# How do you train a dog not to squirm?



## morriscsps (Aug 17, 2010)

Hi, everyone.

Jack had his 2nd grooming today. It went well except for ....... the groomer gave me homework. :fear:

I have to work with Jack to get him to stop biting at the tools when they are around his face. 

Any suggestions? I comb him everyday. I use a flea comb on his face while dodging his mouth. I hold onto his beard while combing but he still flits around. It isn't easy.

If I use treats, how do you comb his face if he is chewing? Or worse, looking for more treats? 

I should have asked Michele (the groomer) for ideas before I left but I was running late and brainless.


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## Kathie (Jul 31, 2008)

Abby is three and a half and still squirms which is why she usually has a crooked topknot! Sorry, I'm no help but I'll be watching this thread for ideas!


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## The Laughing Magpie (Aug 20, 2009)

This is how I have started all mine and the rescues I some times bring home to comb out. I have a lot of tiny treats in a small dish with a little plate or something so it is easy to close and open. I hold the beard and start to comb if the bite at it I say no and stop and start over the minute they let me do it even once I treat right away and I keep this up until they 'get it' meaning they understand not biteing at the comb brings a treat. As time goes on you can increase the time between treats (Havanese are very smart). You will need to be patient, but the rewards make up for the time. I only treat my boys after a comb out or if there is a big matt (they know). My girl is still a bit shy of the blow dryer so I still blow awhile and treat. At first I continuously treated while blowing, this is way small treats, the lid is so they won't steal them (Hav's are fast). If we think things are hard with our havs I combed out a very matted terrier that could not hold still.


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## TrishK (Nov 29, 2010)

That's the same thing I did with Sammy last night. He doesn't like getting his face done either, but I held his snout so he couldn't squirm and talked nice to him while I ran the comb through his beard a couple of times and then gave him a big good boy and treat and scratch and then repeated. He wasn't thrilled and he didn't sit perfectly still, but still enough to let me do a bit and he even let me snip a small mat out of the underside of each ear. Big progress.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Good stuff Robbie, Handling and Gentling is very important . Must start from breeder and continue early . Nothing can be more traumatizing for a dog to go to the groomer or vet and not be used to being handled. I practice it regularly with Molly. Here also is a great article. http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/handling-and-gentling The collar work is also very important. Just remember dogs don't really like hugs , that's why it's important to teach them to tollerate it.


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## andra (Aug 23, 2010)

Thank you for the article as I found it very helpful and informative. I do have a question about the article and was wondering if anybody could shed some light on the following sentence contained in the article:

"Your puppy needs to be handled by familiar people before unfamiliar people, adults before children, women before men, and girls before boys."

I understand the part about familiar before unfamiliar and adult before children but am confused about women before men.....do dogs experience men and women differently? I am sorry if this is ignorant but I really dont understand this part. Dionna, although is clearly bonded with me more strongly than my husband, loves my husband too and is very happy when he comes home from work. Thank you for any clarity into this!

andra


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

andra said:


> Thank you for the article as I found it very helpful and informative. I do have a question about the article and was wondering if anybody could shed some light on the following sentence contained in the article:
> 
> "Your puppy needs to be handled by familiar people before unfamiliar people, adults before children, women before men, and girls before boys."
> 
> ...


Not a stupid question at all. Generally dogs have more trouble with men and childrren. The idea is to build them up with soft touches first. LOL. I like to quote Eric Goebelbecker "1.All things being equal, a woman's body language is more dog-friendly than a man's. Most men have to work harder to be equal handlers while women became better trainers faster and are more apt to stick with it. "


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

morriscsps said:


> Hi, everyone.
> 
> Jack had his 2nd grooming today. It went well except for ....... the groomer gave me homework. :fear:
> 
> ...


I'd call Michele and ask her for advice. She's a trainer as well as a groomer, so I;m sure she can give you some specific "homework"!

Kodi's hard part is trimming his nails, and we've worked on that by me just stuffing cookies in his mouth while she clips. But I can see how that wouldn't work well for faces!


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

ha ha ha "stuffing cookies in his mouth..."! LOL seriously. right now Tillie has 3 nails clipped on one paw and 2 on the other... gotta finish the rest of them tonight! I'll try the cookie trick... although I'm doing it solo.. maybe I'll recruit one of the kids to dole out the treats!


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

krandall said:


> I'd call Michele and ask her for advice. She's a trainer as well as a groomer, so I;m sure she can give you some specific "homework"!
> 
> Kodi's hard part is trimming his nails, and we've worked on that by me just stuffing cookies in his mouth while she clips. But I can see how that wouldn't work well for faces!


Oh for sure ,if you have a good groomer that is a trainer helps . We do Molly ourselves but occasionally take her to a trainer /groomer. It only takes one bad groomer to set your dog back . We pay more because she takes longer ,but it is worth it.


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## graciesmum (Feb 5, 2010)

One thing to do is to get your dog used to having it's beard held onto. I tell all my new puppy clients to give kisses, treats, baby talk, ect. while holding the beard, but to not let go if puppy pulls, then when puppy holds still you can let go. You can hook your ring finger under collar and use thumb and pointer to hold beard - for added stability for the big squirmers. Then you can start introducing other things like a comb or brush.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

davetgabby said:


> Oh for sure ,if you have a good groomer that is a trainer helps . We do Molly ourselves but occasionally take her to a trainer /groomer. It only takes one bad groomer to set your dog back . We pay more because she takes longer ,but it is worth it.


Michele is great. She taught Kodi's Puppy class, and her "day job" is manager of the grooming salon at a Petco nearby. I was trimming him around the edges myself, and taking him to the vet to have his nails done because he was SO bad about it. (I think that was a mistake now, I think part of the problem is that they kind of traumatized him by just holding him down and doing it... it took two techs to hold him while the vet clipped his nails, and it sounded like someone was getting KILLED in the back room!)

Then Michele started doing nails at the training center on Sat. mornings, and I was amazed how patient she was with him, and how quickly and painlessly we got the job done together. Even though I CAN trim his feet, face and sanitary myself, she does a much nicer job, and she charges only $25 for everything. At that price, I'm more than happy to let her do it!


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

I sure hear you there Karen. If most vets followed Dr Sophia Yin's book on vet practice handing proceedures ,all dogs would be better off. Geeze they can afford the $150 . you'd think. ? Cripes I almost bought it and I'm not even a vet.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

From a medical perspective, I love my vet. But this still kind of ticks me off when I think about it. I TOLD them I was having trouble doing it myself (I think mostly because Hav puppies have so much fur to get in the way, and I was inexperienced, tentative about it, and just plain took too long) and they ended up making matters MUCH worse by traumatizing him. It has taken 9 months of Michele doing him with me to get him to the point that he's just wiggly, and doesn't get really stressed anymore.

We do him every 3 weeks, partly because his nails grow fast, and partly because we just want to keep exposing him to it.


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