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07-21-2012, 05:29 AM | #1 |
YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Durham
Posts: 7
| Training a Puppy for Grooming I have a ~4mon old Yorkie puppy who is full of energy! I've been trying to start early with getting him used to being bathed, brushed & groomed. I've had little success so far.. 1) He loves been rubbed & petted by us, but HATES any kind of brush, comb, etc.. 2) Will not sit still for any period of time when being groomed 3) Will tolerate parts of being around the electric razor, but not much 4) Will not let anyone near his face, so brushing his face or trying to clean his eyes is a big problem He's not aggressive about it, but I think that he's still so young that everything is a game. He nips quite a bit, but is responding to redirection about that so it's been getting better. I'm NOT expecting perfection from him, but I would like to see him start to respond to reinforcement for at least short periods of time. At least then I would know that I was on the right track! I've tried dozens of tips I've been given by friends and online: peanut butter in his Puppy Kong, treats, making it "fun", redirection, etc... Nothing has worked so far! HELP!!! |
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07-21-2012, 05:38 AM | #2 |
YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: USA
Posts: 4,514
| the best thing to do is start from the beginning and work slowly in bits and pieces. introduce him to the brush. get some treats, show him the brush, give a treat. do this a few times. then take the back of the brush gently touch him on his side after you show him the brush, give a treat. practice this for awhile. when he is comfortable with this, then put the actual brush on him , give a treat. practice a few times, then show him the brush and try brushing his side a couple strokes, give a treat. i know it sounds like a lot but it does work . This is what i did with my oscar and he is perfect about grooming now. you need to do this process with every piece of grooming equipment. be very patient when trying to do his face. that is a very scary area for yorkies cause they can see all those huge things coming right at their eyes. i use a small fine plastic comb for oscars face. just work slow and be patient , he will come around |
07-21-2012, 07:01 AM | #3 |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Wilmington, NC, US
Posts: 99
| MY OSCAR has given some great advice. It just takes a lot of patience. Puppies have short attention spans and can only put up with something for about 10-15 minutes before they throw a fit. I have a 10 1/2 week old right now and here is how I've been working on grooming with her. I approach her with the brush when she is sleeping on her bed on the floor. I start by talking to her and petting her, and she might roll over on her back. I let her smell the brush and its bristles and she usually tries to chew on them. Then I move the brush away and go back to petting her. I get a bone that she likes to chew and hold it for her in one hand while I brush her back slowly with the other. She calmly chews her bone and is relaxed, as if I am petting her. I work my way down her legs with the brush. If she stops chewing and looks at the brush. I stop brushing and move the brush away. I want to send her the message that I respect her space, but that protesting with biting the brush or me won't get her the reward of me stopping the action she dislikes or is fearful of. (If your dog does do fear-biting, do stop what your doing and wait about 30 seconds before slowly trying again from the start). I wait a few seconds for her to go back to her bone then I start brushing her back and try to work to her legs again. The brushing makes her feel good, so she starts to get riled up. So after a few minutes I just stop and leave the playpen area she's in. She'll learn that she only gets the reward (brushing) when she is calm and still. As a separate exercise you should get your puppy used to having his/her legs, paws, and face held and handled. When the puppy is calm or sleeping, sit with the puppy and pet it and talk to it calmly. While petting normally with one hand, begin stroking a leg or paw. Once the dog has accepted that for a few minutes, continue petting and try loosely holding the leg or paw with the other hand. Do this for a few seconds at a time and try to let go before the puppy protests so the puppy doesn't learn that protesting gets them the reward (you letting go). For getting the puppy used to having its face handled, start with petting the head. If the puppy doesn't like this, maybe start with the tummy-->chest-->neck and chin. Then slowly rub or scratch the sides of the face below the ears, sort of cupping their head. Keep doing this and work towards the dog allowing your thumbs to stroke the muzzle, above and beside the eyes and between the eyes. Make handling the sensitive areas like the face, legs and paws separate from grooming at first. Teach them that it is a loving gesture paired with gentle speech and praise from you, and concluded with treats. Stay very patient and don't get frustrated or angry because the dog will sense your emotions and mimic them. Set the example for your dog. If you remain calm and confident, so will your dog. This is how we trained my Mom's 10 year old Yorkie female and now she LOVES being groomed. If you get out the brush she comes running and rolls over. She stays perfectly still and submissive and never wants us to stop! She didn't want to chew on a bone or toy while brushing though; all she wanted to chew on was the brush. So we bought an identical brush and let her chew on one while we brushed her with the other! Technically this isn't a good idea because you could teach the dog that brushes are okay to chew. But, she doesn't try to chew on brushes now and it was a good solution. If your desperate you could also try that. Sorry for the long post but I thought I'd give you all the advice I could on the subject because I know it can be difficult and frustrating to teach a dog to be groomed. |
07-22-2012, 02:28 AM | #4 | |
Rosehill Yorkies Donating YT Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Houston Texas
Posts: 9,462
| Thanks for these detailed instructions....I start doing these or very similar steps and processes, from an early age, so that hopefully, by the time the new owners get their baby home, grooming is a pleasurable event, a time for bonding between new "parent" and new baby! This spells out clearly where they can continue what has been started! Quote:
Last edited by Yorkiemom1; 07-22-2012 at 02:30 AM. | |
07-22-2012, 06:02 AM | #5 |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Wilmington, NC, US
Posts: 99
| I'm glad my methods have been approved by such a knowledgeable breeder. Thanks Yorkiemom1! |
07-22-2012, 07:09 AM | #6 |
YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Durham
Posts: 7
| Thanks everyone... I've been trying bits and pieces of this for the last 8 weeks with mixed results. He's getting better at letting me touch him in sensitive areas (tummy, face, feet), but still runs from the brush. I'll try to make a more concerted effort w/ the brush and comb and just stick with it. Oh, and special thanks to Oscar! |
07-23-2012, 07:28 AM | #7 |
YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: ohio
Posts: 572
| my 12 week old likes to play with the brush. Makes it very hard to brush her. |
07-24-2012, 09:30 PM | #8 |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Highland, Ca. USA
Posts: 96
| Have the same problem! My 8 mos. old goes to the groomer and he is being very patient with him. Bear does not like the clippers so the groomer does a scissor cut. He always comes home looking so cute. I would not attempt to groom him myself for fear that I might injure him. The groomer says just to be patient and he'll soon calm down and accept the clippers. Until then we're both being patient. |
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