Willow is not the same:(

Two days ago I gave in to Willow's matts, and took her to a groomers not too far from here. She did go to him back in April for a puppy cut and was fine when I picked her up.

This time she had to be shaved, she had too many matts sadly. She was there for a total of 2 hours. When I picked her up she ws trembling in the crate(the groomer was working on a small dog that was busy howling), whether this un-nerved Willow I dont know, or the whole experience of being shaved, but she has been very clingy, not herself at all, she seems very sad and nervous and I dont know why:(

I prey to god the groomer was not mean to her :( but I wouldn't know would I. All I can do is re-assure her with plenty of cuddles, and let her follow me everywhere which she never did before.

Has anyone any experience of this type of behaviour after a visit to the groomersl; Im sooo worried.

Debs
Respond to this topic here on forum.oes.org  
I have to wonder if something at the groomer scared her. Maybe the groomer was too rough with her when she/he was shaving. Maybe there was another dog there that stressed her out.

My experiences with taking my dogs to the groomer wasn't too bad (I usually went at times when it didn't seem that there were many other dogs there, if at all).

Does she have any cuts or injuries? Tender in any spots?

Whatever happened, please give Willow some extra love from us.
whatever upset her - get her mind off it. take a walk, play a game whatever, she may just need time to adjust to her new haircut :wink:
Maybe she is reacting to the new cut, after all she is with you who she trusts, not with the groomer who she may have had an issue with possibly from any handling.

Maybe she liked her matted coat? and is feeling a little strange at the moment.


You could see how she reacts if you show here scissors brushes and other grooming aids?
I took Winston(who is about a year old now) to the groomers to be shaved for the summer, and he acted completely insane until his hair started to grow back. He was whining, more aggressive, and just uneasy all the time. I talked with another OES owner and they said that when they cut the hair back from their sheepie's eyes she acted crazy until it grew back. The whole time Winston had his close-cropped hair he was like a wild-eyed demon! 8O Now that he is back to his shaggy state where you can't see his eyes, he has calmed down so much. Maybe its a comfort thing for the breed. Idk, hope this helps!
Quote:
I prey to god the groomer was not mean to her :( but I wouldn't know would I.

This statement makes me so sad... When we had Molly, I took her to the same groomer for 7 years and had taken my previous pup to this person as well and she seemed so friendly, talked to the pets etc. However the last year of Molly's life was a little difficult with the arthritis in her back hips and they would shake, so I made a point of explaining to "Becky" that I did not care if her cut was perfect or not, as long as she was comfortable (Molly was 13). I had noticed that Molly no longer wanted to go into the groomers on her own, I had to prod her in. I just put it down to the many hours she would spend there (generally I would drop her off at 9am and they would not call until around 3p). Well the last time I took her there 3pm came and went with no phone call, so I called them and was told that she wouldn't be ready for at least another hour. I decided to go ahead and drive over and wait for her....I'm now glad that I did!! At the front of this shop the door is to the far right, and directly in front of the door is a wall so if you were in the room behind you could not see anyone come in. I went in and was greeted by one of the 4 cats in residence, I stopped to pet it and to also ensure it did not get out, while I was bent down I heard Becky scream "STAND UP DOG", and then I heard a Thump sound. I was completely taken aback since she had always seemed so nice!! Imagine my horror when I walked around that wall and found Becky grooming my Molly 8O :twisted: !! She had just screamed at my furbaby, as well as I know in my heart that the "Thump" I heard was her hitting my baby! I asked her to explain to me what the hell she thought she was doing?! She was so shocked because #1 she didn't know I was there and #2 She knew she was busted! She immediately started apologizing for hollering, and saying she had just had a bad day. My response was "That's not good enough, I'm taking my dog and leaving...we will never be back, I did not pay her and I reported her to our local Humane Society! Not only was I angry with her (and in shock) over what she had done to Molly right then, but I was angry with myself for not paying closer attention to Molly's reactions to the groomer over the previous year! I will never know how many times that had happened to Molly, much less any other pets Becky dealt with! The only good thing to come out of it was Becky no longer does the grooming, she has hired more people to do it for her! And I have warned anyone that I know or asks me about what happened to not go there. Maybe it only happened that one time but as far as I'm concerned once was too many! I have never struck my babies nor would I ever, and no one else will either!
Moral of the story: Trust your gut, try to figure out if something happened, or if your pup is just embarrassed and see what could be changed the next time! One thing I learned was to Trust but verify...I will always pop in randomly from here on out even though my new groomer has never given me a reason not to trust her... I will always pay attention to my pups reaction in the future. Good Luck to you!
I have experienced this as well, and I'm POSITIVE the groomer did something to her, and it wasn't a cut, sore from being groomed.

