Aggressive Dogs

[fifi]

The thread about the biting poodle motivated me to ask what you all think of grooming sedated dogs. Being the newest shop in the area I get a lot of dogs that no one else will do. My thoughts are that someone has to groom these dogs. Just because they are aggressive doesn't mean they don't need to be groomed.

I'm not talking about sedating the dog yourself. I have never sedated a dog myself. I have suggested to several owners that they discuss with their vets the different options of sedating their dogs for grooming. The dogs are usually sedated just enough to take the edge off. They are still difficult to groom but they are a little slower to react.

One example of a dog I groom is a schnauzer that has been trained to guard a semi and I have questioned the methods used to train the dog. She is very aggressive but also seems terrified by certain things such as touching her hindquarters. My dad trained dogs for protection when I was a child and this dog does not react with the confidence and self control of a well trained dog.

I do not touch the dog until the sedative has taken full effect and the owner must stay with her. It is the only way to get the dog groomed. I do it because I care about the welfare of the dog. Could care less about the owners needs or wants.

I have never charged extra for aggressive dogs but after seeing some of the posts here I am going to start.

Leslie

[rapuzzled]

Well, I don't know if you work at a vet clinic, but I don't and because we don't have a vet on hand, I don't feel comfortable working with any dog that has been given a sedative, there are just too many risks, too many things that can happen.
I find on top of that that most dogs with a sedative tend to react very strongly against. They fight it because they are in an unfamiliar place, and it makes them even more difficult to work on. Then, of course, as soon as they are home they relax and sleep all day. I just prefer to work with a dog, and if it gets to the point that I cannot groom it without causing injury to myself or dog I send them to the vet. They can groom safely with sedative.
JMO

[DAPER DAWG]

You should definitely charge extra for aggressive and sedated dogs as they are more time consuming and difficult and more dangerous to hande. Most people under the need for the extra charge. Especially when they have probably been through soo.. many groomers already.

[plushpuppy]

The thread about the biting poodle motivated me to ask what you all think of grooming sedated dogs. Being the newest shop in the area I get a lot of dogs that no one else will do. My thoughts are that someone has to groom these dogs. Just because they are aggressive doesn't mean they don't need to be groomed.

I'm not talking about sedating the dog yourself. I have never sedated a dog myself. I have suggested to several owners that they discuss with their vets the different options of sedating their dogs for grooming. The dogs are usually sedated just enough to take the edge off. They are still difficult to groom but they are a little slower to react.

One example of a dog I groom is a schnauzer that has been trained to guard a semi and I have questioned the methods used to train the dog. She is very aggressive but also seems terrified by certain things such as touching her hindquarters. My dad trained dogs for protection when I was a child and this dog does not react with the confidence and self control of a well trained dog.

I do not touch the dog until the sedative has taken full effect and the owner must stay with her. It is the only way to get the dog groomed. I do it because I care about the welfare of the dog. Could care less about the owners needs or wants.

I have never charged extra for aggressive dogs but after seeing some of the posts here I am going to start.

Leslie

I have a friend that grooms at a vet office, I filled in for her and had a Lhasa on my table. We played and he was very loving. I picked up his paw and wham he chompped down on the side of my hand. The vet happened to be watching and immediatly came in with a syringe and sedated the dog. that was the hardest goom I have ever done as the dog was completly knocked out.
I have a couple of dogs that the owners give them a light sedative and it does help I do charge extra for agressive dogs

[milhasavilla]

I also charge extra for aggressive behavior and call it a special need. It does take more time and skill to groom a dog like this, so charge accordingly. I've had my fill with aggressive dogs in this area, I don't mind a challenge, but when it's nashing it's pearly whites at my face nonstop - I tend to draw the line. I then send these clients to the Vet groomer down the road, she'll either groom them there sedated or give them a lite sedative for the next time they come in - its her call. I have seen dogs being groomed while heavily sedated, and it doesn't look fun so I leave it to them and stick to what I know.

[fifi]

The dogs that I have that require sedation are also given a light sedative. If you didn't know the dogs very well you wouldn't even know they were sedated.

[Helly]

I will only groom a sedated or tranquilized dog if there is a vet in attendance. The last dog I groomed that had been given Ace by the owner (without my knowledge) had a grand mal seizure on the table, stopped breathing, and turned blue. Scared the **** out of me.

If they're that aggressive, they should be groomed at a vet's office, under sedation.

