# My dog is scared to be groomed



## joefb6 (Feb 26, 2012)

My part Jack Russell is terrified of being groomed. When we try to take her she hides behind our couch and will not let us pick her up. She senses when we are going to pick her up to be groomed and she will become aggressive if we try to pick her up. Not sure what to do except to give her a sedative. Anyone have this problem? We normally do not pick her up and she is very friendly and good around children. Seems she associates the picking up with going to the groomer or vet. Once she is behind the couch she is there for hours.


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## 3doglady (Jul 31, 2011)

What are you doing when you get ready to take her? At what point in this routine does she become aggressive, or hide? What is the groomer doing, nails, ears? I'm thinking that JRT's don't require a lot, so I'm wondering what can be done at home.


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## Greater Swiss (Jun 7, 2011)

Do you do any grooming at home? Even just practise with treats and a brush (or even just stroking by hand) might start calming things. Practise picking her up too at times other than going to the vet or groomer. Make general handling a good thing. 
I also wonder what happens at the groomer.....have you ever watched? Perhaps the groomer is a little too heavy-handed and she is scared (groomers do have a job to do and I doubt many can take the time to be able to take the time to coax your dog into being comfortable).


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## Fade (Feb 24, 2012)

It is actually quite common to get dogs that are afraid to be groomed. Sometimes it is because of a previous bad experience at the groomer. the mildest suggestion would be to if she has a short coat groom her yourself. 

grooming sedatives are very mild and if she is that stressed out she would need a higher dose. I would talk to your vet about what she would need. most of the time grooming tranqs. don't help with seriously upset dogs.

the most aggressive step would be too have her groomed at a vet where they can give her an injection sedative that will really calm her down. getting her there would be, before getting ready to leave, get a muzzle out and muzzle her and then wrap her up in a towel or blanket. It is suggested that pets don't eat before this. it can be hard to find a groomer at a vet sometimes. We are the only vet in our town that has a grooming facility actually. we get scared dogs in quite a lot every week that need to be groomed.

If you talk to your dogs vet about what they suggest for her and describe the situation, they should be able to work out a few game plans for her.


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