Daily grooming sessions will help you to build a good relationship with your dog and will help out your groomer and veterinarian tremendously! As pack leader of your household, it is your RIGHT to pick the time and place for these sessions. If they are enjoyable for the dog, it will help to establish your position as top of the pile. If there is a running battle every time the brush comes out, your relationship with the dog could be in a very unstable state. The younger you start establishing this lesson in life, the better life will be for both you and your dog.
It is just as important to groom a short coated dog as it is to groom a long haired dog. All coats need the stimulation of a brush to remove dead hair, but the most important reason is to build and reinforce the right relationship with your dog. There is more to grooming than simply brushing the coat, it includes having the dog stand still while you wipe clean muddy paws or towel him down after a romp. Teaching your pup to stand still now could save you a chase around the sofa with a filthy muddy hound! Would you like to know the tricks of the trade to teach your puppy the correct manners for grooming and handling?
Here are some ideas you can use to get your pet ready for the groomer.
- You are the boss, not the puppy, always remember that.
- Handle your puppy tons!
- Hold your puppy on his back in your arms or on the floor (almost like holding a baby) place your hand on his chest and make him stay there until he stops squirming, once he settles, praise him. This shows him YOU are the boss. Do several times a day.
- Hold his paws and rub your fingers in his pads and in between his toes.
- Hold onto his arm and stretch it (please do this gently, no need to rip his arm out) if he squirms, do not let go until he stops, then praise him. If the puppy bites, continue to hold the arm, but please correct him firmly with your voice "NO BITING"
- Grab the tips of his ears and rub them, flip his ear leather around and make him understand that it’s ok to be touched on his ear as well.
- Hold onto his beard under his chin. (if there is no beard hold onto some extra skin) This is probably the most important thing you can ever do to your dog. When your dog visits a groomer, this method is used as a "handle" to control the head and hold it still for scissoring and combing, a dog that is not accustomed to this will scream, jump, bite and do things you never thought your precious well mannered pooch could ever do. Understand that you are not hurting your dog when you are holding him in this manner, but guaranteed he will make you think that you are. DO NOT GIVE IN AND DO NOT LET GO until your dog calms down and stops screaming and biting, when he does, again, praise him like he just did the best thing in the world.
- Rub the bridge of your dog’s nose and in between his eyes on a daily basis.
- Play with your dogs tail, lift it, brush it, swirl it around if need be.
- Lift your dog onto a high area (table, washer or dryer) and make him stand still (of course you stay with him and position him at all times) when he sits or wiggles, re-position him to where he is standing facing one direction and repeat to him "STAND", when he does, make sure you tell him in a very up beat tone "Good Stand"
- TV time is a great time to brush and comb your dog; it doesn’t take a lot of effort to watch your favorite show with "fluffy" on your lap while stroking her with a brush. Make sure you roll her over and brush that belly too.
- Expose your dog to loud noises, like your hair dryer. Let your dog feel the air of the blow dryer as well, it won’t hurt her but it will get her use to the noises and air that she will eventually feel when she goes to the groomer.
To make sure you never get the dreaded phone call by a groomer "Your dog is biting and we can’t groom him" or that look that your vet gives you at the office when fluffy is getting a physical and just tried to have the doctor for lunch, or even the shock of your dog turning on you when you have pushed him off the couch and he felt he needed to be on there, Make sure you are starting out on the right foot and Handle your little ones from day one. It’s not only for the well being and safety of other people and for yourself, but it makes a better well rounded dog when he knows his place and is comfortable with it. And please also keep in mind that holding your dog’s paws and playing with his ears does not hurt. So while you’re doing this and your puppy is screaming for dear life, don’t feel sorry for him. Just think of the kid at the grocery store that wants the chocolate and the mom just said no. BE STRONG! BE FIRM! AND BE THE BOSS!
