Golden doodle hates being groomed- what to do?

[Worksforme]

We have had a 41/2 year old golden doodle for two months and took her to be groomed on Friday. The groomer had to stop the groom as she was so stressed. I contacted her previous groomer- the people we got her from said she got on well there- it seems she hates being groomed and never had a full session only as much as she would tolerate. The big problem is that she loves walks on the beach and along creeks and, while she hates being bathed, she adores muddy puddles. She needs her fringe and beard cut regularly and she is currently very matted and needs to be clipped in order to prevent any problems.
we are trying to desensitise her by playing with her feet- which she loves if it’s us doing it- and running an electric toothbrush up and down her legs! She has two 30 minute appointments over the next two weeks and I will be staying with her, any advice as to what else we can do would be welcomed.

If she's really matted, would it be possible to get her shaved under sedation and then start building up some positive association from scratch?

Matts are so, so painful for dogs that I would be reluctant to leave her how she is for long. If she's in pain she's never going to enjoy being groomed.

I have this issue with mine. I spent a fortune on trainers and behaviourists but nothing worked. In the end, I had to go down the route of sedation and try and clip myself to keep it short. He's a shitzu so it matts badly. After a year, he's only slightly comfortable with me using the scissors, he becomes really stressed if he sees the shaver.

I think get her clipped under sedation in order to make more comfortable.

Then the hard work starts. Get a soft baby hair brush... and brush her everyday.

Go with what is comfortable for her. Start with back and sides standing up on a bench / table. Move to legs belly, head and rest of body. Give a comand like "Brush Time" so she knows what's coming.

Change from baby brush to metal comb to sliker brush as the coat grows.

Get a 2nd, trusted person to hold her hed or put a hand under her belly to stop her from moving/ sitting.

Also ask for advice from your groomer- is it the sensation of being brushed/ touced or the noise of hairdryer & clippers. Again, you need to desensitise her to these sounds and the feel of the clipper.

Treats will be good to start with, but they can also make things more difficult in the long run.

Remember, this is a very slow process, one step forward, 2 steps back until your dog has learnt that grooming is fine!

PS mine have a special treat or a short play once I am done with brushing!

If she’s matted it’s likely she is anticipating it being painful , get a vet / vet nurse to shave her matts off under sedation and the start afresh with getting her into a routine of being brushed daily and groomed by using treats and a little but often approach .

I would agree with above, clip really short under sedation but then for a while keep it really short with very regular clipping and hopefully she loses the association with pain at the groomers and you can work on grooming at home without pain too.

It won't look pretty but the main thing is to avoid pain for her, then maybe try out letting it grow a bit longer before it causes issues again.

I have to do my boy at home. Several times a year I clip him all over with a number 7 blade - like a sheep! In winter, I let him grow out a bit but if I have to clip him then he has jumpers to wear till he gets used to it. I’d love to get him a proper clip and style but have accepted it can never be.

I really feel for you @Worksforme I have a show cocker who also hates being groomed. I think I haven't helped as when I did need to bath and trim her, it would take ages and then make her hate it even more.
I took her to a groomers once and she was very good, but she wasn't happy.
We then decided to try at home. Dh started by feeding her lots of cooked chicken and lots of praise whilst I ran the clipper over her with it off, and after a short time, switched it one but not clipping her fur. We then got to clipping her and managed to do most of her top half that evening. The next day I then started on her legs, still feeding lots of chicken and lots of praise. I managed to do two legs and then the next day her two front legs. She did look like she was wearing uggs when her legs still had the long fur on them.
A dog owner in the park said another good way to clip them yourself is to use an ironing board as it wobbles so makes them sort of tolerate the clipping. It does work, but mine has jumped off a couple of times. I cover it with some old bath sheets.

Thank you all for your help. She went tonight and had all her matted hair removed. When she realised where she was going she took her lead in her mouth and tried to turn me around! It was an intense 30 minutes with two groomers and me, there was lots of calming spray used for all of us but she is now looking ok and all stress was forgotten with two mimi sausages and a piece of chicken. Next week she is going for a ‘tidy’ and, hopefully, with the worst over, a wonderful groomer and special treats when the groom is over, over the next few months she will become more comfortable with the process.@

Posh poodle hates groomers and has never really accepted it. It absolutely was to do with matting at the beginning (we did not own him then) and a couple of horrendous experiences with groomers. I persisted with a groomer for 2 years, who was good with him and he tolerated it but he was miserable and resisted going in. I keep him clipped very short now to prevent matts and he gets groomed every week or so by me. No more than 30 mins at a time, it's like painting the Forth Bridge, I just work my way around him. He trusts me and accepts it, somewhat reluctantly but were in a good place with it.

It takes months for the skin sensitivity to settle. His tail was so badly matted he never wagged it when we first got him, a few weeks after it was shaved down, little wags started and now he's a very waggy boy. I brush his tail with a soft brush regularly and gently comb through to check for matts. It's the only bit of him I let get a little long.

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