25/04/2024
Gently introducing your dog to the grooming environment is essential for all dogs.
Sadly too many dogs don’t have a great time at the groomers, some dogs have a traumatic time and that is absolutely not OK.
Dogs need to express their energy and their emotions. They need to be given time and space, they need little steps to gain the trust and build their confidence.
There is no excuse for heavily restraining a dog and forcing it through a groom. There are other ways.
Grooming dogs is physically hard enough without putting them in to fight or flight mode.
Correct handling goes a long way, along with using restraints appropriately and correctly, allowing a dog to drop its head and send calming signals through its body and gently introducing equipment.
We also need to drop terms such as stubborn and naughty and think about alternatives to explain why a dog may be struggling. Consider how the dog is feeling. Pain needs to be considered a lot more.
More compassion and less fear is better than getting the perfect groom or job done
