Your Dogs First Time
For a dog who has never been in a mobile dog wash van before and been groomed by someone different with all the grooming gadgets it can be a very scary experience. All the different smells of other dogs and noises coming from machines which the dog does not understand. The first time a dog has a clipper run over it’s body can be very upsetting for the dog, especially for a puppy as they have not got a clue what is going on. The same with the Turbo dryer, they may be thinking, is this going to hurt me? Some dogs will try and bite the clipper and Turbo dryer nozzle as they may be thinking they are being attacked.
What we can do to make it a more pleasant experience?
As a Dog Listener I understand dog behaviour and know to have no eye contact with the dog at the beginning and do not talk to them and stay calm through any situation. This will make the dog see that I am not a threat to them and I am acting like a leader who they can trust and keeping my pulse rate down will keep theirs down too. For puppies especially, every gadget can be like a monster and we have to take little steps, very gradually building up every grooming process. This is why it is important to groom dog’s in your home first as often as possible so they get used to a bath, hair dryer, brushes and scissors. The first time we may only be able to groom a little, bath a little, and have to towl dry instead of using the hairdryer. But in my experience over time as dogs get used to me and my van they generally calm down and start to understand that grooming is an incident in their lives that has to be completed and hopefully they come to enjoy it and look forward to all the pampering!
Of course some dog’s who have a more confident laid back personality love grooming from the start and can’t wait to jump in the van and be groomed by me!
