I have a mutt, hes part chow, flat coated retriever and border collie from the looks of it, that absolutely hates to be groomed. In fact hes a pretty timid dog overall and while hes a complete mush to me and the rest of my family, he can be picky who he does not like outside of us and lets them know by growling. We warn others, telling them hes a talker and will let you know when to leave him alone if he growls. Has not bit anyone, don't think he would unless pushed far enough and we know to warn people and keep a close eye on him. Usually if he doesnt like someone he just walks away anyway. You may be able to picture my issue with groomers. He does not like to be touched by strangers too much most of the time. So someone trying to cut his now long and knotty hair has a really hard time, claiming he tries to bite them, a la being pushed a bit out of his comfort zone. Its summer now and his coat is way to long and thick for him to be comfortable in the heat. The knots under his ears are a problem and he gives even me a hard time cutting those, though with that I only get doused in pee, no nips as he knows not to. He's a shedding dog but doesnt seem to be able to keep up with the hotter seasons. Anyone have any advice or solutions?
Dog Grooming Issue
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I would suggest that you groom him yourself. I would never personally allow someone to sedate my dog to be groomed. If it was such a problem I would just do it myself .. and save some money too! I do all my dogs. I am not sure what tools to tell you to use because I have dogs with one coat and poodle type hair and scruffers who do not mat ... But with an undercoat I would think a rooming "rake" ( like a comb in a way) would help to pull out dead undercoat. If the hair is too matted and close to the skin it will probably have to be cut instead of de-tangled.
Hopefully one of the groomers will stop by with some real advice!
Your dog looks nice from what I can make out ... it is really hard to see him with just the silhouettes.
Hopefully one of the groomers will stop by with some real advice!
Your dog looks nice from what I can make out ... it is really hard to see him with just the silhouettes.
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I hope if you have him sedated, it's a groomer at a vets office.
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Where have you tried to take him? Yes he is prob hot but prob because he is full of dead undercoat. He will feel much better with it removed better then shaving. No groomer can leagally sedate a dog. I groom a few sedated dogs. What about calling a small grooming shop and ask them to give him a try. Heavily exercise him before hand. I groom a lot of aggressive dogs. Is try calling around and explain the situation
Think of it this way. I work with a amazing master groomer and she will not groom some dogs without sedatives. and its not always because she is afraid of them.
If you force a dog to get groomed and have to fight with them it has a far reaching effect on the animal. Some dogs are just not good grooming dogs, and it can take time to get them to be good grooming dogs. Here are some of your options.
1) take grooming classes and do it yourself or ask a local groomer for advice and what tools to use.
However a lot of dogs behave badly with their owners. and are amazed to find out their naughty dog is well behaved for a groomer. ( i see this often)
2)go to a small grooming facility with not a lot of "noise" maybe on a slow day, and stay with the dog during grooming. ( we do this with a beautiful chow named Kade, his owners stay the 4-5 hrs that is needed to groom the dog. if the owners leave the room Kade instantly becomes aggressive and will attack the groomer, but is an angel when the owners are there.)
3) sedating. Before you knock the idea down let me explain the In's and outs of sedating. There are a few types of sedatives and some of them are very mild and calming. These sorts of sedatives are designed to make the grooming happy and stress free. This is effective in the way, that once a dog becomes comfortable with grooming the sedatives can stop. The dog is now comfortable with grooming because it knows it is in no danger. It is an excellent approach, combine this with D.A.P calming spray and it may just work for your dog. However this treatment is not always successful some dogs are just to scared. The next step would be an injectable sedative. Some can just be to make the dog complacent and others can knock them out completely. There are risks in doing sedatives such as these. In 6 years of grooming and the hundreds of animals we have groomed we lost 1 cat to this and because of the details in the death of the cat we believe it was indirectly related to the sedation and the cat most likely had underlying health problems. It is always best to do a full blood workup and a physical exam before considering sedation. If your dog is or they feel your dog is a danger to staff do not expect them to work with him without a sedation. ( These are controlled substances and can only be given at a vet clinic with a groomer available)
I believe chows are beautiful dogs but a lot of chows and chow mixes have the same issue you describe with your dog. Being he is not a breed of dog that needs to be groomed ( like a shih tzu ) you may be able to take care of him yourself with a little training on product and tools. It can be quite time consuming but very rewarding. however sometimes situations come up that require professional grooming, such as if your dog has a fun day in the burrs or picker bushes.
