When it comes to grooming your dog you have to keep in mind that you are teaching your dog that it is “ok” to be groomed. When you grab your dog and just force them to be groomed that is a very scary moment for them. Keeping them calm and happy will help your dog to be grromed by you and others. There is brushing the fur, brushing the teeth, and giving a bath. Then lastly nail trims, and ear cleaning.
Brushing the fur
Brushing hair depends on the length of the dog’s fur. The larger furrier dogs such as Great Pyrnees, and Burmese Mountain Dogs take a lot of grooming and have double coats. Poodles which are very popular need grooming as well as Golden Retrivers. For specific types of brushes I would refer to other grooming sites. My forte is teaching your dog that they don’t need to fight you when it is time to groom.
So, let’s assume that you have your brush all ready to go. Don’t forget that a brush even though it looks inncoent may look sinister to your dog. A traditional brush looks like a paw or something coming to hit them, even if it isn’t. Like I mentioned before you could have your dog do a “touch” command to the brush. Even leaving the brush on the floor so that it can be investigated by your dog.
Once your dog is familiar with the brush hold a treat to where your dog can lick the treat and just have the underside of its chin brushed. Then the dog knows that when the brush comes into contact with itself that is a good thing. As mentioned in the socilization article getting a dog used to having it’s chin touched instead of it head is a lot easier for the dog.
Then you can start moving the brush behind the ears and up to the top of the dog’s head. Then it will be easier to move along the dog’s body to the tail. Don’t forget that anytime you touch your dog could be interpreted as “play”. So to show them that it s not “play” stop all of your movement. That will give a chance for your dog to calm down.
Brushing the Teeth
For those with puppies you ocan start touching their mouth and teeth as soon as you get the dog. Even if they are resistant you can use a bully stick or chew (With a puppy only!). Rescue dogs you may want to take things super slow. Give them two or three weeks before trying something like that because they may be aggressive and bite if you try something like that.
You can brush a puppies teeth before 6 months old. They will get used to having their teeth brushed. Brushing is the best just like us. Dental chew are good and safe for puppies, but I use them more like a treat then the only way to clean their teeth. First, get them just used to the toothpaste (I like the Arm and Hammer brand myself). You can put a little of the toothpaste on your finger. Let them lick off the toothpaste. This will build a positive association with the toothpaste.
Then the next step is to rub your finger with the toothpaste along the gum line and onto the teeth. If your dog pull away WAIT! for the dog to calm down before continuting your own impatience will be your downfall. The dog if they like the toothpaste will come up again or come back later for the toothpaste as a treat.
Then you can choose a finger brush to rub along and clean the teeth. A simple wash cloth can be used as well. If you decide that you want to use a toothbrush you can have the dog do a “touch” command to the brush before using it to brush the dog’s teeth. They will just think it is a toothbrush if you just put it in fron of their face.
Giving a Bath
If your dog is too big and beautiful. I would consider finding a Self groom place to wash your dog. If your dog fit into your bathtub like mine does then you can use your own bath tub.
Baths can be done once a month, or once verty two months. Depending on how dirty your dog gets during exercise. I use a grroming waterless spray to get the mud off my dog, but maybe you cant do that. You can do more baths at that point, but hen I would consider a leave-in moisterizer to avoid dry skin. Sometimes vitamins or fish oil can help but for my dog the leave-in has been the best.
A spray I do by spraying it on a washcloth, and then wiping down the dirty area. Sometimes I spray directly on her, but remember that a spray bottle can sound agressive to animals, because of the hissing sound out of a spray bottle. Give extra praise or a treat after.
Bathtubs maybe something that you have to get them use to as well. They may never have seen a tub before. Maybe they are curious until the water gets turned on, and then they get scared. Leave just a small amount of water running and praise your dog or give a treat when they see the bathtub. Wait for about two to three minutes and repeat. If the Focus command cycle the 3,5,3,10 can be used to calm the dog down. Then just have your dog do a “touch” command to the side of the tub. Then just have you dog jump in and out of the tub and praise them. Repeat this process as many times as your dog needs to relax.
Nail trims
This is my least favorite but with being on Lockdown I have worked on getting better at this. The very first step is to get your dog or puppy used to having their paws touches. Some dogs can be reactive when you touch their paws so watch out. The “paw” or “shake” command can be used to touch your dog’s paw, and then give them a treat. Take your time with this step.
Once your dog gets used to their paws being touched then you can start going between the pads of your dog’s foot. Even giving them treats. When this becomes a habit then you can start introducing the clippers. Use a “touch” command with the clippers then give your dog a treat for getting into position to having their nails clipped. After clipping the nail then give your dog a treat for each nail. Remember take your time with each of the steps in this paragraph.
Cleaning Ears
I got my only dog bite from a dog who had an ear infection and reactivity. Yes it was a mess. So ear cleaning can also be a touchy subject. Just like the other steps before get your dog used to having it’s ears touched. I feel that the best time to do this is during your normal “cuddle” times. So that your dog feels comfortable being touched all over. Honestly I have done this with my cat too.
Then start lifting your dog’s ears up. If your dog has folded ears they will need regular cleaning. I had no idea of this with my first dog, and he got a few ear infectios because of it. Luckily, it is the cheapest treatment to get at the Vet if you do need it done. I would do the ear wash once a month.
There are also wipes avaliable to clean out your dog’s ears. Still be careful their ears are sensitive. If you have to do a ful wash make sure to give your dog lots of praise and treats, because ear wash can very uncomfortable. If your dog has ears that stand up then you don’t need to worry about cleaning them. That’s why my dog looks like this.
Pawvana 