Refusing To Be Groomed

[Piggie buddies]

Today mum and I found out that my sheltie boar Zazu has big tats under his rump. First we bathed it to make it soft and easier to trim. We took him out after 5 mins to dry and trim but the problem is that he wont let us touch the rump. I held him while mum tried to trim but he wouldn't stop struggling and screaming. We only managed to get a wee bit cut off because we didn't want to hurt him. I try to groom him every day but he basically just keep squeaking and dancing and so it would be difficult to groom him. I watched him for a while and hes acting completely normal especially when it was dinner time!

Is there any hints or tips to help me groom Zazu every day? Anything will be helpful thx!

 

[AuntyC]

Big knots can tighten on the skin and be quite painful. Sometimes that makes the piggy even more nervous about being groomed or trimmed! Understandably! If the hair round the rump is kept trimmed short that makes it much, much easier to comb it regularly as it won't knot so easily. The squealing is more likely to be a protest . You could try wrapping him in a towel( make sure he can breathe!) with somebody holding him for you, try some favourite veg to distract him. Trim the knots from the top( cutting a bit off at a time) until you get close to the skin. At this point do not use the scissors( which need to have round ends) but loosen the base of the knot with your fingers or a little brush. Keep your fingers between the piggy and your scissor blades to avoid accidents. Make sure there is no infection or fungal infection to the skin under the knots. It might be helpful to keep these session short, say two a day for five minutes so he does not get too stressed, until all the knots are out. Sometimes vet nurses can help you too.

 

[Piggie buddies]

Big knots can tighten on the skin and be quite painful. Sometimes that makes the piggy even more nervous about being groomed or trimmed! Understandably! If the hair round the rump is kept trimmed short that makes it much, much easier to comb it regularly as it won't knot so easily. The squealing is more likely to be a protest . You could try wrapping him in a towel( make sure he can breathe!) with somebody holding him for you, try some favourite veg to distract him. Trim the knots from the top( cutting a bit off at a time) until you get close to the skin. At this point do not use the scissors( which need to have round ends) but loosen the base of the knot with your fingers or a little brush. Keep your fingers between the piggy and your scissor blades to avoid accidents. Make sure there is no infection or fungal infection to the skin under the knots. It might be helpful to keep these session short, say two a day for five minutes so he does not get too stressed, until all the knots are out. Sometimes vet nurses can help you too.

THX A BUNCH it really helped!

 

[AuntyC]

Pleased you found it useful! I used to groom a neighbour's guinea pig as their children found him too wriggly. He used to squeal his head off the first few times, but he did get used to it after a while. He passed to the rainbow bridge earlier this year, such a character.

 

[Piggie buddies]

Well hes getting used to it now probably because he knows hes getting food anyway!

 

[Posyrose]

The noise is usually just a protest vote and some anxiety rather than them actually being in pain. They are prey animals, so they react when they are unsure about what your actions might mean. The more often you do things, the less they protest, generally anyway.

Well done getting him trimmed.......it is truly scary stuff ...all that noise and teeth/claw action often included in the mix. So many people are scared to do things that the piggie protests (a lot) about, but which would help them. I was annoyed when an out of hours cover vet didn't take a puss sample because my sweetie appeared to be 'in distress'. Surely the few seconds distress is worth it whether to remove fur knots or for important tests.

Firm hands and a confident approach works wonders