dog biting groomer

Question
My shiz tzu is 7 years old 11 lbs.  Has always been groomed monthly.  Recently the place changed groomers.  Nice lady.  My dog has gone from bad to worse. She bites the groomer.  This time they had to give her drugs to finish the groom.  I don't know what to do.  Should I change Grooming place.  She has had a complete physical and is in great shape.

Answer
I would change groomers. NO ONE gives my dogs drugs without my permission... and if they did ask, I would tell them NO DRUGS.

No dog suddenly starts biting, particularly after being groomed twelve times a year after all those years, unless there is a physical reason... which you seem to have eliminated (although there could still be a pain issue that your vet missed... dogs are SO stoic when at the vet!). My guess is that one of the groomers did something to the dog and triggered behavior which will take some time to eliminate through retraining. (Most grooming shops will not give you the same groomer unless you ask for a specific person.)

When working in a shop, I once groomed a schnauzer from puppyhood until he was a few years old; I was his ONLY groomer as the shop owner gave me all the schnauzers. That dog was wonderful to groom.... he just stood there until I was done. Then he went ONCE to a different groomer in another (very reputable) shop for whatever reason I cannot remember (probably couldn't get in to me). The next time the dog returned to me, he fought me for everything! I was absolutely furious as *someone* totally ruined that wonderful dog in one fell swoop.

You need to find a groomer who is willing to work with your dog and teach it that grooming doesn't have to be a bad thing and that not all groomers are <expletive>s. The only other alternative is to learn to groom your dog yourself, and you might actually find that you enjoy that... many do, as it is a great bonding experience with your dog.

Karen