Dog panics when I touch his feet, any advice?

[eatpraylove]

Let me start with; I’m corporate. That means no muzzles are allowed in the salon regardless, no dogs allowed in the salon if they’re on any sort of medications or calming agents, so I’m really left to my own devices here.

I have a regular customer with a 3 year old labradoodle. When I first groomed him, he was pelted, so 10 a/o and as we all know that is uncomfortable for any pup when the matting is that bad. So he was nipping for his ears, his legs, his feet, etc but I took it slow and easy and eventually got him cleaned up and chalked the behavior up to discomfort from the matting. Most of it was, now he’s on a strict 6 wk schedule, but over the last year and a half I’ve been grooming him, he has still FREAKED when I touch his feet. It almost feels like he’s gotten worse. And it’s not that he’s biting, he’s full on barrel rolling, twisting himself in very uncomfortable positions and doing literally anything and everything he can to have me let go. I can’t even do it with a coworker helping me. Mom is very kind and understanding when I tell her I was unable to get her dogs nails done or his feet properly trimmed (sometimes even can’t get his toe mattes out ).
I try to take it slow, tried to do his nails in the tub (nope), play with his feet with a happy hoodie on/dryer going (nada), nothing seems to help. My coworker is convinced he’s just ill behaved and not trained, but I genuinely feel like he is thrown into a panic state and I’m afraid to push him too much. I don’t want him to get hurt or end up permanently traumatized.
I don’t know what to do at this point. I told mom she may just have to have his nails done by a vet and she’s OK with it, but I still feel awful.
I do love this dog and want him to have good grooming experiences. Any advice?

TLDR: 3 y/o doodle on 6 wk schedule that I’ve groomed for 1+ year panics when I touch his feet and nothing seems to help. I don’t know what to do!

 

[jrbuckley]

@eatpraylove Most important question: what is the OWNER contributing? Is she doing any type of desensitization at home? Positive reinforcement while handling his feet?

This is one of my biggest frustrations with our industry: owners expecting groomers to train their dog to be groomed in 2 hours every other month. For some reason, groomers also accept this responsibility.

I really seriously applaud your efforts OP. It sounds like you really care about this dog and the quality and finish of your grooms. Just remember that the owner needs to participate in the rehab and training of this dog also.

 

[jadelynn]

@jrbuckley I’m private so can use muzzles and cones and take medicated dogs and all that stuff but I still won’t continue to work on dogs that aren’t getting trained at home. There is no way I can fix a dog’s fear in a 2 hour visit and it’s not my responsibility to do it. The owner HAS to work on this at home

 

[mccra76]

@eatpraylove Refer him out to somewhere that can accommodate his needs, honestly. Chronic stress is debilitating to dogs. Fear aggression is career or life threatening to groomers. If an anxious animal needs to be managed by a veterinarian via medication, they should be. It is not healthy for dogs to have this type of reaction to routine grooming. My rescue spent so many years with chronic stress that his adrenal glands literally enlarged to meet his cortisol needs - it came up on an MRI, we tested for Cushing's, he was negative. It was a physiological adaptation to chronic anxiety. Sometimes you can train all you want, but if a dog is easily put over threshold (outside the range at which desensitization can be an effective learning tool), medication can be the missing piece. A lot of dogs are so poorly bred or have missed the socialization at a key age that they will be at a lifelong disadvantage. Many of my aggressive clients are like normal dogs while on gabapentin, Prozac, whatever. They're not even zonked out or tranquilized. Corporate is not designed to accommodate these types of dogs and it is very likely that he won't improve with a regular grooming schedule alone.

 

[deepak1]

@eatpraylove Owner has to work with him on this. You can't work miracles in two hours!

 

[mutambo]

@eatpraylove It's not fair to the dog to be pushed past threshold every time they're groomed, and stopping the unwanted grooming when they misbehave reinforces the behavior. Please refer them out to someone who can do medicated grooms. The behavior you're describing will result in an injury at some point if it continues, and you don't want to deal with corp management after an issue like that.

 

[sanctified112]

@eatpraylove Well for starters, leave corporate and find a private salon. Sometimes it is just mandatory to use a muzzle or some type of calming pills. Some dogs just never get use to the process.

 

[livelifeliving33]

@eatpraylove If you want to continue grooming him I'd recommend full stop not working on anything that causes him to freak out. He's getting worse because he's only having bad experiences at the groomer. Avoid those trigger spots and have owner find another solution (like a vet for nail trim, paw pads) and at the same time she needs to be the one working on desensitizing him properly.

 

[andrewm12]

@eatpraylove Not every dog is for every groomer, & not every groom is for every dog.

I would refer out honestly to a place that can accommodate his needs better. Maybe it would be a better fit! It sucks if you’re attached to the dog, but it might be what is best.

 

[ronanddeb2014]

@eatpraylove refer outtt. there is no reason for you to deal with this when you could be grooming two nice little shih tzus in the same amount of time and a third the amount of stress. a corporate salon is not built to accommodate this type of groom.

 

[eulalia]

@eatpraylove When I worked at corporate I used muzzles. Are they wanting you to get bit? Sometimes a muzzle or cone can stop bad behavior. If the owner is not willing to put the time in to desensitize, then you will have to pass on grooming him. Not all dog's can be fixed either.

 

[andrewm12]

@eulalia I worked at PetSmart & we were allowed to use nuzzles for only twenty minutes. Petco isn’t allowed to use muzzles. I think it’s ridiculous because sometimes you do need it.

 

[thegiant]

@eatpraylove If it has already been determined by a vet that there is no medical reason for the behavior, then it honestly isn't your issue to fix. You see the dog for a few hours every 6 weeks. Otherwise, he is at home. You can't train him. He will not remember what he learned 6 weeks ago if he's not being taught anything at home.

I mention medical clearance because I always give the dog benefit of the doubt and assume the dog is trying to tell me something before assuming the dog is just "naughty". For example, we had a labradoodle who was very aggressive for his feet. Come to find out he had bone cancer in his toe and was in excruciating pain. He has since gotten that toe amputated and is now a perfect pup for grooming.

Though, this again means it's out of your hands because you can't force the owner to see a vet or take the dog yourself. Just continue doing what you are doing and refer the dog elsewhere if you feel like the relationship with him is being too negative.

 

[rchelsmrs01]

@eatpraylove Happy hoodie and a cone collar! Cotton balls in the ears under the happy hoodie to dull noises, happy hoodie compression for calming and the collar limits his vision and helps him stay in his own little world. He won't be able to see what you're doing so you can get a lot more done on his feet and it's harder for him to bite you. You can get the cheap plastic cones but they're harder to take off and on, I prefer the thicker fabric ones with Velcro closures. Happy hoodies are excellent and we use them for nail trims or entire grooms for anxious dogs.

Ultimately not a final solution, the owner needs to take accountability and make moves on their own to fix it or just be fired. I don't think you should be spending your own money trying to fix someone else's turd dog for a company that doesn't care if you live or die.