I've seen many groomers in different states at PETCO/PETSMART be overly aggressive and even hit the dogs, something we don't do, so it made perfect sense why Yuki FLINCHED when we came up to her fast for the next few days and was a wreck when we picked her up.
I agree with Jo about the groomer doing something but also to the "nekkid" dog syndrome. You can put a t-shirt on the dog for a few days to give them the sense of a coat.....and for warmth, but as for the fear.....time for a walk. Doggie needs his self confidence built back up. Initially the walk should be just you and the dog.......but slowly introduce people back into the equation. Car ride with happy ending (here it's either the burger stand or ice cream parlor) will erase fear of car ride leading to that bad grooming place. I'd also call the shop and let your know your dog is traumatized and it MIGHT be due to too aggressive grooming practices such as yelling at the dog.
I can't add anything - but I just wanted to send a hug Willow's way. :ghug:

I hope she is back to her old self soon.
This upsets me a great deal. I noticed recently that when I use the dryer on Tonks she shakes uncontrollably, and tries to hide her head between my arm and the side of my chest. While she's never liked the dryer, she's never been so horribly afraid before either. Its left me wondering what happened the last time she was professionally groomed.... :(
Apologies for not replying sooner. In y heart of hearts I believe he did something to Willow:( I cannot put my finger on it, but she was tortured in someway that day, that I believe.

She will never go to a groomer again, unless I make it perfectly clear that I am staying. Willow has become a tad aggressive to men which she never did before. This weekend my neice's boyfriend came round for a meal, he was strocking Willow and when I looked at her she was culring her lip at him and looking sideways, no sound from her, just the lip curling :cry: I shouted hey to her and she stopped and came over to me and all was forgotten.

I am certain the groomer was responsible.

Debsx
It sounds like it Deb she certainly is putting up her guard now to men she does not know.

Visitors to you house especially men and even outside walking etc, make it a positive experience for her now to turn this fear around. Treats even carrying some nibblies when out and about, men in the house, they treat willow on greeting her with you having her on a lead, let her off and then get them to treat her again then ignore her till she is ready to say hello to them.

On a walk same thing take treats any man that wants to say hello to her, give them a treat to treat her with.

You need for her to see males in a positive light now after what has happened and slowly turn the negative into the positive for her now, it might take a bit of time for her to trust unknown males again but you will be able to turn this around with what has happened.
Oh I get so upset hearing this about groomers :twisted: I think if I were you I would contact the groomer, make an inquiry about what happened . Even if it gets you no where it alerts the groomer that someone noticed...then make a complaint to the groomers association. Or who ever it is that regulates them and licenses them.

Hope your baby is feeling better. My pup is going to the groomer friday. Hopefully we will fare okay...
Funny this topic is active again; as I JUST talked to the woman that owns my groomer's shop this morning. We talked about Tonks' behaviors and fears, and I feel very reassured that they would NOT hurt my dog. So I am wondering if the infrequency with which I take them to be professionally groomed, and the fact that at home I have yet to start using our dryer, is contributing to her fear. We talked about having her groomed this week, and how to go about working with her fears to make the experience more comfortable. This was very re-assuring for me.
I wonder if they just get fed up and tired of it all. Laika was always a heavy breather, but now she shakes and seems upset. That is with me grooming too. So I am keeping her in a short coat from now on :cry:
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
Counter

[Home] [Get A Sheepdog] [Community] [Memories]
[OES Links] [OES Photos] [Grooming] [Merchandise] [Search]

Identifying Ticks info Greenies Info Interceptor info Glucosamine Info
Rimadyl info Heartgard info ProHeart Info Frontline info
Revolution Info Dog Allergies info Heartworm info Dog Wormer info
Pet Insurance info Dog Supplements info Vitamins Info Bach's Rescue Remedy
Dog Bite info Dog Aggression info Boarding Kennel info Pet Sitting Info
Dog Smells Pet Smells Get Rid of Fleas Hip Displasia info
Diarrhea Info Diarrhea Rice Water AIHA Info
Sheepdog Grooming Grooming-Supplies Oster A5 info Slicker Brush info
Dog Listener Dog's Mind Dog Whisperer

Please contact our Webmaster with questions or comments.
  Please read our PRIVACY statement and Terms of Use

 

Copyright 2000 - 2012 by OES.org. All rights reserved.