Grooming Tips Please
This breed is absolutely by far the most amazing creatures. So lovable, incredibly stubborn, smart - but I am worn out from the grooming war. Appreciate any hints. Tried treats as a reward afterwards, but think that has caused him to not sit still long enough to finish! Kathy |
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| Hi Kathy!
Wow! A lot of that sounds so familiar, except for the 8 year part! Tucker is only 9 months old. We're just slowly coming around to him being more or less accepting of being groomed. He would wiggle, struggle, get up, bare his fangs. We could pet him all we want, but bring some kind of object into the picture and he gets really nervous. Most people suggest start with short training sessions, which makes sense, but for Tucker the longer ones actually seemed to make him understand that he was supposed to lay there until I told him to get up. If he tried to get up, it was "No, lie down." You need to find out what works best for Spencer (long or short sessions) but make sure he gets up only when you tell him to and after he's been laying down quietly. In other words, don't let him associate struggling with you letting him get up because then it will be "oh, look, if I struggle a lot, she'll let me up." He needs to think "if I'm quiet, she'll let me up." I try to tire Tucker out before a grooming session. The last big grooming session a week ago, I took him for a long walk, found some little hills where we could go up and down, up and down. Then I had my daughter hand-feed him his meal mixed in with some special treats while I was grooming him. By the end of it, he was almost falling asleep! Believe me, this was a breakthrough!  I try to praise him A LOT when he's not moving, and try to get in some petting/ear scratches once in awhile.
We still have some problems with the paws but we're making progress. He's okay for a a good part of trimming now but when I really need to get in there, he starts struggling. Kevin, in another post, suggests getting the dog used to you touching his paws which is great advice. But again, with Tucker, it's when we bring any kind of object into the picture... As for the face, I taught Tucker a command called "Nose" -- I couldn't think of anything else to call it! I figured the only way I can properly brush around his snout/mouth/under the chin without pulling the skin around his eyes and mouth is if I'm gently holding the top of his snout. During the day, I would try to put my hand over this snout, very gently and say "nose." If he moved away, I would give him a "no, nose" and try again. When he did let me put my hand there he would get a treat. At grooming time, I would use the "nose" command to brush around the face. He's still not perfect with it but he's getting better. I'm just realizing it has kind of evolved into a "I'm doing things around your face, don't move" kind of command because I'm not always holding on to the snout and I can trim around his "beard" now... (wow! more progress! whee! Let's hope it keeps up!)
Hope this helps a bit... Suzanne |
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