Moxie is a Shih Tzu mix and behaves like a perfect gentleman when groomed until you get to his face. Then he has a conniption fit, and it is quite a challenge to trim around his eyes and other delicate facial parts when he is tossing a tantrum. What is a well-intentioned groomer to do?
Some dogs genuinely struggle with accepting having their faces handled by groomers. There can be a variety of reasons for this. Here are a few:
- Lack of training - If a puppy is not exposed to having its face handled early, it can set that dog up for a lifetime of difficulties when being groomed.
- Vision problems - If a dog is blind or has some partial vision loss from cataracts or other ailments, it can be frightening for them to have us approach their face with our hands and tools. Imagine if you had vision problems and someone tried to touch your face repeatedly. How would you react?
- Pain - Many of the pet dogs we groom have some degree of dental disease. Pain from periodontal disease can make dogs very sensitive about having their faces handled, brushed, or clipped. If you have ever had a toothache, you will understand.
In Moxie's case, he was rescued from an unfortunate situation when he was a little over a year old. He had never been groomed before and was severely matted from his nose to his toes. His first haircut was done at a veterinary hospital under sedation. He's come a long way since then and is groomed regularly, but he still doesn't like to have anyone touch his face.
To complete his grooming, we have to get creative. He enjoys his bath, and by trial and error, we discovered he would allow a little brushing on his head and face while he is wet. Once he has been washed, we put some conditioner on his coat, brush it, and comb it as much as he will tolerate. We have also discovered that when we have him wrapped in a towel after his shampoo, he is so happy he will let us use scissors to snip off a little hair over his eyes and around his mouth. We do as much of this as we can before he loses patience. Once he is dry, we put a muzzle on him so he can't bite the scissors or brushes and do the best we can with the rest of his face. He never looks as cute as we hope, but he goes home clean and neater.
If vision impairment is behind the problem, try this trick. Do as much combing, scissoring, and clipping as you can from behind the dog. It will feel awkward, but if you are working from behind, the dog will not have the possibly frightening visual stimulus that occurs when you work from the front. Again, you may not achieve grooming perfection, but often, you can get firmly into the land of "Good Enough!"
If the dog is in pain from a dental infection, many groomers refuse to continue working on the dog until the owner has resolved the problem with their veterinarian. Advocating for what is best for the dog is always a good choice.
If you are grooming a dog that has a hard time when you work on its face, try to figure out why and think outside your standard techniques to find ways to make the process easier for the pet.
