# dog's behavior changed after grooming



## chombiekay (Jul 15, 2014)

hi. i'm sorry if this is a dumb question but we just got our 1 year old shih tzu groomed really really short. she had a lot of hair before but now she has a puppy cut. this is not the first time she went to a groomer but it's the first time for this groomer.

she seems moody now and she doesn't even really want to walk. she just sits there or tries to go back in the house. she doesn't appear to have a leg injury or anything.

even inside she seems moody.

do dogs know that they got a hair cut? or does they feel naked? the only thing i can attribute to this is maybe she was really warm and suddenly without her hair she feels colder?

any insight please.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

I've heard of this happening. She probably just feels very different with short hair and she's adjusting.


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## Galathiel (Apr 11, 2012)

If you haven't done so, be sure you check her all over. Once my shih tzu ended up with a scrape in his groin area. Check especially the under side of the dog, under the arms, on the belly and in the 'sanitary cut' area.


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## dogsule (Nov 6, 2013)

I have had cockers since 1990 and always after they are groomed they run around like goofy fools, happy to be shed of all that fur. LOL! I do shave them down to pretty much nothing once or twice a year and they seem to really enjoy getting that hair off. They do tend to be a little cold for a couple days though but they don't act like they don't want to do anything, they still do they just shiver sometimes and like to cuddle more.


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

This is really common. People often think the groomer abused the dog (which happens, don't get me wrong), but it's usually just a combination of feeling different with not liking the grooming experience itself.


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## Schnauzerlover (Sep 16, 2014)

I'm guessing she may just be getting used to not having as much hair. Our neighbors used to have a Chow that hung around our house a lot. Every summer, they gave it a lion cut. He would always hide in the bushes for a few days after it was cut. He acted like he was embarrassed.


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## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

I clip my own dogs and Remmy, who is 8 years old this year so has been clipped at least two or three times a year, always acts like that when I clip him right down. I make sure the clippers are not hot, never gets clipper burn, but after he is clipped and for at least a few days, he wants to sit down and act like something is wrong with him. Some of my other dogs, it does not seem to bother and I have had others that were even worse especially their first time of being clipped down. My sister's dog was scared of her tail touching her back after she had first been clipped. Your dog should be back to normal in a few days as long as they did not clip her with hot blades or nick her somewhere.

I know when we had Scottish Terriers, once they were not being shown, we would just clip them. We had one that would hide under the bed for a few days.


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## chombiekay (Jul 15, 2014)

Kyllobernese said:


> My sister's dog was scared of her tail touching her back after she had first been clipped.


THANKS! this is actually the exact thing i noticed. her tail would touch her body and she would like make a movement like she was going to scoot on her butt backwards or something.

thanks everyone else too!


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## ForTheLoveOfDogs (Jun 3, 2007)

Lots of people complain about dogs itching and acting weird after a grooming. It is most likely because they are uncomfortable in their new hair. They will most likely be fine in a couple of days. 

Groomers get a lot of crap. They are blamed all the time for things they really didn't do or really have no way of preventing. Sometimes nicks happen because dogs don't hold still. Sometimes a dog already has a sore under all that matted fur and groomers get blamed for giving them a sore. Sometimes dogs are itching because they have seasonal or food allergies, not because they are allergic to the hypoallergenic shampoo we use on them. There are bad groomers out there.. but more of them really deserve a lot of respect because they work a very difficult job.


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