Bathing and brushing do more than make your dog look good, but pups can be apprehensive of the process. Get your dog used to grooming slowly to reduce anxiety. Here’s how.

Key takeaways:

• Dogs don’t understand what the bathing and grooming fuss is about.

• Here’s how to get your dog used to grooming.

• When introducing a new hygiene routine, don’t force nail clipping or bathing. Ease them into it.

• Bring out a piece of equipment and let your dog sniff it.

• Keep training sessions short, especially with puppies.

Are you a pup parent? Your dog will bring you years of joy and companionship, but there are things you need to do to keep them safe — one of these is regular bathing and brushing.

Taking care of your dog’s coat is more than maintaining appearance. Their fur must be brushed regularly to remove tangles, bugs, dirt, and other items caught in it. There’s one potential complication, however: Your furry friend has no idea what’s going on, and that can cause stress for everyone involved.

The solution is to get your dog used to the process of good hygiene — including brushing, bathing, clipping nails, and more — early on. This article will give you simple techniques to get them acclimated to this whole bathing business. Here’s how to get your dog used to grooming.

When to start brushing and bathing puppies

Dogs can start getting their nails trimmed as early as two weeks old. You likely won’t have your puppy at that stage, but this should reassure you that your 10-week-old-plus puppy is old enough to get theirs cared for!

Bathing and brushing can start as early as 12 weeks. You want to expose your pup to such experiences at an early age, because it becomes more difficult to get them used to bathing and brushing the longer you wait. You’ll also want to work with an expert on basic hygiene and routine grooming who is comfortable and experienced at working with such young dogs.

Getting your puppy used to basic hygiene

First and foremost, teaching your dog to feel comfortable around a weird piece of equipment is a form of training. Make the experience a positive one by:

• Starting when your dog is relaxed. If they are already agitated, teaching a new skill will be very difficult if not impossible.

• Using positive reinforcement. When your dog sniffs a new tool or allows it to touch them, give a reward and praise. Dogs learn enthusiastically when rewarded.

• Taking advantage of your dog’s natural curiosity. Dogs love to explore the world. They are very curious and will seek out new experiences. Keep training sessions short, fun, and rewarding.

• Conducting training sessions often. The more experience your dog has with bathing and brushing equipment, the more comfortable they will be.

• Socializing your pup. If your dog rarely interacts with other dogs or people, the world of bathing and grooming will be even more stressful. Get them used to meeting others in appropriate places.

With these basic steps in mind, let’s look at the specifics of minimizing stress when maintaining your dog’s healthy coat and nails.

Get your pup used to nail clippers

Dogs generally don’t like having their feet touched. To reduce their anxiety around nail clipping, play with their feet at a young age. Start by massaging their paw pads for a few seconds, starting in the front and working your way to your dog’s back feet.

When it’s time to introduce nail clippers, bring them out long before your dog desperately needs a trim. Let them sniff this strange object. Set the nail clippers down so your dog can investigate. After your dog is used to the clippers, move them closer to their paws. Touch them to the nails, then start with snipping just one nail. Work your way up.

Depending on your dog’s comfort level, this process may take minutes, hours, or even days. Keep “sessions” short – no longer than five minutes for puppies or 15 minutes for fully grown dogs. Introduce new things to your dog slowly and in stages, and give treats along the way to reward their flexibility.

Adapting your pup to brushing

Getting your dog used to brushing is very similar. Introduce the brush first, long before your dog needs a brushing. Let them sniff it. Once your dog is comfortable, try running the non-bristle end over your dog’s fur. Then start using the bristle side. Here are a few tips:

• Like anything, start slow.

• If you feel the brush getting caught, stop. Pulling on your dog’s fur is a sure path to turning the session into a frightful experience.

• It’s also a good idea to start with very soft, gentle bristles to further ease your dog into the habit of brushing.

• Work your way up to gently brushing your dog with the brush’s bristles.

• If you encounter any tangles, remember that a tangle or mat pulls on the skin.

• Practice gentle mat-removing techniques to keep your dog as comfortable as possible.
  

Don’t forget your dog’s ears. They need to be brushed, too! Get your pup used to having their ears touched in the same way. When started at an early age, dogs often love to have their ears rubbed.

Make the drop-off drama-free

Dogs pick up your cues, and that means they’ll learn to react to situations based on how you act. If you fawn over your dog and turn dropping them off at the groomer into a sentimental ordeal, they will likely become stressed. Instead, simply hand your dog off at check-in as calmly and nonchalantly as possible. Act like it’s no big deal and your dog will cope much better.

What to do next

An important step toward getting your dog used to grooming is making it routine. Always work with experts who truly care about your pup’s wellbeing – and that’s where the team at Scenthound comes in! We proudly offer basic hygiene and routine grooming services accompanied by a 6-point wellness check. This report details our assessment of your dog’s overall external health to help you stay on top of small problems (which can turn into big problems) and keep your pup as healthy as possible.

If you’re looking for an easy way to start a basic hygiene and grooming routine, sign your dog up for our monthly care club. It’s an easy, convenient way to establish a routine for your pup, and you can use our Store Locator to find the location nearest to you.