Dog gets extreme anxiety with grooming

[vulcanlogician]

I found this sub today and I’m so glad.

Background: 7yo female pit boxer mix, used to mil puppies for 3.5 years, two adopters abandoned her in bad condition, I’m the 4th owner and her personality came out in the last 8 months. She is extremely smart, and loving and has no clue why people abandoned her before. She has the trauma because of it.

Grooming: As per the info from ast family, I take her to the same pet smart as she has been used to going since 2020. Every month it’s getting worse. She sits in the parking lot and doesn’t want to go in. After trying 30min, with boiled chicken, change in direction, she will go eventually but starts panicking and shaking, to a point where it feels like an panic attack. I always pay extra and ask them to do express. She does well with CBD oil during long-distance travel so I gave her some today 30 min before the appointment.
This morning she came into the store okay, the moment she realized we were getting her groomed, she started shaking again.
I left quickly. 20 min in, the groomer called me as she was not coming into the bath area at all. They tried their best but as per the groomer she was throwing herself off and they didn’t want her to choke on the leash, so they asked me to come to pick her up.
She was good with nails, ears, and teeth brushing. She does hate water, but I don’t know if something happened during grooming that is making her experience worse each month.

I’m at a loss at what to do as she doesn’t come in the bathroom at home as well. I have tried taking her to self-wash in tractor supply where there are not a lot of other dogs but she will do the same, panic attack. I don’t think it’s separation anxiety because she stays home 8hrs at day (3 days a week) when I’m at work.

Any help or advice is appreciated because she does have skin infections and allergies.

Thank you.

 

[recheal95]

@vulcanlogician Boxer pit mix, is grooming really necessary for her? You might be able to save both of you a ton of stress and pain

 

[vulcanlogician]

@recheal95 So when I said grooming, it’s just bath, nail grinding, brushing teeth, and cleaning ears. But she is so deathly afraid of water that she almost had a panic attack this morning.
She has severe bad skin infections and according to her vet, even short-haired dogs should bathe at least once in 2 months. We hike and lot and live in the Midwest, so we have all seasons

 

[rev_dc]

@vulcanlogician Bath, nails, teeth and ears are all things you can be doing at home

 

[vulcanlogician]

@rev_dc I understand. But she doesn’t let me. We are still learning each other and like I mentioned she has bad past. It’s only been 8 months. I’m trying to get her trust me more with all the things.

 

[satanisnotdead]

@vulcanlogician Do you have a bathtub at home? Can you work on coaxing her into the tub slowly with chicken and build up a tolerance to it? I would do it for a week, then turn the water to a trickle and let it run without washing. Slowly work up to actual bathing at home.

 

[vulcanlogician]

@satanisnotdead Yes. That’s a great idea. Also she likes PB so I was thinking of putting her lick mat in the bath tub.
She doesn’t even put a paw in bathroom because she was forced before by previous owner according to the shelter.

But I’m gonna take your advice and give it try during holidays.

 

[joseph_]

@vulcanlogician Trazadone has made all the difference with our groomphobic dogs, both foster and permanent.

 

[vulcanlogician]

@joseph_ That’s what groomer suggested. I’m gonna talk to her vet about it.

 

[louieneedspeace]

@vulcanlogician Be aware that petsmart (and many other groomers) will not accept a dog on trazodone. Trazodone + baths at home seems like it’d be the least stressful option if that’s possible for you

 

[miab]

@louieneedspeace Some local groomers accept whatever but the Petsmart I just left last month accepted anything besides acepromazine as long as whatever med they were on wasn’t causing drowsiness or any sense of being lethargic. I’m not at Petco but we don’t even accept dogs that took Benadryl within 24 hours.

All salons are different but Petsmart (at least the one I worked at and the neighboring ones) does accept them on traz/gaba etc just not ace

 

[vulcanlogician]

@miab Thank you. The PetSmart lady suggested it so I assume they allow it.
But I’m finding different ways for my dog as such a busy place might not be her thing.

 

[miab]

@vulcanlogician Yeah I’m going to be quite honest. I started grooming at Petsmart and was there for 4.5 years and it was crazy. I’ve been at Petco for about a month and it’s much calmer/ they aren’t trying to cram more groomers than available tables lmao.
But my best suggestion is finding a slower place whether that be a self serve, 1on1/private, or a slower corporate (no matter who is going to take care of your baby definitely talk to them first and see how they would go about the situation because some aren’t the greatest with nervous kids) and I would suggest bringing her in just for some meet and greets to whatever place you take her with lots of high value treats just so she doesn’t strictly associate it with bath time.

I have a reactive (people and dogs) dog who learned that Petsmart was a bad place due to dogs going after her and people who were aggressive/didn’t understand she didn’t like how they interacted with her and I’ve been working very hard on getting her to calm down when she realizes where we’re going. They are smart little beans and can and will recognize the place so having good experiences helps a lot!

