What All Dog Owners Need to Know About Grooming Restraints
Understanding the Safety Hazards of Dog Grooming Restraints & Their Impact
By Hippie Hounds Grooming • July 31, 2025
As dog owners, we must be fully informed about the safety hazards and policies followed when our dogs are in someone else’s care — this is especially true for commonly used dog grooming restraints.
Throughout our 21 years of professional dog grooming experience, we’ve seen countless new inventions and restraints come and go that are designed to help groomers get the job done “more safely.”
But who is it safer for?
Read and pass on this breakdown of the commonly used yet potentially dangerous dog grooming restraints to understand and spread awareness of their safety hazards.
Doing What’s Right for Your Dog
As dog groomers, it is our responsibility to keep the dogs in our care safe, understanding the range of emotions the process brings out in many. At Hippie Hounds, we treat your dog with respect and prefer to use as few restraints as possible to keep them comfortable and trusting of us throughout the groom.
Unfortunately, not all groomers are confident, nor able to keep a dog on their table under control. This has led to the dog grooming industry creating tools to assist groomers in completing the service. While the intention of a lot of these inventions is innocent enough, in practice, there can be dire consequences for your dog.
At Hippie Hounds, we believe in operating as a team to meet each dog with what they need to trust us in their handling without the use of additional restraints.
Understanding Your Dog’s Stress Response
Going to the groomers can be scary for dogs! Some are scared to leave their parents, nervous about loud noises, or just not used to the process, and on edge from not knowing what to expect.
When a dog is nervous or scared, a stress response occurs — commonly known as “FIGHT-FLIGHT-FREEZE-FAWN” — each one having a unique reaction.
Dogs that “fight” tend to bite and scratch. Dogs that “flight” try to jump out of the tub or off the table and clamber to get away. Dogs that “freeze” shrink their bodies and try to lie down or curl into a little ball. And dogs that “fawn” use appeasement licks and submissive behavior to try to get us to stop.
To combat these physical reactions, some grooming salons make use of extra restraints to keep the dog under control. But, when more straps and restrictions are used than necessary during your dog’s groom, the more likely their stress response is to kick in, increasing possible safety risks.
It is our opinion that pets are more safely handled and treated with more individualized care in the hands of another human instead of extra straps and restraints.
It’s important to know your groomer’s policies in regards to restraints, especially if your dog is more sensitive to the grooming experience.
Prioritizing Your Dog’s Safety
As dog groomers, it is our responsibility to keep the pets in our care safe. This is not something we take lightly at Hippie Hounds, and is the reason for so many of our policies and procedures regarding the banning of potentially unsafe restraints.
When we are interviewing our dog groomers at Hippie Hounds, we let them know up front that we do not allow the use of extra restraints, and it is surprising how much of a deal breaker it is for many groomers. They claim they can’t control a dog without it, and we tell them that’s the problem!
For safety, we make use of a regular grooming loop that we secure around the dog’s head, or we opt to use the loop cross-body to protect sensitive dogs. There is also a brand called “Trach Saver” that we use that acts fully as a harness for the most delicate of cases.
Usually, all dogs need is a confident human they can trust, leading them through the groom. At Hippie Hounds, we do everything in our power to earn this trust from every dog in our care.
Using Gentler Alternatives to Grooming Restraints
Instead of making use of extra restraints and straps, at Hippie Hounds, someone will hold and comfort the dog while the groomer does the work. We call THAT a true groomer’s helper — using a second human who can see the situation, encourage the dog, and move with the dog as needed.
If a dog is trying to bite us, we simply use a “soft” muzzle (one that fits over the entire face and doesn’t restrict breathing) or “bite gloves” (like welder gloves that protect the teeth from penetrating our skin).
We also understand that dogs are only trying to bite us because they cannot use words to ask us to “stop” — it is their way of communicating with us, and although we need to get the job done still, we can communicate back with them by being firm but gentle, not frustrated or mean.
Dangerous Dog Grooming Practices to be Aware of
To present the full story on the hazards of additional grooming restraints, it must be mentioned that multiple pets have lost their lives over the years due to improper use of them, especially double-head restraints and belly bands.
If the groomer is not paying close attention and tightens the straps on a restraint incorrectly, the dog can be easily asphyxiated. Through attempts at rolling and twisting to escape, their delicate little spines or throats can be damaged, leading to potentially fatal consequences.
We do want to note that there are cases where groomers may be grooming alone and not have the ability to get help from another human.
In these cases, we can agree that using extra restraints may be safer when there is no other option; however, a lot of care must be put into following the instructions to properly set them up.
Dog Grooming Loops & Restraints
The double-head loop, an invention that has been out for more than a decade, is the most common extra restraint you will find inside dog grooming salons. Some corporate dog grooming shops even require their use on every pet that is being worked on with the intent to protect the groomer and restrict the dog from moving during the groom.
