Cocker hates to be groomed

C

CarolnBella

New Member
I am Bella's new foster mom, I have had one cocker in the past and did some great clipping on him.
Bella I am told, and have seen.. hates clippers... hates scissors (tries to bite them).
But can hardly see and her ears ... not matted but not great either.
Paws.. hairy as small bear rugs.
SO besides a pro groomer.. any ideas?

Thank you
Carol
 
Take everything very slowly, and use lots and lots of positive reinforcement in the form of VERY yummy treats to convince her that grooming is good. It sounds like she hasn't been groomed a lot, so it may not be that she doesn't like grooming, but that she's afraid of it.

Turn the clippers on and let them run (sit them on the table or floor beside her) while feeding her super yummy treats. Then turn it off and stop feeding. Repeat the cycle several times over a few days, and eventually when you turn the clippers on she'll get excited and start looking for treats.

Next step is to have the clippers beside her face, ears, body, etc while somebody else continues feeding her the awesome treats as long as the clippers are running. Always stop the flow of treats once the clippers are off. You want Bella to realize that the clippers mean treats, and that it's a VERY good thing when the clippers come on.

Next step is to actually start using the clippers while a helper (husband? friend?) feeds her. At this point peanut butter might be easiest to use, since she can lick it off a spoon or fingers. By this point, Bella should be much more relaxed about grooming, and you shouldn't have to worry about biting.

HOWEVER, if she continues to attempt to bite (or snap) then I recommend using a nylon muzzle to protect yourself while grooming. Her bites would most likely be fear-related, so it wouldn't be her deliberately trying to hurt you.

Hope this helps!
 
you might think I'm crazy insane, but I usually don't like to use a muzzle, but will on occasion.

So, what I have done in the past for spazoid dogs is give them 1 melatonin (found in drug store, to calm them down about an hour before grooming) and taken the small empty jar of peanut butter, put a few tablespoons of peanut butter or squirt cheese or whatever, and poked holes on either size... tied yarn or whatever I have (usually elastic) and made a small muzzle with that, but it's also two-fold. They get to lick peanut butter while you clip really fast the first time and get them used to it.

After a while I don't need the jar muzzle, and just use a little dixie cup of peanut butter on the table and they go for that instead of your hands, the scissors, the clippers etc.

I go slow at first and do it a little at a time. We like positive reinforcement, but sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

You don't want to get bitten and you don't want to have to sit on the dog. Of course a grooming table with an arm and noose help you have more control -- not sure if you are using a table or top of washer/dryer etc.
 
I used Linny's suggestions of a peanut butter jar on my one baby that was hard to groom. It worked great on him. His coat never looked as good as my others, but, at least he was neat.
 
I did use some positive re-inforcement do clip her bangs a bit, but not a treat.. luckily I live for peanut butter n dogs!! and have lots of small treats.

Carol
 
And when you get Bella all settled down you can come over and work on Merlin! ^_^ My little rescue guy absolutely hates getting groomed and has a real thing about me brushing his back end. No problems with the clippers but the scissors and brushes are poison to him. I use Rescue Remedy and Fruit Loops - he adores Fruit Loops. Last grooming was actually not too bad but a little at a time is key. Thankfully I have the option of just taking my time and doing one leg at a time. Down you go for a bit and lets have at it again when you calm down some. Monte went a week once half groomed. Seriously - left side all spiffed, combed, trimmed. He had enough and started to fight so I let him down. Did not have time to go back and finish for almost a week! Now he lets me groom him all nine yards in one sitting! YAY :)
 
I've trimmed half of Gabby too when he had a fit. It was real obvious looking with the paws.
 
I just adopted a new cocker named Bella. And she fought the whole way. I just gave her first cut yesterday with the help of my husband. She had tons of matts under all that hair so it all had to go. The peanut butter did not work for her. We tried treats too. I read this thread before I gave her cut too, but the only thing that worked was the distraction of the neighborhood cat. She just stared at the cat. So as long as she could see the cat, I was able to finish her feet and around her face. 2012.10.26 Bella.jpg2012.10.28 Bella.jpg
 
Laura, I think you did your best but there's no telling what experiences she's been through. Grooming may have been too much for her. Please be patient. I'm sure she'll warm up to you but you need to earn her trust.

