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?

[Jen, Lachlan, and Declan]

I don't have a whole lot to add beyond what others have said, but ... and this is only my opinion ... as someone who wasa professional groomer for many years, please listen to your dog. As Lucy and Sophie's Mom pointed out, not all groomers are dog lovers. I'd add to that, from personal experience, not all groomers even like dogs. If she's finding it that stressful then she isn't having a good experience there. Find a groomer who will work with her to give her a happy experience or, as others have mentioned, doing it yourself really isn't difficult. The grooming group here is fantastic and incredibly supportive.

And by the way, Willow is awwwwww beautiful!!!

[Willow and J]

Yes, we really very much like Willow's groomer at Petsmart. You can tell that she really cares, and today we asked her if she could groom Willow elsewhere (our place or at her place). We'll see what she says. (We weren't sure if Petsmart allows such conversation in their salon, so we wrote a note and handed it to her with gratuity. It felt like a secret handshake... :) )

BTW, I was looking through your pictures, and ones with Lachlan with shaved muzzle was really interesting. I've never seen a doodle with that look, and Lachlan was cute - graceful and spunky looking at the same time.

[Jen, Lachlan, and Declan]

That would be great if she would groom Willow in a different environment, J. Maybe it's the stress of the pace the groomers have to keep at Petsmart that's causing the problem.

Poor Lachlan's been poodled, settered, and everything in between. I'm more about comfort and convenience than looks with my guys! *grin* At the moment he looks like a doodle because I've let him grow out a bit, but I love the convenience of a short face (and he loves not having to have his beard washed and brushed daily). They both look like muddy rag-mops right now!

[Willow and J]

I so much envied how you ended up with Declan... I have been looking for a "sign" to add a second doodle... like, someone dumping a doodle on us. :) 

Aren't doodles walking dustmops anyway? (with curly handle)

[Jen, Lachlan, and Declan]

ROFL, curly handle! All that hair is a handle sometimes (more often than I'll admit)."No, no ... go that way!"

I feel blessed, mostly, with Declan. Very happy and proud to share my life with that little dustmop. Having said that, given his background he's a LOT of work. He doesn't have the fundamentals that under ideal circumstances he'd have had by this age, so I have to work double-time to help him catch up. (And the typing of that paragraph was interrupted three times: Once to go outside and remove a rock from his mouth, once to give him a reassuring hug because he was looking worried, and once to give Lachlan a big snoggy hug too just because.)

I have moments of envying you one-doodle homes!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I started Fudge early going to the groomer. She has always gone to the same one and the groomer came highly recommended by our vet. She used to play with her dog and was happy to go. Within the last year, she has started not wanting to go and shakes when we get there, but jumps right up on the table. Vern runs in....but, I don't think he remembers where we are until he gets in the shop:)  She rarely has any other dogs there, but my two. She is a wonderful lady, very nice to my dogs, and loves dogs, so I can't explain Fudge's reaction. I do know she is not keen on the dryer. I try not to make a big deal out of taking her or leaving and I always take them for a great walk when we are done. Poor Fudge and Vern are never going to be groomed by me, except for an occasional bath and brushing, so I will continue to take them to the groomer. I feel like it is like going to the dentist. I hate going and I'm a big chicken, but I know I have to go.

[Frannie & Callie]

Laurie - it is SO much easier to get Callie to the vet than me to the dentist. Callie got groomed today (she loves the groomer), she's shorn, fluffy headed and spindly legged (Luna foster doodle "grooms" Callie constantly, so she was much more matted than she normally gets so she had to get clipped short). The groomer for Callie is hours of constant attention, petting, and strokes, then a joyous reunion with me, and I always buy her a treat of some kind at the groomer (they got USA rawhide strips today). Car rides, attention, and treats -  Callie is happy all around. 

When I go to the dentist, I'm whiny, have been known to have panic attacks, have actually fainted (and it was before I saw the bill), and no matter how much I brush and floss (and I do both maniacally) I always have cavities. So the net/net is that I spend hours in the dentist chair, getting drilled (not the fun kind), and  then have to write out a fat check for the pleasure of time wasted and pain endured. Who made up that system? 

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Frannie, I know just how you feel. When my kids were very little, the dental assistant would come out and say, "ok, now which one of you girls is first?" and I would jump up and go in first. If I had to wait, I would have taken that opportunity to escape. The dentist always told my girls how brave they were and even braver than some of the adults he knew. LOL

[Linda K Gregory]

I need to get down on my knees and thank the good lord for my groomer for Lucy after reading your notes.  Her groomer is in with 5 other people and they treat all the dogs like their own.  They give kisses, hugs, etc.  They also take pictures and post them on FB.  Lucy has seperation anxiety but when I pick her up she is laying around like she does at home.  When we get the new puppy they want me to bring her in so she can hear and see the noises and feel the clippers against her without clipping her.  This was their suggestion, so we shall see.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

Perhaps you could find a mobile groomer who can come to you? This might help her.  I wonder what she is fearful of? Did she have a bad experience that you might not know about?  

[Willow and J]

Willow's groomer mentioned that she doesn't like dryer. She also says Willow is very calm and stands still when groomed. We've seen her on the grooming table several times over the window, and she did look calm and cooperated well. Willow always waits for us at the door when left alone, and doesn't really have separation anxiety. So, as far as we know, dryer, noise, and perhaps kenneling with other dogs is all stressful for her. We know that she had been nervous during the session because she pants and is very thirsty after grooming. 

I found a mobile groomer in the area on line. I'll look into them as well. Thank you for the tip.

[Bryce P]

Huff was always happy when he saw the groomer but he never wanted to go into the back room. So we decided to tak him somewhere else and he has always been ok.