Fri I got a call from a new client with a 4 yr old Long Hair Chihuahua & the owner says
"...Oh, & she's nasty, I haven't trained her. But everyone says she's fine when I leave."
I say then all I can tell you is I'll give her a try, get done what I can, worst case scenario if she's THAT bad, I won't be able to groom her.
So she comes & the dog is in a carrier. I'm talking to mom & just kneel down next to the carrier to say hello to Cookie. Cookie is growling & showing teeth. I have mom put dog into our holding suite (a 4ft x 4ft enclosure with 3ft walls,open top & a gate )...mom leaves, I give Cookie 10 minutes to "relax".
Talking nice & sweet I crouch down to open gate, dog runs growling to hide in the corner. I slowly held open my palm for her to smell, more growling, more teeth. She was not food motivated, so offering treats didn't work. I tried to just get a slip lead around her neck, but I only had a short one & she was snapping at the air & I was worried about getting bit.
So I put her carrier into the suite, she hops in & I figure now I can maybe put it in the tub & get to her that way.
NO..now she's agressively attacking the carrier.
At this point I'm just SO DISGUSTED. I go back to mom with carrier & explain what happend.
And that my hands are my livelyhood & I just can't risk getting bit.
I really felt horrible because she was a very nice lady & she had traveled about an hour to come to the salon & I have only refused 2 other dogs in 17 years of grooming.
She really wanted the nails cut at least so I suggested she could put a muzzle on & Mom says "Oh, NO! I tried that once & she went to bite me!"
So I just apologized again for her wasted trip. And she said no, no, it's her fault for not training her dog.
I must admit, I gave up pretty easy, but it was late on a Fri nite, & I really just don't have the tolerance to risk my safety for people's stupidity.
And I could have offered a ton of suggestions on how to try to change the behavior, but just got "that feeling" that I'd be wasting my breath.
I still feel like poopy for not being able to groom the 4 pound bugger, though...sigh.
Any feedback is appreciated.
Thanks for reading.
"...Oh, & she's nasty, I haven't trained her. But everyone says she's fine when I leave."
I say then all I can tell you is I'll give her a try, get done what I can, worst case scenario if she's THAT bad, I won't be able to groom her.
So she comes & the dog is in a carrier. I'm talking to mom & just kneel down next to the carrier to say hello to Cookie. Cookie is growling & showing teeth. I have mom put dog into our holding suite (a 4ft x 4ft enclosure with 3ft walls,open top & a gate )...mom leaves, I give Cookie 10 minutes to "relax".
Talking nice & sweet I crouch down to open gate, dog runs growling to hide in the corner. I slowly held open my palm for her to smell, more growling, more teeth. She was not food motivated, so offering treats didn't work. I tried to just get a slip lead around her neck, but I only had a short one & she was snapping at the air & I was worried about getting bit.
So I put her carrier into the suite, she hops in & I figure now I can maybe put it in the tub & get to her that way.
NO..now she's agressively attacking the carrier.
At this point I'm just SO DISGUSTED. I go back to mom with carrier & explain what happend.
And that my hands are my livelyhood & I just can't risk getting bit.
I really felt horrible because she was a very nice lady & she had traveled about an hour to come to the salon & I have only refused 2 other dogs in 17 years of grooming.
She really wanted the nails cut at least so I suggested she could put a muzzle on & Mom says "Oh, NO! I tried that once & she went to bite me!"
So I just apologized again for her wasted trip. And she said no, no, it's her fault for not training her dog.
I must admit, I gave up pretty easy, but it was late on a Fri nite, & I really just don't have the tolerance to risk my safety for people's stupidity.
And I could have offered a ton of suggestions on how to try to change the behavior, but just got "that feeling" that I'd be wasting my breath.
I still feel like poopy for not being able to groom the 4 pound bugger, though...sigh.
Any feedback is appreciated.
Thanks for reading.
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