Perspective is EVERYTHING.
When it comes to the grooming environment practically everything is an environmental stressor and could quite possibly add to the stress a dog experiences.
From very first impressions to the actual grooming process, everything in the environment that a dog’s senses can pick up on will have some form of consequence to their overall emotional state.
Stressors, and how they are received are very much relative to each individual therefore it’s never wise to assume that what is a positively associated stimulus to one dog is the same to another.
The fact remains, that when a dog is exposed to various triggering stimuli we can expect to see some significant emotional, behavioural, physiological and physical responses.
Without careful introductions and a mindful approach to our logistics, we cannot expect a dog to cooperate for grooming tasks.
We often encourage our students to physically get down to a dog’s level when risk-assessing and designing their salon environment layout.
For example, a standing dryer might look non-threatening and insignificant to a person who stands 5ft 6, but to a dog it can look incredibly threatening and overpowering.
Everything from what can be seen to what can be felt or heard, smelled or even sensed can ALL contribute to a dog’s overwhelm leading to sensory overload.
Being able to objectively see your environment, and process from the dog’s perspective not only helps to ignite our compassion but also provides us with an opportunity to develop our ability to problem-solve and adapt our space and creatively devise an approach that considers each dog’s needs.
As you can see from the image below, there are many potential triggers that may ignite feelings of fear, discomfort, anxiety and/or stress in a dog, perhaps you can identify more?
It can be a fun exercise to take part in, and we invite you all to take a photo of your own environments (whether at home or within a professional setting) and carry out the same task!
Feel free to share with us your findings in the comment below as we would love to see them!
Note: this concept applies to not just dogs, but all animals – our environment triggers feelings and emotions in all sentient beings, we focus on dogs only because this is the area we specifically educate our students on.