Puppy Super Scared Of Groomer / Being Brushed.. :(

[Dogsfevr]

Sounds like the groomer isn't experienced with dealing with pups when it comes to clipping .

We start our own pups from 6 weeks,they are fully groomed when they go to there pet home at 8 weeks.

Some will scream & perform like crazy people but with patience & time they settle.

Never in all the years have we had to stop mid groom .

Given the coat in the photo i think a groom at present was an over kill,the eye area could have been trimmed if anything.

You need to brush on a bench with a non slip surface.

We start by simply placing our pups on said surface ,standing them (there stacked early for the show ring) ,we run our hands over & then finish good pup.Do this daily until pup is content.We will at this time reward with food

Then we introduce the brush (we start at 6 weeks) & the clippers.

They are also blow dry with our Liberty stand dryer at 8 weeks .

Many dogs will freak with the groomer BUT by the same token if pet owners don't intend to train correctly they actually make it worse for the groomer.

We can tell the pups that if they snap get put down,that perform so are put down,scream & are put down.Most will say the pup screams like its being killed so we wont groom it .

It is very easy to tell the pups that got it there way & the pups that had owners that put the time in & didn't let the pup win.

The first ones often don't come to the groomer until 8 months & in a mess as the owners are to embarrassed or have been told by people there to young to go to a groomers & generally these people have no clue.

A good groomer doesn't have to do a full trim they can just do feet,bum & face ,simple basics until coat is in a position that it needs grooming or you can discuss with owners the coat texture & the effort they wish to put in.

We groom plenty of the cross yours is some have no real coat others are like fuzz balls that matt like crazy

Yes pup is cute BUT what is cute now wont be for the next 15 yrs a dog that hates being brushed is everyones worst nightmare .

The most important thing is to find a groomer that knows what there doing & how to handle young pups .

We also never bribe any of our pups with food or toys & i have dogs that take hrs to groom & just under 2 hrs to blow dry.

They love being groomed,can't wait to get on the table .

As for brushes don't pander you need a combo comb & a soft slicker.

Get puppy to stand up,start from the foot & brush upwards with the slicker first to fluff the coat & then use the comb upwards to.

Pup will wiggle,may try & mouth or scream but don't give up.many pups learn very early that an academy award performance gets results.

If you do stop feel the need to stop then do so but pup doesn't go on the floor until you feel its ready ,it musn't be rewarded for bad behaviour .

[dancinbcs]

KaseyC, I may not have elaborated enough on the situation. He wasn't filthy, he just had "extra strong puppy cologne" happening, if that makes sense? And his fur was starting to stick together. Teddy is a licker.. like a cat, almost? He's constantly licking his hair and the saliva seems to make it stick together etc, and then he gets "puppy breath" smell on his coat too.

I took him to the vet on Saturday and she said he's a healthy little boy so I'm not worried anything is wrong he's just scared and I want to eliminate that fear for him.

I will start doing the play-brushing today, the brush was recommended to me by the owner of PetCafe (where I get my food and supplies) with his coat in mind, but I will get a get a soft bristle one to get him used to the idea of brushing with.

Thanks so much for all the advice everyone.. I'm so glad I found this forum. :)

All puppies should be presented freshly bathed and groomed to the new owner but obviously this idiot BYB did not do that or bother to train the puppy to be groomed. I have never had a puppy worry about brushing but have had a few that have taken some time to come to terms with baths and especially the force dryer. It is just a matter of regularly grooming until they get used to it and making sure you don't physically hurt them. Depending on how bad the coat ends up he may need to clipped off in future. A Maltese/Poodle coat can be an absolute nightmare texture wise to groom, with curl from the poodle and the superfine hair of the Maltese.

[Tassie]

donatella said:

Another tip that worked for me was to put the dog at a higher place so they know its business. This means not just on the lounge with you or in your lap, but on a table up near your height so it gets used to serious time. Mine knows now when I put her on the table its brush time and she sits there for me no problems, she just utterly HATES having her pants done and that's work in progress.

Couldn't agree more. Life became much easier when I got a trolley to groom on. But a non splip surface on an outdoor table or something works well too - and is also MUCH easier on the back.

[Salukifan]

donatella said:

Another tip that worked for me was to put the dog at a higher place so they know its business. This means not just on the lounge with you or in your lap, but on a table up near your height so it gets used to serious time. Mine knows now when I put her on the table its brush time and she sits there for me no problems, she just utterly HATES having her pants done and that's work in progress.

Couldn't agree more. Life became much easier when I got a trolley to groom on. But a non splip surface on an outdoor table or something works well too - and is also MUCH easier on the back.

