Really upset!bad grooming experience with aggressive dog has knocked my confidence :(

Hi all
I am a new groomer and i just had the worst evening trying to groom a border collie male he was a rescue dog and i said i would groom him as a favor to my sisters friend, when i went to pick him up he growled at me at the door, then he seemed ok and well behaved on the journey, but when i got him on the grooming table he was matted and he kept snapping when i used the mat breaker on him (even v gently) so i decided to muzzle him, then when i got all the mats out i tried to put him in the bath and he would not go in, even using 2 people to lift him in the proper way he then turned and heat-butted me (basically was trying to bite my face but couldnt because of the muzzle) in the end i just had to take him home to his owner un-groomed, becuase i couldnt get him in the bath without him trying to bite me (and he is big and strong so not a dog i could really struggle with!), but now i feel really bad and it has really knocked my confidence in grooming - did i do the right thing in taking him back?

Yes. If a dog is that severely stressed out by grooming, especially a rescue who may have had bad experiences before, it's not wise to force them to do something they're terrified of.

If it was my dog I would do some clicker training and desensitization to get him used to the idea of grooming, and would recommend sedating him before further grooming.

You absolutely did the right thing! If you're not comfortable grooming a dog for any reason you should send it home. Don't let this one incident discourage you! If you need someone to talk to as you're starting out feel free to PM me. Just remember, you are not alone!

You did the right thing!

I would much rather a groomer call me and tell me they cant groom my dog then stress them out far beyond what they can handle or risk hurting them.

As long as you are polite about it, there is nothing wrong with what you did.

You definitely did the right thing- for yourself as well as for the dog.

If the dog was in a place where he was resorting to biting it was time to stop. It's never good for a pet to relate to people that way.

Returning him was not a failure on your part. Any knowledgeable person would've done the same.

You did exactly the right thing. If a dog of mine were so upset--to the point of trying to bite--and the groomer DIDN'T stop, I would be furious! No dog needs such a negative experience, and no groomer ought to be scared and upset. Sounds as if the dog needs a lot of positive experiences before he can gracefully accept grooming. NOT your fault. You did the right thing for all concerned.

Thanks everyone for your encouraging replies, at the time I tried to think what my grooming teacher would have done, and I'm sure she would have sent him back too, but when you are new you just doubt your self some times i suppose. its good to know that you would have all done the same thing so I do feel better about my decision now. Thanks 4 your support this forum is really helpful!

I would have and have done the same thing. My boss and I have sent home countless dogs and cats. all who were so sweriously terrified and scared it just wasnt right to even attempt to groom them. was not safe for humans or dog/cat in that situation

I also wanted to add that the fact that you were so upset about it shows how much you care about the animals you are working with and that is one of the most important factors to me when I look for a groomer. I think you are going to be fine. Good Luck. I hope you stick around and share your progress with us.

Their is no sense in stressing the dog out further. You did the right thing and had you continued then the dog may never like to be groomed ever. At least now he has a chance for someone to work with him being groomed and getting him used to it.

ill add that you did the right thing in not continuing to groom the dog.

one thing i will give you advice on was dematting the dog before the bath. I would have just put him in the tub first and bathed him, left conditioner on him for a loong time, then attempt to demat while blow drying. trying to demat a dirty coat on a dog that is obvously not used to it is just going to stress out the dog.

Thanks again for all your comments - duncan15 that was great advice above - today i had a mini schnauzer who came to me completely matted on the legs and underbelly, and i tried what you recommended and it worked so much better and i managed to save the hair by dematting it rather than having to cut it all off. I will definately do this in future for very matted dirty dogs. The mini schnauzers owner was so happy with the results that i had been able to get all the mats out that she tipped me a big tip so thank you!!