However, this is not a means of protection for your dog; if anything, it’s a source of hazard! When these restraints are used, a dog is placed on a grooming table with a regular loop around the neck, but then a second loop is attached to the front of the dog’s throat, leaving the dog unfortunately unable to turn their head.
This is seen as safer for the groomer because the pet can no longer turn their head to bite, and some consider it safer for the dog because it reduces their ability to spin around on the table. But it is our opinion that this can be dangerous to use, as dogs will still typically thrash and may hurt themselves in the process.
The Risk of Limited Visibility & Movement
Something to consider is that using this second head restraint completely takes away a dog’s option to view their environment; if a vacuum suddenly turns on behind them, the dog can’t look around to understand what’s happening. If another dog starts barking and communicating, the dog is unable to investigate the alert.
When we have a second person holding your dog for one of our groomers at Hippie Hounds, it allows him moments to look around the room, improve his sense of security, and foster a sense of trust. Unfortunately, not all dog groomers follow our philosophy, and some even use bands that fit underneath your dog’s belly to force them to stay standing.
This can be especially consequential for dogs who tend to fawn or freeze as their stress response. Dogs are trying to sit or lie down for a reason; it could be due to a “freeze response”, but what if it’s because their joints hurt? Or maybe it’s because they are tired from the grooming process?
Forcing a dog to stand and not move is unrealistic; they are living beings that feel pain and exhaustion, too.
The Negative Impact of Restraints on Your Dog’s Health
A band pressing up under a dog’s belly can put pressure on the wrong parts of the spine, leading to a cascading effect of joint pain and suffering. Not only is this painful for your dog structurally, but there can be hidden internal issues affected by putting pressure upward on their midsections.
Through our ongoing skill development sessions and classes taught by veterinarians, we’ve learned that dogs may have tumors or inflamed organs that can rupture from the upward pressure of a belly band. You may not know your dog has a tumor inside their tummy, and if the groomer puts too much pressure in the wrong spot, internal bleeding or ruptures may happen and require emergency veterinary care to save their life.
The same logic applies to the hammocks some vets and groomers use when dogs don’t like their nails being done. Yes, it does make it a lot easier and safer for humans, but through thrashing or wiggling, the dog can very easily injure themselves. Dogs’ spines are delicate, and they can slip discs or injure joints just from active movement alone.
If we, as groomers, are solely relying on extra restraints to keep pets under control, where does dog handling come into play?
Hippie Hounds Holistic Approach to Dog Grooming
When we first meet new dogs that have had less-than-pleasant grooming experiences in the past, we can sense the hesitation in them. Although dogs will never be happy to leave their parents, we can create an environment of care and respect that allows them to feel safer and more trusting of us.
Dogs don’t know what we are doing as groomers or why we’re doing it, and they can’t trust that we aren’t trying to hurt them. But, they do want to understand what we are doing and be a part of the process, too. Slowly, after each groom is painlessly and effectively completed, they ease up on their tensions.
As groomers, it is our job to foster relationships with dogs that allow them to relax and look to us for comfort if things get scary. Part of our job is to learn to “go with the flow”, follow each dog’s cues and work WITH them, not against them!
We believe that through kindness, training, positive association, and desensitization, dogs can learn to tolerate and even enjoy the grooming process.
4 Hands are Better than 2
Down to its core, our dog grooming process puts your dog first and leans on teamwork 100% of the way. Having more than two hands to hold a dog during the groom means that there are fewer risks of injuries and greater chances for breaks and rest periods for your dog. This is much more comfortable for dogs and reduces post-grooming inflammation or soreness.
Make sure you’re choosing the right hands to care for your dog, as there can be serious consequences if they’re not listened to or treated according to their needs.
At Hippie Hounds, we believe that dog handling is the key to becoming a successful groomer and will ONLY hire seasoned professional groomers who:
WE DO
- Listen to our dogs and provide comfort for all unpleasant emotions they may experience while being groomed.
- Work collaboratively with our grooming team to give dogs needed breaks to sit or lie down.
- Use patience and the gentleness of human touch to ease dogs into the grooming process and adjust their process according to your dog’s reaction and sensitivities.
We DON’T
- Lean on the “help” of additional grooming restraints like the double-head loop or belly bands that can dangerously limit a dog’s movement or visibility of stimuli
- React out of fear or frustration to a dog’s reactions — shouting or reprimanding dogs for their behavior is NEVER tolerated at Hippie Hounds.
- Push your dog past their comfort zone (physically or mentally).
The Tail End
We take immense pride in being the stewards for every dog in our care, and believe that it’s an honor to work so closely with these creatures that touch our souls deeply. When you leave your precious furbaby in our hands, you’re leaving her with professionals whom you can not only trust to properly (and safely) groom your dog, but will treat her with just as much love as you would yourself.
