As soon as Sophie had all her shots I began with a groomer. The first couple times they would just do what they called a "puppy groom" which is wash/dry and brush. They'd clip nails and a very slight trim. But it was more to get the puppy used to being handled than anything. Eventually we moved to the full 1.5-2 hour sessions with teeth brushing. Sometimes in the quiet moments I would just touch Sophie everywhere. Rub her paws, her face, her ears, her belly, and just slowly got her used to being touched. There are certainly aspects of the grooming that she doesn't care for. She's fine with teeth brushing, if I could just get that tongue out of the way. I swear it grows about 10" as soon as the toothbrush/paste come out of the drawer! I have recently bought a small grooming table for about $34 at PetEdge. It was a great investment. Somehow moving her from "in the sink" into the leash/arm of the grooming table seems to tell her that we are here for business not play. However, if all else fails, try Cheerios. There was a point in time that my DD would feed cheerios while I groomed. It got the job done! LOL |