What Your Groomer Wishes You Knew About Your "Aggressive" Dog

Grooming Training: The Ugly Truth Behind Grooming Difficult Dogs

Ever wondered why some dogs seem impossible to groom? Shannon and Tanya from Hound Therapy pull back the curtain on what really happens when pets struggle with grooming sessions. They tackle the widespread misconception that difficult dogs are simply "aggressive," revealing instead how fear, anxiety, physical limitations, and lack of experience typically drive challenging behaviors.

The conversation takes a fascinating turn when they explain how pet parents unwittingly reinforce problematic behaviors. That cute growl when someone approaches your lap dog? You might be laughing, but your groomer faces the consequences when sharp tools need to come near those sensitive areas. The team shares their professional approach to working through these challenges—using patience, positive reinforcement, and sometimes extra hands rather than turning difficult dogs away.

Through a revealing story about a partially-groomed rescue doodle, the pair illustrated the telltale signs that a dog has previously resisted grooming. Those uneven haircuts with untouched feet and faces aren't random—they're clear indicators of a pet that needs specialized handling. Their humanity-over-vanity philosophy shines through as they emphasize early training, short positive sessions, and consistent exposure to grooming environments. Whether you're a pet parent struggling with a reluctant furry friend or simply want to start your puppy off right, this episode delivers practical wisdom from professionals who've seen it all. Ready to transform your pet's grooming experience? Listen now, and discover why Hound Therapy's approach to challenging grooms makes all the difference.

To learn more about Hound Therapy visit:
https://www.HoundTherapy.com
Hound Therapy
3509 E Park Blvd.
Plano, TX
469-367-0009

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to Tail Talk Grooming Chronicles with Hound
Therapy, the podcast where wetalk all things pet grooming,
daycare academy and more.
Hosted by Shannon and Tanya ofHound Therapy serving pet owners
across North Texas, we're hereto share expert tips, hilarious
pet stories and the inside scoopon keeping your furry friends

(00:25):
happy and healthy.
Our motto humanity over vanity.
And don't worry, we don't bite.
Let's get started.
Who let the dogs out?
Who let the dogs out?

Speaker 2 (00:41):
Grooming difficult dogs isn't just about skill.
It's about patience,understanding and safety.
What happens behind the sceneswhen groomers face aggressive,
anxious or untrained pets?
The ugly truth may surprise you.
Welcome back everyone.
I'm Sofia Yvette, co-host,slash producer, back in the
studio with Shannon and Tanya,professional groomers at Hound

(01:03):
Therapy.
Shannon and Tanya how's itgoing todayound Therapy Shannon
and Tanya how's it going today?
It's good, sophia.
How are you?
I'm doing very well, and that'swonderful to hear.
Now let's answer the questioneveryone wants to know when it
comes to grooming training whatis the ugly truth behind
grooming difficult dogs?

Speaker 3 (01:21):
Well, I would say the ugly.
Truth is that a lot of peoplejust their dogs are
misunderstood.
Either they're afraid, labeledaggression, they've got anxiety,
they might have some physicallimitations, matted coats, which
just means usually it's fromthe other three that I just
listed above, or lack ofexperience, which means they
haven't come in.
You know you have a dog.
You think your dog is a puppywhen it's a year old.

(01:43):
With reality, aggression is alabel that's given to dogs just
too freely.
They're not necessarilyaggressive.
There's a lot of reasons that adog can act out kind of like a
child.
So if he's anxious, if there'sstorms out that day, he might be
acting unusual.
If he's not used to riding inthe car and you put him in the
car and every time you take himto the vet, then you bring him

(02:04):
with a groomer.
The groomer reaches down and hegoes to bite you.
A lot of groomers will not dodogs that show any signs at all
of being anything other thanperfect.

Speaker 4 (02:16):
I know of groomers that if a dog even shows like
snarls, shows a tooth, they'llsend it home.
They have to get done.

Speaker 3 (02:24):
Not all dogs like their nails done.
Not all dogs like their nailsdone.
Not all dogs like to be takenfrom the owner.
So there's a couple of thingsthat we do.
We like to get everybody hereto start early, definitely
encourage everybody.
If you have a puppy, four tosix months after that first
round of puppy shots is probablythe best time to bring them in.
We use positive reinforcementsin here.
We keep our sessions real shortand we do them frequently as

(02:46):
that puppy is getting used tocoming in.
Or a new dog, an adopted dog,whatever it is, we're not going
to keep it here for six to 12hours.
It's going to be in and out.
We're going to get them doneand then they're going to come
more often and realize that it'sa little easier to do.
If we need to restrain, inother words, if it's a physical
limitation that the dog isbiting for whatever reason, you

(03:07):
know we'll have two of us sowe'll hold them up.
The biggest is being calm andbeing patient and we do that in
here.
We know that we're alwaysprepared for the unexpected.
They're dogs, they are nothumans.
We give them a lot of humanemotions that they don't really
have.
They're not hard to understand.
They tell you with your bodylanguage.

