# puppy acting strange after dog groomers



## jemquail68

hi there, 
hope smeone can help. I took my seven month old shih tzu to the groomers a few days ago. She had grown a fairly long coat that and had some tats that i couldnt get out. they advised me to get her clipped but when i picked her up she was completely shaved almost to the skin. since then she has been very clingy, shaking all the time and constantly chasing her tail, yelping and licking her bottom. I'm wondering do I need to get her checked out at the vets or is this all due to shaving irriation (her bottom is almost bald). Is there anything I can put on her to ease the irriation? Any help would be appreciated....my puppy is very depressed :-(


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## Tankstar

was this her first grooming?
Normally when a owner says the dog has a few small tats, its wrong (no offence). I had a dog yesterday in whos owner told me she brushed it every day, it too was a shih tzu. When I got the dog, yes the top layer of coat was nice and brushed, but the hair underneth, rght at the skin was all tats and mats, sine he never brushed right down to the skin. So the dog had to go short, as the dog was fairly young, and there was no point in dematting a dog at such a age, since it is a long process, and painful.

Many dogs have itchy bottoms/skin after a grooming, as small hair particals can be in the skin. I know Im very itchy after work due to small pieces of hair stuck in my skin.


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## Kyllobernese

Sounds like Remmy. He is a Shih Tzu x Maltese and I clip him myself (have had a lot of experience working in grooming parlors over the years). I clip him down short in the spring as I do Agility with him in the summer and he does not get as hot when he is shorter. He always acts a little strange for a few days afer I clip him even though I make sure the blades are not hot and don't skin him right down as he is not matted.

My sister's dog was really funny after she was done as she jumped every time her tail touched her back. I guess with her hair she had never noticed it before. As long as she is not red and raw, your dog should be fine in a few days. Also, at seven months, they are changing from their puppy coat to their adult coat and really tend to matt very easily if you are not really careful to brush them right down to the skin. She was probably more matted than you thought but should be easier to keep brushed now when her coat grows in.


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## mom24doggies

She's probably just not used to the feel of no hair....I wouldn't worry about it too much.  My poodle did the same thing when I shaved the band on his tail the first time. He kept sitting down suddenly and turning around to look at it. As long your puppy's skin isn't red and irritated, she's probably fine. Make sure that she doesn't scratch at herself...I've heard of dogs that didn't get clipper burn or anything, just didn't like the feel of short hair and so they scratched and ended up making themselves into a bloody mess. Sometimes my poodle scratches his face after I've shaved it, and so I put a really light, gentle hand lotion on it. That helps a lot; you could try that if you feel your puppy could benefit. As long as the lotion isn't really greasy with lots of perfume in it, it's not going to make her sick or anything.


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## pomergranate

i worked at petco grooming for a year. sadly i saw groomers man handle puppys who were scared to begin with. next time say you want a puppy cut ( not much cut off, the piont is to get the puppy used to the sound of the clippers) and you want it moved to top priority (called a zoom groom at petco) so that you can often watch in the window or over the counter how the groomer handles the dog. theres a reason why groomers often take a long time in the back.....and from working at petco it wasnt a pretty site what i say them doing. recently i heard a poodle puppy had its leg ripped out of its hip socket becuase of man handling. so i suggest finding another groomer, one you know personally or one of your friends use. and work with your puppy at home. the vibration of a cell phone or electric tooth brush is close to a clipper vibration so what i did with my pom (i groom her myself now) is i started with her feet and let my phone vibe on her feet till she was used to it then i bagged my phone and let it vibe on her butt (she needs a sani to prevent poop stickage) until she accepted it. it took prolly 3 months but she loves to be groomed now.



Tankstar said:


> "yes the top layer of coat was nice and brushed, but the hair underneth, "
> very good piont alot of people dont realize that you gotta brush all the way down. sometimes its easiest to section hair off like we do. i know with pomergranate ill start with a comb and detangle to the skin then go to a wire brush to catch all the loose hair from combing.


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## mom24doggies

pomergranate said:


> i worked at petco grooming for a year. sadly i saw groomers man handle puppys who were scared to begin with. next time say you want a puppy cut ( not much cut off, the piont is to get the puppy used to the sound of the clippers) and you want it moved to top priority (called a zoom groom at petco) so that you can often watch in the window or over the counter how the groomer handles the dog. theres a reason why groomers often take a long time in the back.....and from working at petco it wasnt a pretty site what i say them doing. recently i heard a poodle puppy had its leg ripped out of its hip socket becuase of man handling. so i suggest finding another groomer, one you know personally or one of your friends use. and work with your puppy at home. the vibration of a cell phone or electric tooth brush is close to a clipper vibration so what i did with my pom (i groom her myself now) is i started with her feet and let my phone vibe on her feet till she was used to it then i bagged my phone and let it vibe on her butt (she needs a sani to prevent poop stickage) until she accepted it. it took prolly 3 months but she loves to be groomed now.
> 
> 
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> Tankstar said:
> 
> 
> 
> "yes the top layer of coat was nice and brushed, but the hair underneth, "
> very good piont alot of people dont realize that you gotta brush all the way down. sometimes its easiest to section hair off like we do. i know with pomergranate ill start with a comb and detangle to the skin then go to a wire brush to catch all the loose hair from combing.
> 
> 
> 
> Not all groomers are like that though!! I know I'm not.  But I would def. recommend finding a groomer you feel you can trust, and then stick with that person.
> 
> Also, most groomers don't want you to be there when your dog is getting groomed. Your presence just excites the dog, causing her to jump around and therefore greatly increasing the risk of nicks. So just because a groomer doesn't want you there does not mean that she treats the dogs badly. I would ask around at vets' offices, and ask your dog owning friends...they'll know the good groomers.
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## amberly

I agree with what a lot of others have said. I'm a groomer and Tankstar is probly right. There were probly lots of hidden matting that you could not see. A lot of times clients only see and feel the top and forget the legs. Matts from underside can sometimes wrap around the legs hidden under and in lil spots that would make the cut uneven. Also I also recommend introducing grooming to a pup at least of 4months. With simple things before a full on groom. It can be quite tramatic the longer you wait. Also the licking and stuff probly is from a tad of irritation and also the fact hes not use to not having hair. I've seen matted dogs go short and every time their tail touched their back they'd jump! They weren't use to feeling anything like that brush against them when they had hair so it sorta spooks them at first, but they'll get use to it. you can try a lil coconut oil or aloe on the area that is itching em.


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