My dog bit the groomer. How can I make grooming less stressful?

Hi there and thanks for posting. Tigre may have endured being 'quicked' when his nails were trimmed last time or before which is when the nail is trimmed a little too close to the quick and it bleeds. This is common and often happens what the nail is overgrown. Having a nail cut a little too close can be a bit painful and is often a cause of dog's anxiety or fear of nail trimming. However, there are a few ways to get Tigre to have a better association with the clippers but it will take work and practice. You can begin by just touching his paws. Reward calm behavior while touching paws with tasty treat. Begin slowly and gradually work up to longer and longer sessions. Once he feels comfortable with touching the paw, hold the paw with your hand and progress to touching her nails, adding pressure to the nail that will simulate a trim. Reward calm behavior during this with treat. Once he feel comfortable with you holding and manipulating the nail, you can introduce the clippers. Gently tap the nail with the clippers and reward calm behavior during this. Clip the clippers without actually clipping the nail to get him use to the sound. Again reward when calm during this. Gradually work into clipping the nails. Start with one nail at a time, rewarding each time he is calm during the trimming. Go slow and always reward good behavior with tasty treat. I hope this helps and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

It's not an easy situation and there is no simple answer or solution for this issue, all i can do is advise you to take him to a dog trainer to try and get his aggressiveness down as much as possible.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Unfortunately, I cannot prescribe any medications for Marley without having examined him myself. If he is extremely aggressive while being groomed, you may want to consider having him sedated and groomed at your vet's office. This will mean that Marley is closely monitored during the sedation and supported with fluids and heat if necessary. Your vet can also perform a thorough exam, and ensure that Marley's heart and lungs are healthy enough to handle the sedation. At home, you can try calming chews available in most pet stores, and consider getting Marley a muzzle to keep yourself safe.

Oh gotcha! Then yes, stress and being fearful could easily be a reason she might feel aggressive! I always recommend going with your dog to the groomer, especially if you don't know them well, to make sure the event is not extremely stressful or painful for your dog. Grooming is often a terrifying experience for little dogs, and you may need to supervise what is going on--if you aren't comfortable that it is a positive experience, go somewhere else. Also, if your groomer refuses to let you watch, this is perhaps a sign.

I'm so sorry you're having this problem with Brian. Unfortunately with fearful dogs, once they start the behavior of nipping during "unwanted" behavior and the person stops that behavior, it becomes a rewarding habit for Brian to nip whenever someone does something he doesn't like and they stop it. It can be reversed, but I would strongly recommend working with an experienced trainer or behaviorist. Since Brian is only 2, you have lots of time left with him, so it is certainly worth it to invest the time and money to reverse this behavior. The goal will be to slowly get him used to things that he doesn't love, but doesn't hate, and reward him for not nipping. This absolutely needs to be done with a trainer to make sure you are doing it properly and that no one is going to get hurt. Sometimes we will work with things like basket muzzles to prevent Brian from nipping, but still allowing him to take treats. I would recommend asking your vet for a recommendation for a trainer. You may also consult a behaviorist if there is one in your area (http://www.dacvb.org/about/member-directory/). I hope that was helpful. Good luck! Thanks for using PetCoach.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! In order to get a pet used to having their nails trimmed you need a lot of time and patience. You need to start very slowly by touching the dogs limbs and giving treats when they don't react. You do this about 50-100 times then you move to the toes. Repeat the above. After she is used to that touch, you touch her toes with nail clippers and treat. Basically you are getting her used to the touch and tools before even getting to the nails. She needs to be relaxed the entire time. If at any time she becomes aggressive, you stop what you are doing and try again with the previous step when she's relaxed. This can take months. In the meantime, I would talk to your vet about sedatives so you can clip Chloes nails in a non-stressful manner. If you try when she's stressed it is going to make training her even more difficult. Always make every training session fun and relaxed. Good luck and kisses to Chloe!

I'm sorry to hear that Bella had this type of experience. Punching in the ribcage is never an acceptable treatment, regardless of circumstance, and will only serve to instill more fear in Bella. Please make sure that your vet and vet tech are aware that this type of treatment occurred to avoid future incidents. The next time Bella needs to go to the vet, try to make it a positive experience - reward good behavior with treats, using a calming pheromone collar (Adaptil is one example), and comfort her when possible.