Doggie D'Tails

08/30/2024

Pretty Fluffy ❤️

08/28/2024

Adorable Little Lucy 💖

08/26/2024

Happy National Dog Day! 🐾💞

08/24/2024

My new friend Tiffany 🥰

08/23/2024

Doggie D’Tails House Call Grooming has new client availability in September!

Professional dog grooming services in the familiarity of your own home. Fear Free, Low Stress Handling & AKC SAFE certified and fully insured to work inside your home.

Appointments are available Monday through Wednesday with limited Saturday availability for most breeds under 30 pounds throughout Rockingham County.

Please call or message me for more information. Happy to chat with you to see if house call is a good fit for your pup!

08/22/2024

Scrub a dub dub, Little Lucy's in the tub 🐾💕

08/11/2024

Pretty Tiffany 🥰

08/09/2024

Handsome Poochie 🥰

08/07/2024

My new friend Baxter 🐾💕

08/05/2024

Pretty Zanny 💖

08/01/2024

Pretty Little Lucy 🥰

07/30/2024

Cutie pie James 💖

07/28/2024

Pretty Tiffany 🐾💕

07/28/2024

Good morning! My Harry is unwell and needs to see the vet today so I am cancelling all appointments for Sunday July 28th. If you have an appointment for today, I have messaged you. I will reschedule everyone ASAP. Sorry for the inconvenience! Thanks so much for your understanding 🐾💕

07/26/2024

So fluffy! 🥰

07/24/2024

Why not start where your dog is already most comfortable...in their own home! AKC SAFE, Fear Free & Low Stress Handling certified, Doggie D'Tails House Call Grooming comes to you! Appointments are available on Mondays, Wednesdays & Saturdays (Tuesdays coming in September) for most breeds under 30 pounds, throughout Rockingham County, NH.

House call is a great option for any dog but especially beneficial for older dogs or those that have difficulty traveling or spending time with other dogs. Call or message for more information to see if house call is a good fit for your pup!

07/24/2024

Beautiful Birdy ❤️

07/22/2024

Pretty Fluffy 💖

07/20/2024

hey Groomer Lady... you remembered to pack those yummy cookies, right? 🐾💕

07/20/2024

I think I shared this before but it's absolutely worth sharing again. Great read!

"He needs to get over it!"

"Leave her, she'll get used to it."

We so often hear these words used when talking about dogs who are scared of something. That it's just something they have to get used to and, if we make them stay close to it for long enough, that they will realise there is no danger and learn to accept it.

There is a logic there - after all, this is how immersion therapy for phobias works with people. In a controlled setting the person is exposed to the source of their fear while the therapist helps them to remain as calm and grounded as possible. And so, with exposure, they come to be less terrified, less likely to have that immediate instinctive reaction that screams at them 'Danger, RUN!'

Here's the thing - that doesn't work with dogs. They will not just get over it, or suddenly realise that they are safe. Rather than helping, forcing a dog to stay in proximity of something that scares them can make things a whole lot worse.

This technique of making the dog stay close to the source of their fear is called flooding. And yes, it can work well with people in certain cases and used carefully. So why not with dogs?

Humans have a much more developed pre-frontal cortex in the brain than dogs, and this is where reasoning takes place. Dogs simply are not equipped to carry out the same level of reasoning as humans. Much more of their brain proportionally is involved in processing instinctive responses including fear responses when they feel they are in danger.

This means they are not capable of the thought processes that exposure therapy relies on because they cannot reason that they are in a controlled environment and nothing bad is going to happen to them.

What flooding is far more likely to do in dogs is lead to them shutting down. They can’t escape from the thing that is causing their fear and, especially when they have tried to get away in the past but have been prevented, they give up and just wait for it to be over.

This is truly an awful situation to contemplate, a dog who feels all they can do is shut down and wait for the trigger of their terror to go away. Even worse, this can be mistaken for calm and good behaviour by people who are unaware of what flooding does.

