# Dog Acting Strange After Grooming



## Oak (Apr 27, 2011)

We recently had our 1 year old labradoodle in for his first grooming this past Thursday. He was just getting way too hot with all of that hair! His hair was cut pretty short. 

However, since he's gotten home from the groomer he just hasn't been himself recently. He's been shaking his head a lot, which I understand is due to having hair removed from his ears. He also seems to want to spend all of his time on either his favorite chair or an old couch we have in the basement. We'll coax him off of his favorite chair and he'll b-line for the next one, jump on it, and immediately lay down again. He's also started jumping on our bed and our good couch which he knows is bad and wasn't an issue before grooming. 

We brought him to the vet over the weekend and she couldn't find anything of concern and just gave us something to help alleviate his itchy ears—which doesn't seem to help that much. 

We brought him out with us in the backyard over the weekend for a while and he seemed just fine then—happily chewing on sticks and monitoring the squirrels in our yard. He also seems fine on walks except for shaking his head due to his ears.

We're just not sure what to do and are a bit worried. He seems so stubborn now when he's in the house and he won't leave his chair. Could it just be that his ears are bugging him so it just feels better on the couch? Does he just need some time to get used to not wearing a full fur coat anymore?


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

No idea, but here are some suggestions all over the map:
1. Use a flashlight to re-check his ears for red irritation, inflammation, or thickening results from the groomer nicking him.
2. Check the hair around and in his ears... it may be stubble that irritates.
3. I don't know how to check his neck for minor bumps due to the restraining leash.
4. Stubble on other parts of his body may annoy him in the folds of his skin.
5. Check all over for little nicks. Including the outside of his ears and the base of his ears... for stubble.


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## wishiwas (Mar 3, 2008)

If he went from a whole year's worth of coat to short.. he's probably just feeling VERY strange compared to what he's used to! You have to understand how different he must feel, especially when he was never groomed before. He doesn't have the warmth of the fur he's used to. If he was matted at all, then the pulling on his skin is suddenly gone. He's feeling air on his skin that he probably couldn't before.

Also, are people reacting differently to his new look? That can cause a dog's behavior to change after grooming. And the process may very well have been a little traumatizing, not because of the groomer, but because he went a YEAR before getting introduced to it.

I'd keep an eye on the ears, but wouldn't worry about it if no signs of infection come up.

Getting him groomed more often so that it's not such a big shock to him should help in the future.


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## Roloni (Aug 5, 2011)

Does he paw at his ears?
and if so which one.


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## Tankstar (Dec 30, 2006)

considering you failed to groom him in a full year. considering he has never, ever been groomed. Id bet he just feels very different now. a whole years worth of dirty , Im going to assume also matted coat, ear hair ect all taken away will make a dog feel strange. Were his ears matted? Did they have to shave the ears as well? if so id watch for hematomas. due to blood flowing back to the ears, being cut off by no circulation due to matting. He probably is itchy due to being shaved now as well.


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## mom24doggies (Mar 25, 2011)

wishiwas said:


> If he went from a whole year's worth of coat to short.. he's probably just feeling VERY strange compared to what he's used to! You have to understand how different he must feel, especially when he was never groomed before. He doesn't have the warmth of the fur he's used to. If he was matted at all, then the pulling on his skin is suddenly gone. He's feeling air on his skin that he probably couldn't before.
> 
> Also, are people reacting differently to his new look? That can cause a dog's behavior to change after grooming. And the process may very well have been a little traumatizing, not because of the groomer, but because he went a YEAR before getting introduced to it.
> 
> ...


 This was my first thought. He's likely feeling very strange without his fur right now. Give him a bit and he'll go back to normal. In the future, he needs to be groomed every 6-8 weeks, more if you want to keep him longer coated. There is a lot of misinformation about doodles and their grooming needs running around right now, the biggest ones being that they don't need to be brushed and that they need a haircut only once a year. That's so wrong I can't even begin to tell you about it! Doodles need to be treated exactly like poodles when it comes to grooming, starting at the age of 8 wks. They need brushing at least weekly, more is better. They need a trim at least every 6-8 wks, with a bath at least once a month, if not more. They should never be allowed to get matted, as that can damage the skin and is painful to the dog. I can almost guarantee that your baby was matted, unless you've been meticulously brushing almost daily, which is what would have been needed with the kind of length he would have had. 

Hope your pup feels better soon.


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## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

My dogs are never matted but when I take their coats down short for the summer, some of them act oddly for a few days. My sister had hers in Obedience the day she clipped her and she kept spooking at her tail touching her back, guess she couldn't feel it with all her hair on. If they pulled the hair out of his ears, they may be a little touchy for a few days.


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