If you are a long time pet professional, you’ve probably mastered today’s topic. If you are fresh to the industry, you are probably struggling with it.
How do you handle the dog that does not want to cooperate with the grooming procedure?
You’ve heard me say this about dogs before – but let’s do a quick review.
- They are hard-wired to think like a dog.
- They are a predatory pack animal.
- They are silent communicators.
- They read body language.
- They respond to energy.
The most over used word in a dog’s vocabulary is “no.” It’s a common enough word, but it means nothing to them. Why? They hear it all the time. How often is that word spoken every day? Pet owners are constantly “crying wolf” around the dog.
When I first started working with dogs, I worked with a groomer who didn’t have a lot of patience with them. Dogs danced. They panted and drooled. They sat down – a lot. They growled, pulled, snapped, and bit. The groomer was constantly struggling. It did not take long before I began to think most dogs were naughty on the grooming table.