Enough is Enough, you Whipper-snappers!

That's what two dogs would've told me the other day, if they had the ability to speak English.

Two old dogs, a brother and a sister, came into the shop for a bath and neaten. We're not talking eight or ten years old, but sixteen - each! You wouldn't have guessed it from looking at the sister, as she was the calmer of the two. Her brother drooled and panted in his crate while waiting for his bath.

Sis was OK in her crate, but was crying and whale-eyed for her entire bath. I'm guessing that it was the water that was making her panic, because she seemed to ease up a little when I blew it all off. She got to relax in the crate dryer while I got her brother in the tub. He was acting a little squirrelly, so I had the idea in the back of my head to prepare for the worst. Good thing I did - when I turned the dryer on, even with just one motor, he completely wigged out. Thrashing, screaming, and snapping at the air, the poor dog was in full-on panic mode. My first thought was to restrain him so he didn't hurt himself or me. He ended up biting his tongue and flinging a few spots of blood on the tub. Not as bad as I was prepared for, but enough to leave me a little gun-shy of the HV for a day! We put him in the crate dryer with his sister and called mom.

Now, neither one of them ever had a bad reaction to being groomed. We thought it was just that time when age caught up with them, and that their tub days should become a thing of the past. We let them relax with each other in the dryer for a little, then I got the girl out and did her nails, with no problems. Same thing for her brother, he was a total sweetheart for his paws - definitely NOT what I was expecting after his encounter with the dryer! He even gave me a few friendly nudges, as if to say, "Thank you whipper-snapper, I'm getting too old for this!"

I'm glad mom was understanding about everything, but I hope that clients in the future can be the same way. We see people's dogs more often than the vet, after all, and something like this temperament shift is not to be taken lightly. Also, owners need to know how strong a dog's breaking point is, and what better place to hear that than from the groomer? I know that those two dogs are going to have a good road prepared for them, one of ease and quiet. What more could an old dog ask for?

This has got me thinking that someday, I'd like to offer a waterless treatment for senior dogs. No tub and no dryers. Just get 'em on the table, spray 'em good, brush 'em down, towel 'em off, all done! Sure, it won't get them as clean as a regular bath, but there is only so much an old dog can tolerate. Hmm, maybe I'll end up using Dogs in Style?

Wag on, my wise old four-legged friends!