Dog Groomer's Sweet Hack for Helping Timid Animals Through Baths Goes Viral (Exclusive)

"If you can help them understand that you're there to help, it makes a world of a difference," Kyle Hinshaw says of the dogs he grooms

• A 33-year-old California-based dog groomer named Kyle Hinshaw has gone viral after sharing his tips for getting even aggressive dogs to calm down at bath time

• While he almost always grooms dogs, he has been tasked with grooming other species — including a hedgehog

• Hinshaw tells PEOPLE how his job can be both difficult, and immensely rewarding

A California-based dog groomer has gone viral for sharing his tips on getting even the most timid animals — including pigs and hedgehogs — to relax at bath time.

Kyle Hinshaw has amassed a following of more than 870,000 on TikTok, where he shares his grooming sessions with often aggressive dogs, like a husky mix that bit him during a bath.

"When it comes to washing dogs, my biggest challenge would have to be aggressive dogs and still giving them the same quality wash that I would any other dog," Hinshaw tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview.

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Hinshaw, 33, lives in Southern California's Moreno Valley, and started grooming dogs in December 2018. Well, mostly dogs.

"I have washed a pig and a hedgehog before and a horse coming soon," he says with a laugh.

It's the aggressive dogs that prove to be the most challenging, however.

"This can be navigated in many different ways and it depends on the type of aggression and type of dog as well," Hinshaw says. "For example, a small dog that's trying to bite me I can physically handle easier and there's not as much risk in being bit."

Large dogs, meanwhile, tend to be easier to calm down — "but the damage they can give makes them much higher risk" to groom, he adds.

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So, how does he handle the most combative canines?

"I deal with them in different ways but most commonly I say a little prayer and make them feel as comfortable as possible by talking to them and showing them everything I'm doing and what brushes I'm using on them," he says.

He continues: "Many dogs are just scared and they think I'm trying to hurt them or they think the brushes or dryers are going to hurt them. If you can help them understand that you're there to help, it makes a world of a difference."

And while his videos often show hour-plus grooming sessions spliced down to mere seconds, Hinshaw is quick to note that a lot of works goes into "doggie detailing."

"I don't think groomers get enough appreciation because this job is dirty and tough most of the time," he says. "Even the most well-behaved dogs will at times fight you, pee and poop on you, bark and bite you — and all the while you need to make them look spectacular within a time limit."

The techniques and tools he employs to protect himself and ensure dogs feel most comfortable have resonated with other groomers, as well as those who simply want to be able to bathe their dogs at home.

"I've had and still continue to have so many people reach out and tell me how they use my bathing techniques," he says. "I've even had multiple people tell me from grooming facilities that they use my videos to train their new bathers."

Of course, even Hinshaw is occasionally presented with animals that bring unique challenges. Case in point: the aforementioned hedgehog.

"He was fairly tame but did try and bite me a couple times," Hinshaw says. However, "the quills feel straw-like and don't hurt to pet. It was a fun experience."

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