Dog Acting Strange After Grooming – Reasons

Getting your dog groomed has many benefits, but what if your dog is acting strange after grooming?

Grooming keeps your furry friend neat and free from fleas.

The other benefit of grooming is that it makes the hot weather bearable for them and prevents too much shedding.

So if these are the benefits, why is your dog acting strangely after grooming?

It might have already worried you, and now you are searching for answers.

Here are the top reasons why your dog is acting strange after grooming and what you should do as a pet parent.

Reasons why your dog is acting strange after grooming

1. Grooming Is An Unanticipated Drastic Change

When your dog’s fur is cut, it may feel lighter, which can confuse your dog.

You may have noticed that in some instances, your dog cowers and hides from you, looking annoyed, angry, and sad for some.

You have no reason to get scared about this, especially if it happens after grooming.

When this happens, it only means your dog is trying to cope with the drastic change.

Think of the dog’s grooming as if cutting your hair short after sporting a long haircut for a very long time.

If you previously had long and bushy hair, then cut it off, you are likely to feel new and lighter.

How you feel exactly feels the same for your dog.

Sometimes, it might not be a wonderful experience for you, especially if the haircut was against your wishes.

You may feel sad, get angry, and withdraw from the people who cut off your hair.

You may even feel the urge to be alone.

This is the same thing for your dog — they might want to hide away from you after being groomed.

The sensation may feel new to your dog, and it may take a long time before your dog gets used to it.

2. Your Reaction Before, During, And After Grooming

As a dog owner, you may be well aware that dogs, just like human beings, have feelings and can detect your emotions, both positive and negative.

Likewise, as a pet parent, there is usually a connection between you and your pets.

The connection might be based on their physical characteristics, such as fluffiness.

If you’ve gotten used to your dog as fluffy, your emotions might be negatively affected when it’s time to groom your dog.

As you already know, dogs can detect your emotions.

Therefore, during that ride to the groomer, they may feel your anxiety and sadness.

It automatically evokes negative emotions in your dog as it can tell if its owner is sad and anxious.

During grooming, your reaction is also a big deal to your dog.

If it is a whole new experience for your dog, it needs your support.

You must show your love and reassure your dog that it’s okay.

However, in some instances, you may feel the urge to laugh about the new look or look angry at the cut, especially if not done in the manner you had visualized.

Laughing or looking angry strikes negative feelings towards your dog since it makes them feel it is their fault.

The period after the grooming session is also vital to your dog.

Your dog may act strangely after grooming if you seem to be distant.

Understandably, some pet owners are allergic to fur, especially after grooming.

However, you are responsible for ensuring your dog does not feel out of place.

Ensure your dog feels the love and reassurance they need after grooming.

3. They Got Injured While Being Groomed

An injury might occur from cleaning the anal area.

As a result, your dog might bark more than usual when defecating or act strange in general due to the pain.

Your dog might also scratch itself more than usual, indicating injury.

When this happens, the groomer might have cut your dog, which causes itching.

4. Your Dog Is Acting Strange After Grooming Because Of The Drugs Used During Grooming

The groomer might use sedatives to calm down your dog.

Your dog might afterward become more sleepy or inactive.

However, as a dog owner, you should know that sedating or using any other drug during grooming is illegal.

Therefore, do not allow the groomer to use it on your dog.

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While the first two reasons your dog acts strangely after grooming are typical and anticipated, the last two reasons are not.

As a pet parent, you should be able to tell your dog is not well when it shows signs of injury and sleeps more than it normally should.

It would help if you also took action when the following happens after grooming;

• When your dog becomes overly aggressive
• Signs of pain in the rectum, such as bleeding
• When your dog shakes its head more than usual
• When there is water in its ears

What Should I Do When My Dog Is Acting Strange After Grooming?

The things we discussed are ample reasons your dog acts strangely after grooming.

However, knowing the reasons alone is not enough for you.

So what can you do to ensure your dog doesn’t act strangely after grooming?

Below are some of the things you can do.

• As stated earlier, your dog might feel anxious and scared before its grooming session.
  These feelings mainly originate from you.
  Therefore, you must remain calm and relaxed during the ride to the groomer, even if these feelings are present.
  You could also try to ease their fear through counter-conditioning to help them enjoy the ride to the groomer.
• You could also carry treats or toys to the groomer, especially when the groomer has never interacted with your dog.
  Doing this makes your dog comfortable.
  Rather than leaving your dog with the groomer alone, be there.
  Talk to your dog in a reassuring voice as they get groomed.

Conclusion

When grooming your dog, the most vital thing is ensuring they feel safe and comfortable before, during, and after the process.

It is pretty normal for your dog to feel off after grooming.

Therefore, you must find ways to cheer them up and get them back to normal.

Hopefully, this article has answered why your dog is acting strange after grooming.

Start considering everything you have learned from this blog post whenever your dog has to be groomed to help it cope with adverse reactions.