If you force a dog to get groomed and have to fight with them it has a far reaching effect on the animal. Some dogs are just not good grooming dogs, and it can take time to get them to be good grooming dogs. Here are some of your options.
1) take grooming classes and do it yourself or ask a local groomer for advice and what tools to use.
However a lot of dogs behave badly with their owners. and are amazed to find out their naughty dog is well behaved for a groomer. ( i see this often)
2)go to a small grooming facility with not a lot of "noise" maybe on a slow day, and stay with the dog during grooming. ( we do this with a beautiful chow named Kade, his owners stay the 4-5 hrs that is needed to groom the dog. if the owners leave the room Kade instantly becomes aggressive and will attack the groomer, but is an angel when the owners are there.)
3) sedating. Before you knock the idea down let me explain the In's and outs of sedating. There are a few types of sedatives and some of them are very mild and calming. These sorts of sedatives are designed to make the grooming happy and stress free. This is effective in the way, that once a dog becomes comfortable with grooming the sedatives can stop. The dog is now comfortable with grooming because it knows it is in no danger. It is an excellent approach, combine this with D.A.P calming spray and it may just work for your dog. However this treatment is not always successful some dogs are just to scared. The next step would be an injectable sedative. Some can just be to make the dog complacent and others can knock them out completely. There are risks in doing sedatives such as these. In 6 years of grooming and the hundreds of animals we have groomed we lost 1 cat to this and because of the details in the death of the cat we believe it was indirectly related to the sedation and the cat most likely had underlying health problems. It is always best to do a full blood workup and a physical exam before considering sedation. If your dog is or they feel your dog is a danger to staff do not expect them to work with him without a sedation. ( These are controlled substances and can only be given at a vet clinic with a groomer available)
I believe chows are beautiful dogs but a lot of chows and chow mixes have the same issue you describe with your dog. Being he is not a breed of dog that needs to be groomed ( like a shih tzu ) you may be able to take care of him yourself with a little training on product and tools. It can be quite time consuming but very rewarding. however sometimes situations come up that require professional grooming, such as if your dog has a fun day in the burrs or picker bushes.
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He needs to learn to be more comfortable with grooming, which may be a slow process, but worth it in the end. He sounds very fearful of grooming if he is peeing as a result, so the first session might be just taking out the grooming tools, laying them down and encouraging himto invrstigate. Reward him for checking them out. Depending on him, you may need to dothis a few times, the goal being that he is totally relaxed with the tools out. Next step: touch him with one of the tools and reward. As he relaxes, try diffferentareas of his body,but do not actually groom him yet. Next step will be stroking him with combs/tools, working up to real brushing.
If you are using clippers, touch them to him while off, then stroke him with it as though you were clipping him but with clippers off, turn them on and reward him not running away (if he does run, wait for him to return, even just a bit), touch them to him when on... You get the idea.
Work in small steps to calm him gradually. Do not force him to do anything he is not comfortable with. Like I said, it may be a slow process, but the reward is a dog who allows and accepts grooming.
If you are using clippers, touch them to him while off, then stroke him with it as though you were clipping him but with clippers off, turn them on and reward him not running away (if he does run, wait for him to return, even just a bit), touch them to him when on... You get the idea.
Work in small steps to calm him gradually. Do not force him to do anything he is not comfortable with. Like I said, it may be a slow process, but the reward is a dog who allows and accepts grooming.
All very sound advice and will take all into consideration and try them. I am going to give a go with doing it myself. The great benefit of the groomer is that they shave his but and underside near his man items. Preventing dingleberries and the long hair under him and around from getting covered in piss. The underside seems easy to groom, the butt seems a bit more difficult.
