Dog Grooming Diary - Small Changes

In dog grooming, as in life, sometimes a small change can make a big difference.

Ollie, a one-year-old Cocker Spaniel, was in for his first groom a while back and like all young Cockers, was very excitable and bouncy.

To start with I decided to put Ollie on the grooming table to see how he was with brushing and handling in general. All started well. He was happy to be placed onto the table and seemed quite curious about the whole thing. The problems started as soon as I placed the grooming loop over his head. He became very unsettled and started to squirm around the table top. Not the best scenario but manageable. After settling him down I then moved on to gently brush his coat. Ollie wasn’t having any of it and decided to exercise his leg springs by bouncing around whenever the brush touched him.

OK, I thought, let’s put him in the bath and see if that settles him any. Now, some dogs take having a bath as a personal affront and will sulk for the rest of the session by not reacting to anyone or anything. Ollie seemed to be one of these types. Once in the bath he quietened down and was quite accepting of the whole process. Success! Things could now move on.

Wrong! Bath over it was back to the table for a go with the dryer. Grooming loop on once more and dryer switched on low just to see how Ollie would react. Well, anyone would have thought I was cutting his leg off what with all the noise he made. Not only that but his leg springs went into overdrive.

So, it was a case of turning the dryer off and taking the time to calm Ollie down. He was obviously very unhappy so I used a towel to dry him off some more while at the same time talking to him in what I hoped was a soothing tone of voice. After a few minutes, he seemed a lot happier and relaxed.

Attempt number two. I switched on the dryer once more down to its lowest setting and brought it slowly up to direct the air flow onto Ollie. He went into leg spring mode once more with an added twist. He would jump up and place his front legs around my neck while trying to scramble up my body. Ollie was in danger of doing himself an injury by pulling on the grooming loop or falling off the table. It looked as if I would have to terminate the groom as to proceed would be dangerous for both of us.

I turned the dryer off and loosened the loop from around Ollie's neck. Immediately he calmed down, sat and then nuzzled his head into my side for a cuddle. It was as if he had suddenly turned into another dog. Gingerly taking the dryer again I turned it on and directed it onto Ollie. He still wanted the cuddles but allowed the dryer to do its thing. After a while, he even felt settled enough to lie down and we went through the most of the groom with Ollie in the prone position.

It was obviously the feel of the grooming loop around his neck while being brushed and dried that upset Ollie. I try to do my grooms with the minimum of restraint anyway normally just restricting it to the grooming loop that goes around the dog's neck. The loop is secured on the arm above the table and keeps the dog from jumping off the table and injuring itself. Ollie found even this too much. In the end, I had the loop very loose around his neck and secured on one of the support struts while at the same time ensuring I kept a very careful eye on him to make sure he was safe.

The professional groomer has the experience and training to recognise and adapt to the needs of each dog. For Ollie, just realising that he had issues with the grooming loop and making a small change to the normal routine meant that his first groom turned out to be alright in the end.