nervous springer spaniel

Question
pls help, i have a 18 month old male springer spaniel. I took him to the groomers for a cut, he is a little nervous but not to bad, he was great when he first went in, great with the groomers, a little nervous of the table but was ok until after about 3 mins of clipping he went mental, uncontrolably pooed all over the table, jumping, scratching, clawing at me. shaking wreck. they managed to clip his back but that was it. the bath calmed him. but i dont know where to go from here. he now looks like a sheep shearer has been at him.

Answer
Bev,
I suggest you drop your dog off at the grooming shop and return when he is groomed. Most dogs settle down when the owners are not present.

The majority of breeds that require grooming receive their first haircut or partial haircut as soon as they are fully vaccinated. Your dog is much older and it sounds as if he has never been to a grooming shop. The combination of a new place, weird scents, loud noises and that "funny" buzzing thing on his back (the clippers) proved overwhelming.

In hind-sight:
1) If he were exposed to a grooming shop at a young age, it would be less traumatic.

2) Since he was not, I would have cautioned against having him clipped the first time since he is a particularly nervous dog. Instead, I would suggest having him only bathed for now. After 2-3 baths, I would introduce the clippers slowly -- ask the groomer to turn them on and "pet" him with them; note, this should be done without a blade attached-- The 'petting' will help soothe him even if he is nervous about the sound and vibration. If the grooming shop is busy, ask to have him bathed on the day they are least busy.

3) You can also purchase clippers and finish grooming him yourself but it is not an easy task with a nervous dog!

4) Take him out for a *long* hike/run before he returns. This will help calm him.

5) Remember, even if you have him bathed and not groomed, do *not* stay at the grooming shop. He will fare better if you are not present to rescue him or comfort him when he becomes nervous. I am also a dog trainer and from experience, the 'parents' who drop off the dogs to be groomed and simply part without fanfare, return to a calmer dog.

Best,
Becca