Dog Grooming Aggression
So, does your dog exhibit some grooming aggression? When you try to clip your dog’s hair, does it usually end badly? Here are some things you might want to consider before your dog’s next “haircut”. First off, get your dog calmed down enough to lie down on the table, on the ground, or wherever you are cutting hair at. Just as a suggestion, if your dog is especially un-fond of hair cuts, maybe you should go to your veterinarian and see if you can get some medication to calm your dog before you start. Most often, when slightly meditated, a dog will sleep right on through a haircut.
Try cutting with one hand and petting/comforting with the other. Give your dog a treat periodically to reward your dog’s good job so far, and to encourage more of the same behavior! Do you find that your dog is scared of the clippers? This can be an easy one to fix. Simply let it run awhile so that your dog gets used to the noise. And when you bring it close to your dog, give him/her a coupe treats to show that it’s ok. Try to anticipate bad behavior, and then try and keep your dog busy enough that he/she will forget about it. Like, giving your dog a toy.
You have to remember to be IN CONTROL. You are the boss, not your dog. Make sure that it is YOU who decides when grooming is over, not your pet. You can even take a small brake and have your dog play a quick game or something, but the bottom line is that you are in control, and the session will be over when YOU say it is… Not when your dog gets too hard to handle, and you just don’t want to deal with it anymore.
Tags: Aggression, bad behavior, Dog Grooming Aggression, hair cuts