Teaching your dog to be calm whilst being stroked, handled all over, groomed and bathed are all good life skills. Being able to groom your dog, check them all over, handle all parts of them (for nail clipping, checking ears and paws etc) is all very important. Its also then important to teach them that other people can do this so they are prepared for handling by vets and groomers.

Changing the picture

Teach your dog that when they are being brushed or checked over that you put them up on something – whether this is garden bench with a thick blanket on it (to stop slipping and paws getting caught) or a table with a blanket/non slip mat on it. This is also true if your dog has a negative view of being handled or groomed – a change in the environmental cues can change the picture for the dog.

  • Lift them up – or encourage them up – onto the bench/low table – feed them some treats, or a lickitmat and then ask them back off again
  • Repeat over and over in different sessions, starting to lengthen the time they are up there for

If your dog doesnt like the vets, then say to the vet that you would prefer your dog to be examined on the floor. This can make your dog feel safer as there is more room to move (and they wont jump off the table).

Handling and grooming

Use the basic skill of ‘touch and feed’ for each new situation or resource. For example – using a brush or comb (which usually results in rolling around ‘goofy’ behaviour and mouthing your hands and the brush….

  • Go back to concurrent ‘touch and feed’ – treat in 1 hand which delivers food to the mouth whilst you touch them/stroke them – do this 3-5 times
  • Now switch to touch/stroke and then feed – this teaches the prediction that touch and being calm =food coming
  • Practice this over and over until the dog shows no mouthing you or moving his head towards your hands at all. If the dogs get mouthy again at any point, switch back to concurrent touch and feed for 3-5 repetitions, before going back through the previous stages
  • Now pick up your brush – touch and feed concurrently with the brush in your hand – repeat 3=5 times
  • Now brush briefly (1 stroke in an area where the dog can see what you are doing) and then feed – prediction is brush and being calm = food coming

Again then build up to being able to brush more, in different areas of the body. You can use the same steps for introducing the noise of clippers or a hair dryer and then bringing it closer and closer until you can blow dry them briefly/touch the clippers to their body.  Try these videos: grooming handling and nail clipping and this one for puppies