[misscatahoula]

I refuse to groom sedated pets. There are too many risks involved. IMO a sedated dog should be groomed out of a vet clinic with vets& techs close at hand. Some pets need to be sedated to effect not weight, and a sedated animal can go into respiratory or cardiac distress . I am too far away from the closest vet to take those kinds of risks. At a shop I worked at yrs. ago we accepted sedated dogs and grooming them was tough, especially the big guys. Some were way too unsteady on their pins; grooming them was nervewracking. No thanks!

[pamperedpups]

Edited.

[jbates]

Never have never will trank em.

I nevr liked yellow page ads that say no Tranquelizers...like most of us do. It is against the law..Hellooooo. I don't know how or where i would even get them.....next booth down from the guy selling pot? What? Only doc tranked was Hortensia, Gretchin gotb pills from vet 2 hrs later I saw her. Goto sleep H. when you wake you will be all pretty. I think it made her irritable, disturbing her snooze. Why can't groomers delete that in ads gives bad impression...I hate to always defend myself. P. groom pal says P---- ans some shops give Benadril,or anti hist drowsey. Didn't know that. Muzzles ues

[diamienono]

I am with Helly. If they are that bad, they need to be under a vets care. Shave them with a 30 so it only has to be done 3 times a year lol

[Shampooch]

I too will not groom sedated animals. I rent the lower level of a vet clinic. I in no way work for the vet, just lease a space in his building. He decided to give an animal an ace injection because it tried to bite him during its vacs and physical then sent it down to me for its grooming appointment without his supervision or one of his techs supervision. The dog went limp on my table and urinated all over my table. I couldn’t readily find a heart beat so I ran upstairs. By the time I hit the top of the steps he started breathing again. Turns out the owner had given an ace pill at home, then the doctor gave him an ace injections. His rate dropped significantly, I think his pulse was only 54. I most definitely didn’t feel comfortable grooming the dog after that. I told the owner she would need to find a groomer that worked in a vet clinic, for a vet, so that her dog could be monitored since it obviously had an adverse reaction to the sedatives. This experience was a scary one, and a huge eye opener.

[KarlaSnyder]

Just not worth the risk IMO. Years ago, I did do mildly sedated dogs-atrovet was the drug of choice. Never had a problem, but I hated doing them as they were so unpredictable when sedated. I'd rather be able to 'read' them loud and clear. Yes, Spikey, we're sending these guys to you!!

[lvdobes]

C'mon guys I work for a vet and I don't want to groom them while they are sedated either. One thing I'm curious about is a couple of you have mentioned a vet sedating a dog when it was acting aggressively. Did they just go ahead and do it or get the owners permission first? At our clinic a pet is never sedated without the owner giving an ok. If they didn't sign a form at drop off then you call and get approval. I've seen several dogs have problems even after Ace. I have seen some groomers that seem to quick to want to sedate a dog, I work with one of them. Since I've been working there I've got a couple of her dogs that I've groomed without sedation. I don't like taking her dogs but after the owner finds out it can be done without then they start asking for me. I don't think she misses them much tho. Personally I think if the dog is so bad it has to be sedated then the owner needs to learn how to groom it.

Lisa

[Jadenlea]

I work in a vet hospital so I groom mildly sedated animals. I havnt needed to do any that have been knocked out totally except yrs and yrs ago one completely viscious chow that had already bitten people and noone could even get near (they had to give him the shot by wrapping the leash around a cage so he couldnt move his head.

Anyway I digress. IF I had my own shop I would still groom animals under sedation. Veteranarians feel confident enough to send these animals home with the drug and to the groomer, outside of their care. Yes there can be side effects but the incidence is very low. ( I personally have not seen on in all the yrs Ive been at the vet hosp 15 yrs) I would do a few things to minimize the risk
1. No Ace. There are other drugs that are much safer that can give the same effects.
2. I would want the owner to have given it to their dogs at home on another day to make sure he had no bad effects. Im not going to be their experiment.
3. Grooming a dog under sedation is almost always a temporary thing for me. Its extremely rare that a dog needs it more then a couple times with me before the owner can do half the next time, then none the time after. Its a tool to allow the dog to relax enough to trust you and see that everything will be ok.
4. I would educate my client about the risks involved so that they are fully aware. I would also urge them to be comfortable talking to their vet about the risks.

Having said all that, I know that mine is a controversial stand but to me, the risks of grooming an aggressive, stressed about to give himself a heart attack dog are greater then grooming a sedated animal. I also believe that I was put on this earth to work with these animals because I have a gift for it, so I wont turn them away so for me its about weighing the risks.

In the end, I would speak to a vet educate yourself about the real percentage of risks and what the safest drug is, and then make your decision based on that.