Bijou "failed" at the groomers!

I brought Bijou in for grooming today -- I wanted her to look pretty for Christmas since a few relatives will be meeting her for the first time.

An hour before she was due to be ready, the salon manager called me to say that Bijou could not be groomed, that day or likely any day, at their facility. Evidently, she was fear biting, rolling on the table to avoid handling, and acting terribly scared. I felt so bad for her! And I felt bad for the groomers, who are experienced (the woman doing Bijou has been doing grooming for 14 years) and who probably tried all their "tricks" to make Bijou feel safe, but couldn't.

It was recommended that I contact my vet to see if they do grooming under light sedation, because that's probably a good choice for Bijou. Also, they reminded me that whenever I research a new groomer to be sure they allow me to be present, or to watch, or whatever is appropriate -- and to absolutely pass on any groomer who does not allow owners to witness and/or participate in a grooming session. Evidently, the concern is that there are still many "old school" groomers who feel a dog's spirit must be ""broken" if they will not obey or cooperate with grooming/handling. Ack!

Monday I'll call the vet -- I don't know what kind of grooming they offer but I'm sure they can at least bathe Bijou, attend to her paws and get her teeth brushed. I just feel so sad for my girl -- in the past, she's shown me she doesn't like me to groom her at home (though I do try), but would cooperate at the groomer's -- now, she won't even cooperate there! Cross fingers my vet has some good ideas...

Thanks for listening.

Sorry to hear about that :( Good luck with the vets!

Aww! poor bijou... :( hope everything turns out ok. x ;)

sounds like what iI had to do forone of the chows I recused years ago. You will have to go in and watch how they groom then do it your self. It's a pain but the safest for you and Bijou. I had a small problem with RB Merlin but I found a place that let me take him in his crate acouple days a week( I worked across the street ) a they would talk to him and I would have my lunch with him after a couple weeks they would walk him and after 2 months he allowed them to groom him. Maybe you could find some one patient enough to work with her.

Poor Thing!
Keegan is the opposite. The only thing she tolerates me doing is bath and brush. She is fabulous at the groomers! I can't even touch Keegan's paws. At the vet it took 3 of us to hold her down to cut her nails. At the groomer - she can do it herself!

Aw, that's too bad. :(

Honestly though, I don't know if the light sedation will work. At the shop I work at, wew refuse to groom sedateddogs. Dogs that are sedated are not in their right minds and they go absolutely bonkers -- biting, screaming -- they don't know where they are or what's going on; they are just terrified. I would give it a try, but I'm just warning you, it's alot easier to groom a dog when they are in a good state of mind. We also won't groom a dog with the owner around because people just don't understand that we are not hurting the dog when the dog is screaming and biting us and completely freaking out. They automatically think that we are brushing the dog too hard or holding the dog too tight or that we burned it or cut it or pulled it's hair.

Hope it works out for you and Bijou can get groomed. :) Good luck.

That's too bad to hear about Bijou.

Where I work we have some dogs that have to be sedated to groom. We will always suggest the owners try that before saying we can't groom a dog at all. In fact in the 5 years I've worked there we've never had a dog that we absolutely couldn't groom. Sometimes sedating the dog just takes the edge off and lets the dog realize that we aren't trying to hurt them. Most dogs after a few groomings don't need to be sedated anymore.

We will also let the owners watch if they want to, but we tell them that they might have to hide from the dog because some dogs act worse if they know their owners are watching.

Good luck in trying to find a solution. If you were closer I would offer to groom that cutie for you. :)

Don't feel too bad, Smokey also failed at the groomers. :( Evidently
he did alright with the bath, but really protested loudly at the blow dryers
they tried to use.He was attemping to bite the lady so they just towel
dried him & told me all about it when I picked him up.This was at PetsMart
and weeks later Smoky would'nt even walk anywere near the salon while
we were in the store.

