Grooming Anxiety

If your dog finds going to the groomers difficult, it can make keeping up with their coat, skin & nail health complicated. Missing out on regular grooming can cause skin irritation and infection from unkept coats, and persistent overgrown nails can, over time, even impact joint health.

If you currently have a puppy, you have the luxury and advantage of time on your side, and acclimatising your little one to the grooming experience at an early age is a great way to set them up for worry free grooming their whole life through. A bath, blow dry and nail trim every few weeks allows your pup to get used to and enjoy the sounds and sensations of routine grooming. Your groomer should always have Puppy and Sensitive product options available for use during these early grooms.

If your dog is older and hasn’t agreed with grooming for a while, then there are steps we can take as parents to ease their angst and get them back on track with their cosmetic health. Determining the cause of the anxiety can help to whittle down what it is your dog is feeling and why; Have they had a particularly bad grooming experience? Did they experience pain during a groom (excessive brushing of matted hair, nails cut too short to the quick causing a bleed, any cut or broken skin)? Were they handled without due care and patience? Are they nervous or wary around strangers? Are they unsure around loud noises or unusual surfaces?

From here, we can try to desensitise our dog to their trigger. Building up a tolerance for equipment (check out Episode 10: Hassle Free Handling for how to do this), noises, people and places, and to rewiring their emotional associations with grooming is a slow and steady place to start.

Large and busy grooming environments can be overwhelming for even a confident client. With multiple groomers, dogs, driers, showers, clippers & more, there is an awful lot of stimulation in an often small space. Stainless steel baths with high sides are noisy, scratchy and restrictive, as the running water echoes through it and wet and soapy paws scratch and slip across it. Some industrial hair driers in use in the current market beg the question; if your groomer needs to wear ear defenders to use their equipment, how must your dog be feeling on the receiving end without them? You want to be able to see where your dog is being groomed, and open salons with transparency will make sure both you and your dog are happy with their experience (however, don't be that owner with their nose against the glass the entire groom...!)

K9 Anytime Grooming has been designed from top to bottom with your dogs in mind. An entirely marble salon with baths & steps sand etched, honed and finished with an anti-slip seal for a safe spa experience promote comfort and confidence underfoot. Soft flow shower heads fall quietly on the marble baths, eliminating unnecessary noise for a near silent shower experience. The open plan design promotes calm without confined spaces and ensures dogs are safe and secure without force. An elevated bath alongside an open walk in shower welcome dogs of all sizes, ages and agilities, avoiding unnecessary climbing or lifting and are free from enclosed, restrictive and intimidating spaces. Particularly poignant in the current climate, K9 Anytime Grooming is disinfectable from floor to ceiling.

K9 Anytime Grooming is unique in operating alongside and in conjunction with our double award winning Doggy Daycare. A K9 Anytimer’s groom is sandwiched between playtime, as they attend daycare to race around, play and socialise with friends all day, and finish up with a bath or groom before hometime. Often dogs visit their groomers for the sole purpose of their appointment, and so anxiety can be triggered by the ritual of a particular car ride, or recognition of where they have arrived. At K9 Anytime, our dogs have the luxury of exerting their energy, having a fantastic time in a place they know with people they trust, and by the time their appointment comes around at the end of the day they are glad of the rest and pamper session, followed by more chill out with familiar company and friends until home time comes round.

The UK's first grooming establishment with exclusive use of ARTERO UK products, from the creators of internationally renowned Barcelona hairdressing equipment and products. From deep conditioning keratin treatments to coat specific, skin considerate shampoos and a wide range of luxurious extras, at K9 Anytime indulge your dog in a spa experience you'd envy yourself, and that's really what it's all about.

Speaking to your groomer directly to explain your dog's worries will help them to work in a way which is right for them, to ensure that your dog can maintain appropriate hygiene and comfort on as frequent a basis as possible. Watch here for one of K9 Anytime's many success stories on transforming the grooming process for nervous clients.