She has a sweet face BTW.
 
Now that she has been shaved I would bet that with no matts she might be easier to groom in the future. Try just using a soft brush on her coat, gentle face washes and while you are cuddling her just play with her feet. She will soon learn you are not going to hurt her and be less frightened with each grooming. Treats help a lot :), she is very cute.
 
Laura she looks beautiful. Manuel is right, sometimes it just takes time for them to learn to trust and love again. You can try some rescue remedy next time.. perhaps that would keep her calm(er)
 
Thank you Manuel! I agree! Hopefully in time she will learn that I am only trying to help her. At least she loves the bath part. She sat down in the tub and it was like she was in a spa!
 
Definitely play with her feet and ears often. This seems to be the spots that cockers earn their bad reputations over. I have basically played with hucks feet and ears since the beginning. Now I can pretty much do anything with him. You could play with her feet, and when she doesn't pull away give her a treat.
 
I'm more used to dealing w/horses that don't want to be groomed than dogs! And w/them, I've found that time, encouragement and slowly introducing grooming equipment works.

Last horse I had to deal w/was a 17 hand ex race horse. And while I dog might bite, w/a horse you have the added problem of getting kicked! I don't know if this would work w/a dog or not, but what I did w/him was hold a brush on him and hold it there until he stopped dancing around. Then, I gave him a lot of praise and a treat. It took time, but I got to where I could groom him w/no problem. His owner, on the other hand still had problems, but wouldn't listen to me since she had been around horses for much longer, gone to school for horses, etc and I didn't get my first horse until I was in my 40s.
 
Dizzy you did the exact thing you should have with a horse...you were teaching "release of pressure." A horse is a prey animal and by nature are afraid of many things...in the wild "fear" is there survival. That is why they will spook so easy at the slightest new object or sound. When training horses they must face their fear,which you did by letting her see and smell and then lying the brush on her...when she calmed down and was standing quietly you removed the brush and rewarded her...you just taught her the brush was not going to kill her and the pressure was taken away when she was good. This is called natural training...which is training a horse based on it's natural thoughts and behavior. It is what I have used for years and works wonders on horses!!
Dogs on the other hand are predators (they hunt prey animals in the wild) so training is different with them....instead of flight (which is running away like a horse does) they are fight animals in the wild...so lying a brush on them if they are scared of it could very well get you bitten,instead you have to take things very slow to help them accept scary things. There is wonderful advice here that has been given on helping with clippers or any fear for that matter in dogs...slowly introduce a new item to them,let them make the choice it is ok...with the help of praise and treats.
Even though our animals are domesticated they will always have the thoughts and behavior of the wild in them :)
 
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I know. That's what I use on all my horses, plus any that I have to work with. I've studied natural horsemanship since I got into horses. I have a rescue Arab, and I've had people that are shocked when they realize she's an Arab because of how calm she is. Plus, I trail ride her in either a bitless or a rubber snaffle. People are expecting her to take off w/me, but she never does. When I got her, she was 5 yo, and unhandled. I've done all her training and get more satisfaction out of riding her than any horse I've ever ridden.

The other horse I was dealing w/was on a horse farm where I was working. I don't know how many cross ties he broke when the owner tried to do anything w/him, but he never did w/me. I watched her one day and I knew the horse was getting ready to explode, but she didn't see it. And, sure enough, he broke the cross ties.
 
Hi all, on the subject of grooming could someone advise how to get oil out of the hair on and around Lexi's ears after having ear drops for a week, I'm terrified of washing them and getting water in her ears. I have read that rubbing baking soda into the hair then brushing used like a dry shampoo might help....what do you all think ?
 
A 50/50 solution of dawn dish soap and water works too. Put cotton inside the ears to keep out water.
 
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