Grizzly Learns to Love Fear Free Grooming!

- A Blog by Milani (pronounced “Me-Lahni”), our newest Fear Free Groomer 

this is a story with a pleasant ending. 

We know grooming can be stressful for pups especially when past experiences haven’t been so positive. When I first met Grizzly, a 12 year old lab mix, he was so nervous for his bath and nails, he was panting and trying to run away. He couldn’t eat treats from me, and would not let me touch him. The first time he came here, he was not having a good time, so we sent him home with just a little meet and greet in the groom room, and no touching or grooming at all. 

We came up with a game plan to build Grizzly’s confidence not only in grooming, but his trust with me, his groomer! We started by getting Grizzly comfortable in our grooming room. We created treat trails to encourage him to explore, and had a cheese and peanut butter party whenever he came to visit. Peanut butter is his thing! We did this for weeks, eventually including the tub as part of our training routine. Eventually, Grizzly was able to jump on to the table and get his nails done. He was even able to get into the tub for short periods of time, and he could take treats and was no longer panting or trying to run away. 

Eventually he would come in and do the routine, going from the tub to table before I even got his treats out. In our most recent appointment, he was jumping up, giving me kisses, and so excited to see me. Now he can get fully groomed without any restraint or stress. I am so grateful for his wonderful parents who stuck with him week to week, building small steps of confidence. What a reward it is to see Grizzly thriving in his care after just six weeks. See, you can teach an old dog new tricks! I really do love Grizzly. <3