Groomer question???
 

The last time I took Toby to the groomer -- she told me that I should consider giving him half a Benedryl the next time I bring him in. He doesn't bite or anything like that... she said he just won't stay still. He actually loves this lady, and is always excited to go see her. I'm just not sure if "drugging" him is the answer. I was wondering if Recon's Momma, or another groomer might be able to put some light on this? Actually, anyone's imput would be welcome! Thank you.

Whoa!! she wants you to drug your dog? No way. I will not work on a dog that is drugged in any way nor would I ever ask some one to do that.

If she can not handle him being excited then she has issues. He is a yorkie for gods sake not a saint bernard.

Dont drug him Please. FInd a different groomer if you have to. Does she work for a chain store or a local groomer by you?

I wouldn't trust a groomer to tell me what drugs to give my dog. Get a new groomer!

I would go to a different groomer too. She shouldn't even be suggesting that. My Jewels is a squirmer and the groomer was able to take care of her.

Thank you for saying that... I don't feel comfortable doing that. She said it would just make him a little sleepy, and I know people give it to them for itching, but it just seems wrong to me. She is actually a local groomer with her own shop, and Toby really does love going to see her. I guess if she starts insisting, I'll look for another one -- but I'm going to tell her I'm not comfortable with giving him anything! Thanks so much!!!!

I'm a little curious. If grooming freaks the dog out and they won't stand still, what harm can a piece of benadryl do? If it will relax the dog a bit, shouldn't it be OK?

I think the groomer ahould be able to handle the dog without drugs.

If the dog were drugged and something happened they could be in serious trouble. I know with alot of lisencing in different states you could lose your groomers lisence for grooming a drugged dog. Vets offices work on drugged dogs.

i would switch groomers. Rex'z groomer knows that Rex nips and squirms but she just told me to gently pull on his face hair (that whhere he squirms) and slowly, he will get used to it. she never suggested benadryll :confused:

I'm not going to change groomers yet. I'll just let her know I'm not comfortable giving him anything. Toby's not stressed at all with her... he is just a little wiggle-worm. She just said she felt bad that he wasn't "perfect" around the ears and face, and if he'd just hold still, she could do a better job. (I think it adds to his 'charm' to look a little scruffy) She really seems to love him when he comes in, and he responds the same. Unless she insists, I'll just keep it the same. Just wanted the "professional" opinion, as I didn't know if it was a common practice. I got my answer -- and it was the one I wanted! Thank you Recon's Momma! Too bad you weren't here -- I'd be your first "mobile-grooming client" :)

I dont mind answering questions about grooming. Might as well share the knowledge.

I can't believe that she would even suggest a thing like that! Would you drug you children if the babysitter felt they were too much of a handful? Because it's pretty much the same thing.
That is their job to be able to work with and deal with dogs that are calm, and those that are not. That's what they were hopefully trained to do.
I would never let them do that. What if the dog had an allergic reation to it, or some other thing happend and he couldn't react in time??? You just never know what will happen. Please don't let her do that.

Esme is one hyper little dog and the groomer does fine with her. This is the first I hear about giving the dog a little benedryl to calm down. I personally wouldn't do it.

Maybe run him around the park or something before you go to the groomers to tire him out naturally. I know that is probably easier said than done with today's schedules but it's a thought!

this worries me b/c what or who's to say they wouldnt drug them w/o our knowledge ...
should that be one of my questions in finding a groomer whether or not they practice this???

groomer
 

I have felt like drugging quite a few..LOL
Yorkies and many other breeds are wiggly, but I got paid to deal with them...I had a few terrible biters..I wore leather gloves. I felt bad for these Yorkies that got turned away from Petsmart type places..given time and patience,most will come around and adapt.
I really loved it when they got all excited to see me...lots of wiggly butts. LOL

Weeelllllll, yesterday Shelby got stung by a bee and I wasn't sure about giving her benedryl so I sure wouldn't drug her for the groomer. (she didn't appear to have a reaction so I just watched her)

But it sure *is* easier to brush a wiggly butt puppy when they are tired. She falls asleep in my lap every night and last night I had her brush handy. Tonight I try clipping nails :)

When Brody got stung by a wasp in the mouth, my vet told me to give him 1/4 teaspoon of Children's Benadryl and being the paranoid freak that I am, I gave him less than 1/8 of a teaspoon (he didn't seem to be reacting to the wasp sting, but wanted to give him Benadryl just in case). Brody was knocked out for hours after just the couple of drops of Benadryl. I wouldn't give it to him unless in a life or death situation - not a grooming situation.

A lot of groomers give drugs to dogs - but I'm sure they ask permission first. I think its good that your groomer asked permission. What my groomer did with squirmy Brody is do half of the grooming in one session, then come back two weeks later to finish. She said that way he wouldn't get too scared each time. You might even separate the appointments one week apart. She charged me half price each time (cuz she only did half the job). Now Brody can go in for a full session just fine. Like your puppy, Brody LOVES his groomer. He is always happy to see her and she is always happy to see him.

