Counterconditioning and Choosing to be Groomed - Dog Training
Like 0 Dislike 0 Published on 17 May 2017
Counterconditioning and Choosing being Groomed.
Many dog have an aversion to being groomed and brushed. For some dogs this can be minor avoidance of the situation. While other dogs turn to aggression towards the person or the grooming tool.
This dog has a history of aggression towards groomers, veterinarians and her owners in a variety of situations, including grooming. She is on daily medications for her anxiety. This video is of her second session on the first day we added actual grooming.
First, we like to teach the dogs (especially small dogs) how to station on a place where we will groom them. A station should help us to avoid hovering in their personal space (as much) and should be one they can get on and off by themselves without touching them.
Step one is teaching them to jump on and off of a station. Once, they are comfortable with performing that, we add rewarding easily-done, known skills on the station, like sit, paw-shake and down.
Next we add the grooming tools being present while being rewarded for known skills. The dog still can choose to jump on and off the station if their comfort level changes. If they jump off, we know the training is too stressful, and we need to step back.
For this dog we decided classic counterconditioning was the easiest method for both the dog and owner. If she is on station and ready to be groomed she is fed a treat and groomed. You can see these sessions are very short. We are giving her plenty of opportunities to choose to be groomed.
Also, before she gets too stressed, we release her (free) from the station. It is lovely to see she does not want to leave and then willingly jumps right back up. This whole session lasted 2 minutes.
By taking small steps we have been very successful to helping her be more comfortable with grooming. We have also given the owner a method that reduces her fear of brushing her dog.
Does your dog have issues with grooming? If so we can help! Check out our website www.synergybehavior.com
Side note: We also changed the brush to a Kong ZoomGroom. Many dogs who find traditional brushes and combs stressful like the feel of the ZoomGroom. It is soft rubber and way gentler on the skin then a traditional brush.