Puppies need regular grooming as part of helping them stay healthy and happy. However, grooming isn’t something that pet owners should rush into. Puppies need to get used to being handled for bathing, brushing and other grooming tasks, so that they won’t become fearful or aggressive. Keep the following tips in mind to help your pets get used to puppy grooming.
Start Early
Don’t wait too long to introduce puppies to grooming. You can give puppies baths, brush them and clip their nails at home when they’re still young. This helps them learn not to be afraid of being handled. If you plan on having puppies professionally groomed, you’ll need to wait until they’ve had their shots. Most places that offer pet grooming require this in order to help protect puppies from getting sick or spreading germs to other puppies and dogs.
Make Grooming Rewarding
Puppies respond well to being groomed when they receive something positive out of the experience. Offer puppies treats as a reward for getting into the tub for bathing, for staying calm while having their nails clipped or being brushed. You can gradually ease up on the rewards and stop giving them to puppies when they’ve learned to stay calm during grooming. Avoid yelling or punishing puppies if they don’t behave while being groomed. This type of reaction makes grooming a negative experience for them and teaches them to be fearful.
Go Slowly
It takes time to get puppies used to being handled for grooming. Give puppies a chance to explore the bathtub before filling it with water and bathing them. Once you have water in the tub, you can gently put them in it and let them explore some more. For nail trimming, gently handle their paws so they get used to having them touched. Before brushing, let puppies sniff the brush so that it won’t be an unfamiliar item to them.
Above all else, make sure you stay calm while grooming puppies. This is an important part of helping puppies feel at ease while being bathed, brushed or having their nails trimmed.
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