grooming wriggly pup!

[VickyG]

Hi all,
Henry is 10 weeks old and I want to start grooming him right from the start so he gets used to it when he's older (he's a show cocker- but a pet not show dog) quick question-

how on earth can I get him to stand still?  Is there any easy way of grooming pups so they get used to it? When I stand him up to brush him he just tries to eat the brush but he does let me brush his tummy and legs when he's on his back chilling

so any advice? or should I do it when he's asleep 

[SimonandMandy]

We started trimming Harvey's feet at the start when he was really tired out, now we just put some kibble down for him to munch on at same time as our lazy boy won't stand to be groomed and this does the trick although he normally wants to give me a cuddle just before I finish.   the distraction of kibble seems to work (only time he eats it which is the weird bit)

[ladylola]

Stand him on a table or Ironing board. Just do a couple of strokes with the brush and reward him. Take it slowly, you will get there.

[Milly Molly]

Lol, this all reminds me of Molly. Molly thinks its a game so she tries to bite the brush, not allowing it anywhere near her body. But when shes sleeping, I take advantage and give her a few strokes. She looks up and gives me the evils, but shes way too tired to do anything about it. I suppose its just a lot of patience, praise and encouragement and they will soon get used to it. its a good idea to start young.

[JaspersMum]

Not tried this myself, but read it many times on here and suggested it to newbie Teren who swears it works......

try putting him on the ironing board, it doesn't give him much room to move away from you and because it's a bit wobbly, they learn to keep still.... worth a try  

[bibathediva]

You need to start off very slow,prefrably with him standing on a table with a non slip mat under him...put him on the table..praise him and treat..take him off the table...do that for a few days then put him on the table with the brushes you will use..show him them...praise and treat then take him off again..do that for a couple of days...then continue to slowly introduce him to the sensation of being brushed...1 brush,praise ..treat ..off table...next day 2 strokes of the brush etc etc.
good luck 

[Angels of Fur]

This is rather interesting, Alfie always give me his paws to Brush, he loves it!! although wary on his ideas, he always darts off to the left and right.
Honey does the same as you have all said, like to play witht he brush and bite it. I too have to wait until she is asleep, will try and ironing board though!!

[Hurtwood Dogs]

Not tried this myself, but read it many times on here and suggested it to newbie Teren who swears it works......

try putting him on the ironing board, it doesn't give him much room to move away from you and because it's a bit wobbly, they learn to keep still.... worth a try 

Another ironing board victory here  It does work and after struggling with Dave as a pup on a table and getting no where it was surprisingly quick. He stopped seeing it as a game and concentrated on staying still instead. As long a they don't become stressed by it, I can't see any harm. As everyone else says, keep the sessions really short and reward and tell him he's a good pup the whole time. They soon learn to love it and stop eating the brush  He happily let me clip him the other day and he'd never even seen a pair of clippers before.. the ironing board just means lots of attention, stroking and rewarding now so he'll let me do anything to him when he's on there 

Hannah xx

[little_jack]

Nevermind standing still, Jack wont even stand up  He will roll onto each side so we can brush him though. We are just trying to get him into a routine so he gets used to it and (fingers crossed) we hope he will eventually stand up to be groomed if we persevere with it.

[bethany]

Hi this my first message to anyone as lm normally to busy with the dogs Puppy should be groomed on a table put at the sit take off the collar and use a comb it is more business like try it on your own hair and you will see what l mean Do head ears neck back front legs put at the stand hand under the tum do back legs and tail put again at the sit on with the collar down on the floor into the sit up against your legs looking up give well done and a small treat you should do it all in no more than 10mins form start to finish If pup plays up hands either side of the head pull very slightly up say no in the face then carry on Try to do it every day same way I have puppies coming back that play owners up but are smashing for me

[Cob-Web]

If pup plays up hands either side of the head pull very slightly up say no in the face then carry on

Aw, poor little pup    I prefer to make grooming a pleasant experience; patience, little and often, and loads of rewards when they get it right

[Hurtwood Dogs]

If pup plays up hands either side of the head pull very slightly up say no in the face then carry on

Aw, poor little pup    I prefer to make grooming a pleasant experience; patience, little and often, and loads of rewards when they get it right

Me too.. I've been able to do ANYTHING to both my cockers (grooming or vets) with the gentle approach and more importantly they've both trusted me when I've needed to do unpleasant things to them (tics, help vet administer things etc etc). My vet was even surprised with how good my last dog was when on one occasion when she wanted to get extra nurses into help with something and muzzle him and I asked her not to, to just let me help and 'ask' him. He looked into my eyes and relaxed as long as I reassured and praised him. It doesn't happen overnight and takes time to build trust and a relationship like this, but it's so worth it.

Saying 'NO' when they've fidgeted or worried only seemed to stress them out more. I've had two very easy to handle and relaxed dogs (despite totally different personalities) with this approach and I personally wouldn't recommend the method described by Bethany to new pup owners who want their pups to put up with something they find unpleasant. 

Hannah x