Yes, just stay very relaxed and calm yourself first and foremost, go to a quiet mental state, try to talk to the little one as little as possible when he is in this unstable state and just let your hands and eyes and calm demeanor all work together to tell your baby that "this is no big deal, I will go carefully, never hurt you and you are in excellent hands". Once I relaxed and quit jibbering "it's ok, it's ok, it's ok" to Tibbe and just completed the task in an easy, relaxed, matter-of-fact manner, he began to learn to trust me, just relax and go with the flow. With Tibbe, just stopping my talking and letting my own quiet demeanor and hands do all the calming work of reassurance was the ticket - kind of how momma dogs reassure their babies - with their quiet calm demeanor and touch. Don't get me wrong - at first I was tight as a bowstring all over, nervous, hated making him have to go through bathing and a wreck - but I learned that to help him, I would have to first get myself under control. Tibbe was very wild when I first got him and had never been socialized. He fought everything I tried to do to or with him at first in the way of any grooming, especially the bathing part. He acted as if I were trying to drown him - he fought me. And now he just stands quietly in the sink as I bathe him, leaning into my hands as I wash him, only moving if some water should run over his nose. When I ask him if he wants "a bath" now, he starts to dance and puts his paws up on the counter doors. We turned a total fight for survival into a truly relaxing experience. I even get relaxed just thinking of bathing him. Do not know if this technique will work for you but it changed bathtime around here. |