A towel on the washing machine or the laundry bench works well. :)

[Cavstar]

Lucy was a nightmare to brush when I first got her. She attacked the brush big time! :laugh: I just persevered.. a few quick goes a couple of times a day. She loves it now & will happily stand perfectly still for a brush a couple of times a week :)

[Sandra777]

Wow, what a lot of stuff this poor pup has been through in the ONE week since you have had him. New home, leaving littermates, being molested by a stranger with clippers....

Give the little guy a break!

The "breeder" didn't do the basics of coat care or grooming training so you'll have to. As everyone else has suggested, start small, make it fun and have patience. It would take a couple of weeks to get him comfortable with these things, in the mean time you'll just have to cope with it if he doesn't smell quite how you want him too. You could try wet wipes or just a warm damp face cloth if you really need to clean something off him.

Totally agree with the person who said that buy stopping when he "flips out" you are just encouraging him to do it. No you don't have to be harsh, but be firm and above all, gentle.

[persephone]

Wow, what a lot of stuff this poor pup has been through in the ONE week since you have had him. New home, leaving littermates, being molested by a stranger with clippers....<br style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; background-color: rgb(238, 242, 247); "><br style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; background-color: rgb(238, 242, 247); ">Give the little guy a break!<br style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; background-color: rgb(238, 242, 247); "><br style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; background-color: rgb(238, 242, 247); ">The "breeder" didn't do the basics of coat care or grooming training so you'll have to. As everyone else has suggested, start small, make it fun and have patience. It would take a couple of weeks to get him comfortable with these things, in the mean time you'll just have to cope with it if he doesn't smell quite how you want him too. You could try wet wipes or just a warm damp face cloth if you really need to clean something off him.

<br style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; background-color: rgb(238, 242, 247); ">

Agreed

puppies licking a lot/all over ..first thing that comes to mind is stress, then a yeast infection...which would also make a 'smell' Saliva on fur also = smell.

What did the vet say when you told them about all the licking?

poor Teddy being so new/clingy/scared of males... now this bad groomer experience .

he probably would have been MUCH more relaxed had you gently washed him at home ..on a towel ..just little bits at a time .. lots of rewards ..and always introduce things gradually , rewarding for a moment of relaxation/compliance.

You have no idea what happened when the 'breeder' washed/brushed him .he may have been scared there too ..so there may well be quite a bit to repair!

Brushing, introduced gradually ..becomes a bonding, relaxing thing ..... make sure you get good advice on the most appropriate brushes/combs....and ask the groomers/owners of dogs with similar coats what they do.

Best to get it all comfortable and practised now...you have 12 years or so of it !! :)

[Simply Grand]

Teddy is a little cutie :) I sometimes call my little poodle x malt my living teddy because he looks like a teddy bear

Saxon is 3 now, I'm trying to remember what he was like as a baby... He's never made a huge fuss but he did have regular baths and grooming at the breeders.

I put him on a towel on top of the clothes dryer for blow drying, trimming and clipping and I used to shove treats into his mouth heaps as long as he was behaving, and being very food motivated, he would put up with it because he got lots of yummy treats! He got treats less often as he got older and more used it to it and I don't use them any more, except right at the end.

With the daily brushing (I hope this doesnt sound too mean) I used to put him on top of the cat's scratching post when he was little. Because there wasn't much room and it was too high for him to jump off he would either stand or sit still and let me me brush him because he didn't really have a choice, and he quickly learnt that the quicker we got through the brushing the quicker he could get down.

Now he's too big for one scratching post so I usually just brush him on the floor but sometimes I put him with front feet on one scratching post and back feet on another (sort of stacked) to give his legs a brush.

Oh, and don't forget to get Teddy comfortable with scissors around the bottom of his feet (around his foot pads) as the hair will grow and need to be trimmed away from the pads and many a dog hates it!!!

[shells]

I think everyone else has covered everything is but when it does come time for needing a haircut ask for recommendations. I ignored my dogs breeder recommendations as the groomer was a bit out of the way. With a small baby at home I got a mobile "groomer" out and this is where I learnt that not all groomers are equal. Some are fantastic and some are cowboys with clippers

After the terrible first experience my poor dogs had with the first groomer I booked I made an appointment with the recommend one and my dogs went to being scared to being calm and relaxed.

A good groomer makes a world of difference

[Crisovar]

I can't think of any GOOD reasons for clipping off such a young puppy, all it needs at the most is a hygiene tidy. This poor little bub needs to learn that grooming will not hurt it, buzzing a pair of clipper s over a frightend pup will not do that.

Maybe if he has difficult hair try bathing him gently in warm water, use a good puppy conditioner to make it easier to comb him and dry him gently and bit by bit comb his coat and offer him some nice treats whilst you do. Hold puppy on your lap on a towel and gently comb him.