30/04/2023
Hi everyone, it's Gil with a very important message. One of my main goals for 2023 is to raise awareness about the importance of early puppy introductions to the professional grooming salon. I urge you all to share this message far and wide. Let’s get this vital information out there so that more puppies can have the best possible start to their grooming experiences.
Introducing your puppy to the grooming salon as soon as they are fully vaccinated is crucial. A good professional groomer wants your dog to be relaxed and confident during grooming, and this can be achieved by starting their grooming experiences early. This way, the groomer has time to introduce themselves, the salon, equipment, processes, and techniques positively over a period of sessions, building your pup's confidence, making positive associations, and teaching them what is required during grooming. The groomer will also give you advice on how you can help make the process even easier for your puppy.
Many groomers offer puppy packages to ensure your puppy gets the best possible start. Grooming training is just as important as puppy training, so investing financially and time in your pup's grooming experience should not be undervalued. Additionally, for most breeds, their groomer will handle them more than any other canine professional.
Bringing a matted adolescent puppy to the groomer for the first time at six months old prevents gentle introduction, leaving the puppy with negative memories and associations that are difficult to undo.
As humans, we cannot fully understand the impact of walking into a grooming salon for a dog. Firstly, the salon is full of information that the puppy will need time to process: sounds, sights, smells, and textures. This alone can be overwhelming, especially if the puppy is not allowed the time to process that information before being put into the bath or onto the table for grooming, both of which the puppy is unlikely to have experienced before and needs to process.
Most grooms involve picking the puppy up, putting them on a high surface, moving him between the bath and table, applying safety restraints, bathing him, drying him (using a towel, high-velocity dryer, and finishing dryer), brushing them all over (often while being dried at the same time), clipping his claws, fur, and sc******ng, lifting their legs, ears, and tail, moving him around, tidying their hygiene areas, and possibly even plucking their ear fur, emptying their a**l glands, and applying cologne, bandanas, and bows. Some groomers also use crates, but I have chosen to be cage-free.
Understandably, this can be stressful for your puppy, regardless of how gentle and skilled the groomer is. Additionally, your puppy may have other issues that need taking into account, such as separation anxiety, general anxiety around strangers, noise sensitivity, touch sensitivity, discomfort or pain, a matted coat, not being used to being handled by a stranger, no grooming training done at home, other dogs in the salon, not being used to standing still for long periods, and not being used to having safety restraints put on.
Now we can begin to see why a puppy is totally overwhelmed, struggles with the whole process, and builds up negative associations with the grooming salon. This may even lead to your puppy showing aggressive behaviours during grooming, requiring muzzles or additional safety aids. Eventually, you may find groomers refuse to groom them, leaving no option but to have them sedated at the vets to be clipped off, which is a very expensive groom. Or, they may find that the puppy freezes at the salon door the next time they take him, or comes home completely exhausted due to the stress and anxiety he has had to cope with.
So together let's invest as much time and effort as possible, as early as possible, to give your puppy the best chance of enjoying their grooming sessions with me by desensitizing them from an early age.