors. I've tried holding them near him and rewarding with tiny strips of steak and some chicken liver paté (his favourites!) but he's not particularly food focused and as I say, I can't even get the scissors out from across the room without him rushing off.

I've tried taking him to a professional groomer and literally could not get him in the grooming room. He howled and ran.

I tried a professional groomer coming to us and again, all fine until he saw the scissors, and the trimmer was even worse, then he legged it. It's like a horse bolting when he leaves. He crashes through anything in his way. There is no reasoning with him.

What do I do now? I'm worried that the knots will develop in to bigger clumps if I don't do something soon. I'd obviously rather not have him sedated. Or should I have him sedated and trimmed right down and continue with more desensitizing after that?

Thanks for reading this.

I was going to suggest professional groomer coming to you, but I see you've already tried it. Maybe try a different mobile groomer but just have tea in the garden for her first visit, to lull him into seeing her as a friend of the family? Getting him used to you both touching his head at the same time before finally sneaking the scissors in? I can see this being a long slow haul and it may be that sedation to clear the immediate problem is the way ahead.

Sorry when I say there is no reasoning with him , I meant that you can't even keep him in the same room as the scissors in order to start desensitizing him to them. I can't even hold them up eight metres away without him legging it. Need other ideas!

Ooo I've just had a totally left-field thought! Is Veet safe for use on dogs? If so, rub some into the clumps and dissolve them? I wonder if anyone has tried this? Obviously you'd have to stop him from scraping the stuff off and licking it though.

Thank you QueenofLabradors thank you very much for the suggestion but we already tried the sitting in the garden with the groomer thing - she is a friend of a friend and we took it very slowly over several attempts - dog was wise to the whole charade though and stayed for the ham sandwiches and bolted as soon as the grooming bag came out. . She even tried desensitizing him by grooming him alongside the other calm dogs but again, that didn't work. Couldn't get him near.

Putting on my dog carer hat, I can just see a couple of the lurchers I sometimes look after getting totally wise to this! Thinking about it, the cleverest dog I've ever met was a greyhound x border collie.

One of the rescues I walk clearly had something traumatic happen to her tail, and won't permit it to be touched. Thankfully although it's a bit of a tangled mess, her coat isn't long enough or thick enough to form dangerous mats. We did take the opportunity to clip it short when she had to be sedated for other reasons.

Anyway, here's a bump in case someone's got any experience or ideas.

Can you comb them out? I found a comb better for getting goose grass seeds out of SoupDogg's comedy spaniel ears so it might work on knots.

What happens if the scissors are already out in a room before he gets there? Just sitting on a shelf or something, not for actual cutting.

Or can you work them out with fingers. That also works for clumps of grass seed.

Thank you for the bump and for the suggestions!

Greyhound X border collie sounds wicked (in all senses )

Dog is ok with scissors lying on sofa, on floor or table when he comes in, if he is a metre or so away, but the minute we go towards them and bend to pick them up he's out of there.

I've tried with my fingers and get so far, but again , he's off and away to his bed if I persist. So not as bad as a reaction as to the scissors, but the knots need cutting out as some are matted, so fingers alone won't do the job.

Greyhound X border collie sounds wicked (in all senses )

Yup, absolutely beautiful girl... and incredibly naughty!

@Vetinari not sure if this works if you're not already on the thread, but you're the MN Doghouse vet - do you know anything about Veet and toxicity? The more I think about it the more I wonder if it might just work?

Will he let you at it with a deknotting comb (it's a simple comb with 'blades' instead of prongs so it slices through the knot). You might be able to break the knots up enough to brush them out.

In the meanwhile, can you use unrecognisable scissors to help him get used to them? i.e. something novelty that look a bit different to normal, sensible scissors?

Start VERY slowly. Break down the reaching towards them on the coffee table into tiny steps. A quick glance in their direction at first. Then a longer glance. Then a tiny flick of the hand just a few centimetres towards them, getting closer and closer over several sessions/days/weeks. Then touching them, handling them, carrying them, holding them in your hand whilst you pop his food bowl down, picking them up for a few seconds then putting them down just before you take him out for a walk etc. At this stage, never asking him to touch or intereact with them at all. The point being that he learns that you handling the scissors is a safe thing to see.

When you get to the stage of wanting to bring the scissors close to him, can you start handle side first (i.e. hold the blade end and gently touch the handle end to him). Building up to touching various parts of him with the handle end, moving it along his skin gently. Finally turning them round to do the same with the blade end - obviously all safely and carefully.

By all means, pair the above with treats if this helps him.

Think also about the movements you have to make when using scissors and work on getting him used to them. Thing like gently prising up a patch of fur ready to be cut, perhaps gently pushing back some fur against the grain, reaching over and around his head with your arm at a funny angle or holding an ear out the way to get behind it - that kind of thing.

What I am thinking is to use the knot cutter to deal with the pressing matter of knots so that you can take the months required to slowly work on getting up confidence around scissors.