I had a groomer come to my house a couple of weeks ago to groom Tucker. This was his second time being groomed - the first time was when he was about four months and the first groomer said there was no problem - I think she had to be lying after the way he behaved at home. He was HORRIBLE! I watched most of the time and he was not being hurt - he hated the clippers and squirmed and screamed, he hated the scissors and squirmed and screamed, same with the nail clippers... This girl was the most gentle and kind person I have ever seen and she used every trick in the book to work with him, but he was a lunatic! I can't really believe his first experience was all that bad, he was happy to see me, looked great and was friendly to the lady - no sore spots or anything like that so I can't understand his behavior this second time. I was so embarrassed at the way he behaved, I paid her extra for her time. I just wanted him trimmed and it took over an hour of this poor woman's time to do a job that should have probably only taken 20 minutes if he would have held still for half a second!
I brush him and bathe him quite regularly but have never been able to clip his nails due to this same type of behavior. I know this is not the popular opinion, and I am working with him to try to get him comfortable with the sound of scissors, having his feet played with more and so on, but I swear, I think he would have been safer and would certainly have gotten a better haircut if he had been given something to help him not be such a psycho!
Ya'll know how I love my boy, but I cannot comprehend any reason for this behavior, I even tried to help her hold him but it was just crazy. She even tried having me go out of his sight and nothing helped. Any suggestions for the next time if I can get her to come back???
Dana

I really don't think its all that bad to give a dog drugs (tiny amount, of course) if they are endangering themselves while in the presence of sharp objects. Even the most careful groomer can make a mistake if a puppy is being wild. If he must be groomed (and Yorkies must), and he is endangering herselves, I don't think its that bad of an idea. I would try everything else first, though, like daily massage to get him used to touch or breaking down the grooming sessions into shorter periods.

Thanks, Holly, I don't want to feel like some corrupt monster if it comes down to giving Tuck something just to keep him safe when he does have to be trimmed - and I do rub him all over all the time, I even play with his little toenails and nibble on them and everything else, but when any of the instruments (clippers, driers, scissors, etc) come out, its spaz time!!!
Dana

Maybe there is some kind of behavior training method you could try involving the grooming tools. I don't know any, but maybe you could post on the training forum. Somehow associate those tools with happy things - like playing or treats.

drugs
 

Benadryl is harmless I am told..I would not be concerned if I had to give it to a Yorkie..the groomer might do better if she took it too! LOL

I hope I don't sound like a hypicrit too much, but the more I think about it, and as much as Deegan fights when being groomed, maybe it's not so bad.
As long as it doesn't hurt them or zonk them out too much.

And I would always want to be asked if it was ok by a groomer.

We suspected this when Eddie returned from his first groomer. He was subdued and kind of lazy, which has never been his personality. We confronted the groomer and asked if she gave him anything, and she said "No, we would never do that." But it was just too odd. We switched groomers immediately. And now he returns from his new groomer acting like his normal self.

You may be doing this, but in obedience school they teach us to work with our dogs regularly on the "stand" command for grooming purposes. We tell him to stand, then we look at his feet, his teeth, his ears. They tell us to work on this every day to get him comfortable with being handled.

You come up with some of the funniest comments sometimes, you always make me chuckle. :eyetearss :eyetearss :eyetearss :eyetearss I keep childerns benadryl on hand as well as other medicines.... If there ever was a emerg. I need these things on hand. You have to respect the groomer I don't think she was suggesting in giving the dog something to make her job easier, I think she was looking out for Toby and what would make him more at ease. I would much rather have a caring groomer, than a groomer that is there for job purposes only.....

I am a mobile groomer and I never suggest to "drug" the pups. Quite honestly it makes my job easier when the dog is more alert. Nothing worse that grooming a "floppy" dog. I have had some owners volunteer to "drug" their dogs and at that point I usually ask why? Now that may be a "red flag" to me but I tell the owners that is up to them completely.

If I can not get something done I will keep at it for a bit. If the pup seems to not be agreeable I get done what I can and explain to the owner his/her behavior and that we will try again next time. Also suggesting that maybe the first few times I come back sooner than usual to get him/her used to me. My clients always seem to understand that. It should be an enjoyable experience for all. I don't want my pups to be stressed everytime I pull in the driveway. Patience is a virtue in grooming. Oh...and once you make that "break-through" it is such a wonderful thing.

If your groomer keeps insisting, ask your vet what he/she thinks. Ultimately if you are not comfortable doing that then you should just not do it.

Ahh....babble babble....Hope this helps
Jane :aimeeyork

My girl Zoey is a little hyper, and the groomer I used to take her to told me she is hard to handle and I should go to the vet to get a sedative for her, for grooming purposes. She gave me the name of the drug but I can't remember what it was now. Well, I stopped going to her because a few times I told her to cut one one way and the other one another way and they always came back with the same cut (I was trying to let Zoeys hair grow on her face out, but she kept cutting it). So, I switched to another groomer and I warned her ahead of time that Zoey is a wiggly butt and my previous groomer said she could probably use a sedative. This new groomer had absolutely no problem with the wiggly butt. She said Zoey was sweet heart and was very well behaved. I have been going to her since and she has never had a problem.

thank god toby stands like a statue when he is getting groomed.......... course i do it myself, i am contemplating going to petsmart and getting his ears and nails done for 8 dollars though :rolleyes: (he doesnt move when i do hte nails or ears, but i just think im going to cut to far every time so i prefer not to do it)

Someone that used to be married to a vet here said that a certain pet store in our town that does grooming bought stuff from the vet to keep them quiet. I believe it was tranquilizers. Now I don't recall.