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Ollie
is a Rough Collie cross Border Collie rescue dog. He
was rescued by Wood Green animal shelter and re-homed
with his new owner in the summer of 2006. When booking
in, Ollie's owner explained that he was nervous due to
the fact that he had been abused in the past; he wasn't
sure how Ollie would react whilst being groomed.
However, I reassured Ollie's owner that all care would
be taken to build his confidence whilst he was in my
care.
When Ollie first arrived
at the salon, it was obvious from his actions and the
look in his eyes, that he was very unsure of what was
about to happen. He didn’t want his owner to leave.
When it was time to go his owner handed me the lead and
I explained I would contact him when Ollie was ready for
collection. It is very important to take time with
nervous dogs and help to build their confidence, so
every part of the process had to be carried out at a
pace that made Ollie feel comfortable.
Ollie’s owner had
explained that his favourite treat was cheese, so this
is where I began. I sat with Ollie, gave him a treat,
quietly stroked him and talked to him in a gentle
manner. I went through everything that I was going to
do, showing him the equipment that was going to be used.
Although this sounds a little unusual; just as you
would calm a child by explaining things, it helps a dog
in the same way! |
Ollie was quite
unsure
prior to his groom. |
After gaining
Ollie's trust, he felt much happier. He looks very
smart after his groom! |
I spent about a hour with
Ollie just talking to him and cuddling him, until I was sure that he was
ready for the next part. This involved using a high
powered blaster to get some of the undercoat out and is
quite a noisy process. As his owner had already
explained that he was
scared of vacuum cleaners, I knew that he wouldn’t be
keen on this. I switched it on and let him come
over to investigate what the noise was. As he wasn’t keen on
going on the table, I did all this on the floor.
Surprisingly, it didn’t take long until Ollie came to see what
I was doing. Even more surprisingly. he then sat down
and let me blast the undercoat out of his coat. If
the process became a little overwhelming for him, he
would lean away from me and the blaster then venture
back for more when he was ready. Next it was bath time; he wasn’t keen so I stood in the
shower with him and let him cuddle in when he needed
reassurance. I got soaked but it was worth it just to
have a calm dog rather than a stressed one.
After a bit more cheese
and a cuddle, it was time to be dried and
trimmed. The drying and brushing out I did on the floor
and Ollie was a star; he just let me do it all the way
through without walking away. You could see he was
still a little wary, but he was starting to trust me and
was so much more relaxed than when he first arrived in the salon. When I finished drying him, I
thought I would try him on the table. He was a
little shaky at first, but then
stood there and let me trim him and cut his nails.
Although Ollie was very well behaved, the grooming
process took far longer then it normally would with a
trusting dog, but it was worth it as he now looks
beautiful! Most importantly, next time Ollie comes to
see me, he knows he is safe with someone who won’t
hurt him. |
