scared of grooming - any solution?

[Willow and J]

Willow is playful, happy, and sweet, but she is submissive and get easily spooked. She's not a barker nor whiner, and even when she gets spooked, she barks just a little (once or twice, usually.)

We take her to Petsmart to groom, and our groomer is very very nice lady. However, Willow is getting more and more fearful, and this morning, she was shivering in the corner with her nose toward door while we checked her in for regular grooming session. She never shivers with fear otherwise, and it's getting worse every time she gets groomed. She's peed in the past in fear, which is also unusual and only took place in the face of the groomer.

I'd like to consider grooming myself, but my hubby is not agreeing, and I can't do it without his help.  

Are there things we can do to make her less fearful of grooming?

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

As suggested,joining the grooming group is very helpful and I do my two myself. I've only brought Murphy once and it was so stressful for him. Yes, maybe he could have gotten used to it slower, and gone for treats, a d just baths and nail clipping to start, but either way, hours in and out of a crate is just not acceptable to me as I dont crate them and never have, so he's just not used to it. . And he has horrible separation anxiety. Or it was horrible at that time. Not to mention the cost in my area is about $70.00 for this size dog. Times 2! I probably do them 2times a year. I do sani cuts, shave bellies,trim eyes and paws and cut nails, at least every 6 weeks too.
I love the time with them and they are both great during the whole process. Bella has never been to a groomer her whole life but she would probably enjoy a spa day, I'm guessing. She loves anyone who will touch her. Murphy even still backs away from me if I approach him too quickly for a touch.

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

This is exactly why I now groom my Gracie Doodle myself and have for almost three years.  Our groomer is very nice but they also don't have time for sweetness and don't whisper sweet nothings in the Doodle's ears like I do to Gracie or give an occasional treat.  I also give Gracie table breaks where we play ball for a few minutes and get a drink of water.  The place I took Gracie has crates and is very noisy and most of the dogs are barking.  She hates confusion and noise.  She is not a barker or whiner but the minute I leave she starts in and also when I return.  That is unacceptable in my book.  We knew the groomer personally and she is a good one.  It is just when they are turning out 4-6 dogs a day they don't have time for gentleness or kindness.  I started washing and brushing Gracie myself and told her to call me when it was Gracie's table time.  I really wanted to cut down the time she spent in the facility.  I live 5 minutes away.  That worked for a while and then she sort of started falling back on being ready for Gracie when I brought her in and it was back into the crate.  I now want to take Gracie in for one Professional grooming since I have sort of gotten away from what the top of the head (poofer) and ears are supposed to look at and also get a shape back on the head and face.  It is like her entire poofer is now growing into her ears and she is all the same length.  I am going to call and make an appointment and then go about my usual washing and combing before taking her.  I know Gracie will be mad at me but she is a very good girl once she is up on the table.  The groomer has never had a problem with her but I just hate forcing Gracie to go when it is so obvious he does not want to be there.  Also, the groomer owns the store and only she is allowed to work on Gracie!!!!!  What is fun about doing it yourself is that you really get to bond with your Doodle and share some one on one time.  Though I do have to say, going to a groomer in the beginning really was a good thing because it gave Gracie "table manners" so she know what to expect up on the table and knows the command words like "hold".   The only way you can overcome this with Willow is to find a private groomer that only takes one dog at a time and there are no others present so things are calm and quiet and she has 100% of the groomers time.  There are some out there...Good Luck!

[cheryl & oliver]

I started grooming with Oliver when he was very young.  I took him for baths and just general little puppy grooming. I made a deal with the groomer, ( I know her for years) that she would let me bring Oliver in for little groomings when he was a small pup, and she would charge me a nominal amount.  Now that he is a big gloot, it does cost me either 60.00 for a short grooming and bath, or the whole big grooming every 12 weeks, that is $120.00.  But he loves to go there, I believe I have told you guys that they love him there, he is never caged and they call him their mascot.  They all adore him, and it is not one of the big box store groomers.  It is a regular dog grooming shop. There are two girls there that do doodles, and I love the way he looks when they get him done.  I do keep him on the short side though, I am not good at home brushing, lol...I know that I could not do him myself, he is just too big for me.  But when I go to pick him up at the groomers he is at their inside picket fence, greeting all that come in.  But if he was shaking or peeing, he wouldn't be there.  I  just have been very lucky to find a groom shop that adore him, and him them....I afree with the statement to hide and see what they are doing with him that is making him so afraid.

