Right, When Vino was young she hated the blaster with a passion... no amount of treats or soft words made any differenct she fought screamed pulled and generally went nuts. It took me a long long time to get to the point we are now when she will just about tollerate it, as long as I go no where near her head or neck. Merlot is fine and just stands there, quite likes it in fact. Pepsi too tollerated it with little fuss. I would like to get young Rioja (The new baby I kept) to accept it without fuss. How do you all start to acclimatize pups to a blaster? I have used it a couple of times with her around as Merlot needs a bath every 2 weeks due to the state of her back (she has cushings and has developed Cacinosis cutis so a fortnightly bath is needed to keep her skin clean and try to avoid secondary infections) The pup is wary and keeps out of the way. I have been very carefull not to frighten her and just chatted to her while I use it on her Granny but she is not keen.
I have tried just sitting with it turned on and giving her treats but she is not food orientated so that is not working at all. If I turn it off she will approach me but thats as far as it goes. I have tried to sit and get her to approach the hairdryer turned on low and not aimed at her but she is wary of that as well. Noises in general do not bother her, hoover/cars/washing machine/tumble dryer/dropping dishes !  not a problem.
Any ideas ?
Aileen

In the parlour I didn't have time for all of that... and I'd use a blaster (Simpsons professional!) on all dogs who came in, except for Yorkies who would be blown out of the window! :)

I would have them secured, front and back, on the grooming bench.  I would have groomed them through, talking all the time, so that they could get used to me.  I would bath them (also elevated and secured) and then, while still standing on the top of the bath, I would talk and hold/tickle under their chin and start blasting the back legs, gradually working forward as they got used to it, until I got to the shoulders/neck.  I'd then turn them round and repeat for the other side.

Some dogs wouldn't mind having their heads blasted, most don't like it and so I would accept that and towel dry, appreciating the drying time that the blaster had saved me on their bodies and legs! :) 

When they came in for their next appointment in 6/8 weeks, they wouldn't bat an eyelid and just look at me as though to say "Here she goes again!"

I believe that in if you act firmly, confidently and positively then they don't think there's anything to worry about and accept these things without a problem. :)

Hi Merlot..my dogs have the blaster on them every week  and they do enjoy it .I never use it on the head or under the tail,and prefer a turbo human drier there.Mine go on a table to be groomed,but seeing the size of your breed I would suggest the dog is on a lead,thus under your control, when you use the blaster as I imagine they are too big to go on a table.
Just like you are doing, I also start the pup getting used to the noise of the grooming tools,the drier, clippers etc by letting them see the other dog  being groomed.
I would also recommend starting with the lower setting on the blaster...mine has two settings...to start with.
You could try using the blaster on a dry dog,using a soft pin brush , and go through the coat as if you were drying it...just for a few minutes ...then next time go to do a proper drying of a wet coat.
... good luck!

Try some cotton wool in her ears.  I know you said she's used to noises etc, but you might find it helps.  I do this when I groom the dogs at work - just remember to remove it afterwards :-)

We don't always agree Westcoast lol but that's exactly my approach too - dog is secured, and you get on with it, holding and reassuring them as you go. They always seem to settle - I've never had one kick up a major fuss, and the ones who aren't keen are much better the next time they come as they have learned it's just a loud noise and doesn't hurt them. I try to project a vibe of 'I'm not going to hurt you but this has to be done'. :-)

My toe is still black after buying a blaster before Crufts to dry my pair! I had just washed the first and had him on the lead with the drier on a ledge (my fault I know) and when I switched it on Otis went mental and managed to knock it of the ledge onto my foot. I continued to dry him and then wash and dry Geno before looking at my foot. I was black and I could barely hobble, all this 2 days before Crufts. Luckily I got my movement back in time but I'm glad no one could see my foot.

The youngster just about tolerates it but the other 2 head for the hills when they see it coming out, another waste of money.

