[IslandMutts]

I have two mutts that recently moved with me from a Caribbean island. They were both street dogs that were brought into the animal shelter there. They are both shy around new people. One of them is very afraid of the sound of clippers or other electric devices near him. Last week we took him to the vet and he had an... anal squirt... when they tried to shave a bit of his fur away to draw blood. In our old house, it was somehwat easy to bathe them since we had large tile shower stalls in the bathrooms, with direct access to outdoors. Now I have a standard tub, on the second floor and lots of white walls and carpet in between. I gave them one bath since we moved here, in the backyard with the hose. I'd like to take them to the groomers to get bathed and their nails clipped, but I'm worried about how they will handle the situation. They both hate getting wet, too.

Do you think I should just bathe them myself? Will groomers let me be there with the dogs the first time or two? Like I said they are both shy and come from a place where dog groomers don't exist. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Lorina]

There are a number of places that have "self serve" dog grooming, like Petco.

[bluesbarby]

We have a feed store near us that has a dog bath. Great for large dogs. I used to use it for my last dog Zoe. Check around.

[IslandMutts]

Wow. Self-serve dog grooming - never would have expected that. thanksfor the tips - I will definitely look into it.

[DivaDog]

I would look into a self serve dog wash - mainly because I think your dogs would be happier.

But if not there are some groomers who are not only willing to groom your sort of dogs but are also competent enough to do it to - it just can find a while to find one. Good luck.

[poodleholic]

Do you think I should just bathe them myself? Will groomers let me be there with the dogs the first time or two? Like I said they are both shy and come from a place where dog groomers don't exist. Any advice would be appreciated.

You could bathe them yourself at a self-serve grooming establishment - there's bound to be at least one or two where you live. They also let you use their HV dryers (high velocity).

Or, drop them off at a grooming place, and have their bathers do your dogs. At my local PetSmart, a bath, blow dry and brush out for a Standard Poodle is only $24. That's a good price since my Standards have a lot of coat! My male is a hair-growing machine! LOL

Groomers are trained in how to handle skittish and/or shy dogs. Most dogs are much better for the groomer than they are for the owner. When an owner stays to watch, it's not uncommon for the dog to be a real PITA! So, don't feel offended, or think something's not right if you're told your dogs will "do better" without you there. The thing is, it's true!

[IslandMutts]

Ideally, I'd love to just drop them off and pick them up all clean and pretty... I'm just worried about them because they really are very wary of strangers. When I bathe them myself it's a wrestling match and I usually need someone else to help me. Maybe I will try taking them to the groomer and just staying out of sight that way I'd be there if the groomer needs me. I'm trying to picture myself bathing them at a self-service station and in my mind it's quite a hilarious situation that I'm not sure I want to be in. I'm thinking I'll try a groomer and if they don't do well I'll just do it myself in the tub the next time and hope for the best.

[blackrose]

I work with a groomer, and some of the dogs that come in are a mess temperment wise. I've had to deal with dogs who are scared at the sight of me to dogs who want to eat me. Charles is very good with the dogs that come in and is willing to work with the skittish ones.

There was a Shih Tzu or Lhasa, can't remember, that came in for his first groom. The owner wanted to stay just to make sure everything went alright and he came back and helped calm the dog down when it was time to start trimming the dog's face.

Just make sure that you are happy with how the groomer handles dogs. I worked with one groomer who was alpha-roll happy. If a smaller dog wasn't behaving for its nails, she would roll it over and do it by force. (She was fired after about two weeks on the job.) Then there was little ol' me rubbing another dogs belly to get him to relax while trimming his nails one toe at a time. It wasn't as quick, but the dog was much happier.

[Nikole1984]

I used to be a groomer. Some dogs do HATE being bathed or groomed. I would recommend finding a groomer who clicks with your dogs. There were dogs I could groom that the other women in my salon couldn't do anything with, and there were dogs they could groom that I couldn't get anything accomplished with. I would always let first-time customers come into the back and look at the kennels, show them the tubs, and the hoses, and blowdryers and everything so that they would know exactly what their dog would be doing, but I rarely let them stay to watch. Dogs tend to be more difficult when they know momma and daddy are standing by watching lol. We got done a lot faster when it was just me and the pup.