7 Tips to Keep Your Dog Calm While Grooming
by dogtoyadvisor | Last updated on November 18, 2020
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What we searched for and tested were ways to groom our dogs without making them anxious or angry.
We wanted to be able to do just about anything we needed in the safe environment of our home.
Also, we hoped that, by doing it ourselves, we’d be able to keep the dogs calm, after all they trust us over anyone in the World, right?
Tip 1 – Let Them Examine the Equipment
Foreign objects are scary for dogs. If they make scary sounds, it’s even worse.
One way to take the edge off is to introduce these objects to your dog quietly.
Let your dog smell and touch the object while you’re talking to your dog, petting him and encouraging him.
The ultimate goal is making them realize they have nothing to be afraid of.
Tip 2 – Keep Calm at All Times
Your dog gets his cues from you. If you’re feeling anxious, nervous or even excited, odds are your dog won’t be calm or zen.
Get yourself into the right frame of mind before starting. Take deep breaths, relax, do what you have to approach the situation calmly.
Tip 3 – Choose the Right Equipment
This can make a whole lot of difference.
Using the right equipment, on that gets the job done quickly and painlessly, can completely change your dog’s reaction to a certain grooming activity.
The Best Brush
For us, the best brush we’ve known so far is this one:
It’s easy to handle, soft on our dogs’skin and it keeps their fur shinny and groomed.
The Best Nail Clipper
For trimming the nails, for example, it used to take us ages to do it with the clipper we had. Then, our vet suggested we tried a different model, one that fits our hands better as well as our dogs’ nails.
By using this nail clipper, we’ve reduced nail trimming time to under half of what it used to be, which means less stress for our dogs.
Read also: How to Cut Dog Nails Without Being Afraid
The Best Bathing Accessory
This was a game changer as far as baths go.
With this scrubber, not only are you petting and brushing your dog’s coat as you wash it, it also means you can hold your dog with both hands.
Also, there is much less water spraying, something that used to scare our dogs during baths.
The Best Paw Cleaner
For some dogs, having their paws wiped with cloths or towels is stressful because they lose balance, they feel restricted and the time it takes is usually more than they can take, especially while they’re outside.
For that exact reason, we found this portable paw cleaner we love.
Small and easy to carry, this paw cleaner gets the job done much faster than your regular cloth.
It just makes the process so much simpler!
Read also: How to Keep Your House Clean With Pets
Tip 4 – Only Groom While They’re Calm
Forcing a dog to do something or holding him down while you do it is the best way to make sure your dog will hate it for his entire life.
We know this is easier said than done, if something needs to be done and your dog isn’t cooperating, holding him down and just doing it quickly sounds like the best way to do it, right?
It’s effective but it’s far from ideal.
You’ll want your dog to be calm, ideally even a little bit sleepy.
So choose your timing right. Maybe when he’s on the couch being lazy or after he’s woken up.
Tip 5 – Keep Him Distracted
Sometimes, bribery is the way to go.
There are a lot of grooming tasks you can perform while your dog is distracted by something. For us, food is the way to go.
For nail trimming, we just keep feeding them treats or wet food while the other trims away.
For baths or for when there is just one of us available, we got this great treat dispenser that you can basically attach to the wall with peanut butter all over it.
We use it for baths but also for cleaning the ears, because it keeps their heads in the right position.
Read also: 15 Products Every Dog Owner Should Own
Tip 6 – Stop When They’ve Had Enough
Don’t push it. If it’s going well and then they stop cooperating, just stop.
Continuing will probably just ruin your all your efforts.
You’ll know when it’s time to stop when your dog gets agitated or tries to flee or bite the grooming tool you’re using.
In our home, it’s perfectly normal to take a week to trim all the nails. Sometimes we joke that, by the time we’re done trimming, it’s time to start all over.
It’s okay, as long as they’re calm about it, it’s worth it.
Tip 7 – Make It a Positive Experience
This is probably the most important tip of all.
The best possible outcome would be, not only for your dog to tolerate grooming, but to actually think of it as a positive thing.
And it is possible.
If you keep petting him and talking to him soothingly, he’ll eventually think of grooming as cuddle time.
If you reward him or make a game out of it, he’ll end up associating grooming with play time and fun.
It’s all about the way you present it to your dog.
And, of course, it’s important that you keep calm and patient. Never yank your dog, shout at him or punish him because he isn’t quite there yet. (or not there at all).
Respect your dog’s pace, work with him and never against him.
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