I had one litter of pups who were so mucky they ended up having a couple of baths a week so rapidly got used to my blaster. Once I bathed 3 to take to the vets for their first vax; pee, poo, vomit during the car journey so were also bathed on their return. Actually with my blaster I can take the nozzle off so it's a bit more gentle, still noisy but I hold them firmly on my grooming table and just get on with it, starting at the back end and work my way forward.  By the 2nd/3rd time they're not bothered which is handy to have them looking nice the day they go to their new homes. I also have the blaster turned on before we go into my grooming room.

Aileen, have you got a crate you could put your pup in and have the blaster going pointed at her from a distance if restraining doesn't work?

I really don't like the idea of flooding that some have suggested, there is no need of it. Flooding is an attempt at a quick fix and if all dog groomers apply such tactics, I'm never using one nomatter what breed I own!
Can you imagine what it would feel like to be tethered to the spot or locked in a cage and then be forced to endure something that you find frightening - that's horrible :( (it also carries the risk of making the dog MORE worried about the thing you have forced upon it).
There is a difference between using a calm, confidant approach to help a dog put it's trust in you & gain confidance from you and forcing it to endure something it doesn't like - the latter being very CM :(

>I have tried just sitting with it turned on and giving her treats but she is not food orientated so that is not working at all.

Does she enjoy mealtimes? You could have the blaster turned on in a different room (or the same room if that is not stressing her out) while you are preparing her meals and while she is eating them.

Any thing she enjoys - especially if it's allready part of her daily routine, can be used aswell - have the blaster on in the back ground.

Can you pretend to use it on her? ie run it over her as you usually would, but without it switched on? If so (if she's happy with that), that can be done several times per day, pairing with something she likes (a fuss, being brushed, chewing a toy whatever floats her boat :) ).

Anything you can think of that can be used to build a positive association is going to get the results you want, as long as you're still doing what you're doing - not pushing her past her comfort zone.

Buster hated having his nail clippers naywhere near him as a pup, I would practice several times every day, picking times he was relaxed or waiting for his food to finish soaking (he loves food so he is always very eager to please while he's waiting for his meals!). To start with I would just bring the clippers towards him (not touching him), give him a treat and remove them repeat sevaral times & end sessions. We progressed to gently touching a toe with them, then keeping them touching him for longer & longer periods. Then touching a claw. Then 2 claws etc. Then put them around his claw. Then cut ONE claw & remove, end session with clippers and have a relaxing brushing session. Etc..etc.. etc..As it got to the stage of him being fine with claw clipping, I would only do it when he was relaxed not when he was waiting for food, so as to try to pair the nail clipping with relaxation.
He will fall asleep with me clipping his claws now, he'll flop out with a paw in my lap while I clip & file his nails and he's snoring in a contented way :)

Slowly, slowly catch a monkey :-D

Have to agree Lucydogs, I've used a blaster for over 20 years on all breeds and have always started at the back end working towards the front, even the most nervous of dogs accept it.  I also positioned my body, left arm so dog can't turn towards it preventing a blast in the face.  As I approach the head the main nozzle comes off for less power and dogs accepted it very well.  At each groom they are less bothered by it in fact most owners will say they are more bothered by the hoover at home!  If it is used correctly, not allow to whip around and not used directly in face or bum then this method works very well.  The dog is not forced, chased or chastised into accepting it, it is simply switched on and we got on with it.  Babying and fussing causes more panic, once the dogs realise there is nothing to fear they relax.  A small towel or band wrapped around the heads cuts down noise.  I never used the blaster on tiny dogs for the reason mentioned, they'd blow away!!!

Babying and fussing causes more panic, once the dogs realise there is nothing to fear they relax.

I agree 100%.  Obviously some people have different skills to others. :) :)

I've never in 20 years grooming 6-7 dogs a day for 20 years, had a dog who wasn't happy with the blaster.

> Obviously some people have different skills to others.

