Dog groomers of reddit...are my dogs compatible for professional grooming

[jossystephan]

Hi all, just looking for some advice.

I adopted two dogs back in May, one M one F. Both are about 55lbs, 4 year old, Husky/GSD. To put it lightly, we have been really struggling with at home grooming. My boy is extremely stubborn and will not sit still for nail trims. Not to mention I am inexperienced in dog grooming and I find that I only take off a tiny bit at a time because i am afraid to hit the quick.

I really want to take them to get professionally groomed...they could use a bath, a nail trim, and the fur between their paws shaved. However, they are really uncomfortable in new settings and distrust anyone they don't know. I've never SEEN them actually be aggressive or dangerous, just petrified and difficult to work with (e.g. at the vet)

I have xanax I can give them...and my husband thinks I'm overthinking it....but I just don't want them to have a horrible experience and for the groomers to not even be able to actually do anything.

Do ya'll work with dogs like this? Or do you typically turn them away

 

[jasonodavis]

@jossystephan Call or email your local groomers and tell them alllll of this. Lots of groomers, myself included, like working with "challenging cases". If a groomer knows they are new to professional grooming, they can go slower, give more treats and even book them on a slow day. You may end up paying more than just a basic bath and brush but it is very important that your dogs have a safe, calm and happy experience for their first groom. This will set them up for a lifetime of stress free grooming!

Also, please don't give them any sedatives without letting the groomer know. In my experience, sedatives can cause a dog to panic because they know something is off in their mind.

 

[jossystephan]

@jasonodavis Thank you! I honestly would be 1000% willing to pay more for them to have a better experience.

 

[alvaroc]

@jossystephan They don't want them sedated because they will be calm, and POW panic. If the dog thrashes around it may get hurt. The groomer may get hurt. And if the dog is a biter it just may turn and bite with no warning from a calm state. ( Not saying yours would, but I have seen it happen. A groomer alone in the shop could be seriously hurt.) Also is that Xanax prescribed for the dogs? If not don't use it.

 

[jossystephan]

@alvaroc My vet prescribed xanax for my dogs for stressful situations

 

[alvaroc]

@jossystephan Ok

 

[paulcyp1]

@jossystephan That doesn't discount anything said above about creating a dangerous situation for dogs or groomer.

 

[jossystephan]

@paulcyp1 My groomer encouraged me to use it, I know how they respond to it in stressful situations and it does not make them more aggressive, we use it for vet visits. The appointment went fine.

 

[sonofedward]

@jossystephan It depends on the groomer! Call around, explain your situation. As the above comment said, don’t give the sedative without letting your groomer know! Some don’t take dogs that are sedated either.

 

[jossystephan]

@sonofedward I was reading about that! Might I ask why that is? I felt like it would make it easier for everyone involved

 

[sonofedward]

@jossystephan I personally work for corp so that’s just a policy they have. I believe in the “fear free” way of grooming so I don’t think sedation is bad! We don’t have any way to monitor health if things go south, but some groomers would be happy to take your baby with a calming element. You can always try cbd as well!

 

[jossystephan]

@sonofedward I've tried cbd...not really strong enough for my nervous pooches , or at least, not enough for me to see any noticable difference

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@jossystephan Corp salons can take natural calming aids but not narcotics. We have to be able to visually monitor stress and other health issues. If a dog is on a sedative it doesn't mean they aren't under stress but it means they may not be able to show it. Also they could have really bad reactions they may not have at home.