Grooming question for my 9 year old cairn

[sanford]

Ruffy never liked to be groomed, but in the last year or so he's been resisting more and more. He was always a challenge, wriggling and squirming with all his might, but now he's added something new and I don't know how to read his body language/reaction. If it's a threat, I will back down... I see no point to forcing an otherwise well-mannered, good-natured dog who has never, ever threatened, curled his lip, snarled or growled, to the point of possibly snapping.

What he does is soundlessly open his mouth very wide, (displaying a remarkably intimidating mouthful of large, sharp, powerful teeth), while twisting his body around to slowly and deliberately aim for my hand with his mouth, but he has never lunged at my hand so perhaps he's just warning me - or is he silently complaining? My guess is that he's wordlessly using "dogspeak" to tell me to stop - or else!

I don't see the point of putting him to the test by persisting to groom so I stop, practically before we start. The result is, I can't do a reasonable job and Ruffy looks unevenly scruffy, but I can live with that, unless someone can advise me as to another approach, or possible solution.

Does anyone else have this problem? 

(Oops! After posting this I realized I should have entered it in the topic: "Grooming" . Perhaps Bradl can move it. Sorry).

Edited November 21, 2016 by sanford

[bradl]

Is he in a grooming noose? Controlling the head can go along way to making grooming easier (or possible).

[hheldorfer]

Buffy does something similar when I groom her, particularly if I attempt to strip some of her hair - just a few small bits at a time, mind you.  She will mouth my hand to express her displeasure - but it's a very restrained "bite" and isn't at all painful.  

You mentioned that Ruffy has been squirmier than usual lately.  Any possibility he has a touch of arthritis and grooming is causing some discomfort?

[Sam I Am]

Jock who had a very strong personality, often required that I use a Soft muzzle when grooming him. I do have a Grooming table and have used the noose , but it scared me to death that with the dancing around they could fall off the table and break their necks. There were time I actually had to catch Jock and thank goodness he never hit the end of the noose. I gave up and went to the muzzle. Brad  how do you stop them from hanging themselves? If their full weight hits  the end  of that noose it could cause terrible damage or worse.

[sanford]

Thanks for your replies, Bradl, heldorfer and Terrier lover!

 I use a grooming noose, but maybe it's not tight enough. As Terrier lover describes, Ruffy dances around on the table, but I'm reluctant to tighten the noose further for obvious reasons. (Online, I've seen "double" nooses for sale -  the overhead arm extends the length of the table, noose at one end for the head, a second noose at opposite end that loops around the belly, in front of the hind legs). This probably works well, but I hesitate to try it.

it was reassuring to know that Buffy does the same "mouthing" to hheldorfer... At least I know I'm not alone! At 9 years old, I'm not suspecting that potential arthritis is causing Ruffy's mouthing, but I will take this possibility up with the vet. However, I'm also aware that some folks stop stripping their senior cairns because their skin is more sensitive as they age, which makes them uncomfortable when undergoing stripping.

I like Terrier lover's method of using a soft muzzle and think I'll go for this!

Again, thanks to all!

Edited November 21, 2016 by sanford

[Dempsy's Mom]

All your pics of Ruffy are of a handsome dude so you must be doing something right. 

[Hillscreek]

I can use two loops on my grooming table but I'm scared to. I use one and try to have a hand on Angus or even round him when I'm doing the back end. Only short sessions. If he got mouthy I would use a muzzle. Got to get the job done some how

[bradl]

Re adjusting the noose. Picture lifting your dog up off the table using your hands … thumb and forefinger holding his head and lifting him from under the mandible, the other supporting and lifting him from under the groin.

Now let him down slowly until his feet are just flat on the table.  Now adjust the grooming arm so that the noose is holding him in that position. In practice I often just put the noose on and raise the arm until he *almost* starts to get lifted of the table. The keeper on the noose should also be slid tight against the occiput. He should be  standing at attention; his head cannot look down and can only swivel left and right a bit. Any attempt to lower his head and he lifts himself off the table. 

Some dogs will indeed lift themselves off the table. Echo used to spin like a rotisserie, literally 360 degrees around, using her neck as the axle. Since the dog is 100% in charge of how much they are "strangling" themselves and can trivially release the pressure by simply standing down, I do not worry in the least that they will hurt themselves.

Re potential dangers. From observation at shows and occasionally dashing over to a neighbor's grooming table to resettle a dog (usually a wild puppy) who slid or jumped off (due to too much slack in the noose and too little attention by the owner) I conclude that while it is possible for a small dog like a Cairn to eventually strangle itself (if left unwatched) it is not going to be particularly disturbed by a brief excursion off the table. I haven't done the math but to break a dog's neck this way (particularly a thick-necked Cairn) you'd most likely have to drop them from a heck of a lot higher than the 12 inches or so of slack that a loose noose could provide. 

 

[bradl]

I tried the anti-sit loop a few times but found them a bit of a pain to work around. Some folks are now using a sort of padded saddle under the dog.

If I groomed any more I'd for sure try one. I'm a sucker for tools and toys of all sort  

Like so many things dog, there are many approaches and virtually all of them work for *some* people or *some* dogs while others have more success with an alternative. Some people have dogs that will stand stock still on four foot-sized pillars while other dogs will happily bungee jump from those things all day.