Dog escapes uncomfortable grooming session — runs a mile to reach home

A viral TikTok video, shared by @thebernntheyosh, raised questions on whether dogs enjoy grooming. This dog owner shared that his canine galloped from his grooming salon to escape his session, covered a mile’s journey on foot, and reached home when the owner’s mother was out looking for the dog. Felix is a Berndoodle breed, which is known for its outgoing personality. His act of escaping the session marked the fact that he was uncomfortable and decided not to yield to the situation; so, he seized the first opportunity and ran as far as he could to the house.

“So lucky this guy made it home safe. I am so proud of him for running all the way home and waiting for us outside. He is the best boy in the world!” captioned the video's owner. Luckily, he waited at his home just in case anybody found Felix and decided to bring the dog home. But his self-reliant dog did it all by himself and turned the whole scary situation into a memorable anecdote. Many dog owners conduct regular bathing sessions for their canines, which is essential for their bonding. It also allows the animal to open up to their owner.

Home-grooming does make the bond stronger; however, it is equally important for the owners to recognize what actions are bringing them closer and what actions are leading to the invasion of their canine’s private space. For instance, combing and trimming may be useful to find abnormalities like parasite infection or injury, while stripping or bathing can lead to encroaching. Further, getting someone else to do it can feel like a crime for them, as your dog might not be comfortable opening up to a stranger, and most of them are not.

Finding a professional groomer can help in controlling your dog’s moods. But most of them consider it weird to be handled by an unknown person. Prior socialisation activities with the groomer can aid in the smooth process — very commonly known as dogsmanship. But, without creating a familiar bond, the grooming would be just another act of manipulating their body or drowning them in water without their permission. It is understandable for Felix that he ran away from his very awkward situation and straight up went home to his owner. However, the groomer was also very considerate as he instantly informed the owner after he failed to catch the fleeing dog.

In another report, Los Angeles’s famous groomer, Kyle Hinshaw, who runs Animal Kingdom Dog Grooming, shared some tips and hacks for handling aggressive dogs: “This can be navigated in many different ways, and it depends on the type of aggression and type of dog as well. For example, a small dog that's trying to bite me, I can physically handle more easily, and there's not as much risk of being bitten." He continues, “Larger dogs are often easier to calm down, but as they can give greater damage, they’re higher risk to groom. Saying a short prayer and making the animal comfortable by sweet-talking and explaining what’s going on also helps."

The video garnered 700,000 views and hundreds of comments from viewers sharing their part of the story. "Too funny. My dog escaped once. Spent a long time looking for her, and when I walked back home, she was waiting at the front door," shared @bichonanddoodlefamily. "I had to buy this cute little vacuum dog clippers because my dog was starting to have panic attacks going to the groomer. He’s getting old, so I just couldn’t torment him anymore. I’m going to just do it myself now," wrote @tonya.kay. "My dog, when I thought I lost her in the woods. After 5 hours of looking, the sun was starting to go down, and I didn’t have supplies to look in the dark. Got to the car, damn dog was sitting there like I got lost," said @hellcat604.

You can follow Felix's journey on TikTok at @thebernntheyosh.