Grooming the dog who doesn't want to be groomed.

                                 So much grooming with a full coated poodle puppy and the beach.

With brush in hand you approach your dog; they in turn and head for the hills.  Another fight is about to begin as you embark on the grooming that must be done.  Does your dog hate grooming?  Many dogs do for many different reasons.  Some hate the pulling and tugging that goes on; others may not like the idea of being made to stay in one spot and then some just hate anything to do with the whole touch thing.  So what are you to do?  It has to be done. 

Elsa hates to be brushed; she doesn't mind nails, ears or trimming but pull out the brush and she makes herself scarce.  I believe it is due to the fact that she had such a huge coat when she was young.  Lots and lots of brushing and mats, oh those wonderfully unavoidable mats.  Many nights were spent watching t.v. and combing mats.  The big hair was short lived and we are both much happier about it.  I hate spending our time together working on mats when we could just be having fun; and she is much happier not being tugged on. 

If you have a dog that hates all or a particular part of the grooming regime then you have work to do.  Of course you cannot make them love it; but you can most definitely create a tolerable scenario.  Treats, yummy, yummy treats is the way to happy grooming.  That and a calm, relaxed and enjoyable environment in which the grooming is done.  By starting over, breaking it all down to very small pieces of enjoyable grooming you can then build a new feeling around grooming.  Take the yummiest treats that you can think of, steak, chicken, jerky, cheese and break it into lots of pieces.  The pieces can be very small, just enough for your dog to know that they are eating something great. 

If your dog is really bad about grooming then start with just having the brush or nail clippers in hand and treat.  Then work on clipping one nail or brushing only once and treat.  Stay calm, this is suppose to be enjoyable.  Keep that "zen" thought in your head while you approach your task of creating a positive experience.  One brush, one treat, another brush, another treat, you get the idea.  Only move onto more brushing between treats once you have success.  When your dog is relaxing, then you can build.  Baby steps is the only way to undo what is already engrained as a negative.  If the negative is all about nail clipping then just work on holding your dog's paw and treating.  Once they are okay with that, then move onto touching a nail with the clippers, treats.  It could take weeks or months to get to their.  That's okay, take the time, it is worth it. 

Force a groom with physical restraint and you are going to create a big dislike for the activity.  The more a dog fights, the more you hold on which causes more fight in a dog.  It is a vicious circle of dread.  You hate it, your dog hates it, it's a lose, lose. 

Elsa still gets treats throughout a groom, although very few.  Both Luke and Elsa get a treat after having their nails done, why not?   Knowing they will get a treat creates a happy aura around something that they do not enjoy.  It's a win, win and that's what we are striving for. 

 

Giving negativity the boot.

I gave up negative dog training a long time ago.  I try very hard to keep positive in my day to day with Luke and Elsa.  Finding the positive way around an issue is not always easy but it is always best.  Being positive builds strong bonds and makes us look at things differently.  Negativity is all around us and I am quite frankly giving it the boot. 

I have a few Facebook groups; I love them and I take great enjoyment in meeting and hearing from all the members.  But like anything else; there is always one in every crowd.  As my groups grow I am running into some negative nellies; and I'm not a fan of any of them.  In the beginning I tried to explain my stand, what I meant etc. etc.  But now, they get the boot.  Just yesterday a member threatened to "UNLIKE" my page because I said I'd seen oodles of doodles on our walk.  I was shocked at how many I'd seen in one place and they were all the color of Elsa.  A doodle is anything mixed with a poodle.  The negative person stated that if I agreed to the mixing of poodles and other dogs that she was going to have to 'unlike' my page.   At first I got angry but then after some consideration, she got the boot.  (More on designer dogs in another blog)

Managing all my groups takes a good amount of time to do it right.  My time is valuable like anyone else's.  The more I weed out the negative the better everything is.  This person who threatened to 'unlike' my page (like I care) knew nothing about me and yet still found it to be her prerogative to accuse.  I have very few rules on my pages but one is that it must remain positive.  So that old saying that your Mother told you a million times as you were growing up has been instilled.  "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."  Mean, rude or disrespectful comments are deleted immediately.  If I think that comments are too disrespectful then that negative person is given the boot. 

Thankfully I have had to only boot 3-4 negatives so far.  But as my groups grow my patience diminishes.  I don't have time to let negativity hang around.  So I am much more free with my delete button.  Being positive not only makes you feel better but creates a positive atmosphere around you.  Dishing out negativity creates more negativity. 

When I am faced with a new canine behavior to deal with I look at solving it with positivity.  If you look at the same problem and try to fix it through negative actions the impact with be vastly different.   Positive versus negative; there is no comparison.  My act of deleting negativity from my groups is a positive one; removing the negative to make room for the positive.  It is a stand I take and one that I will not waver on.  Really, if you cannot play nice with others, then don't. 

I work very diligently to keep my canine interactions positive.   Keeping my human interactions as positive can take more work but with a bit of weeding I keep pretty much on top of things. 

Have a wonderful positive day.  :)