Concerned

**fionapap** · 11-26-2006, 02:38 AM

Due to a recent broken shoulder, I have not been able to groom my 4 year old Griffon. I usually trim her coat with scissors and keep it approx 2 inches long. She is a lovely dog and her best feature is her face and eyes. I trim her snout but keep the hair just a little shorter than her jaw line.

These past 2 months she has grown quite shaggy and I decided it was time to get her a proper cut. Greeks have just recently started to realise that animals have needs too so even though pet shops are bountiful, proper salons are rare. Our vet has a lady come in twice a week for cuts but they put the dogs to sleep with a mild sedative, something which I find unnecessary, especially with an animal as cooperative as mine. I did find a pet shop that does cuts and took here there.

Even though I made it clear that I did not want he shaved, especially her tail and snout, they went ahead and shaved her anyways, remembering to tell me that they do not use scissors. Her hair is now barely an inch long as is all the hair around her snout. Thank God they only trimmed her tail.

My concern is that she is acting a bit strange. We made sure to praise her over and over again about how lovely she is. We are very affectionate with her and did not change our routine whatsoever. She had her treats, hugs and games as usual.

At times she is her old self, talking to us, running around and playing, but there are also periods where she huddles to herself and looks sad. She is now digging away at her bed clothes making a ball of the blanket. She also turns around and around before finding a place to sit on the couch.

I am aware that it must be quite a surprise to her as she never had a shave before and she must feel bare.

My question is how long does this kind of behaviour continue and how long will it be before her hair starts to grow out again?

She had a very bad life before we found her in the hands of a homeless alcoholic who beat her. She was very insecure and it took lots of love and reassuring to make her realise we will not abandon or hurt her. I really hope she does not think we have punished her.

**Daisy and Delilah** · 11-26-2006, 06:49 AM

Perhaps she feels a little "naked" without her coat. It's new to her so she feels like something is missing. Probably how we would feel if we were exposed a bit more than usual.

My RB, Benny, got a haircut one time that was shorter than what it should have been. He acted like he was embarrassed for several days. It seemed to be over rather quickly though. His hair grew back pretty soon, in a reasonable amount of time.

Bless you for saving this lovely girl. I hope she feels better soon. She sounds like a wonderful doggie

Welcome to Pet Talk. My name is Terry and I have two Chis--Daisy and Delilah

**fionapap** · 11-26-2006, 08:46 AM

Hi Terry, my name is Fiona. Thanks for the encouragement. Bobbie was a Godsend at a time when we really needed it. Our vet told us once.. "you can always get another dog, but never one with Bobbies character".

She seems slightly better today (hair cut was on Friday evening) except that she still rumples her blanket into a ball and keeps turning around like a top. Poor thing.

Daisy and Delilah are gorgeous!!

**Rachel** · 11-26-2006, 10:06 AM

Keep telling Bobby how gorgeous she is. My dogs have always come back from the groomer acting like they were a diva. I even had one dog, my Bailey, who thought she was something when she had to wear cone around her neck. I believe it was that we made such a fuss over her.

On the other hand, maybe the groomer was not gentle with her as he should have been. There was one groomer we used where my dogs would put the skids on outside the door. At first I thought they just didn't like the grooming process but each time, they reacted more strongly and I finally got the message. We've been with our current groomer a long time, and although neither one is fond of bath time, they eagerly go into her shop. What a difference!

**wolfsoul** · 11-26-2006, 01:50 PM

My friend's toy poodle, Jazz, acted the same way when she was cut into a continental. She seemed very worried about her bum and often scooted and bit at her back end. After a few days she got over it.

**BaileysMom** · 11-26-2006, 03:15 PM

My Bailey acts like that when we get his hair cut. It just takes a few days to get used to and for him the turning in bed or playing with blankets is because he's cold.. I put his blankie on him and he goes right to sleep happy as a lark.. depending on your weather you might consider getting a sweater or something until the hair grows back some. Good luck!

**borzoimom** · 11-26-2006, 03:24 PM

Once every 3 months, I take Hottie in to be groomed professionally. The reason is they have better washers and dryers than I have. Anyway- I have used the same place for years, but a few years back, she was out on a surgery, and out of convience of schedule I took him somewhere else. Hottie came home that night irratated, and nervous. He looked beautiful, but obviously upset. The next time I took him to his regular place, his regular groomer said she had problems with him being afraid of his feet and the dryer. She was very concerned from his change. She suggested that something happened at the last groom. It wasnt until the next time, he acted normal at the groomers and at home. I still suspect something happened... Next time I would suggest you " wait" until your dog is done... I think your dog was not handled right- that and a different "hair do" has caused a problem you might want to check out.

**Daisy and Delilah** · 11-26-2006, 08:03 PM

Thanks!!

**Muddy4paws** · 11-27-2006, 07:28 AM

I know it sounds stupid but I work with some dogs that do feel embarrased when they have their haircuts, we have owners come in and say that they hide for a while because they aren't used to their hair being so short. If they did something you didn't ask for I would definatly go back and ask for an explaination.. They are working on your dog and its up to you what happens in terms on styles. IF there was a problem they should of told you before you left the dog in their care. For example if we get in a matted dog we check them over whilst the owner is there dropping them off so they can see its impossible to comb through.. I doubt that was the case in this, you sound like you keep up the grooming well with your pup.

**elizabethann** · 11-27-2006, 08:05 AM

Hmmmm...sometimes I get Fenway shaved & he's never acted strangley before (at least not that I've noticed).

Maybe he enjoys being naked?

**fionapap** · 11-28-2006, 02:52 AM

Dear all. Thank you so much for your help on Bobbie and her new hair cut. I am happy to say that with a lot of extra loving she is back to her usual reassured self, happy and frisky. At the moment she is sitting on her very own lawn chair sunning herself as it is a very warm sunny day.

As far as her not having had too good a time at the pet shop, it goes without saying. The haircutting room was a tiny backspace more like a closet than room. Crowded by heaps of store products, a tiny table on which she was standing and a regular if somewhat small bathtub. The "hairdryer" looked more like a vacuum cleaner that blew out air with a terrible noise which she hated.

Unfortunately, even though we are living in the 21st century, Greece has a long way to go before the animals of this country are treated as they should. Animal Welfare is a joke and I would not trust them with an animal in need, meaning that their methods of euthanasia are still questionable in my mind. Dogs and cats in the street used to be targets for drivers as a game. Dogs on sidewalks were objects of kicks or worse. My husband used to come home to find cats dying horrible deaths from poisoning in his garden almost on a daily basis. Strays are still in abundance but they are now being fed by people who seem to care more and more for them.

Many people now have pets and you see pet shops springing up more and more. Salons however are few. My only choice was taking it to our vet who gives them a sedative to make the job easier. I am against that method.

However, I am not taking Bobbie to the pet shop for a hair cut again. Until I find a proper salon I will continue to groom her and trim her as I have this past year.