Dog grooming advice?

[rmo2380]

R/dogadvice post not showing up, hope its ok to ask here.

I have a 45lb Australian Shephard. She is about 14 months old. Usually I bathe and dry her myself but she needs some sanitary trimming.

I took her to a groomer close by to my house cause she is not good in the car. Groomer bathed her, put her on the table and when they were drying her and trying to trim she would not let them near her with scissors or a clipper and then she pooped on the table even though she was walked just before I took her to the groomer. They had to bathe her a second time. They still charged me the full price but no sanitary trim, no nail clipping ect.

So how do I find a groomer that can actually handle her and get the job done?

She is an anxious but none aggressive pup. I have her pretty much accustomed to the pet blow dryer. She is ok with brushing for the most part. I can't trim her dewclaws by myself cause she will lick my hands and around the nail trimmer ect... Hope this draws a clear picture of my situation.

Any advice?

pup tax 1

pup tax 2

pup tax 3

 

[tomder55]

@rmo2380 I shave my dads doggos booty ever few months. Do you have a brave friend? It is usually a 2 person job and he gets very upset when it happens but is fine after.

If you take her to another groomer just be very specific with your line of questions. "Will you have a second handler if the dog is uncooperative?" "At what point will you not provide the service?" "if I am present for assistance, can the service proceed if my dog is uncooperative?" "Will I be charged for services not rendered due to an uncooperative client?"

 

[resjudicata]

@rmo2380 She’s such a beautiful girl. I don’t have advice. I only wish you both the best. I hope you find somebody that takes their time with her.

 

[clbbig]

@rmo2380 I can't really suggest help with clipping her fur, but as for her nails and dew claw, play with her paws. You want to get her used to the sensation of her paws being touched and nothing happening to her. A few seconds a day will go a long way. When she gets comfortable with having her paws tickled and she doesn't retract, then you can transition to paw massages. The goal is to get to the point where you can gently push into her toe pads enough to get her nails to extend slightly.

You'd also want other people in your home or friends to play with her paws. Obviously, don't do it if she gets defensive. The goal is for her to feel comfortable with strangers handling her paws and toes. Makes it much easier to do nail trims.

The biggest tip is to go at her pace with everything. If you push her too hard outside of her comfort zone, she may develop negative associations.

And, if you really want to go the extra mile, take her for long walks (1-2 hours a day) on gravel paths, concrete side walks, or any walking surface that's not completely smooth. This will naturally grind down her nails and cause her quicks to retract on their own, making future nail trims easier. Again, though, the biggest possible tip I can give is to go at her pace. You don't want negative associations or trauma with anything.

 

[rmo2380]

@clbbig As long as you don't have any tool in your hand you can touch every inch of her. She will put her paws in your hand anytime you ask and you can massage her paws all day long. She loves it. I can touch each nail individually with no issues.

Her main nails are ground down from walking on the sidewalks, just the dew nails remain sharp. She was never hurt from nail clipping either so I really don't know why she gets nervous if I hold a nail trimmer in my hand.

Same with the matted fur behind her ears, you can touch, pull, scratch it no problem unless you have something else in your hand like a tool of some sort then she just pulls away.

I've had her since she was 10 weeks old, she was never traumatized by any grooming, she is just naturally nervous/anxious.

 

[clbbig]

@rmo2380 Well, then, Im not sure. I would assume the same principle would apply if you were to just hold tools in your hands to get her used to the idea of being around them. But im not a groomer nor a dog expert, so I could be wrong. Best of luck