My Blog
Grooming Lesson 1
Dear MyDogSpace Pups!
Hello, my name is Emmalou and I'm the one on here the most out of my house. My Mom is a certified groomer and asked me to start blogging about grooming and some of the issues that she has faced that could be prevented by proper training and desensitization. So, in that regard, each week I will post a new blog on something that will help all young pups and the older pups too with their grooming issues.
First Groom Notes -
A puppy's First Groom is an amazing experience! You get to smell all these new smells, see tons of new things and there are millions of new feelings! Your first feeling will probably be one of nervousness. Don't worry! It won't take all that long and you'll be feeling wonderful again! Your Parent can help by acting like this is no big deal. I've seen time and time again when the Parent is more nervous than the puppy and that leaves an impression on the puppy. Puppies experience new things many times a day, and this is just one more. If your Parent is relaxed and acts like "Oh baby, this is going to be fun! Bye!" then the puppy feels that and is happy to be with the groomer. If you have a nice groomer, she might even take pictures of your first groom for your album! My mom would get disposable cameras with her new puppy grooms and take the pictures for the new Parents. They loved it and it was fun for Mom and her groom team! So, tell your Parents to relax and think of ways that it can be fun.
Puppies also get really scared during their first groom! I mean, WOW! It IS scary when you have loud clippers vibrating over your body when the most you've ever felt before was a wonderful brush! And those scissors by the eyes??? Imagine not knowing what it was, just something big and shiny coming right to your eye, coming closer and closer! Here are some tips that Mom has used with every new puppy for training to grooming:
1 - If you have electric razors in the house, hold puppy close to you while you have it on and occassionally touch puppy's body with the body of the razor. Try to keep the sheild on the razor blades so you don't accidentally pull the puppy's hair into the blades. When you can get up to three full seconds of body contact then you know your puppy is ready to handle grooming with clippers.
2 - To prepare puppy for a face trim with the scissor, use a household spoon. Holding puppy close to you, run the handle of the spoon over the head, around the ears, the cheeks and chin. Work the handle of the spoon on the nose, getting closer and closer to the "scoop" part of the eyes. Next run the handle of the spoon from the head over the eyes and down the nose.
3 - Head Holding. Most groomers use the beard on a puppy to hold the head still and position it for careful grooming. While this does not hurt at all, most puppies are not used to having their heads controlled. It's an easy process to learn, just pinch some of the beard hair and hold the puppy still for one second. Most puppies will fight this until they learn that you are not wanting to hurt them. Mom holds their beard hair until the moment they stop fighting, then she lets go. She allows them a moment to relax and get loving, then she will hold onto the beard hair again until the stop fighting. They learn that when they are relaxed they are let go. After the puppy is used to relaxing quickly, then hold for longer periods of time.
4 - Feet. It is instict for puppies to protect certain body parts more than others. Feet are high on the priority list. To be "animalistic" in their reasoning if a dog cannot move, it won't live. Please remember that as much as our Parents humanize us pets, WE still act and react as our nature dictates. We learn habits that reward our base natures. So, to counteract some of our natural habits, we have to be trained out of them. We have to learn to trust our "pack leaders" more than we trust our instincts. Please teach us at an early age that handling of our feet is a good thing! It's pretty easy to do - just take one of our paws and rub it, gently extending it out. Roll our nails between your fingers a little at a time to get us used to having our nails messed with. Lift our feet pads up and feel between the pads. In no time at all it will be our nature to give up our feet for a nail trim, hair trim, pad shave or even for a vet check of our feet!
I hope these training hints and tips work well with getting you as ready for your first groom appointment as you can be. Remember that this is an exciting moment in your life! Don't go in being scared by your Parents that this is a fearful adventure. Check with all of your groomers and find one that fits your needs the best. Not all groomers are equal! My mom tells everyone that she's not the best groomer, but you'll never find a more caring groomer to leave your baby with, and I know it to be the truth! Safety and cleanliness should be the top priority in your first salon choice, a good rapport with your groomer, a full understanding of what you're going to experience, how long it will take, an inspection of all the areas and good comraderie between the groomers and bathers.
Well, time to go for now! Have fun in your grooming experiences!!!
Emmalou
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