Hunter

Hunter is one of the many special dogs I work with but has a unique situation. Unfortunately for him, he has had several bad experiences with various groomers during grooming sessions. These situations have led Hunter to become reactive during grooming, biting or snapping at scissors or clippers. His current groomer contacted me in concern for his safety. She is Fear Free Certified and had already been working with him. She made a bit of progress herself, but not enough for everyone to be safe, including Hunter. I agreed to a consultation with the groomer, Hunter's family, and Hunter. During this time, I would see what his triggers were, his likes and dislikes, and doing calming massages with distraction during grooming to see if we could have a better overall experience. The family does give Hunter anti-anxiety medications prior to all grooming appointments, but that hasn't been enough. At that first appointment, the family and groomer expressed concern that Hunter may end up needing full sedation for grooming if we couldn't figure out a way for him tolerate grooming safely. During the session, I discovered that Hunter is sound and touch sensitive as well as very particular about how he likes to be held. While he tolerated a calming massage therapy treatment during grooming very well that first day, he still tried to bite the scissors or clippers a few times. The groomer said this was a huge improvement from previous sessions, though! So we continued on to the next session a few weeks later. By the third and fourth sessions, he had begun to trust me, allowing me to hold him how his family holds him (as seen in the photo). He tolerates the overall grooming much better! Biting during grooming has become more rare and usually it only happens if he has been startled. He even has given us kisses occasionally during grooming! He is still sensitive around his face, but we're making improvements and progress at every visit!