07/06/2026
A Texas A&M study recently found that more than 84% of dogs showed at least mild signs of fear or anxiety in everyday situations.
And here is the part we as groomers should pay attention to:
That number EXCLUDES learned fears related to grooming tasks like nail trims and bathing.
This means most dogs are already carrying some level of stress before they ever walk into the salon. This does not mean every dog has a clinical anxiety disorder. That is not what the study says.
What it does mean is that fear and anxiety responses are extremely common in pet dogs, and grooming often asks dogs to tolerate several stressful things at once: unfamiliar handling, restraint, noise, water, vibration, coat pulling, separation from the owner, and sometimes pain from matting, skin issues, ears, nails, or neglected coat care. When a dog struggles for grooming, the answer is not always “bad dog.”
It is not always “bad owner.”
It is not always “bad groomer.”
Sometimes it is a dog with a full stress bucket being asked to hold still while a human with sharp objects tries to fix six months of coat neglect in ninety minutes.
This is why groomers need permission to slow down, stop, refer out, require veterinary support, or change the grooming plan when the dog is no longer coping. Professional grooming is not just making pets look nice. It is handling living animals with brains, histories, thresholds, and limits.
The more we understand that, the better we can advocate for the dog, protect the groomer, and explain the work to clients before everyone is stressed, defensive, and covered in undercoat.
