Ghosted by our groomer!

[bonzaitree]

My dog is super scared of the groomers. She cries / clings to me when we go in and cries throughout. The groomer is really nice lady and is always upset when I go and collect her. we’ve tried her with another groomer recently to see if she is any better but she ghosted us! 🫣

We got so desperate that my OH got some scissors from Amazon for us to do her ourselves. This is a nightmare because she hates it and it takes ages. She looks awful too- chunks cut out of her. Hair everywhere of course!

I Suggested to the groomer that I stay to keep her calm- she was worse than usual because I was there 🤦‍♀️

Is there anything I can do??? Try another groomer? Is there a better way any of grooming her myself? Help!

Different options

1. You and/or your OH practise your grooming skills. Your skills will improve with time. Perhaps there are tutorials/advice online?
2. Try another groomer.
3. Does your dog have to be groomed? What kind of dog is she?

Good luck!

Try the Facebook group Taking the Grrr out of Grooming.
You can ask if there are any groomers local to you who have availability.
All the groomers in there should be willing to work with your dog at her pace and at a level that she is comfortable with. They'll likely have plenty of advice for you too, to help with desensitisation and counter conditioning at home.

What breed is she - is grooming an absolute essential?

Have you had her from a puppy and did you do lots of puppy socialising visits with the groomers from 12 weeks?

Is she an anxious dog in general?

I would persevere with doing it yourself maybe. As well as scissors you could also get some clippers, as this makes it alot easier to do the body. I groom my dog from time to time to save on a bit of money. The more I've done it the easier it has become, you can also do it more often and keep on top of it, so it's not such an ordeal for both you and the dog. I'll be the first to admit she gets a neater cut from a professional but she still looks fine after I've done it.

My spaniel hates the groomer and he's been twice in ten years. I was shown the basics and with decent scissors I make a reasonable job. Wahl clippers for his underside. But now he won't let me trim between his hind legs so I am trying to contact a groomer to just do that bit. No answer from anyone. If they said they weren't interested I would understand but they can't be arsed.

Thanks for your replies! Maybe some clippers are in order- any brands you can recommend?

About her fur- she is near white so it shows up everything plus she gets mats when her hair gets longer. In winter she gets muddy and in summer she picks up seeds. Her fur is like Velcro! She also doesn’t shed, so we have to brush her to remove her hair- annoying when she has long her.

She really does need grooming- not for her to look cute but for her own comfort!

look at Girl with the dogs on you tube- She’s very good for how to groom.

I have short coated dogs but she hates her nails being cut - I quicked her twice and she remembers.

She doesn’t mind daily tooth brushing.( Did this from puppy)

Clipper blades need to be sharpened and they can also heat up, look online for good clipper reviews.

Matting occurs with a lot of poodly type crosses-
Their coats are high maintenance.

Clipping is quite a skill to do well, so the animal doesn’t get hurt- Definitely look at a lot of vids before buying clippers.

I’m considering a dremel for nails, but it might be money wasted.

A firm but gentle attitude is essential-
Girl with the dogs is well worth a watch!

Are you certain the groomer is ghosting you? I only ask because the groomer I use advertises her services a lot on Facebook but then can't seem to access her message on FB messenger. I don't know if it's because there's fees from Facebook to use that a business. But the only way to contact her is either old fashioned phone call or text message

It's totally free to use Facebook as a business.

What is it about grooming she doesn't like ?
Had a dog once who hated to be groomed. We took a very slow approach. Put brush ect near him , gave treat , used brush Wong way up so no pulling on fur , gave treat . Snip snipped the scissors closer to him each time , gave treat .
It was a very slow process but he started to associate the grooming with a treat .