being scared of groomer

[orchid25]

I can't help but not feel comfortable about taking my baby to a groomer. Being that it will be his first time...I am fearful of him being traumatized. And every groomer I come across that someone recs....i still see the negative reviews from some...about knicking...or their dogs being traumatized....it makes me not want to ever take him=( but I know he'll need a trim someday. I just wish I knew ahead of time that things woudl work out perfectly=( ANy tips? How can I tell that their a good groomer? Any signs to look for? How were ya'lls first times? And how can I make him as comfotable as possible? He is already a big scaredy cat...of anything new.

[chachi]

I think the reason why some people including myself have a bad first time grooming experience is because they didnt prepare the dog for the grooming or they didnt voice to the groomer exactly what they want done. Its not the groomers job to prepare the dog for a grooming its ours. You can get him ready by bathing him on a regular basis, Brushing him on a regular basis,touching his toe nails, turning on a clipper and holding it by him.

[AngieC]

I know what you are going through... I can tell a good groomer is how they are when you first walk in with the dog... I took Rocky to his first groomers, the lady was snippy, I should have followed my gut and just walked out and I haven't been back to that place. The place that I take them too now, they love dogs and you can tell because as they are we greeting me they were petting the dogs and giving them lovin!! and they do a great job too.

Originally Posted by orchid25

I can't help but not feel comfortable about taking my baby to a groomer. Being that it will be his first time...I am fearful of him being traumatized. And every groomer I come across that someone recs....i still see the negative reviews from some...about knicking...or their dogs being traumatized....it makes me not want to ever take him=( but I know he'll need a trim someday. I just wish I knew ahead of time that things woudl work out perfectly=( ANy tips? How can I tell that their a good groomer? Any signs to look for? How were ya'lls first times? And how can I make him as comfotable as possible? He is already a big scaredy cat...of anything new.

[Denzilla]

Yeh that's a tough one. I finally found a groomer I trusted that Toby liked and the guy moved out of state.I have an appointment Sat at our local Petsmart and am hoping things go well.Toby's pretty used to it by now so I doubt it will be a problem.It's just something you've got to deal with.

[maxmom]

A bad hair cut is something I can handle, after all, its just hair. Now, the miss handling of the dogs is something completely different.
Max used to shake and pee when I was dropping him at the groomers, he was so afraid every single time I would pick him up.I always thought it was because he did not want to stay without me. One day I picked him up and when I got to the car I realized a few hairs from his face were longer, I got out, went back, and open the door that was usually locked, I guess I did not close it right on my way out. The lady was screaming at this maltese, and hitting the cage, she was telling him:
" Shut up !!!..You can try to dig your way to China and bark all you want , but I wont take out until your mom comes to get you"!!
I turned around and left, haven't been back ever since, but in the next community meting I made sure everyone knew what was going on once they left their babies in there. Many, if not all have not been back either.
Now Im doing the grooming, maybe not as good but with lots of love

[LunasMomma]

One thing that you can do is ask to stay and watch them groom your baby, the first time, or any time. If they refuse, keep looking I got lucky with our groomers, they are a grooming school where students usually do the dogs under supervision. They all do great work, and they're all sweet to my girls, but my little Luna is a spaz, and the only gal that can do her is the owner. She's hearing impaired and for some reason, Luna behaves for her and ONLY her We call her the dog whisperer

[orchid25]

Something similar happened when I took Ralphie to get his nails trimmed and his paws and ears trimmed. I stayed to watch the whole time since it wasn't going to take so long.First, I noticed they took Ralphie to the back to trim his nails, and when they brought him back...he look traumatized....big eyed and his tongue was sticking out...like he was stressed The lady that was going to trim his paws and ears was working with another dog at the moment...and she kept yelling at her. While I was there...someone came in with their dog to get his nails grinded and ears cleaned. The dog was happy and looked excited to see groomer. But as soon as she left...they put him on the table and started grinding his nails...and he cried and yelped like he was in pain. He squirmed so much that he fell off the table he was standing on, leaving him to hang by his neck for maybe 7 seconds. The technician hadn't even noticed he was off the table. I couldn't help but think how sad it was that the owner would have no clue that her dog was mistreated. It was kind of hard to watch. I just think it's hard to trust groomers. You don't KNOW what goes on when you leave ....not that this happens at every groomer....but how would would we even know? I think I like the idea of staying and watching.
And I don't think by walking in and seeing how they treat the dogs means you can trust them. When people came in to the Petsmart one...they were so sweet to the dogs....but when the owner wasn't around...they were kind of rough with them. not as loving from when the owner was there.

[LilyOfTheValley]

Originally Posted by orchid25

Something similar happened when I took Ralphie to get his nails trimmed and his paws and ears trimmed. I stayed to watch the whole time since it wasn't going to take so long.First, I noticed they took Ralphie to the back to trim his nails, and when they brought him back...he look traumatized....big eyed and his tongue was sticking out...like he was stressed The lady that was going to trim his paws and ears was working with another dog at the moment...and she kept yelling at her. While I was there...someone came in with their dog to get his nails grinded and ears cleaned. The dog was happy and looked excited to see groomer. But as soon as she left...they put him on the table and started grinding his nails...and he cried and yelped like he was in pain. He squirmed so much that he fell off the table he was standing on, leaving him to hang by his neck for maybe 7 seconds. The technician hadn't even noticed he was off the table. I couldn't help but think how sad it was that the owner would have no clue that her dog was mistreated. It was kind of hard to watch. I just think it's hard to trust groomers. You don't KNOW what goes on when you leave ....not that this happens at every groomer....but how would would we even know? I think I like the idea of staying and watching.
And I don't think by walking in and seeing how they treat the dogs means you can trust them. When people came in to the Petsmart one...they were so sweet to the dogs....but when the owner wasn't around...they were kind of rough with them. not as loving from when the owner was there.

I've seen this myself, and my own dogs were mistreated once. For that reason, I never leave mine anywhere. I looked long and hard to find a groomer that will let me be there from start to finish.