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Grooming an Anxious Dog: How to Safely Groom Your Pup

Have you ever tried grooming an anxious dog? If you have, you’ll be well aware of the challenge it presents!

When your dog is anxious during a grooming session, they are likely to wriggle and writhe all over the place, making the task much harder. Especially if you are using trimmers and scissors; these situations can become dangerous for the both of you!

However, grooming is something that cannot be skipped, regardless of whether your dog hates it or not. So, how can we make this easier for everyone involved?

Let’s take a look into how you can safely groom an anxious dog while also lowering their overall nervousness over time!

How Do You Calm an Anxious Dog for Grooming?

The best thing we can do in the long-term to help groom an anxious dog is to remove the anxiety entirely. We can do this by training the dog to accept handling and acquainting them with the tools.

While this is a long process, it’s the best thing we can do to help a nervous dog realize that grooming isn’t so bad – and there are plenty of treats in it for them if they just remain calm and still!

We have a previous article here that covers in detail how you can teach your pet to love grooming. Start training your dog using the techniques covered within and you will see a significant change in your next grooming session!

Trimming an Anxious Dog’s Nails

This can arguably be the most dangerous part of the grooming process when it comes to anxious dogs. To trim your dog’s nails, you need them to stay as still as possible, as any movement could cause you to accidentally cut the nail too short.

This causes pain and bleeding, and will likely make the already nervous dog even more fearful of the process.

Therefore, you must acquaint your dog with the trimmer and how it feels on the nail beforehand. By rewarding them with treats during this process, they will likely be much calmer when it comes to actually cutting the nail.

If your dog is still a little nervous, it can help to have someone help hold them still. However, if it looks dangerous at any point, stop what you are doing and try again another time after some more training.

How to Clean an Anxious Dog’s Teeth

Trying to get a toothbrush into an anxious dog’s mouth can be a near-impossible task! Therefore, it’s very important that we get the dog used to handling and the toothbrush beforehand.

By using the techniques outlined in our previous article, you should find over time that the dog will be a lot more accepting of the brush and the opening of their mouth.

Another trick to make things easier is to use a doggie toothpaste that also functions as a treat! There are many different kinds of flavored dog toothpaste on the market that a dog will happily open their mouth for!

Remember to take things slow; if your dog is showing signs of nervousness still, it’s completely fine to just brush a few teeth, reward them, then come back to the others in a day or two.

Grooming an Anxious Dog – How We Can Help

With the tips above, you should be well on your way to having much easier and quicker grooming sessions.

Remember to match the pace of your dog; don’t rush or you will risk scaring them, putting you back to square one. Talking softly to them and rewarding good behavior can also help to ensure a good grooming session.

Keep in mind that our professional groomers at Groomit are always happy to help. They have plenty of experience in grooming nervous dogs and will have their very own tricks and tips!

As proper grooming shouldn’t be skipped, if you’re struggling why not leave it to us? Our expert groomers will be able to do an amazing job with your dog, helping them to remain healthy and adorable!

Make an appointment now!

Ryan

Ryan Jones

Ryan is a freelance writer for hire specializing in Pets and Animals. He works closely with various pet sites with the aim to educate people on everything there is to know about our cute furry companions. When he isn’t writing professionally he is usually keeping his cat Snow out of trouble!

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