Dogs communicate with groomers all the time and yet it is not uncommon for us to miss the all-important signs that tell us when we need to slow down, reevaluate our methods and/or cease grooming altogether.
Learning more about canine body language and behaviour cues can significantly reduce the risk of dog bites in the salon and in this post I will be taking you through the top five important ways dogs tell us to stop grooming so that we can begin to make grooming a lot less stressful for all.
Table of Contents
#1 - Facial Cues & Expression
Dog's will use their face to communicate very subtle signs of distress and it is easy for a dog groomer to miss those cues while they are working. It is important for a groomer to keep checking-in with a dog throughout a grooming session to read what a dog is trying to communicate to avoid an escalation of stress.
For example, when dog's feel uneasy, afraid, in pain and/or frustrated, you may be able to identify these common facial cues:
hard stare
lip licking
yawning
whale eye
closed mouth
jaw tension
curled lip
frown lines/crinkled face
unnatural ear positioning
bearing teeth
teeth clattering
salivating
exaggerated tongue flick
#2 - Body Language & Tension
Dogs will also use their body to display more obvious signs of distress, but it can also indicate signs of disease and/or pain too.
When observing dogs it is important to also pay attention to their entire body, looking out for things including:
stiff & tense body
curved/arched back
general curved body
raised hackles
body tension
unbalanced posture
offset gait or weight compensation
hair ripples and/or hair growth disruption
#3 - Significant Behaviour Changes
When dogs perceive their environment as a risk to their safety the Sympathetic Nervous System activates a survival response - the survival responses are 'fight', 'flight', 'freeze', 'fool around' and in more extreme cases, 'faint'.
Behaviour changes that demonstrate moderate-advance stress include:
excessive pacing and/or fidget
panting and/or excessive salivating
humping and/or scratching
excessive licking and/or nibbling
tucked paws and/or tucked tail
unwillingness to interact and/or hiding away
In more serious cases we will see a quick progression through the above behaviours to more dangerous behaviours.
For example, a dog who whines when the dryer is directed at his face will quickly escalate to air-snapping, lunging and even biting should the groomer ignore the signs and carry on drying without consideration of the dog's needs.
'Fight' behaviours include:
clawing and/or trying to escape
growling and/or barking at the groomer
lunging and/or biting the groomer and/or other dogs
When a dog learns that one behaviour does not have the desired outcome, they will instinctively learn to default to more serious survival reactions - this is an autonomic and primitive phenomena that is out-with the dog's control.
During this more serious state, a dog is unable to receive information or follow basic instruction and due to lack of understanding he may be mislabelled as "naughty", "spiteful", "nasty", a "drama queen", "reactive" and/or "aggressive".
A reputable groomer will learn how to avoid pushing a dog over their emotional threshold so that these behaviours never emerge during a grooming session.
#4 - Sudden Compliance/Cooperation
When you are working with a dog who has shown obvious apprehension and resistance throughout a grooming session and then suddenly seems to overcome the issue without any desensitisation or counter-conditioning work, the chances are that the dog is in a 'freeze' response resulting in 'emotional shut down'.
Emotional shut down is caused by prolonged exposure to high stress without the careful and positive introduction to a specific stimulus and/or task.
Signs include:
depressive demeanour
quiet and subdued behaviour
unwillingness to interact and/or respond to cues
delayed fight response (usually when they are in an environment they feel more comfortable in)
Where a specific negative experience is ignored and subsequently repeated several times, emotional shut down will advance to 'learned helplessness'.
'Learned helplessness' is a more advanced and deep-rooted trauma response/condition caused by prolonged 'flooding' and is often confused with successful desensitisation.
While a dog may look like he is complying, even consenting to the task there is a significant underlying emotional risk at play, that will eventually lead to more serious and chronic health issues for the dog.
The only way to achieve cooperation is through a carefully devised care plan that considers a dog's individual needs - this will always consist of a series of positive-based exercises specifically picked to help a dog acclimatise to and build confidence around either a conditioned negative or neutral stimulus.
#5 - Defecating/Urinating
In extreme cases where a dog is subjected to significant trauma (keep in mind trauma is relative and will differ from dog to dog), a dog may defecate and/or urinate involuntarily where they stand.
This is not an uncommon occurrence in the groom room sadly, and in most cases is often blamed on the dog parents not taking their dog out to toilet prior to an appointment - while in some cases this might be true, in many more cases the cause of a dog defecating/urinating in the groom room is extreme fear.
In these instances it is absolutely crucial that a groomer stops grooming immediately and contacts the dog owner straight away.
It could be expected that a dog who has experienced this sort of traumatic event will require the support of an experienced and qualified behaviourist to help relieve some of the trauma and work towards successful rehabilitation.
Question Time: Do you feel more confident in identifying signs of stress in your dog?
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