Do It Yourself Dog Grooming

The first and most important thing is to make this a fun and positive experience for your dog.
You may have to begin with baby steps. Don't overwhelm him, it will only come back to bite you in the butt!

Choose your dog's favorite thing as a positive reinforcement, a toy or a treat or a hug from you. Immediately after every step of the process that your dog does without freaking out give the reward and lots of praise.

What you absolutely must not do if your dog is afraid is to coddle her. Coddling or showing sympathy or trying to calm her by offering affection is the absolute worst thing you can do. It will make the behavior worse!
So, what are you supposed to do? Just act like every thing is normal. Keep a calm energy. If this is all foreign to you I highly suggest you go over to The Dog Whisperer to learn about dog psychology - it doesn't get any better than Cesar!

Learning about your dog's behavior and how to work with it instead of against it will make this do-it-yourself dog grooming adventure a true reward instead of a battle.

Here are a few tips for a good bath. It may seem simple and straightforward but you'd be surprised!

First, have everything ready and at arm's length before you begin. You don't want to walk away from Fido or turn your back because he will jump out!! Remember your shampoo, conditioner, cotton balls, towels for the floor, towels for the dog, and maybe a towel for you!!

A common problem is getting water in the ears which can then potentially lead to an ear infection. To prevent water in the ears put a cotton ball in each ear. No need to shove it deep into the canal, just let it sit at the top, and don't forget to remove it at the end of your bath!

Now it's as simple as saturating the coat with water, shampooing and lathering, then rinsing well.

*A super trick to minimize shaking - Dogs get the urge to shake when their necks get wet. Wet your dog completely (avoiding the neck), work the shampoo up toward the neck and head with your hands and leave rinsing the neck until as close to the end as possible. Otherwise you'll be in a constant struggle to stop getting soaked by Fluffy's shakes!!

Okay, this is where the fun really starts!

There is more to cutting a dog's hair than I can cover in one lens but here are a few tips to get you started.

Before trimming you will want to give your dog a good brushing. Save the shampoo bath for after the trimming to remove all the hair clippings.

Never, ever, ever remove mats with scissors. I've seen it a million times at the vet's office. An owner tried to cut a mat with scissors and cut the skin along with it. Please, just use clippers. Gently pull up on the mat and run the clippers underneath it.

Don't underestimate the value of a good pair of clippers. If you are going to be doing this regularly you will be glad you didn't go el-cheapo on your main tool.

If you are intrigued and you want to know all the secrets to grooming your dog easily then I suggest you get a good training manual such as Dog Grooming Made Easy. It's totally worth it!

You'll be off and running in no time and Fluffy will be bouncing with pride at the new "do" he just got from his loving owner!