How to Handle Pets with Anxiety or Other Behavior Problems
Many people request appointments with us because taking their pet elsewhere can cause issues for their pets who have anxiety, a lack of training or other behavior problems. When booking with us or any other groomers, please let us know before your appointment if your pet has any behavior problems. You will know they have any issues if they seem to exhibit anxiety when; they left on their own or in a new/unfamiliar environment, fear of loud noises, fear of water, alligator rolling when being lead on a leash/having something around their neck, or even screaming and thrashing when certain areas of their body are touched (such as their feet or rear end).
What Can Happen?
If a pet has not already been trained to be calm, comfortable and cooperative, they may not be able to handle the grooming process just yet. They may not initially understand it and will find the tools, process and sensations difficult, frightening, overwhelming - or even threatening. Behavior problems are safety problems for both your pet and any groomer. If an unpredictable or out of control pet is placed in an environment with sharp tools, it can lead to them getting hurt, people getting hurt or broken equipment. Injuries that misbehaving pets could inflict upon themselves include; cuts and scrapes from slamming into clippers or shears, quicked nails from thrashing around during nail clipping, blown out blood vessels in the eyes or tracheal injuries from straining against the grooming loop, joint sprains from violently jumping around, or damage to their mouths from biting at brushes, clippers or shears.
Yikes! No groomers want any of these things to happen to your pet. We are pet advocates! Therefore we never force them to endure anything past their personal limitations. Sometimes that means not completing the full grooming service, sometimes to the dismay of our customers, but we hope they understand and empathize with their pet.
One Solution
The first handful of appointments with a pet may have to be devoted to addressing their behavior issues - teaching them to trust us, the techniques, tools, and stimuli of grooming - before they can be ready to have a complete groom. This ensures that every grooming appointment going forward, for the rest of their life, can be safe and complete. We would absolutely love to provide each pet with a complete groom, however ensuring they are safe and set up for success needs to happen first. Otherwise, forcing pets beyond what they can handle does not help them feel comfortable for their next appointment. It will instead make their behavior problems significantly worse and unsafe. It's better to have a few unfinished grooming appointments than an injured or traumatized pet.
One of our owners tells the story of her four month old puppy - a Blue Picardy Spaniel - before her Rabies vaccination (since we can't quite groom her until she has this.)
“I first gave Willow a bath in the kitchen sink and she was nervous and shaking. I was slow and methodical, using warm water all over from her head to her feet like we do at Mobile Pet Shine. I dried her off with a towel and gave her a lot of love. The next time my 8yo daughter and I bathed her a second time, she seemed to look forward to it, and even moved around to get more of the warm water where she wanted it - mainly on her face! Now that she knew what to expect, she thoroughly enjoyed it!”
There are no "quick fixes" for behavior problems. It takes time, patience, training, repetition and reassurance. Owners also need to work with their pets at home by rewarding calm behavior, teaching self control, and positively exposing them to a large variety of stimuli (such as loud noises, different people, textures, being touched all over their body with different objects, experiencing fun situations and environments outside their home, etc.). This will not only help pets with their grooming appointments, but with their vet appointments, medical emergencies, behavior around others, and life in general. Allowing pets to just live in fear and anxiety of the world will only make them more uncomfortable and mistrusting. But at Mobile Pet Shine, pets that are shown not to fear the unknown, can control their emotions/reactions and can be patient are pets that will always feel safe, happy and confident in themselves.