Thoughts on grooming with a muzzle on
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| I used a soft mesh muzzle on Henry for when he mouthed me when I first got him. It did not hurt him, he could eat, drink, bark, etc. but could not bite. I only used it for punishment, i.e., he mouthed me he got a time out and muzzled.
However, for grooming training I wanted him to like it so I used positive treats. In fact he got his whole dinner fed to him more than once to accept grooming, one brush stroke one treat, one brush stroke one treat. Next day two brush strokes one treat. It is time consuming but ultimately I prefer the result, he comes to me when I get out the brush and I don't have to fight him. He still gets a major treat when we are done with a brushing session. |
| i dont have the prob with roo, he has never growled, snarled, or tried to bite anybody (including dogs that were biting him!). He's such a wuss.
I used to use a muzzle with my shih tzu... those razor sharp teeth were no joke! He certainly didn't like it no matter what I tried, so I just accepted he would be unhappy and tried to be quick. But dealing with a 25# dog is a bit different than an 80# one! I'd go with the positive experience routine. Lots of treats and praise. Scruff and hand muzzle when he snarls or snaps. A lot of people do that technique wrong, make sure you say NO BITE firmly during the scruff and muzzle and DO NOT let go until he has stopped fighting. It might take five minutes, just hold on. Try to keep grooming sessions short, too! |
| Oh my... I can certainly empathize with you. When Cassiopia first joined us (at 1 year of age) she was shaved down so we didn't have to worry about grooming. HOWEVER....when we first started to brush her we realized that she did not like being groomed. I think our first clue was when I tried to brush her the fur on her head, she snapped at the brush and I was so startled that the brush went flying!
After discussing this with her trainer we came up with a solution similar to Henry's Mom. The first day we managed to brush her for about 15 seconds befored she snapped at us. We then ran the brush through her fur twice more before we allowed her to get up and get a treat. The second day we made it to 20 seconds, and again, ran the brush through her fur a couple more times after she snapped at us. Once finished, she got a treat. Each day, we tried to extend the time that we could brush her. We were ecstatic when we could brush her for 10 minutes at a time (this took about 2 months). Persistance has paid off. She will now let us groom her for as long as needed without her snapping at us- often over an hour at a time. Of course, we still have to provide a treat at the end of the grooming session. By the way - we had thought about using a muzzle but decided against it. We wanted her to be happy with being groomed. Now, she actually prances once she gets off the grooming table. Good luck Jennifer, Baxter, Cassiopia and Sharkey |
| Anytime I would be on the floor with Mojo he would think it was playtime. He would be mouthy and rowdy. It made grooming a nightmare. Wiggly, grabbing at the brush and me. I started working with him on the floor in non-grooming settings. I calmly get on the floor and start petting and talking quietly to him. The instant he gets hyper or mouths me I stand up and walk away. You use no words and you must do it immediately. After just a minute of ignoring him I do it again. As long as he is calm he get lots of gentle stroking and massage. It has transferred very well to grooming time. He still doesn’t like his feet or ears messed with but now I am focusing on that area during our “training” sessions. |
| Great advice, thank you!! |
| Bentley is the same as Mojo. I'm going to give that a try. |
I'll add a little tidbit here, too. I was trying to groom Beaureguard on the floor, too. (I think he & Spike are close in age?) When he started getting more mats and it was taking longer to groom him, honestly, it was like wrestling an aligator.  He was squirming and trying to mouth me and wiggling across the floor. It was impossible to get any decent grooming time in.
Someone told me being on the floor was half the problem. I don't have a grooming table (YET!!), so I got out a folding table and put him on it. Magical transformation!!  I was amazed. He wasn't perfect that first time (still isn't -really), but the difference it made was HUGE! It's improved tremendously every day. Soon, I expect he'll actually learn to enjoy it. |
| Clyde will sit pretty patiently on the floor and let me work mats for awhile before he gets annoyed. I know it sounds silly, but when he mouths, I just stick my hand in his mouth. It usually confuses him, like, hey, I thought that would bother her? Then he'll give me a couple of love/rat nibbles and lie back down.
I know that probably won't help anyone but I thought it was cute so decided to share.  |
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