(03:32):
A lot of people will reinforcea bad habit which then causes
them a whole lot more money downthe line, because every time
this dog is on your lap and yougo to touch him, or husband goes
to touch him, or your wife goesand just like, oh, that's my
dog, and he kind of growls andyou snicker like ha, ha, ha,
he's reinforcing that badbehavior which is definitely not
good.
And so then when somebody elsecomes to grab him, you know, if
that dog doesn't have apunishment or a correction, well

(03:55):
, it's going to continue to doit, and it's going to do it with
everybody.
And then you get, oh, yourdog's aggressive.
That's not to say that somedogs can be aggressive with
other dogs, but here in houndtherapy our dogs are not with
other dogs, unless we know themor there is somebody in the pen
with them so that they'releashed.
We have a big open play areathat they can walk around inside

(04:16):
of.
Before we actually allow themin with other dogs, we don't
just free roam all of theanimals.
I would say the ugliest truth,honestly, is that people are
just ill-informed on somethingthat might be cute and fun at
home is not cute and fun here.
I mean we have scissors thatare nine inches, six inches,
eight inches.
We are cutting in between theirface and we've got their nails.

(04:38):
Our face is right next to theirface.
These dogs have to learn how todeal with a loud blower, with
how to deal with other dogsbarking, people walking by,
people coming in.
We have cats that are in here,so our training for that is, as
I mentioned before, come early.
The earlier you come, theeasier it is for your dog to get

(04:58):
used to it.
If you have a dog you're notsure is aggressive or not, bring
them in, leave.
Bring them in and leave.
Put them in the car.
Get them in and leave.
Put them in the car.
Get them used to the things hedoesn't like short bursts and
then it won't be so bad the nexttime It'll go a little longer
each time.

Speaker 2 (05:14):
Understood and so getting into it a bit more.
What are some of those earlysigns that a dog may be
difficult to groom?

Speaker 4 (05:22):
So we have some rescue groups.
Some are a little moreorganized than others.
We had one not too long agowhere they had this little bitty
doodle.

Speaker 3 (05:33):
We offered to do pads and nails for everybody when
they were in there.
But this doodle was theirperson was very interested in
getting their dog cleaned up.
When she walked in and he was amess.
It looked like somebody hadjust come in and whacked all
over his head with scissors.
He's short in one spot, long inanother.
His feet look like littlematted socks.

(05:55):
His whole back was shaved quitenicely.
He smelled good.
He'd obviously had a bath.
She asked if we could do thenails and she wondered if we
could do a light cleanup.
Now, mind you, this is a rescuevolunteer, not an employee.
So she had just met this dogand she's kind of formed a bond
with it.
And you know, I said we'll doour best and we'll see what we
can do this dog.
He did not want his nails doneat all.

(06:18):
I mean like at all.
Growling, biting, lunging,leafing off the table Took three
of us.
The dog weighs maybe 25 pounds,maybe top.
We were able to finally do it.
We were able to turn theclipper on, rub the clipper on
those feet, let him get used tothe noise and the sounds.
Same thing with the DremelExplain to this volunteer

(06:39):
because she had no idea whatwe're doing.
We've got three peopleessentially on one little dog
and in her mind it's like youknow what is going on.
This is just a little doodle.
I just wanted him cleaned up.
Well, the long and the short ofit is this dog was clearly, and
I could tell by looking at it hewas not good for grooming.
He is in a shelter for whateverreason.

(07:01):
He is in an environment that hedoesn't know.
He was brought into anotherenvironment he didn't know and
he'd come in here looking likesomething the cat drugging.
And the reason that that was isbecause whoever tried to groom
him before he also said we'renot doing my nails, we're not
doing my feet, you're not doingmy face, and so they didn't.
And in here they don't get thatopportunity.

(07:22):
We have to teach them thatthose have to happen.
So I looked at her and I saidlisten.
I said if you see anotherrescue that comes in, I said I'm
happy to try and make themadoptable and look pretty and as
cute as possible.
I said, but if you see thatonly half the dog is groomed and
the parts that are left are thehead and the feet, chances are
that dog bites and she goes huh,that makes sense but I think it

(07:49):
was also a lack of experienceon the dog's behalf, like he 100
possibly was put into a shelterwhen he was young.

Speaker 4 (07:55):
He wasn't that old, no, he was definitely under a
year.
So I think it's just a lack ofthe people that brought him into
this world didn't experiencehim in the world of grooming and
he just never got used to it.
That, sadly, is now his life,until he gets used to it.

Speaker 3 (08:12):
And somebody who tried to groom stopped because
he bit.
So we don't stop because ofthat.
We're going to teach them that,look, it's got to get done.
It may take three of us to doit, but we'll get it safely.

Speaker 2 (08:24):
Get done, it may take three of us to do it, but we'll
get it done safely Well.
Shannon and Tanya, thank you somuch for stopping in today and
updating us on that importantinformation we will catch you in
the next episode.

Speaker 1 (08:42):
Have a fantastic rest of your day.
Thank you.
That's a wrap for this episodeof Tail Talk with hound therapy.
Ready to book your pet's nextgroom daycare stay or grooming
academy tour?
Call us at 469-367-0009 that's469-367-0009 to schedule an
appointment, or visit us onlineat wwwhoundtherapycom.

(09:07):
Serving North Texas with expertpet care.
Until next time, keep thosetails wagging.