[Penelope's Mom]

Hi Everyone, being the Poodle Mom of an 18/almost 19 year old toy little girl. She is my Pride and Joy, I have always groomed her, but recently she will Not let me do her face! She's starting to look like a cocker spaniel! I have used up ALL my old tricks, treats, kisses, songs ect...(I've even tried cutting by hand w small scissors) if Anyone has a suggestion, Please let me know. Thanks!

 

[Raindrops]

Welcome! We love photos here and would love to see your little girl. That's an impressive age! It is common for dogs to be less tolerant of grooming as seniors, but I would recommend using a grooming hammock. That's what I use for my mini who is very sensitive. If biting isn't her problem, it will be much easier to keep her still in a hammock. There are some very good ones sold on etsy, but they're also easy enough to make yourself.

 

[Penelope's Mom]

Thank you so much!! I will look into it ASAP! I'm still trying to figure out the community site, I will post her pic as soon as i do

 

[Skylar]

Your tpoo is adorable in your avatar. 18 going on 19 is a grand age for a tpoo.

My dog would never tolerate a grooming hammock but it's worth a try.

Have you tried grooming in very short sessions? Will she tolerate shaving one side or even one area?

Did something happen? Could she need desensitization to the clippers again - training as if she was a puppy and building up tolerance to the vibrations and noise?

Could your blade be dull and it's pulling on the hair? Replacing the blade might make shaving tolerable again.

Are you using one of the cordless trimmers like the Bravura which has less vibrations and noise? My minipoo prefers the Bravura over the heavy corded clipper I use for her body.

If you can't resolve the problem, perhaps your vet can prescribe a mild anti-anxiety medication you can use when you're grooming.

 

[Penelope's Mom]

Thank you! Yes, I do very short sessions, and she has such a little face I have to use the cordless clipper, but I've been doing her face with scissors lately, when I can get a clip in! Nothing new happened, except she needs a teeth cleaning but my vet doesn't want to put her under due to health conditions..she's a spunky little lady and we will try these suggestions and hopefully I post a pic soon with her beautiful little poo face!♡

 

[twyla]

Teeth could be bothering her

My elder poodle I had to leave her face longer as the skin on her face was getting to very elastic and tender to get sucked up in the clipper blade.

You may to do really really short grooming sessions

 

[Penelope's Mom]

Thanks! Yes, I agree with what you are saying, she is very sensitive and we are VERY Gentle with her, even when petting or massaging her. But absolutely her face and ears are sensitive in these past 2 years.

 

[Skylar]

Twyla is right, this could be related to her teeth making her more sensitive. In which case your scissoring and leaving the hair a lit longer may be the best you can do.

 

[Penelope's Mom]

Thank you for the recommendations! After a long afternoon of making mac n cheese and plain ribs, (P's favorite), we managed to get the crazy mustache off! I will send pics tomorrow after her bath. She was a good girl and got the jist of the 'one snip, one treat' really fast! Thank you guys for the help. Much Poodle Love🐩🤍

 

[Raindrops]

I thought of another thing to mention. You may try doing a forward clip on the face rather than reverse. My dog often handles it much better. I just go down a length to get the same shave. It doesn't cut quite as evenly but it's good enough that it doesn't really matter.