[Dailydrool] Question About Grooming

[Esther Strom]

Why not have your vet trim Philby's nails? He seems to be much more understanding about stressed dogs...

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Esther Strom
Visit my Etsy shop: http://HookedByEsther.etsy.com



----- Original Message ----

 Our rescue basset, Philby, behaved badly yesterday at the groomer.  She said he tried to bite her when she was clipping his nails.  He's a big boy (over 70 lbs) and very strong, so he gave her quite a run.  He was much more difficult to handle than our older basset, Tucker, who has been seeing her for several years.  This was only the second visit for Philby.
 
Philby didn't do well when the vet came last month.  The vet muzzled him because he was nipping, which is fine with me.  At the time, I just figured it was fear/anxiety, and the vet didn't seem to upset about it either.  (Earlier during the visit he had to "bag" one of our cats to vaccinate.  He takes this stuff in stride.)
 
Anyway, the groomer seemed pretty alarmed, so much so that she called our vet to let him know about it.  I don't know what to think.  Philby is the biggest baby at home.  The cats slap him around all the time, and he just backs away.  If Tucker gets offened and takes an alpha position (snapping/growling), he backs away.  He was watching an ant one day, and jumped backwards when it started moving towards him.  He has never shown any type of aggression towards anyone who has come to our house, nor towards any animal we've come across during a walk, even loose dogs.  It's exactly the opposite - he LOVES everyone!  We even had a new pet sitter this vacation - a total stranger - come stay at our house to take care of the pets.  He said he had a great time with the dogs.
 
I talked to my vet today - he assured me that as long as he didn't show any aggression to us at home or anyone we have come over, I shouldn't "lose any sleep over it."  He thinks some animals just don't like to be messed with, and a lot of dogs really hate to have their feet touched and especially their nails clipped.   He said he has lots of clients like this.  He's not bothered by it at all.  
 
Both of our bassets have very hard, thick nails that are difficult to cut.  I'm going to borrow a dremel and see if they handle that any better. 
 
Philby has never had basic obedience - he already "obeyed" when we brought him home.  If I hear him getting into something, I can correct him from the other room with a stern "no!" and he leaves stuff alone.  He's tends to pull on the leash, but he's by no means uncontrollable.
 
Thoughts?  Ideas?  Suggestions?  Thanks in advance!
 
Mary Lee

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