How is your dog with grooming?

RBark

Got Floof?
Joined
Jun 6, 2008
Messages
961
Likes
0
Points
16
#21
Sylphrena goes to war with the shower head. Then the towel. Then the brush. Then the nail trimmer.

Not in a freak out way she just wants to play bitey with all of them lol.
 
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
79
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Ohio
#22
Morrison is a HUGE baby when it comes to grooming. If you clip his nails...you are KILLING him! He isn't a biter but he is a whiner and is constantly trying to pull his paw away from me. It is pure torture and he doesn't know what he did to deserve such torture.

Baths are EVIL. If I go in the bathroom and call to him he will come running like he is actually listening and then he will do a sharp left and run upstairs :p. Once I get him in the bathroom it is rare that I can get him to willingly jump into the tub. He goes stiff with his dead weight and I usually have to lift his front end and then his back end to get him into the tub :rolleyes:. Obviously the hound in him out weighs the lab when it comes to his feelings about water (he acts like rain is killer acid from the sky as well).

He likes to let me know what he thinks about his bath by either rolling on the carpet or even better...grass right after he gets out of the tub. He's such a drama queen.

He does how ever liked to be brushed...So there is that lol.

Fae is not a big fan of having her nails clipped but she will allow it. She snuggles up to me in this odd position while clip her nails and has been known to fall asleep while I do them. She likes to post nail clip dig and kick up her back feet, like "ahhh this feels better".

She also is not a fan of baths. It used to be so bad that for awhile that she would regularly "nervous poo" in the tub halfway through her bath :eek::yikes:. It is so incredibly gross fishing turds out of the tub. And then for what ever reason she stopped doing that...I don't know what changed our routine certainly didn't. But she still gets nervous and stiff while I bath her. But I have noticed that if I scratch above her tail (her favorite spot) she often stops trembling and nervous snorting and just melts.

She does however LOVE to be brushed and blow dried. That is her absolute favorite.

Leia is not a fan of either nail clipping or baths. Mainly because she is a crazy puppy that doesn't want to sit still.

Nail clipping is a struggle at first. But once she finds out that i'm not giving into her attempts to escape she relents. Like Fae she enjoys post nail clip digging and kicking.

Baths are scary but QUICK since she is so tiny it takes me no time to scrub her down. She has learned it is best if she stays on the bath mat instead of trying to run circles and launch herself on the slippery porcelain tub. Baby/sweet talk works to chill her out also.

She has such a thin coat that she doesn't really need brushed or blow dried.
 
Joined
Feb 26, 2011
Messages
6,405
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Minnesota
#23
Squash doesn't care about any old thing, as per his usual.

Pip doesn't like it, but he's very tolerant.

Maisy is filled with woe and panic and usually needs at least a touch of drugs for nails.
 

Bunny82

Active Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2008
Messages
1,470
Likes
0
Points
36
#24
Marley loves to be groomed. From nail clipping to brushing to baths all acts of grooming and he pretty much treats it like a spa trip.

Jet on the other hand...well there is obviously some unseen demonic force waiting to drag him to Hell that is summoned by the the grooming process.
 

Sit Stay

Not a Border Collie
Joined
Oct 1, 2010
Messages
2,814
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Ontario
#25
Quinn doesn't love anything, but tolerates it all very well. She will hold a stay and let me bathe her by myself (I have to let them air dry, which is the funnest part for her because she runs around all silly and loves to dash between my legs), nails she will tense up a bit but is will lay on her side and let me do them, brushing she doesn't love but she tolerates just fine. As long as she isn't super stressed and I can do everything by myself, I'm just fine with that!

I've never bathed Ned outside, but he doesn't like the tub too much! He splays his legs and instantly becomes dead weight as soon as I pick him up in the bathroom, HAHA. He's learned to hold a stand stay in the tub though. Nails he's terrific for, he's so relaxed and easy going. He hasn't been quicked like Quinn though! Brushing is a combination of "this is weird!" and excitement. He's very good and will stand for it though, he's just not as apathetic as Quinn (she has been brushed a lot more than he has, though).
 

monkeys23

New Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2011
Messages
1,621
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
PNW
#26
Lily is fine... as long as there are no witnesses. In which case holy loud husky drama Batman. Lol, freaking drama queen. Especially for nails. Ironically the one time I have ever screwed up on them was because she was being so dramatic... and she didn't notice because she was being so dramatic. Lol!
I have done counter-conditioning to tone down the drama around an audience and she has been shaped to hop in the tub and stand for a bath happily. She tries really hard to keep her curly tail up and dry. It is too funny!

Scout is really uncomfortable being handled so personally, but I can tell it feels really good to get all raked out. She is sweet and patient. She is always happy to go to her brushing spot.
Bathing is not super fun for her, but she lets me do it while dead weight leaning pathetically. Really fun getting gangly 75lb passively resisting dog into the tub lol.

I just towel them off and rake them again when fully dry.
 

Maxy24

Active Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2006
Messages
8,070
Likes
2
Points
38
Age
32
Location
Massachusetts
#27
Tucker hates baths but tolerates it. He doesn't try to escape, actually he freezes up so badly that he has trouble moving once I'm done, he's stiff as a board. He doesn't like drying off with a towel either. He does enjoy some after bath zoomies though.

Nail clipping is okay. I hate nail clipping, I'm terrified of quicking him so his nails never get as short as they should. He used to be very flaily/jerky but now I put him up on a small table and squish cheese onto it so he just licks cheese while I clip his nails and it works wonderfully. He rarely pulls away and if he does I just point to the cheese and he gets back to work.

