Grooming Problem

[JodiWeigelt]

I have a 7 mo old standard poodle that requires brushing and grooming. He bites at the brush and gets anxious unless he’s chewing on something. I took him to the groomer for a bath and she really struggled with his biting at the brush ... she said it just kept getting worse. He came home pretty anxious having a hard time self regulating. Any suggestions?

[Adrienne]

Hello Jodi,

I really feel for puppies and dogs who need to see the groomer and struggle with it. We can help them though at home and hopefully with a little collaboration from the groomer. 

Usually, with pups who try to bite the brush, it can stem from play behavior, or something a little deeper, that is, not being used to being handled/groomed. Sometimes dogs may be used to it, but at some time, come to perceive grooming as something unpleasant either because the dog dislikes being restrained or may have felt a little pain when there was a tangled mat, or maybe the pup just finds the whole combo of things aversive. 

With pups who want to play, the accompanying body language  may include high-pitched barking, a  play face and relaxed, wiggly body. With pups who do not like to be brushed, you'll see them trying to wiggle away, cowering and biting the brush or hands in hopes of stopping the interaction. The accompanying body language is different from a puppy being playful. It may include any of the following: growling in low, guttural tone, snarling, trying to escape, overall tense body. 

I assume from your description that your pup is not a happy camper in being groomed. So in such cases, we can do several things to ameliorate the situation. Here are a few/tips ideas:

Create positive associations. If your breeder hasn't acclimatized your puppy to being groomed, not all is lost. It's not too late to start introducing your puppy to the ABCs of being handled groomed. The goal is to create positive associations with grooming so that the pup no longer dreads it. With time, your pup may willingly jump on the couch in anticipation of being groomed! Keep tasty treats in one hand, while you brush your puppy with your other hand, or have a helper feed the treats as you groom.

  This method outlined below is based on desensitization and counterconditioning, two behavior modification techniques. 

Here is a read on desensitization:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/desensitization/

Here is a read on counterconditioning:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/counterconditioning/

Here's an example on how to apply these in a grooming setting involving brushing: 

Sight of Brush= Treats. So turn the presence of the brush into something wonderful. Hide the brush behind your back and then present it to your puppy. Feed a tasty treat when your puppy looks at it or sniffs it. Then, once your pup has finished eating the treat, hide the brush again behind your back and rinse and repeat the sequence. This will communicate to your puppy that treats happen only contingent upon the brush being present!

Placement of Brush= Treats Next, start placing the brush on your puppy's back (or any area he doesn't mind too much), and feed a treat as the brush makes contact, brush touch/treat, brush touch/treat, brush touch/treat. Repeat several times, until your puppy looks forward to being touched with the brush.

Passage of Brush= Treats Next, start passing the brush with a small stroke, and simultaneously feed a treat. Once done eating, stop the brush stroke. Rinse and repeat until your puppy seems comfortable with that. Then, move on to brushing different areas while you feed treats.

 Warning: careful with the tail and elbow, tummy area as many pups struggle with that, be very gentle and feed higher value treats as you pass the brush and once done, stop the treats.

Keep sessions short and sweet. Pups do better with briefer grooming sessions versus long, tedious ones. So split the grooming into several segments. 

Watch for signs of tension. As you unfold the above exercises, it's important to always monitor your puppy to ensure he remains calm and relaxed and that you progress gradually going at your pup's pace. If your puppy at any time shows signs of struggling, take a step or two back in the process and work more at those levels. Always keep you puppy under threshold!

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/

Now to the collaboration part:

Ask your groomer to keep doing the work you have been doing. Supply him/her with some goodies to keep that mouth busy, since you said that you pup gets anxious unless he's chewing on something. Give your groomer something to provide your pup to lick from one hand as he/she brushed your poodle from the other. I like to use what I call the "hand-made Kong. See attached picture.

If your pup is used to eating from a Kong and has a gentle mouth, this can be an option. Practice at home, place some tasty treats or dog -safe foods (even soft like peanut butter or Kong brand spray to stuff toys may work) and let him work on getting it out. 

Another option is to provide your groomer with what's called a Lickety stik which is sort of like a tube that your dog can lick or a Lickety Mat which is a mat that one can place some soft canned food or peanut butter on that the dog can lick. 

I feel it's important to tackle this issue early as we don't want our pups to come home from the groomer repeatedly stressed.  I suspect that such repeated exposures may lead to dogs who dislike being touched and restrained overtime, and it may then generalize to vet visits and hand shyness with strangers who may be trying to pet them. if your puppy is coming home stressed despite this, it may be worthy seeking a groomer that is certified by the Fear Free Groomer Certification Program, a program that aims to take away the stress from groomer visits. 

Under the fear free certified professional search bar you may find one near you:

https://fearfreepets.com/resources/directory/

I hope this helps!

Keep me posted on how things go and I am always here if you would like to do some deeper troubleshooting.

Best,

Adrienne