Edit to add: I had a couple coworkers bathe her due to being lazy and I think they didn’t do it the same way as I do and it threw her off so she gets EXTREMELY anxious and stressed if someone else does it so now I have to not be lazy but for nervous dogs I recommend finding a groomer you like and one your dog seems to like and stick with that person. Everyone has their own routine and some do better with one person and not the other if you know what I mean. I’ve had a couple cattle dog mixes that used to gator roll, snap, scream you name it and after working with them for 4-5 appointments in a row they either completely stopped those behaviors or at the very least knew how it was going to go and remembered me and they started to build that trust and do much better/felt more at ease during a stressful situation

 

[steveo]

@louieneedspeace I work at Petsmart and we have multiple dogs that come regularly on anxiety meds. It isn't a problem.

 

[genna]

@vulcanlogician Are the baths helping with the skin injections and allergies? If you haven't already, try talking to your vet about light sedatives to calm her down and take her to a place that is ok with her being on them. One on one places might be better, so maybe a mobile groomer since they come to you and she's closer to home. You may even be able to help the groomer if they need and allow that. If none of that works you may need to get creative with the baths. Maybe soak a wash cloth to get the water on her, lather, then soak the wash cloth to rinse her off and do it in an area that is not the bathroom.

 

[vulcanlogician]

@genna Her vet suggested a bath once in 8 weeks or so as she does have bad allergies and a skin infection past. We hike almost 2-3 times a week. I wipe her paws, belly, and coat whenever we come home with wet wipes. But after 8 weeks she does start scratching more, gets tail infections, extreme redness inside her thighs and belly, and needs a medicated shampoo bath.
If I could do anything for her to get this easy I would. I’m gonna talk to her vet about sedatives. She doesn’t even bark. I never met a dog before who doesn’t bark. She has been severely abused in the past and has gone silent.
She only trusts me and I feel like if I force her into doing something she will be scared of me as well.

I bought waterless shampoo and I’m gonna try washing again at Tractor Supply as it will be just us and not multiple people.

If not, I’m gonna try your advice and go the wet cloth route. She would still need nail grinding and ears, and brushing her teeth because I’m not there yet with her to let me do that. It’s only been 8 months together.

 

[ostara]

@vulcanlogician So here is some good news, i know you go on lots of hikes but if you can, start taking her on walks in paved areas, that can help file down the nails, I have a few clients who take their dogs on their morning runs and their nails are so short already I literally can’t trim them. Ear cleaning also isn’t too hard, you can find an ear cleaning solution at almost any pet store and get some cotton balls at home and do it in two minutes, I will say while it’s wonderful to take your dog on hikes like you are and I wish every dog owner acted like this, their could be something in that environment exacerbating her skin issues, there is no real way to be sure without an allergy test, which I know is ridiculously expensive. You could also look into some “dry shampoos,” chi makes a good one but it isn’t medicated. As for bathing her though, I think everyone else is on the right track with some sort of medication and not knocking petsmart at all but they may not be the best option for your dog as she is so anxious and the volume their could be making her worse, on top of being away from you, I wouldn’t normally recommend groomer shopping but maybe it’s time to try out some other spaces that are smaller.

 

[vulcanlogician]

@ostara Yes, her everyday walks are on paved paths, according to her current groomer she tolerates the nail grinding. I also do that every 2-3 months as you said, it files them down with walks.
I’m gonna do ear cleaning and teeth brushing myself as slowly as possible we might be able to achieve that at home.
I did look into other small local businesses but they are so far out book and told me they don’t do express which means she will be in kennel for long hours. There is a new place coming around called Scenthound which has monthly subscription $40 where they bathe and clean your dog in less than 30 min. Which means express cleaning every time. Even though I don’t take her every month, I don’t min paying because they roll over unused baths. They are very popular in Cali and Florida.

But sedatives might be necessary even if I take her there or self wash. Thank you for answering my concerns. I cried in bathroom today after bringing her home. She was so stressed out, came home and slept her spot immediately.

 

[myers]

@vulcanlogician Hello! I’m a one on one groomer and do reactive and anxiety ridden dogs. I get so many compliments on how the dog has relaxed or is even becoming excited to come see “Auntie Dog Groomer”. I would recommend searching for a one on one. I also let pet parents stay if it’s in the best interest of the dog. Most won’t but I focus more on the dogs needs and comfortability than mine.

 

[vulcanlogician]

@myers Are you by any chance in Michigan ? I would drive to you. You sound like trustworthy and gem of person. I will look into it. Thank you.
I’m also considering trying self wash again. I did before and she behaves the same.
Anything I can do in meantime at home? No bathroom but wet cloth maybe? I did buy her a waterless shampoo after today’s incident.

I asked the groomer if I can come in the back but they didn’t allow it. I wish they did because I know she was extremely scared. Her bad past definitely kicks in with other dogs around and kennels I believe.