I really want to dremel his nails because I'm way better at it (I do it at work all the time) and more comfortable with it but he is terrified of it. I tried yesterday and he attempted to bite the dremel. I'm not sure if I should try counter conditioning (it's a lot of things to juggle) or just put a muzzle on him and have someone help hold him. Or I should just stick with clipping and long nails.

Brushing he likes for a few minutes and then he walks away and would rather be left alone. Brushing isn't super important for him, I just have to get behind his ears and do his thighs to make sure there are no knots. He does not tolerate his tail very well but if I'm slow and very gentle he'll let me do it without running off.

Tooth brushing he likes, he thinks the paste is yummy.


We don't clean ears or blow dry. I'd guess he would be fine with ears but blow drying would be terrible, he'd probably attack it.
 

JacksonsMom

Active Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2009
Messages
8,694
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Maryland
#28
He puts up with baths and teeth brushing from me. He hates them and initially will try to run and hide but eventually just surrenders and stands still, ears back, waiting for me to pick him up. He's fine in the actual bath, stands still, etc, but looks pitiful.

Nails? I can't do it. It's not that he's super bad, he doesn't bite or thrash around a lot, he mainly just constantly moves his paws back. Then I get nervous I'm going to cut into the quick and he likely picks up on my nervousness. Nails are something I could likely train him better to put up with but I honestly just never do. I let the groomer handle it.

When the groomer comes? We have a mobile groomer and he FLIPS out. He gets sooo scared, expresses his anal glands, and is shaking and trying to run the opposite direction. He gets so stressed. She's been coming for like 4 years too, no idea why he's still such a freak (he's like this at the vets too). Once he's done, he's 100% fine, and even takes treats from her in the house.
 

Ozfozz

Highbread Dingbat
Joined
Jan 21, 2014
Messages
1,329
Likes
3
Points
38
Location
Ontario
#29
Cobain tolerates grooming well. He will sit still for nail trimming and stand (with coaxing) for brushing. He's definitely not a fan of getting his backside groomed, but he doesn't tend to fight it.
He is good in the bath as well, will get in without a fight and stay relatively still.

Rigby loves getting brushed. She will lean in, close her eyes, and make "happy" noises. She's alright with nails, not great - I've got her quick more times than I should have, but she's got all black nails and wont behave for a groomer I'm sure. She needs a celebration after each paw is done.
She is better than Cobain in the bath, but does not enjoy it. I can leave the bathroom and she will stay in the tub.

Oz and Ruby are about the same. Easy to brush, easy to get the nails done. I wouldn't trust either of them to stay still in the bath though. Both try to jump out mid bath.
 
Joined
Oct 20, 2014
Messages
190
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Ontario, Canada
#30
Toby doesn't really enjoy grooming...
That said, if I can get him into the bathroom, he'll jump in the tub himself (reluctantly - he kind of just gives up and accepts it) and he'll stand there and wait until I cue/release him.

For nails, he used to gator roll and really - really freak out. But after 18 months of weekly nail trimming/touching/filing and showing him it's not as bad as he thinks, I finally have him so I don't need to leash him or hold him down and I can trim his nails quickly and easily without fuss. He tolerates it.

I use positive reinforcement methods, especially in situations where a dog shows signs of anxiety about a situation outside of their comfort zone, so there was a lot of peanut butter involved in those 18 months of desensitization training.
 

Dekka

Just try me..
Joined
May 14, 2007
Messages
19,779
Likes
3
Points
38
Age
48
Location
Ontario
#31
Dekka loves being brushed. She will solicit brushing the way she solicits petting if she sees a brush in your hand.

But then again this is the dog who falls asleep whilst being stripped (ie hairs being ripped out)

She loves water but there is something horrible about bathes. She will stand no arguments in the tub. I think she associates getting bathed with being cold. But even on a hot summer's day she gets cold being wet (tiny dog issues I guess)

Nails are fine. Not a fan of being dremmeled but lies on her back and deals with it. Fine with being clipped everywhere except her face.


No idea about new puppy except he is used to having face and ears shaved.
 
Joined
Mar 5, 2014
Messages
73
Likes
0
Points
6
Location
Northern MN
#32
None of the dogs enjoy baths but they will all jump in the tub for a treat and don't try very hard to escape anymore, same if we use the hose outside. I don't ever brush them and only clean out ears if they look dirty, again nobody thrilled about this but not too hard to convince to stay put. I don't brush teeth.

Nail trimming omg. Bain of our existence. Jersey has never liked it but got worse after her first knee surgery after so many people were messing with her legs and feet. So now she shakes and acts like we are killing her. Ripley doesn't mind it too much but I usually have to lay on her to get her to stay put or do it standing. Nero sees you eying his paws and runs away. He's the type who needs to be sedated to get them done well but we've tried that at two different vets and neither time did he ever go under far enough to be cool with trimming. He's got the system of a rhino or something. I can get one or two done per day at best, he's not too bad on back nails now, but front ones yes. I just want to sit on his head and clip away but don't think that would end well. :rofl1:
 

Maxy24

Active Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2006
Messages
8,070
Likes
2
Points
38
Age
32
Location
Massachusetts
#33
Also felt I should add that Tucker enjoys eating his toe nail trimmings. Less cleanup for me. Fiber, right?
 

Members online

Top