Does Your Dog Put Up A Fight When Being Groomed?
By Jennifer Chen
My Doggie Dreamland Columnist
When grooming your dog, it's very important that you let your dog know who's in control. When doing so, you must balance between harsh and gentle. You want to groom your dog in a gentle manner, but at the same time firm in your commands.
When giving commands to your dog, you want to give them with a gentle voice. As you groom your dog, you are giving your dog the idea that you are in control without frightening it. If you get out of control and yell at your dog, you are creating bad thoughts with your dog. By that time, he may have associated grooming with a negative experience. This experience may be frightening to him and can be difficult to remove.
So what happens if you can't control your dog? If grooming your dog is a difficult task, you can send him to a dog obedience trainer. Sometimes it won't even be your fault. Some dogs are just hard to handle and discipline. Sometimes a dog trainer may not be good enough. If your dog is pretty wild, it may need to be groomed by a veterinarian so that it could be sedated if the need occurs. That's why it's important to instill the proper behaviors when your dog is young. As a puppy, your dog will learn the regular habits of grooming that will help him as he continues to mature.
About the Author
Jennifer Chen is a dog training specialist and a contributing writer to MyDoggieDreamland.com
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