A lot of what I do involves ‘reactive’ dogs who are reacting to something in their environment due to fear or anxiety. Some trainers, who either don’t know better or do not care about the emotional state of the dog, may put aversive equipment on the dog such as prong or shock collars. The dog learns that, if they react, it hurts and so they stop reacting.

This leads the ignorant or unscrupulous trainer to claim the dog is ‘fixed’ when in fact the dog knows they cannot escape and, if they try, it will hurt, and so they shut down and wait. It’s heartbreaking when you realise what is actually going on in these situations. There is also the massive damage that is done to the bond and trust between the dog and their people.

When a dog is scared of something they need distance from that thing and, if it’s something that we need them to be more comfortable with, a careful programme of helping them to feel better about that thing.

And, if your dog is scared, it’s absolutely fine to comfort them – you will not make their fear worse. What you will do is reinforce to your dog that, if they are scared and they come to you they will get comfort and help to feel safer in that moment.

How could that ever be a bad thing?

07/19/2024

Doggie D’Tails House Call Grooming is accepting new clients!

Offering professional dog grooming services in the familiarity of your own home, Fear Free, Low Stress Handling & AKC SAFE certified, I come to you! Appointments are available on Mondays and Wednesdays (Tuesdays coming in September!) for most breeds under 30 pounds, throughout Rockingham County, New Hampshire.

House call grooming is a great option for any small dog but especially beneficial for older dogs or those that have difficulty traveling or spending time with other dogs. Call or message me for more information. Happy to chat with you to see if house call is a good fit for your pup!

Please share 🙂

07/05/2024

Cutie pie Teddy 🥰

07/04/2024

Wishing you a fun & fabulous Fourth of July! Keep an eye on your kiddos 🐾🎉

07/03/2024

Handsome Cooper 💖

07/03/2024

07/01/2024

Sweet Little Lucy 🐾💕

06/28/2024

06/25/2024

Pretty Tiffany 🥰

Tiff is newly blind. She went from fully sighted to completely blind in a matter of days. It’s been an adjustment for everyone in the house, but Tiffany has wonderful humans that adore her and make sure she is safe while she navigates & acclimates to her new normal.

If you’ve been with me more than a minute you’ve probably heard me say find a groomer you like and trust and stick with them with regular appointments. Grooming is so much more than a fancy new “do”. Regular grooming appointments build a relationship between your dog and their groomer. We notice lumps, bumps, oddities and behavior changes and let you know when something just isn’t right. We recommend vet exams if we’re concerned, and we worry right along side of you until your dog is feeling better. On average, I spend over 17 hours hands on, one on one time with your dog annually. This is a relationship; we are a team.

Tiffany does not enjoy the grooming process. She’s an anxious kid with some touch sensitivity. I’ve been grooming Tiffany monthly for about 5 years and she has made wonderful progress but still struggles with some tasks. Now she’s blind and has no idea what’s coming at her when. But Tiffany knows me. She may not like the process, but she knows it and trusts me. We’ve had two appointments since she lost her sight, and you know what? They’re the same as always because of the years we have spent together, the trust we have and the process I use.

~ Continual, slow-moving touch with one hand always on the dog lets them know where I am headed and eliminates any startle from an unexpected touch.
~ Always starting that touch at the shoulders where most dogs are less sensitive/reactive.
~ Allowing them to see/sniff my hand first before I touch them, so they are aware & know it’s coming.
~ Routine, routine, routine… appointments are the same every time. Bath, nails, dry/brush, clipper, scissor, photo, and finish.
~ Cue words that we’ve always used so they know what’s going to happen next. “Ear”, “chin”, “leg”, “paw”, “drier” or “noise” and “ready” when it’s time to stand and work.

All these things, years of bonding and hours of training allow Tiffany’s grooming appointments to continue as normal. It would be a completely different situation for Tiffany if she didn’t have a regular groomer. So find a groomer (even if it’s not me 😉) you like and trust and get on a regular grooming schedule.

Much love and appreciation to Tiffany’s people who let me share her story with you 🐾💕