[Katie and Sophie]

Sophie has been to the groomer one time and while she did look cute after and she did well with it she was there for 7 HOURS!!! to me that is way too long for her to be in and out of cages. She has separation anxiety to begin with and I never leave her in a kennel for that long as she just does not do well in them. Shes just a puppy still so that was too long for her to not be able to go potty for. She is 8 1/2 months old now and is due for another groom in the next couple weeks and i want to try it myself this time. She is very docile and calm and will let me do anything to her, so I think she will do well with it, I just hope I don't mess up her beautiful hair! I am going to join the grooming group though and Im sure I will find some good advice there. Either way, I won't take 7 hours to do it!

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Katie...the Grooming Group is where I learned everything there is to know about grooming and all the equipment.  You need to sit down and spend a few hours reading through all the archives.  It is all there right down to the blade size, scissors, clippers, etc.  Just remember, the hair always grows back and if you make a mistake within one week you won't even see it.  Our Doodles already have bed head so it is very easy to hid mistakes.  I have made a ton and when others look at Gracie they think it is the perfect grooming but I see every mistake.  We are way too hard on ourselves.  It should never take 7 hours...that is insane.  Gracie from wash to finish was 4 hours when she went to the Groomer.  When I do her the wash is usually in the morning or day before.  The grooming is anywhere from 1:45-3 hours depending on how much I am doing and how many breaks we take for playing.  There is a grooming book that I have referenced many times in the grooming group.  See if you can find the name of it and if not, I will go out in the garage where all my grooming stuff is and get the name and author!  Of all the books out there...it is the best!!!!

[Katie and Sophie]

Thank you for the advice and the encouragement! Im going to sit down tomorrow and learn everything I can in the grooming group! I know, 7 hours is unacceptable, especially when they said she behaved so well! I think I can do it! Just have to jump in with both feet. Like you said, if I do mess up you won't even be able to tell in a week :)

[Bonnie and Kona]

That happened to me once too! So upsetting!!!

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

be prepared...you will spend at least 7 hours reading through all the helpful information on the grooming group.  :) 

[Willow and J]

Only 7 hours... Thank goodness that Willow's trimmed short. I have a couple of months to prepare. I am a slow reader! :)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I agree with the comments about the grooming facilities at Petsmart. I would suggest finding a smaller private place where the dogs are not caged and not taken in back behind closed doors. You may be surprised to find that the smaller places are also less expensive, and the service is more personal.

In my experience, a dog usually gets less fearful and more comfortable the more times he visits a place and spends time with the people, whether it's a vet, a groomer, a daycare, etc. The fact that Willow's fear has increased, and she is shivering and urinating in fear only in this situation, speaks volumes to me about what the experience has been like for her. I would find another groomer.

[Elizabeth & Cosmo]

I completely agree with Karen about Willow's fear increasing. This is a strong signal that she is having bad experiences there.

Cosmo goes to a groomer at our local PetSmart, and I was apprehensive about it at first. But he loves to go! He is happy to be there, happy to see his groomer, happy to go with her without even a glance back at me.

Even if Willow is more shy than Cosmo, she shouldn't be that afraid. Something is wrong here.

[Willow and J]

When I read your comments, it's unbelievable that we waited this long. First couple of places we checked out when we started grooming Willow at about 5 months were small private groomers and also fairly upscaled looking ones. They both had long list of reservations upto 3 months, and we had to use their least experienced groomer. We didn't like either of them. Then when we found the one we liked at Petsmart, we were just hoping for Willow to get used to grooming. I think we've used the groomer at Petsmart for 5-6 times now, and she loves Willow. The groomer told us that Willow doesn't like dryer much and she has to give her breaks, and thus it takes longer. She books Willow for 4-5 hour block, and make sure she's not too crowded by other appointments. She cares, but in a place like Petsmart, there's probably a lot that she can't control, and kenneling and noise must upset Willow so much so that she gets more fearful.

It should have been obvious to us earlier than this. I feel so sorry for Willow... poor thing...