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Jealousy and grooming

981 views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  Zeeva 
#1 ·
Do dogs express 'jealousy'?

I don't really understand this behavior in dogs.

I took my two to a new groomer today. The groomer went over Zeeva first, checking her teeth, giving her a rubdown and looking at her nails. When she proceeded to do the same with Smokey, Zeeva sort of flipped out by barking in a high pitched tone and wanting to walk over to the groomer and Smokey.

I've also noticed that when I, or anyone for that matter, gives Smokey affection, Zeeva proceeds to come between Smokey and the person giving affection.

What is this behavior? Is it jealousy? Is it something that needs to be discouraged? Is it resource guarding? Of Smokey?

Also, I don't want to start a new thread so I'll ask here. The groomer suggested some kind of deshedding regime that I didn't really understand. It's in addition to a traditional bath and brushing. I should've had her specify, but the regime she claimed helps prevent shedding after a few treatments. Does anyone know what I'm taking about and how well or if it works???
 
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#2 ·
My dogs will sometimes try to do the same thing, if I'm giving one affection the other one will try and get between us. I don't think it is jealousy as much as attention seeking behaviour. I do not allow them to get away with it, I will put myself between the dog I'm stroking and the one that's trying to get in the way and make that dog wait their turn. If they manage to divert the attention onto themselves, they have managed to control your behaviour. As their leader, I control their behaviour, not the other way around!

I have never heard of any regime that prevents shedding, with regular grooming you can minimise the amount of hair that ends up where you don't want it, but (surely?) they will shed the same amount...
 
#4 ·
Zeeva is considering this person her possession, kinda like a toy. I address this as soon as I see the first sign by isolating the dog from me or body blocking him/her like they do with their toys towards other dogs.
I wouldn't give her another chance to do it. Up her obedience so you can put her on a down stay when she shows this behavior.
 
#5 ·
This kind of "jealous" behavior is actually pretty common, but it's not something you want and I would discourage it. I see it as a resource guarding issue, the dog is protecting her resource for petting and affection, in this case, the groomer.

As for the de-shed treatment, there are shampoos and conditioners designed to help dead hair release so that it can be more easily removed. Sometimes this is followed up with use of a Furminator or other carding (de-shedding) tool. I have some of these de-shedding products in my salon, but I am not entirely convinced that these "special" products work any better than regular shampoo and conditioner--the real key to de-shedding is a good bath, water pressure, HV dryer, and a carding tool like the Furminator.

Some of the de-shedding products contain a silicone-based ingredient that helps with brushing; each hair becomes more slippery, thus it is easier for the dead hair to slide out of the coat, and it helps remove any tangles, mats or clumped-up undercoat on the dog. It also makes the hair shiny, and helps repel dirt once the coat is dry. I have heard that there may be another secret ingredient in the de-shedding products that helps the dead coat release, but I am not sure if that is manufacturer hype or groomer speculation. Because pet shampoos are not required to list their ingredients on the label, we really don't know.
 
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