Dogs geenrally will behave differently with thier owners than with other people.
A dog in pain or fear may be more inclinded to allow those feelings to show when in the comfort of it's own home with it's owner as it does not fear being targeted for showing 'weakness'. Much like when you have a dog with a major limp at home, but get it to the vets surgery and it walks like there is nothing wrong - dogs have an insticive need to keep 'weaknesses' hidden, it's a survival mechanism. Push the dog past it's limits of being able to outwardly show it's coping and you push it into defensiveness or phobia territory.

Just because a dog will not show it's fear at a groomers, it will simply give in and put up with what is being done to it, does not mean the dog has enjoyed the experience or looks forward to the experience.

I'm kind of on the fence with the 'groomers' and Mastifflover.  If it were your living, then you just need to get on with it and the dog, wether good or not, just needs to accept the blaster as part of the grooming routine.  But, as it's you loved family pet, I would agree with Mastifflover.  I had a bitch that came to me at 13 weeks and couldn't tolerate being touched at all.  She would make a nervous, screaming noise and scoot off.  We have her at the stage now of LOVING getting petted/brushed anything!  We can also use the blaster on her.  I just did it for a tiny second every day.  Just switch on and touch her with it, switch off again and treat(I used chicken).  Continue until you don't need to hold her collar and leave it on a bit longer.  I just did this until now, she makes a little game out of running up when she hears the blaster and bashing whoever is there, out they way.  She has a little wriggle dance too that she does when she's got a little tickle off the blaster too!! :)

For anybody interested in 'flooding' and why it is not advisable (and why people think they have actually achieved what they set out to), here is an extract taken from this link (scroll dow to 'The Illusion Of Control', sub heading 'Supression')

Flooding is prolonged and forced exposure to something that is or has become unpleasant. It includes pulling a fearful dog into a swimming pool or immersing a dog-reactive dog in an environment with numerous other dogs.  If you are afraid of spiders, will it lessen your fear if I give you a massage with a pair of tarantulas? 

When a dog is flooded, they can "shut down" from stress and won't exhibit any of the problem behaviors. This is not fixing the behavior, although it appears so to the untrained eye because the dog does not exhibit overt signs of aggression (although it will exhibit the more subtle signs of stress). A dog that is "shut down" or over-threshold is often not doing anything at all.

Have to say I am not keen of "Flooding" I have tried the new blaster and it has a very gentle setting, Rioja did tollerate it for a couple of moments yesterday without too much fuss so I will go for the softly softly approach. Even Vino was better with the new one as I started low and turned it up as we went on. I was able to regulate it better round her neck but she still did not like it much. With her though now she realizes it is going to get done so she will put up with it.
Thanks for your suggestions.
PS Knowing how terrified Vino was the first time I used it on her I would be horrified to know she had been subjected to being tied up and told to get on with it if I had sent her to a groomers. I would rather have a damp dog back than a traumatized one.

I think that perhaps we haven't explained clearly what happens in a good grooming parlour?

The first lesson when training is to restrain the dog for safety.  With a lead front a back the dog cannot 'take a dive' off the table - a nicely trimmed dog with a broken leg isn't the aim - and the groomer has 2 hands to work with, which includes stroking to reassure the dog. 

The whole grooming parlour experience is new to any dog for the first time, which is why time should be spent building a rapport with each new dog.  Once that rapport is made, then every new experience, and everything will be different to what they experience at home, from the brush, comb, scissors clicking, and the dryer will make a different noise even if the owner has one, and of course the blaster.  I've never like the 'automatic' cook boxes - to me that's a step too far as I'm not hands on with the dog.