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Originally Posted by tricollie4me

It was recommended that I contact my vet to see if they do grooming under light sedation, because that's probably a good choice for Bijou. Also, they reminded me that whenever I research a new groomer to be sure they allow me to be present, or to watch, or whatever is appropriate -- and to absolutely pass on any groomer who does not allow owners to witness and/or participate in a grooming session. Evidently, the concern is that there are still many "old school" groomers who feel a dog's spirit must be ""broken" if they will not obey or cooperate with grooming/handling. Ack!

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Oh, thanks for sharing that! :eek: We're getting a new BC pup on Wednesday and Mickey has a grooming appointment on the 28th and I was worried that he will feel like we abandoned him for a pup so I was thinking of asking if I could watch... I thought it would distract him if I did, but oh well! I'm going. :)

What a bummer :(... maybe just try to start VERY slowly on bathing, brushing and clipping her, with very short intervals through the days involving lots of treats and praise. Gonzo has gone to the same groomers since he was about 6 months old, so he adores them. I know that they use tons of treats and praise, and they groom all of the dogs in the front room, behind the check-in counter, so they're super reputable. I would think letting Bijou meet the groomers a few more times could also help?

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Originally Posted by BC_MoM

:eek: We're getting a new BC pup on Wednesday

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WHAT...? You're getting a BC puppy and you didn't tell me! :) I need details. Lots of details. Is it a pup from the foster in the US?

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We also won't groom a dog with the owner around because people just don't understand that we are not hurting the dog when the dog is screaming and biting us and completely freaking out. They automatically think that we are brushing the dog too hard or holding the dog too tight or that we burned it or cut it or pulled it's hair.

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I groom at a shop where we prefer the owners not be present for the actual grooming. We welcome them to stop in (with or without their dog) before their appointment, if they choose. But it is truly disruptive to the "calm" of the salon when owners are present. Their own pets continually think it is time to leave or play, and rarely settle down enough to use sharp instuments (scissors and clipper blades). And then this makes all the other dogs being worked on (or waiting) get excited, noisy and rammy too.

And it is also true that certain actions and motions on our part would easily be misunderstood by a concerned pet parent. :(

I always feel bad for the owners of the pets we need to turn away, but we are only human and are not always able to calm a scared or unruly pet.

The best thing people can do for their dogs is start grooming early, expose them to many different situations and people so they aren't afraid of new things, and train them to have basic manners.

I don't know if Bijou is young or old, but hopefully she can overcome the extreme fear she felt today and a light sedative might just be helpful to her.

Re owners watching/participating in a grooming session -- today's groomer simply stated that a groomer who absolutely refuses to allow you to be present (e.g., dropping off your dog at a counter and leaving the premises entirely, without being shown the area where grooming is done or being able to watch through a one-way window or if your dog enjoys and is calm with your presence, being permitted to stay, etc., is a groomer to avoid. I would guess most groomers today are much more "family oriented" than groomers of the past -- in that I mean, groomers want your dog to be happy, they want the owners to be happy, and will accommodate families the best they can. If your dog goes bananas when you're watching, then of course, it's best if you don't -- if they are only calm and comfortable if you're sitting nearby, then it's best if you can be present with a book or magazine to help support your pup. In our case, we'd brought Bijou to the same salon since we adopted her last February and she'd always managed fine -- in fact, when I mentioned a few sessions ago that she didn't like being groomed at home by me and tended to nip, they acted surprised and said they'd never had any cause to note that behavior at the salon. Lo and behold, the next time I brought her in for grooming, there was a big warning note on her care slip that Bijou bites during grooming! So this may have been behavior they anticipated because of my experience at home, or perhaps Bijou's fear simply outgrew her ability to cope with the entire process of being groomed -- I just don't know. I do know I have a friendly, glorious but terribly shaggy 13-month-old rough collie that needs some attention!!

Will post what my vet suggests tomorrow -- I'm hoping they can manage a sedation grooming, they'd certainly be experienced with sleepy dogs. I keep thinking if they can medically encourage a little nap, then they can simply trim her feet, cut her nails and maybe brush a few teeth. I can bathe her at home, I've got the photos to prove it ;)

Thanks for all the support!