Train Positive Dog!

Its shedding season – and I’ve been doing a lot of grooming to capture dog hair before it gets on the carpet. Here is a great article (with content by pet professionals, like me) about Keeping Your Home Clean and Pet Friendly: A Comprehensive Guide for Pet Owners. I do appreciate the tip about avoiding wall to wall carpeting. Unfortunately, when I moved into my house, everything, even closets, bathrooms, and the kitchen was carpeted! For me, frequent vacuuming and regular brushing of dog(s) is the top strategy. But what if your dog doesn’t like being groomed? What if he tries to avoid the brush or gets over-excited and tries to bite the brush?

Some dogs take to grooming like a fish to water, but others are more sensitive and need some help learning how to enjoy the process. Fortunately, there is positive reinforcement training and the concept of cooperative care:

“Cooperative care involves training an animal to not only tolerate handling and husbandry procedures, but to be an active, willing participant in these experiences.” (What is Cooperative Care? Journal of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants)

Being an active and willing participant means that your dog should be able to safely signal to you (usually by withdrawing from the trained position) that they do not want to participate, and that the handler stops the procedure when the dog indicates they are not willing to participate. More about how this works below.

First, choose your tools –

I like the tools pictured above for grooming my double-coated dog with medium long hair. The larger brush underneath is actually made for humans, the others are intended for pets. I don’t find it necessary or desirable to use brushes with metal/wire pins or combs/rakes with closely spaced teeth. The tools above do a great job without causing discomfort to the dog. Both of the brushes have been in constant use for years without breaking down. (Yes, there are some puppy teeth marks on the handle of the wooden brush)

Your dog’s coat may require different tools, but do consider trying the most gentle tools that will do the job. Ideally, you will start grooming when your dog is a puppy, but even if your dog is grown up, start with smaller and less invasive tools to help make the grooming experience positive.

Next, choose a grooming station and make it a great place for your dog –

I like to use the couch which is comfortable for both of us, is not used for other training purposes, and already has positive associations for the dog. I don’t choose a place where the dog sleeps through the night, or where they expect not to be disturbed. You may already have a grooming table, you can certainly use this unless your dog has a negative association with the table already. If that is the case, it is better to start in another place that is neutral or has a positive association for your dog.

Using a verbal marker for training cooperative care will be easier than using a clicker if you are working on your own because your hands will be occupied with the grooming tools. Work in short sessions, a few minutes at a time, when your dog is not at their highest energy level (because you want calm and quiet behavior).

Get a bunch of tiny, tasty treats and cue your dog to sit or stand or lie down on the grooming station (depending on what position you prefer to use for grooming). If you are starting from “scratch”, put a few treats on the grooming station to help get your dog into position, and shape the position you want the dog to be in for grooming purposes.

Mark and treat calm and stillness at the grooming station with you positioned as you would be if you were grooming. If you have another person to help you, you can be the grooming hands and mark (with click or verbal marker such as “Yes!”) and the other person can treat; or the other person can both mark and treat if that works better for you. Remember that the mark (the click or the “Yes!”) tells the dog “you did the right thing, a treat is coming, and the behavior is ended”. That means the dog gets to eat the treat and can move out of position.

Announce your intentions –

It is very helpful for some dogs (the less confident and more nervous ones) to give a verbal cue before you apply a grooming/husbandry tool. A different kind of cue from the usual ones, because you are telling the dog “I’m going to brush you” or “I’m going to wipe your face with a damp cloth” and the response you are expecting from the dog is that they will remain calm and allow you to do that. You could use the word “touch” if you are going to reach out to touch your pet. I use single words like “brush” when using a brush or comb or “wet” when using a damp cloth. dog can relax calmly on the grooming station. Say the word in a pleasant and consistent tone of voice – its going to be a positive experience.

Start by moving your hands –

You can start this after your dog can relax on the grooming station. Be sure to say the word BEFORE you start to move your hands. The word is tells the dog what’s coming. If the dog is not ready for that, he may move away or he may try to mouth your hand. That’s good information for you and a source of control for the dog. If the dog does react after you say the word (or after you move hand towards him, or touch him with the grooming tool), STOP. The contract here is that grooming only proceeds is the dog is OK with it. Wait for calm and try again, doing less – less movement, or even not touching the dog but moving the hand near the dog’s body. Or trying the move on a different body area – dogs are usually less concerned about their sides and back versus their head, feet, or tail.

In the picture below, I am presenting my hand near the Puffin’s body and he is “ignoring” it.

Be sure to reinforce that calm “ignoring” of the hand. Excitable pups may be most likely to try to mouth your hand, but there will be a lesser movement or farther distance of your hand that they will be able to ignore. Find that distance and mark/treat the calm “ignoring” of your hand. Say “yes” to mark the moment of calm “ignoring”, remove your hand, then give the treat. Deliver the treat so that your dog’s head is facing forward in a normal position (not turned toward where you touched or reached toward him). Where you deliver the treat matters – in this case, give it to the dog where you want his head to be. Work in short sessions, and give both of you breaks to calm down if needed (humans – take a deep breath and slowly release it).

Present the grooming tools in a positive way –

Hold the tool in the hand you use for grooming and bring it below the dog’s nose (a few inches away) so they can sniff it, then say your cue for that tool (such as “brush”) and bring it near to the dog’s shoulder. Mark and treat for calm and stillness and “ignoring” the presence of the grooming tool. At first you are just bringing the tool next to the dog’s body, not grooming yet. If the dog avoids the approach of your hand with the tool, stop. Wait for calm and then try again, doing less. Perhaps move your hand less or end with the tool farther away from the dog’s body.

Then gently touching your dog with the tool -in the picture below, this is the right moment to mark with “Yes”, remove the tool hand, and then give a treat to the dog’s mouth. (Puffin is the model below)

Then try a short stroke with the tool –

Mark and treat after a successful short stroke. Do that several times, then try a few short stokes before marking and treating. Soon, you will be able to easily make repeated strokes between mark/treats and do longer grooming sessions. And there will be less hair to vacuum because you will be removing more of it more regularly! I always maintain some mark/treats during grooming sessions for all my dogs. For those dogs who started out avoiding or being over-excited by grooming, the rate of mark/treat will be higher than for those dogs who took to grooming easily. About half of my dogs came to me either uncomfortable or over-excited about being groomed, but all of them have learned to enjoy it.

This blog was written by Dawn Gilkison, in her own words. #HumanWrites