Anxiety - Severe

Question
"Hi,
I have a "special" lil' shitz - she/Bo Jangles is 11 months old and the runt of a litter of 5 pups (the mom rejected them and we hand raised them all).
She was stuck in the birth canal with another pup and both sacs were wedged so fully that even the vet could not manually dislodge them and after 4 unsuccessful Pit injections an emergency c-section was performed.
Little Bo was not expected to survive and her hips were swung low with her little legs twisted in opposite directions and limp.
She was also wall eyed and had corneal scarring.
I am happy to report that with 4 times daily massage therapy and eye excercises (made up by my husband) and a ton of TLC, not only has she survived, but... No wheels, no Goggles and no Crash Helmet.
She is very healthy and happy. Running, Jumping and rough housing with the rest and her eyes are straight and she can focus and see. She is half the size of her litter mates and the only other thing that really sets he apart is that she is just a little stiff in her movements and can be slightly nervous and jerky in her movements when she is disoriented outside of her environment.
She has been handled extensively since the day she was born and when she was too little to do anything she took her bathing and grooming as it came.
As she got older she still accepts a bath and being brushed, and anything you wish to do "with your bare hands", but add a cotton ball or a face cloth, not to mention a scissor, nail clipper or buzz razor and all bets are off.
She totally freaks and by "freaks" I mean she bucks and struggles so hard it is impossible to put drops in her eyes, ears or do anything.
This reaction is severe and seems to be linked mostly to having any part of her body forcefully restrained, especially her head.  She fights so hard that it is not only dangerous - her quick was cut badly last grooming and she had a gash under her chin, but even worse... the whites of her eys were blood red and my groomer (who is amazing, an angel from god, has the patience of a saint and is the only one who ever groomed her) said it was from hypertension and that she was afraid she was going to give herself a heart attack.
She had tears in her eyse and said she never, ever wanted to have to say it, but she needs me to start sedating her for her groomings.
I have tried the wholistic mixtures of vallerium, chamomile, etc. with no real effect. I have tried benedryl as suggested by my vet - no effect.
My vet does not want to give her any rx sedation and says it is dangerous.
What can I possibly do?????
Help Please!!!!"


Answer
Sometimes there is not a lot one can do when one gets a dog that acts up that severely. Something has happened to make her that way, most likely. Basically, she needs to be retrained, and that will take a LOT of patience.

First of all, I realize she had a lot of problems, but she should *NEVER* be babied! Babying a dog just creates TONS of problems that can be so hard to break. You probably need an animal behaviorist to help you with this one... or a really good dog trainer. Her fears need to be tackled one by one. Clicker-training would probably be the best way to do that, and you need to find someone who can help you work through these fears of hers. Ask your vet for the name of a good animal behaviorist in your area.