The skill is not letting any dog be concerned or stressed by anything that happens in the parlour.  I don't see a relaxed happy dog as one that's stressed and tolerating being subjected to something that it dislikes!  So I would suspect that the people that write these new ways of thinking, could only have seen bad dog handling to expect dogs that are 'flooded' to be traumatised.  I have to say that I've seeen that too by 'production line' groomers but it doesn't have to be like that.  As with everything in this world it's buyer beware and that's certainly true when it comes to choosing your dog groomer.  :)  Even qualifications are not necessarily enough.  Someone skilled at trimming isn't always a 'dog person' - I've seen that too!  :(

On my parlour door I always had muddy footprints on the outside from dogs wanting to get in (and my dogs came in regularly every 6-8 weeks, that's the way I worked) - NEVER on the inside from dogs trying to get out! :)

I'm sure that there will be some who will still disagree but it's not for me to try to convert the rest of the world. :)

> The first lesson when training is to restrain the dog for safety.

I understand that, but a frightened dog will not think being restrained is a safety issue, it will only know that it's had it's means of displaying natural behaviours (such as calming signals) stopped and it's means of escape stopped.

This thread is not about the generalities of how a groomer would get 'a' dog to accept a blaster, it is about a specific pup that is frightened of it. Flooding, physical restraint and any other aversive methods are not a very clever thing to subject a frightend animal too, they can all make the fear worse, achieve new behaviour problems, cause a dog to have inhibited learning potential and be generally not a very nice thing to subject a frightened animal too.

My point is that in 20 years, I've not had a dog frightened of anything that I did because it was happy, comfortable and confident with me.  That was what I was taught when I learned to groom and it stood me in good stead. :)

I had a lady bring in a Yorkie that she said took 5 Vets from her old practice to hold it and cut it's nails - now that's what I call stress!!  10 minutes after meeting the dog I cut it's nails with no distress whatsoever and she wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't hidden her around the back!  And I continued to do so for the rest of its life.

Forcing a dog to do something is very different to giving it nothing to be frightened about.  But of course you are entitled to have your opinion according to what you have read and I have no wish to change that - I just accept that my experience is different. :)  I have to say that I have little time for 'ologies' as Maureen Lipman would say :)  but value common sense and tried and tested methods.

>On my parlour door I always had muddy footprints on the outside from dogs wanting to get in (and my dogs came in regularly every 6-8 weeks, that's the way I worked) - NEVER on the inside from dogs trying to get out!

Me too mostly - I have the odd nervous one, but they all settle as soon as their mum has handed them over. I have a few I pick up, and the owners are always saying how the dog doesn't usually got with other people as happily as they do with me. So I must be doing something right!

> Forcing a dog to do something is very different to giving it nothing to be frightened about.

Yes, I agree,  have said the same earlier in the thread. I said :There is a difference between using a calm, confidant approach to help a dog put it's trust in you & gain confidance from you and forcing it to endure something it doesn't like - the latter being very CM

However, this particular pup is frightened of the blaster not unacustomed to the blaster. Restraining the pup, then putting the blaster on it is forcing it to endure something it does not like

> I had a lady bring in a Yorkie that she said took 5 Vets from her old practice to hold it and cut it's nails - now that's what I call stress!!   10 minutes after meeting the dog I cut it's nails with no distress whatsoever and she wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't hidden her around the back!

The Yorkie was not frightened of the clippers cutting it's nails, it was frightened of being forced to have it's nails cut. My last dog was like that, it was obvious at some point he had been held down to have his nails cut (I got him as an adult), so I could cut his nails if he wasn't being held, not the same thing as Melots pup, who is frightened of the blaster, not the process being used.

>I've not had a dog frightened of anything that I did because it was happy, comfortable and confident with me.

That isn't what you said earlier, you said:

>When they came in for their next appointment in 6/8 weeks, they wouldn't bat an eyelid and just look at me as though to say "Here she goes again!"

A dog doesn't have that sort of expresion if it is happy and is looking forward to the events that will follow.

"Here she goes again - playing that game with that noisy blaster thing!" if you want to split hairs!  Appropriate for a dog groomer eh?

We disagree - accept it but feel free if you need the last word cos I'm done!  :)