Putting the Brakes on
for Dog Grooming!

by Ginger
(Iowa)

Bear Playing Ball

Not every dog enjoys being groomed. Let me tell you a short story about my dog Bear (who has since adopted my Dad as his pet parent).

Bear absolutely loathed going to Petsmart for his bath and haircut. At the time it was heartbreaking for me to leave him there, but thinking back now it is actually sort of funny.

Bear would put on the breaks, practically digging his toe nails into the pavement on the way into the store. Although once he got through their doors at PetSmart, he behaved well for the dog groomers.

I don't know why he was so afraid of going to PetSmart. Bear was used to having his paws touched, his gums rubbed, and his ears played with. That’s because as soon as I adopted him from the animal shelter, I began to work with him. And we did the same with our Weimaraner, Big Boy.

Here's my dog grooming tip: To get your puppy ready for the grooming process, start slowly by touching his/her feet. If your puppy lets you get away with that, good!

On to the ears. If your puppy doesn’t want to let you touch his/her feet, ears, or mouth, use treats as a reward for a quick touch of the paw.

As your puppy begins to get used to you touching his/her feet you can alternate treats for praise, and then randomly treat until your puppy is just fine letting you touch his/her paws, ears, and mouth.