Help I can't groom my dog

Discussion of grooming tips and questions.

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barneybuttons
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Dec 22, 2011 12:19 pm

Help I can't groom my dog

Post by barneybuttons »

Hi, I am fostering a Yorkshire terrier (standard size). He's been with me for 10 days and I have not been able to towel dry or brush him. I go to rub him with a towel and he bites me, not mouthing a full savage nip. He came from a good home but there were a few weeks at his previous home when his owner was in hospital so I'm guessing he might have been stressed and not complied with the person who was looking after him. This is now becoming a problem as the weather in UK is not good - I've followed him around with a hairdryer but really need to wipe his paws when he comes in. I've tried treats but he sees the towel and gets vicious. HELP ?
ladybug1802
Posts: 1991
Joined: Mon Sep 06, 2010 3:39 am
Location: Surrey

Re: Help I can't groom my dog

Post by ladybug1802 »

I would think you need to take a step back....following him with a hairdryer when he is already scared and not liking being towel dried is going to make him worse!

Can you start by laying a towel on the floor when you come in the house, and encouraging him to sit or stand on the towel....you can then slowly use the corners of the towel to carefully pad his paws dry, whilst also feeding him treats. I wonder if you may also be rubbing him with the towel too hard? A lot of dogs dont like being rubbed.....patting them gently to remove moisture is better.

For now, if it were me, I would work on getting him used to just having his paws padded dry, with treats, and slowly move on to doing the same with the rest of his body, but in the meantime let the rest dry and it will fall off him as dust when dry....then you just have to hoover it up!
bendog
Posts: 2188
Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2011 7:42 am

Re: Help I can't groom my dog

Post by bendog »

One thing I did to get my pup used to the towel was to throw treats on it, and hide treats underneath it to encourage her to investigate it.

Then we moved on to asking her to sit on the towel. Without moving it or trying to touch her paws or anything.

Then we built up to drying one paw etc.
barneybuttons
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Dec 22, 2011 12:19 pm

Re: Help I can't groom my dog

Post by barneybuttons »

thanks everyone. Things have progressed now he is used to me. Hooray! I lay the towel on the floor and make it into a game which causes a lot of dust but it's worth it! Also, wrap it over my leg which he has a morbid fascination for (if you know what I mean) so you can imagine the scene. Thanks anyway.
ClareMarsh
Posts: 2008
Joined: Wed Sep 21, 2011 5:11 am
Location: London, UK

Re: Help I can't groom my dog

Post by ClareMarsh »

barneybuttons wrote:Also, wrap it over my leg which he has a morbid fascination for (if you know what I mean) so you can imagine the scene. Thanks anyway.
:shock: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I was going to say I'd just hold the towel down for him and encourage him to dry himself (most dogs seem to rub themselves dry, mine certainly does) but you have got there anyway!
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runlikethewind
Posts: 1166
Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2010 12:48 pm

Re: Help I can't groom my dog

Post by runlikethewind »

Ha ha! Yes I was also going to say you can teach a 'dig' - where the dog just wipes his own paws on the towel. I taught a dig with the clicker - shaped it with hiding a treat under a towel and also captured it when my dog was doing it out and about normally then put a word to it.

Failing that you can do 1 second of paw wipe, followed by reward. And build up the seconds each day.
pawprints1985
Posts: 21
Joined: Thu Dec 08, 2011 8:02 am
Location: Franklin, NJ USA

Re: Help I can't groom my dog

Post by pawprints1985 »

With our dog we would throw a towel or blanket over our dog and play "where's Jetta" she had fun with it and didn't mind the towel so much. With the brushing you might want to start with a rubber curry mitt and pet him when he starts enjoying that move to a different brush.
Vicki, Jason, Jetta, Jetty, and Izzabel
MillieMoo
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2012 3:30 am
Location: Nottingham UK

Re: Help I can't groom my dog

Post by MillieMoo »

pawprints1985 wrote:With our dog we would throw a towel or blanket over our dog and play "where's Jetta" she had fun with it and didn't mind the towel so much. With the brushing you might want to start with a rubber curry mitt and pet him when he starts enjoying that move to a different brush.
Love this idea with the towel :D ....and good idea with the curry mitt, I'm having problems brushing my "nippy" Millie, it will save my poor hands and fingers :D
My Millie, Born 2nd February 2012 ..."wishing to give her the best and happiest life she so deserves"
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Cassidyyorkie
Posts: 10
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2012 9:11 pm
Location: USA

Re: Help I can't groom my dog

Post by Cassidyyorkie »

Hi there!

I'm a professional groomer (and a yorkie lover - can you tell)? The bigger question I have for you is: "how long are you going to have this pup?" If it's a long-term foster, then there's a lot you can do for him by desenstizing him to the grooming tools, getting him used to a towel, picking up his feet, etc. There's a great book I got from dogwise.com called "Quick Clikcks" - it's like a receipe book of all sorts of things you can train with a clicker and it does go step by step through the process of getting dogs used to having their nails cut etc.

Having said that .. . with my clients I don't generally have the option of desensitizing each dog - I have fourty minutes maybe once a month with most of them and if I don't get them groomed up nice in those 40 minutes, I lose the client - no matter how badly behaved the dog!
So the trick is MANAGMENT. If you know you are only going to have this dog for a short time while its owner is away, I would give you some quick tips:
1) Always groom with the dog wearing a leash and collar. If you need to, you can take the lead and wrap it around the dog's muzzel as a quick and easy muzzel.
2) Try to enlist the help of someone else to restrain the dog if you can - its better if one person does the grooming while the other does the restraining
3) Small dogs can be picked up when in the bathtub and when being groomed. This is helpful to prevent bites, they are less likely to be able flip around on you to take off a piece of human and because they don't have purchase, they are less likely to flick away from you. It is REALLY important that if you are clipping or shaving that they not be able to spin - or you could hit an eye or an ear . . .
4) Better to cut out mats than brush them out. Don't make a bad situation worse! If the dog is under stress, just cut the blasted matt out - dont' fight with it in the hopes of making the dog "pretty" and stress the dog out.
5) Keep the grooming sessions short. Working for five minutes at a shot for several hours is better than one hour of your cussing and the dog spitting . . .
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