Setting The Grooming Scene

It has come to my attention that there is a serious lack of knowledge about positive reinforcement and force free training among groomers. As groomers we feel pressured to make wiggling animals look good in a small amount of time. Due to these time constraints there is often little to no time set aside to train the animals in our care how to properly behave during the grooming process. Many groomers will instead resort to yelling or forceful restraint. Neither of these actions teaches the dog what behavior we want from them or give them a positive experience.

Many of these behavioral issues can be prevented by putting in extra effort with training at the beginning of your relationship with your client and their pet. Which means further down the road you will save time, energy and your blood pressure because the dog will be well behaved for his grooms. To help you I will be covering several aspects of grooming and training in the next several blogs.

We will start with setting the scene! Most groomers, including myself, get into a habit of just going to work. We often fail to see what our client, both two legged and four legged, see when entering our salon. This goes for mobiles as well. I try to start by thinking about the perception of my four-legged client, because it’s his reaction that will setup how he behaves for the groom. When you walk into your grooming space try to consider some of the following; how does it smell? How does it sound? How does it make you feel? How do dogs react when walking into your salon? As well as anything else you think a four-legged client might notice.

Smell is important because dogs have a better sense of smell than humans. If dogs smell anal glands, urine and similar odors they may become instantly frightened. This is because when dogs are afraid they may express their glands or pee. If the dog walking into your salon is engulfed with those smells it will assume your salon is a scary place! Make sure to clean these bodily fluids with an enzymatic cleaner made specifically for those odors and rinse tubs regularly with vinegar. Air purifiers and deodorizers will help with this as well.

What do you hear when you are in your salon? Are there dogs barking or crying? People griping? Squeaky washers or beeping electronics? Once again, dogs have extremely sensitive hearing. Any high pitched or loud noises can cause a dog to be nervous or it could hurt their ears. Find a way to fix or muffle any noises like that. When drying dogs put cotton in their ears or use a Happy Hoodie to muffle the noise.

Another big issue can be barking dogs. Dogs bark for many reasons, but most commonly in the salon they are nervous, bored or lonely. While these dogs are stressed themselves they are causing everyone else, dogs and humans alike, to become agitated. The most common method of trying to quiet the dog is putting a towel over the kennel or express grooming (grooming straight through). Neither of these is creating a positive environment for the dog or encouraging them to enjoy their visit. If putting a towel over the kennel quiets the dog I would encourage walking by and popping a treat into the kennel to reward this behavior.  You can also, after a few minutes of quiet, take them out for a cuddle. This is training the dog to see being quiet as rewarding and gives them positive associations with being in the grooming salon.If a towel doesn't work then try keeping a portable crate next to your grooming table with a soft bed inside. Some dogs are not used to being kenneled and alone. So letting them be with you often helps them to calm down. When the dog settles into the bed drop some treats into the crate near his face. Then ignore him. Make him think that relaxing makes treats fall from the sky!

There are two more options to try if none of the previous training methods helped. If you have a receptionist she can hold and cuddle the dog till the owner arrives. You can also try tethering the dog near your table and dropping treats for quiet behavior. But keep a VERY close eye on tethered dogs because they can escape very quickly.

Now, how does your salon make you feel? Is it cluttered and messy? Do you feel stressed and overcrowded? If you can’t objectively look at your salon then ask a trusted friend to give you their impression. The feeling when you first walk into your salon is how you will feel all day. It can also be how your client feels and anything they feel will transfer down the leash to their best friend. If the client sees a dirty smelly salon then they will feel nervous and uncomfortable about leaving Rover with you. So while creating the ideal environment for pets you will also be creating a calming experience for the owner.  If the owner walks in to a quiet, nice smelling, clean salon they will feel safer about leaving their baby. This will make their pet feel more comfortable as well.

Once your client walks in and has a moment to absorb the atmosphere try to greet them by name and with a smile. Your greeting to dog and owner is very important. My greeting is always a Hello to the owner then my attention straight to the dog. How you greet the dog will depend on their behavior when you see them. Are they wagging their tail calmly? Jumping around like a wound up spring? Hiding behind mom? Scrambling for the door?If the dog is hyper then try to greet calmly. If you encourage the excitement they may continue this through the groom or possibly pee out of excitement. Pet them gently while talking in a soothing voice.

For a calm dog wagging its tail you must judge how quickly the tail is wagging. A slow deliberate wag is often a sign of aggression or caution. Try to let the dog approach you. Sit on the floor while calmly talking to the dog and saying its name. With the owner’s permission throw some treats near the dog’s feet. If he won’t eat them this can be a sign that he’s anxious. Spend several minutes coaxing the dog to you. If he still won’t approach have the owner step outside to see if his behavior changes. If it does not change then take this client on cautiously and be prepared for misbehavior. Now, if the dog’s tail was wagging rapidly then this is normally a sign of friendliness.

A dog hiding behind its mom should be approached in a similar way to the aggressive dog. I find “baby talking” will often make nervous dogs feel more open to you since their owners probably do it at home. By letting the dog approach you while showing her how amazing you are (treats, baby talk and possibly cuddles!) she will feel like it was her choice. If you simply snatch the dog away from its owner it will be more likely to be afraid of you. After all, would you feel safe if you were kidnapped??

If the dog is open and friendly make sure to give it lots of attention. This is behavior we want to encourage! What you are doing with these steps is building a relationship with the dog. Have you noticed how a dog will run from someone it doesn't know but will forgive its owner time and again for mishaps? We want to begin establishing that close relationship with our four-legged client. Your first appointment is the best time for this. After the dog approaches you can continue the affection while you discuss services with the owner. This gives you several more minutes of bonding time before you have to take them away from the owner.
Be aware that even though the dog may be bonding to you it’s first priority will still, most likely, be the owner. So if they start to get stressed about the owner leaving, then temporarily distract the dog till the owner disappears. Give them another minute of cuddles then take them to the kennel area.  

How you put the dog in the kennel is also important. If the dog will be on a bottom kennel say “kennel” as you lead them in with a treat or coaxing. If they still won’t go in try sitting on or near the entrance then coaxing them inside. I have even crawled into a kennel with double doors to lead the dog in because they felt safer following me. If the dog still refuses to enter the kennel you may have to try tethering or leaving them with the receptionist. But before you leave the kennel try putting some treats in the entrance for them to eat (assuming they are eating the treats and you have owner permission). That way they have a positive association with the kennel before leaving it. We want to eventually work them into wanting to be in the kennel. For dogs placed in the kennels higher up make sure to give them treats and pet them before leaving.