Even though I've been grooming for years, there are still the occasional dogs that make my grooming life miserable. Here's the situation: A little Shih Tzu mix that hates grooming so much that he bites (usually successfully) every session. He is serious about it, too. I can't fire him because he belongs to long-time clients who adopted him as an adult and I am their last resort. He has an unknown history, but we assume that at some point in his life he had very bad grooming experiences. He can be good for portions of the groom, but hates certain things, like nail trims (of course) and a hand reaching around to swing his back end around (he faces me at all times "the better to bite you!").
I have tried:
- Trazadone (no discernible effect)
- Muzzle (only pisses him off, and he usually manages to remove it) EDIT: Have tried soft and basket muzzles - he manages to remove them all.
- Elizabethan collar (cone) (keeps him from biting me but pisses him off, and of course I can't work on all of him with it on)
- Sling (usually works for parts of the groom, but still makes him angry)
- Treats (will not take them on the grooming table)
- EDIT: Not proud of this, but I have also been very stern with him and yelled. Only pissed him off more.
It's not just me - he has been like this with every groomer they have tried, and he also bites them at home if they try to brush him or cut his nails.
The weird thing is that he is a lovebug for everything else! I have boarded him in the past and he loves to snuggle with me. I will be boarding him again in a few weeks for several days, and I'd like to work on him slowly to see if we can make any headway with grooming. Of course it doesn't help that his fur is cottony, and mats when you look at it! Last time I groomed him, I shaved him with a 4, and that helped a little since I wasn't trying to brush out mats, but he still managed to bite me pretty badly.
Any hints of what has worked for you? His owners are very willing to work with me on trying to get him over this anger, so I have hopes that we can make strides, but any advice is welcome. Also, has anyone found a bite-proof glove that actually gives you enough flexibility to still be able to use your hand to hold the dog?