The issue with sedating is he is even crazier when it comes to vets and especially with needles making that option very difficult. He becomes very defensive. Me and my mother have been present with the vet and have seen him become aggressive first hand. Its interesting to say the least, dog makes some strange noises.
I was thinking a muzzle would be a good addition while he is groomed so the groomers fear of being bit is gone. He'll more then likely hate that but maybe that will take a bit of the focus away from the grooming and at least he wont be able to bite.
It is so strange because he really is so mild mannered, quiet, calm and mellow outside of these environments. Hell he wont even run away from home or us, we leave him out front often and he just roams the property or lies down near the door. Hiking I often don't use a leash because he doesn't go where he can't see me.
The issue with sedating is he is even crazier when it comes to vets and especially with needles making that option very difficult. He becomes very defensive. Me and my mother have been present with the vet and have seen him become aggressive first hand. Its interesting to say the least, dog makes some strange noises.
I was thinking a muzzle would be a good addition while he is groomed so the groomers fear of being bit is gone. He'll more then likely hate that but maybe that will take a bit of the focus away from the grooming and at least he wont be able to bite.
It is so strange because he really is so mild mannered, quiet, calm and mellow outside of these environments. Hell he wont even run away from home or us, we leave him out front often and he just roams the property or lies down near the door. Hiking I often don't use a leash because he doesn't go where he can't see me.
here are some useful tools you might appreciate. When you have the correct tools everything is much easier
-undercoat rake - is a very useful tool to get out all that loose undercoat, to me is really a must have. http://www.petmountain.com/product/dog-mat-removers-rakes/11442-505205/safari-undercoat-rake.html
-Dematting comb - is very useful in removing mats and clumps. http://www.petmountain.com/product/dog-mat-removers-rakes/11442-508179/safari-dematting-comb.html
-furminator - i love love love my furminator I use it after getting out all the undercoat this grabs loose hairs. http://www.petmountain.com/product/...deshedding-tool-for-large-dogs-51-90-lbs.html ( you can get the same tool in a generic brand for much cheaper )
- shedding blade - is a rough tool but it works well for removing loose hairs especially during shedding season http://www.petedge.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=44181
also brush the dog out BEFORE a bath. Giving a dog a bath before hand can set the mats in tighter and make everything harder to do.
also don't forget the nails http://selfhelpdogtraining.com/wordpress/?p=236 i really like this link it shows you how to cut a dogs nails in a very easy safe way. most people are afraid to do their dogs nails themselves but this is a nice method for people wanting to do the dogs nails themselves without much experience.
-undercoat rake - is a very useful tool to get out all that loose undercoat, to me is really a must have. http://www.petmountain.com/product/dog-mat-removers-rakes/11442-505205/safari-undercoat-rake.html
-Dematting comb - is very useful in removing mats and clumps. http://www.petmountain.com/product/dog-mat-removers-rakes/11442-508179/safari-dematting-comb.html
-furminator - i love love love my furminator I use it after getting out all the undercoat this grabs loose hairs. http://www.petmountain.com/product/...deshedding-tool-for-large-dogs-51-90-lbs.html ( you can get the same tool in a generic brand for much cheaper )
- shedding blade - is a rough tool but it works well for removing loose hairs especially during shedding season http://www.petedge.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=44181
also brush the dog out BEFORE a bath. Giving a dog a bath before hand can set the mats in tighter and make everything harder to do.
also don't forget the nails http://selfhelpdogtraining.com/wordpress/?p=236 i really like this link it shows you how to cut a dogs nails in a very easy safe way. most people are afraid to do their dogs nails themselves but this is a nice method for people wanting to do the dogs nails themselves without much experience.
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A groomer should have a steady supply of muzzles on hand. Liek i said, call a few other shops. some small shops, not corporation types like petsmart (who will refuse a dog for evern barking to much. yes I knwo for a fact considering we get petsmart rejects on a weekly basis at my shop and we have 3 pets marts in our area)
Sounds like you never properly introduced him to grooming/training. And now are having issues.
Sounds like you never properly introduced him to grooming/training. And now are having issues.
I would not suggest a furminator for this mix. His coat is long. a furminator will just ruin this coat.
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